Denver to Colorado Springs

January 31. Officially 1 month, 1/12 of the way through the journey.

Today I drove the blessedly short distance from Denver to Colorado Springs. I’m staying at Colorado Springs Marriott, where I have stayed before when doing a case at the Air Force Academy. It is located conveniently close to Garden of the Gods and Pike’s Peak . As well, it has a decent restaurant that serves a more than decent Chile Verde con Cerdo.

I made an initial foray this afternoon to Garden of the Gods. It was dry, sunny and a balmy 24 degrees. The huge iconic red rock formations are remarkably difficult to photograph. As usual I defaulted to some abstract compositions in an attempt to show the rocks from a different perspective. I’ll give it another try tomorrow morning.

At Balanced Rock I met Hunter, Alecia and Melanie. Hunter is eight years old and was enjoying scrambling up on the rocks. I was taken with him, and even more so that his hair and (likely his Mom’s) jacket matched the red rock.

I went down to the bar for the aforementioned chili, requisitely accompanied by a beer. I ended up sharing a lovely dinner conversation with Mercedes. Topics ranges from my trip and my work to her various interests, both work and personal, to literature and ancestry. And she gave me a great tip for a dive bar run by - I think it was her brother-in-law - in Asheville NC, where I will be in a few months.