Yesterday, Martha and I drove the Honda CR-V into the mountains, dealing with expected traffic on the way to Vail, CO. Even on a weekday as this was, traffic was heavy. Just way too many people in the Front Range of Colorado.
We were going for a lunch meet up with Martha's God-Mother and some of her kids and grandkids.
We got there a bit early (took about two hours driving time) on clear roads under partly cloudy skies. So we decided after some wandering around that we'd check out the nearby Ski Museum.
The museum is basically two museums in one small building. The side which displayed ski equipment through the years and Olympic ski memorabilia was "yawn, OK".
The other half of the museum is dedicated to the 10th Mountain Division of the US Army during WWII. It was veterans from this division that would return to Vail and basically start the US Ski Industry.
Nice museum, with a very well done film detailing the origins of the division, the training at Camp Hale in the mountains of Colorado, their fighting in Italy and later their return and work to start the US Ski industry. If you're in Vail, this is something to see and it doesn't take a lot of time away from the slopes if you're skiing.
Some of the stuff that caught my eye:
So, we met up with the folks we were there to meet and lunched near their lodgings. Pricey food, crowded conditions but very good company it turned out.
We spent about two hours over food and conversation, Martha and I rekindled our relationship with her God-Mother and daughter. We met extended family, grandkids who were all adults now. A good time was had by all, even me with my anti-social tendencies.
The day had gone so well, there would be a price to pay of course.
We left a bit before 5PM in darkening conditions under now overcast skies. Martha saw that google maps was warning of a slowdown enroute back to the cesspool that is the Metro Denver area. It was at first a 49 minute delay and it swiftly became a much longer delay.
Interstate 70 eastbound was jammed up from just west of Georgetown I believe to Floyd Hill area before things cleared up. We would creep along a few feet, wait for minutes, then creep along some more. It was tedious and reminded us that it is now a mistake to go into the mountains anymore.
Not sure why there was so much traffic on a weekday, the only thing we could figure was that some school districts were still on holiday and families were taking in one more ski day trip in the mountains.
Whatever it was, it also served as impetus to ready the VRRV for travels south.
I picked up the VRRV from storage and will prep it for travel over next couple of day. We're supposed to have some light snow tonight and Sunday, so my escape window could be as early as Saturday, Sunday for sure.
2 comments:
I have ridden US 24 three times and have not stopped at Camp Hale, but have not. I need to make sure I do next time and visit the ski museum. I love the military history stuff. Good luck getting out of Denver!
Or just pull off in some random town and look for a room. It might be preferred to sitting in traffic.
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