Saturday, July 9, 2022- Golden, Colorado

     We hated to leave the cabin today.  Julie saw two deer out in the front yard, but they ran to the back and disappeared before she could get the camera.  In the "Loose Moose Guest Book," we left the following message:

"July 7-9, 2022

This cabin is amazing. Such a lovely spot and a beautiful place!  It was a great spot for Julie to spend her birthday, and was truly a highlight of our trip.  We hate to leave.

The Frank family, Scott and Julie, Emma (18) and Abby (2 years old) from Buffalo, New York"

Scott also left the address for this blog.  Then Abby drew a happy face for them.  Truthfully, though, Abby is missing her own home too, and was asking about Grandpas and Grandmas and her home when she woke up today.  

     First, we made a trash run to drop off our garbage at the club house for the Columbine Lake Country Club.  Then we headed out south, through Granby, and headed for a pass across the Rockies.  As we were driving we passed through the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests with the mountains covered with tall straight pine trees.  Before our trip, Scott had promised Julie that we could take a gondola ride up a mountain if we saw one as we were driving.  Today, we saw one as we were passing the ski resort of Winter Park.  Although it was a ski resort, it was definitely still busy because the place was filled with mountain bike riders.  It was definitely running for them, and we stopped there to inquire about a ride.  It turned out that they didn't have a single-ride ticket, but were only selling all-day passes.  That made it too expensive for us, but there was a cheap alternative.  There is a similar, smaller gondola (actually, they refer to it as the "cabriolet") which doesn't go up the slopes, but goes between the "village" and the hotel.  It was free to ride, lasted about 2-3 minutes, and gave Abby a bit of fun.  You have to stand up in the bucket as you ride, and Julie held Abby up most of the way.  Abby said, "This is fun!" and "Woo hoo!" several times.  There was a cool breeze as we were riding, and we went over a small stream.  The floor you stand on is a grating, and it lets you look straight down as you pass over things, if you want.  After we rode the cabriolet, there was a small but interesting looking playground, with its main feature shaped like an old steam locomotive.  Abby didn't like the slide, but she like climbing the stairs a few time.  Emma stayed in the car for a nap as we did all this.  Over all, this unexpected stop was a great break from driving in the car.

     Scott ended up driving as we continued on through the switchbacks and slopes among the mountains and pines.  We eventually reached Interstate 70, on which we shot out of the east side of the Rockies onto the high plains.  Our goal today was to spend some time in Golden, Colorado.  Julie had seen about it on YouTube before we left and wanted to visit this town from the Old West.  It was probably a bad day to do it.  It is Saturday in the tourist season, and finding parking in the town was quite difficult.  All through the town there were people carrying tubes and inflatables to float down Clear Creek, which runs through the town, and they were everywhere as we were trying to park.  There was also an art show happing in town today.  (There were also arts and craft shows in Grand Lake and in Fraser.  There must be a lot of artists in Colorado.)  To make matters worse, we were now on the hot side of the Rockies again, with temperatures that were pushing into the 90s.  

     Somehow, we got a parking space near the art show.  We then went to Washington Avenue,  the main street in Golden.  It is best known for the big arch across it that says, "Howdy Folks! Welcome to Golden, where the West lives."   There are many buildings there that date back to the 1800s.  Whenever you see the views of the mesas (or are they buttes?) that surround the town you are certainly reminded that you are in a western town.  We liked the statues of cowboys and western animals that were on many of the corners in town.  We ended up getting lunch at the Old Capital Grill.  Scott got a bison burger.  It was good, but a little more rare than he would usually like it.  He also had to have a Coors, since it is brewed here in town, and got his picture taken with the Adolph Coors statue outside the restaurant.  Julie got a pulled pork sandwich.  After lunch we walked along Washington Avenue, but it was a little disappointing.  There were many more shops in Estes Park, and even in the smaller Grand Lake, and Julie was expecting more here.  Of course, it was crowded and full of people, with heat back in the 90s again.  After the downtown area, we walked quickly through two of the rows of the art show.  By then, Abby was falling asleep in her stroller, and we decided we had seen enough.  

     Driving south to Colorado Springs, we could see Denver in the distance to our east.  We also drove by the rock castle in Castle Rock.  From Colorado Springs, it wasn't hard to guess which of the peaks must be Pike's Peak, but we were hoping to go there tomorrow.  It was only about 3:00, but we checked into our hotel.  Our hotel here is not one of the chains we have been staying in.  This one is called the Alta.  Alta is Spanish for high, and the A's in the logo are shaped like mountains.   Our room has a sliding glass door that opens to the parking lot, and we were able to unload the car almost directly into the room.

     Emma and Scott talked about going to see Thor: Love and Thunder today, but they are both really tired and it wouldn't be easy to get tickets this late on Saturday on opening weekend.  We decided to rest in the hotel and Julie took the car to go to get fast food for us.  The car stalled on her three times on that short trip-- once in the middle of an intersection.  It has not caused us any problems until now, but we decided we should call Avis to see what they can do.

     There are two pools in this hotel-- an indoor one and an outdoor one.  While we were waiting for the guy to come for the car, Scott took Abby swimming in the indoor one, partly so we wouldn't be in the sun.  Things were going really well.  Abby was floating on her own (with the help of her Paw Patrol floaty vest) and having a good time.  She hadn't really floated like that before.  Then she started sticking her tongue out to drink the pool water, including the water on the floor.  When she wouldn't stop, we told her it was time to go back to the room.  

     As far as the car goes, it has been a frustrating night for Julie.  She started talking to people at Avis at 5:10.  She was told she would be taken to the Colorado Springs airport to change vehicles.  Long story short- that didn't happen, and she was on hold for more than four hours, occasionally talking to people who would promise results, but not delivering.  About 9:30, we finally learned that no one will be able to help us until tomorrow morning at 10:30, when Julie and the car will be taken to Denver to switch the car.  Until then, there's not much we can do.  We will see what happens.