Tag: colorado

Onward from Denver

Conference over so we’re heading for the open road, hooray! Home for the next 4 weeks is a (small by American standards (and MJ’s)) camping van supplied by Escape Denver.

Wild Camping, Lake Albert Oregon

The drive North from Denver was a bit featureless with the mountains hidden in cloud but after leaving I25 to head across country towards Mt Rushmore we got to experience a bit of small town America with a few derelict homesteads along the route which were possibly a sad reminder of abandoned dreams, the land looked harsh for those trying to eek out a living there. However, despite the hard country the people we encountered couldn’t have been more welcoming and friendly. The weather deteriorated as the day progressed to the point of low cloud and rain at Rushmore so the iconic rock sculptures were barely in view but a brief glimpse of Washington’s profile through the mists gave a taste for what we were missing. Intending to return next morning we wild camped in forestry for the night only to awake to a snow covered wonderland and even lower cloud so never got to experience the works of art in the mountains. The night had been comfortable and made more tenable by camping with a partner – shared body heat being much appreciated! Having to get out in the middle of the night in the middle of the night to answer the calls of nature (disadvantages of aging water works!) not so great 🙂

A break in the cloud
First night camping – weren’t expecting that!
Perhaps not that long
Pretty though

Next episode – Rushmore onward.

Denver And Conferencing

Finished our visit to Mesa Verde and then a longish days drive back up to Denver where we were attending a 3 day conference.

First though, thoughts on Mesa Verde and what it tells us. As a european I know that we can be very sniffy about US history and culture but here was a reminder that there were peoples and cultures alive and well in the “New World” long before we rocked up. Mesa Verde and the associated ‘4 corners’ pueplo system had for centuries formed the core of a sophisticated agricultural based society that originated as far back as 2000 BC and was eventually stable and developed enough to allow the establishment of communities housed together in substantial structures. Part of the mystery of Mesa Verde and similar settlements is why did they people chose to move from the mesa tops down onto the cliffs, was it war or weather. Although, distinctively to european eyes, this move allowed a better defensive position the current thinking is rather that climate change bringing more extreme summers and winters forced the peoples to move into the relative cool cliff faces where, being South facing, they also benefited from the thermal gain from winter sun. I guess we’ll never know for sure as, although the local native american communities maintain a verbal history that relates them back to the early pueblo peoples they have no history of this era.

Back to modernity, Marriot Denver Tech Centre, a three day conference on ‘gaining stages’ providing advice and guidance on how to successfully establish a career in public speaking. This was driven by MJ’s ambition to become a motivational speaker as a new ‘career’ when she finishes in O&G Contracting. She has the experience, knowledge and skills to fulfill the role but needs to hone the self promotion skills and understand the required tools to reach a receptive audience. Although I felt it was to some extent a personality cult feeding the ego of they key presenters there is no doubt that there was some good advice being cascaded and that more was available if you signed up 🙂

A bit wordy today but here are a couple of Pics from the journey:

Mesa Country
On the road to Denver, beautiful Colorado.

We have now moved on through 4 seasons of weather at Mt Rushmore, Yellowstone, high desert of Idaho, down the Oregon Trail and into the Californian Redwoods so look out for more!