After the exciting day at Utah’s Olympic Park we dropped in at local TV station KSL, who wanted to do an interview about goal number 54 being achieved in their state, and the interview appeared on the 10 o’clock news. You can see it online here by clicking on the picture below:-
The next morning I dropped Susan off at Salt Lake City airport for her flight back to San Francisco, and after a quick stop at the RV park again for a shower and to send a final few emails, I hit the road heading for Colorado.
I spent a long day at the wheel, covering 400 miles across Wyoming, and ended up in Laramie, where I stayed with at least six other RVers at the Walmart carpark there. I considered pusshing on for the final two hours that it would take me to get to Boulder, but it looked like a big storm was approaching, and after eating dinner I really did not feel like any more driving, so settled in for the night.
The next day dawned fine and bright, without a breath of wind, and I headed south to the Colorado border. The scenery chenged almost immediately from the high flat plains of Wyoming to more mountainous terrain. The drive from Laramie to Fort Collins was beautiful, the road smooth and winding, and the views spectacular.
For most of the journey across Wyoming and down into Colorado the GPS informed me that I have been at an altitude of between 7,000 and 8,000 feet, which is amazing, as it seems so flat and open. That height is around the same height of the tallest peak in Australia (Mount Kosciusko – 7,310 feet), but is more than double the height of the tallest peak in England! (Scafell Pike – 3,209 feet). And I am only in the foothills. I am really looking forward to some walking and climbing here.
I arrived mid-morning in Boulder at Yvette’s house, and soon settled in to the spare room, putting the laundry to good use, as I am on my last set of clean clothes! I met Yvette last year in LA, after she had heard about my story online, and contacted me. Our “blind date” ended up with us skinny-dipping at Santa Monica Pier! More details here.
In the evening Yvette was presenting a Social Media 101 talk at the local library, discussing the benefits of using social sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, which was very interesting, as I am on all of those sites, but hardly ever find the time to use or update them.
The next morning we headed up to Chautauqua Park, and climbed the steep path past some incredible rock slabs to the spectacular Royal Arch. The weather was sunny when we set off, but halfway up the skies darkened and thunder rumbled. There were a few spots of rain, but the storm missed us and we managed to stay dry. It was a good reminder of how quickly the weather can change in the mountains.
In the evening we went to a local hotel, where we listened to jazz singer Hazel Miller, and met and chatted with Yvette’s friends Michael, Ryan, Patti and Hestor. I have emailed back and forth a few times with Ryan, who works with a travel website, and I was keen to discuss travel writing, climbing, and poker-playing with him.
Today is a day for practical matters. More laundry, the RV needs a clean out, and I need to pack a bag for the weekend, as I fly tonight to London for the Worthing Birdman Competition on Sunday on England’s south coast.
Many thanks to Yvette, and her son Scotty for their wonderful hospitality.