Early Morning Commute

, 5:20 am at the Park and Ride where I catch the bus to Denver. This is the Raleigh Touring 14 that I ride. I bought it back in the 80's and it's been with me ever since, all over the US. This morning it was 43 degrees with a clear pre-dawn sky filled with stars. My bike light started to dim out on me so I was playing dodge the new road construction signs. No impact, good to go.

Travels Through Forgotten Landscapes

Going through my photo archive I've come across specific pictures that reminded me of landscapes that I once traveled through. Places that were distinct because of their remote quality.

The Roadtrip to Owl Farm

My friend James was being relocated by his company to the Detroit area, so as a farewell tour we decided to make the pilgrimage to Aspen to see Hunter Thompson's home. I have been a big fan of Hunter's since the 70's and was always fascinated about where he lived and did his work. James I'm sure has just about everything that Hunter's ever published so driving to Woody Creek and back in one day made perfect sense to us.
We heading out of Denver on a July day to make the run to Aspen, get some lunch at the Woody Creek Tavern and search out Hunter's house. Armed with the latest GPS technology and advice on where the house was from friends and Internet searches we finally located the Woody Creek Tavern after a few minor directional errors. Ordered some food and took in the sights of the tavern's interior. Total overload of Hunter stuff and local memorabilia. Great visual chaos. Waitress said she had no idea where Hunter's house was so we headed out again and found it within minutes. Crazed lamas on the other side of the road as we pulled up. All we wanted were a couple of photographs of the entrance so we got those, hung out for a few to take in the area and than headed back out. I can see why he loved it there. A bit off the radar but within striking distance of everything he needed. Definitely worth the trip.
The trip reminded me of when I went to see Ernest Hemingway's house in Ketchum, Idaho back in the 1990's. Looking down the long driveway to get a glimpse of it.

After finding the property we got as far as the driveway on the main road and took some pictures.

Here's a closeup of the Vulture sculptures that top the two telephone pole pillars that flank the entrance to Hunter's property.
Once we got back on the road we made it about 20 miles down I-70 and hit a massive traffic jam. On this highway since it's the only one trough the mountains in the area it means a dead stop. We made three miles in one hour. After that it opened up with no visible reason for the hold up except for workers sweeping up a section at the end of their workday. 583 Miles, round trip in a day.