The Rain Curse

Based on my stay here in Denver, this place is the wettest city in the US this side of Seattle. It’s been raining almost continuously since before my plane landed on Wednesday afternoon. Not only has it rained, it has also snowed in the mountains. The Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park was closed because of snow. I also saw some trace amount of snow falling at the summit of Pikes Peak.

It seems like rain follows me everywhere, whether it be Yosemite National Park, Acadia National Park, North Georgia mountains, High Point State Park in New Jersey, Seattle, Versailles, or Loire valley.

Despite the rain, on Thursday evening, I drove up to Boulder to meet Gary Farber of Amygdala. We had dinner together and then wandered about in the local mall in search of a coffee shop. We had some interesting discussions about blogging and other stuff. Gary assured me that there were mountains just next to Boulder. I am not sure I believe him since I couldn’t see a thing. There were some comic aspects of our meeting as well, but I can’t reveal all because of Gary’s threats.

I had planned my trip so that I would have Friday to wander around the nonexisting mountains close to Boulder. So I was all set to go to Rocky Mountain National Park. The Old Fall River Road doesn’t open until July, but the Trail Ridge Road was supposed to be open. Until it snowed. Changing plans at the last minute, Sister Soljah came to the rescue. She had suggested a few other places in a comment on my Denver post.

The weather forecast for Colorado Springs was good for the morning. So I headed to the Garden of the Gods. The red rock formations there were beautiful. I took a lot of pictures, a few of which will be posted later. Even though there was light rain and I got a flat tire, it was fun walking and driving in the area.

Unable to resist the attraction of the mountains, I decided to drive up to the summit of Pikes Peak. If the weather had been better, my physical conditioning much better, and I had acclimatized to the high altitude, I might have tried hiking up. But that wouldn’t have worked today. It was about 19 miles but took me almost an hour as there was some fog and the latter half of the road (called a highway) wasn’t paved. The view at the top was good even with all the clouds. It was cold though and windy. My jacket kept me warm but my hands got cold taking pictures. The drive back down was worse since the fog had increased quite a lot. But I survived driving at 10 miles per hour.

Rain again brought me back to my hotel room and the free wireless internet connection.

Photographs will be posted after I have sorted them out.

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Categorized as Travel

By Zack

Dad, gadget guy, bookworm, political animal, global nomad, cyclist, hiker, tennis player, photographer

5 comments

  1. Finding Denver near desert in the map, I was thinking, Devever would be a dry cold or hot place, but …..it is different.
    I got worried not getting touch with you because your Mama told me that you were to be back home on June 17 evening.
    About mountains behind the boulder, there are guides in our country who tell similar stories.
    Wish you the best son and a safe back-home journey.

  2. That’s odd. Because Denver is the dryest city out there. It virtually never rains. Bummer it did for you too and you getting snow in RMNP. I’m glad you enjoyed Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak though. There are some awesome mountains called the Flatirons right next to Boulder (my favorite ones to hike).

    Rain is one of the things I love about Atlanta. In Colorado we were lucky if it was once a month. But the thing is when it rains there, it really rains…it doesn’t mess around.

    PS. Rain cursed me in Loire Valley too. :-/

  3. Dad: Denver is indeed dry. All that rain during my stay there was unusual. And there really are mountains behind Boulder. I couldn’t see them because of the rain and fog.

    Sister Soljah: Thanks for the suggestions.

    Atlanta rain in the summer makes the weather worse though.

    Moiz: You sure you want rain in Karachi? Where will that rainwater go?

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