Yesterday started out quite sadly for me as Shadrach was leaving for New York and I knew I was going to miss him badly and it is not because I wont have anyone to play tennis with on Sundays! Worse yet, I had to take him to the airport by myself and I have this disgust with large international airports (and Denver's is one of the largest I have seen) which I find so confusing.
I can't forget getting lost in JFK' driving around in circles for over an hour. And just a few years ago when I was in New York, the idiot of a taxi man who took me to the airport circled forever as he couldn't find the Air Jamaica terminal. Luckily I had negotiated a flat rate with him before we left.
It was therefore with much trepidation that I set off . Amazingly however, when I got there I found everything as the directions were so well laid out and the instructions so explicit. I had to wonder out aloud why the operators of other international airports do not collaborate with Denver to improve customer kindliness.
Anyway we got through quite easily and as Shadrach is under 18, they allowed me to accompany him though security and to the gate. Anyway I cheered myself up since he will be spending a month of his summer vacation in good old Jamdown.
So after the sad parting I headed to Beverley's. She is a friend of Michele's who just loves the great outdoors as much as I do and she promised to take me to Red Rocks. I had heard about it briefly as there they have is a natural amphitheatre which is built in the rocks and I had heard about some of the concerts there.
At first it appeared that we might just have to drive around as it was raining. but as Michele once told me "If you don't like the weather in Colorado, just wait fifteen minutes and it will change." That is so true for it turned out to be a wonderful, sunny day most of the time and a little overcast at other times.
I was not prepared for what I saw. It is only about twenty miles from Denver but its like you are in another world. As we drove up l saw these awesome and overwhelmingly huge rocks, all red, jutting out of the mountainside. Its as a super chiseler had gotten to work and chiseled these unbelievable formations in the rocks jutting precariously all around. In fact, many of the rock formations have names, depending on the image they naturally project. Some names are Creation Rock, Ship Rock etc and it is estimated that those rocks were formed about 296 million years ago. Humbling isn't it? Before the white man came, that area had been a favourite camping ground of the Utes.
One got a feeling of the supernatural and I even thought out loud that they must film dinosaur movies there for you could almost get the feeling that this is the type of environment that these huge creatures of old would hang out.
Luckily I have been keeping up my exercise by going to City park daily to walk and run and I cycle occasionally, so the hiking trail up and around the rocks was not all challenging. Unfortunately, the amphitheatre was closed as they were rehearsing for a concert which was to take place that evening so we could not go up there even to take in the view.
The little town of Morrison which lies below is quaint and inviting, a really lovely place to hang out in the numerous restaurants and bars, especially those by the creek.
What had started out as a sad day turned out to be a wonderful adventure and the good news came as we drove back to Denver, that is that Shadrach had arrived safely in New York.
As the late great William Shakespeare said, all is well that ends well. I say amen to that.
I can't forget getting lost in JFK' driving around in circles for over an hour. And just a few years ago when I was in New York, the idiot of a taxi man who took me to the airport circled forever as he couldn't find the Air Jamaica terminal. Luckily I had negotiated a flat rate with him before we left.
It was therefore with much trepidation that I set off . Amazingly however, when I got there I found everything as the directions were so well laid out and the instructions so explicit. I had to wonder out aloud why the operators of other international airports do not collaborate with Denver to improve customer kindliness.
Anyway we got through quite easily and as Shadrach is under 18, they allowed me to accompany him though security and to the gate. Anyway I cheered myself up since he will be spending a month of his summer vacation in good old Jamdown.
So after the sad parting I headed to Beverley's. She is a friend of Michele's who just loves the great outdoors as much as I do and she promised to take me to Red Rocks. I had heard about it briefly as there they have is a natural amphitheatre which is built in the rocks and I had heard about some of the concerts there.
At first it appeared that we might just have to drive around as it was raining. but as Michele once told me "If you don't like the weather in Colorado, just wait fifteen minutes and it will change." That is so true for it turned out to be a wonderful, sunny day most of the time and a little overcast at other times.
I was not prepared for what I saw. It is only about twenty miles from Denver but its like you are in another world. As we drove up l saw these awesome and overwhelmingly huge rocks, all red, jutting out of the mountainside. Its as a super chiseler had gotten to work and chiseled these unbelievable formations in the rocks jutting precariously all around. In fact, many of the rock formations have names, depending on the image they naturally project. Some names are Creation Rock, Ship Rock etc and it is estimated that those rocks were formed about 296 million years ago. Humbling isn't it? Before the white man came, that area had been a favourite camping ground of the Utes.
One got a feeling of the supernatural and I even thought out loud that they must film dinosaur movies there for you could almost get the feeling that this is the type of environment that these huge creatures of old would hang out.
Luckily I have been keeping up my exercise by going to City park daily to walk and run and I cycle occasionally, so the hiking trail up and around the rocks was not all challenging. Unfortunately, the amphitheatre was closed as they were rehearsing for a concert which was to take place that evening so we could not go up there even to take in the view.
The little town of Morrison which lies below is quaint and inviting, a really lovely place to hang out in the numerous restaurants and bars, especially those by the creek.
What had started out as a sad day turned out to be a wonderful adventure and the good news came as we drove back to Denver, that is that Shadrach had arrived safely in New York.
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