West - Day Nineteen - July 11, 2005

Today, I got up early and hit the road - a big day of driving (393 miles). I ended up driving through the middle of the state to Rocky Mountain NP and beyond to Loveland for the evening. The route took me up Routes 17, 285 and 24 to I-70 briefly, and then up Route 40 to 34 through the park. Much of the drive was up in high elevation and was gorgeous all along the way. Crystal clear blue skies, green mountains with snowcapped peaks, little traffic. In Rocky Mountain NP, the road goes up to an elevation of 12,183 feet through the tundra landscape - spectacular! So much for avoiding Pike's Peak. Along the way, I listened to a book on tape - "The World is Flat" by Thomas Friedman. Interesting commentary on the current state of the world.