Granby

More from Jo now. Yesterday we sampled beer at the Great Divide brew pub and took a romantic horse and cart side around down town Denver. For company we had Heather, a beautiful Clydesdale, an Afghanistan vet from the 82nd airborne and Heather's driver. Today we boarded the Zephyr for the short but spectacular ride to Granby. The conductor who recons he has the best office in the world, and who could disagree, says it gets even better! For now we're content in Granby. Our stomachs are full of fluffy pancakes, syrup and bacon, Ju is loving the coffee and Granby is surrounded by hills and snow topped mountains. The sky is an intense blue and the air is so so clear. We're about eight thousand feet up and have crossed the continental divide. We're feeling very lucky.

Yesterday was an amazing day. We saw glaciers and snow covered mountains, all sorts of animals and scenery that left us speechless. Our guide was knowledgeable, informative and made us feel like a friend was showing us round. I have to list all the animals we saw, even if that is ott: Loads of elk Mule deer A red tailed hawk A nut cracker which belongs to the jay family A pine squirrel Chipmunks And a family of busy beavers. It was a truly wonderful day. This morning we finally feel the jet lag has gone and while we were sad te leave the beauty of Estes Park behind, more adventures await. We're in Denver now at the Magnolia Hotel right in down town. It's a smart hotel. I know Julian had got a good deal but as we walked up to the room, I commented that it would be either a broom cupboard or a palace. Definitely option B. I hadn't realised it was a suite. I feel like I'm in the lap of luxury.

On the Trail Ridge Road

This was at 9500 feet this morning.

Elk!

We just went for a wander before sunset and found a whole herd of them. We were asked, very politely, by the park ranger to keep our distance. She was really nice and happy to chat about them.

We Love America

Where else could you have French toast stuffed with nutella and bananas for breakfast? Julian has just had a free refill of his coffee so he's also in seventh heaven.

From Boulder, we caught the "Estes Park Shuttle" to, er, Estes Park. It was a journey of about 35 miles, the last 20 of which was up 2,500 feet- it was really spectacular stuff. The pics don't quite do justice to the beauty of the place.

The Haber Motel is absolutely fantastic. It's really new and high-spec. The owners very kindly let us check in early.

To give you a flavour of Estes Park, this is a view from the Safeway car park, somewhat more spectacular than we're used to seeing at home:


The best pictures are on Jo's camera. We'll add these when we find a PC with an SD slot.

Estes Park is 7,600 feet up and I actually felt my ears pop on the drive up here. It's a nice small town, although something of a tourist trap. We had lunch in a local diner- nowt posh. I had a chipotle burger and fries and Jo had a very decent Reuben (pastrami and some oother stuff). We spent the afternoon wandering around, going "wow" a lot and wondering if the skittish critters that look a bit like squirrels are chipmunks.

My (Julian's) observations so far about the US are: a) it's crazy to have to wait for the lights to change before crossing. b) people have been *really* friendly and more genuine than we're used to c) the quality of coffee on offer varies quite remarkably d) the NFL replacement refs need to be replaced themselves and pronto e) spell-checkers on cafe computers should *not* underline flavour when it's spelled correctly, thank you!

Oh, and in case you were wondering, we saw four Elk (all female) today, merrily making their way to wherever it is they go to. So, to the person who said I'd get a pint for every 20 Elk, be afraid.

Coffee and Space Weather

Having slept surprisingly well, we were up early to find some decent coffee. Little things keep reminding us we're really in the US. Yellow school busses and mountain views around every corner. Our passes at NOAA with foreign visitor in large letters too. The tour was fascinating, we got to see the space weather control room, explained by their chief scientist. We also had a demo of science on a sphere with projections of everything from weather to earthquakes from our tsunami specialist tour guide. Boulder seems a very laid back place with a book of Buddhist teachings along side the obligatory bible in our room but there are a lot more homeless people than in London. We've done lots of walking today but still feel a bit hung over. Off to Estes Park tomorrow. There'll be tears before bed time if the elk which normally come into town during the fall don't show.

The view above was taken from a cafe on Pearl St in Boulder. In the background are the Flatirons. 

Day one and 5,000 miles later

So, we made it. We got up at the ungodly hour of 0430 for an 0905 flight. We managed the eight hours to Detroit, the three hour stopover and the nearly three hours to Denver. We finally made it to our lovely hotel about 1900 local time, or 0200 in the UK.

People have been very friendly, offering contact details if we need help! It's really weird to be so far from home but everyone shares your native language. Other awesome stuff? The view over Greenland, of which we'll post pics later, and the Rockies.

Today, we're off doing fun stuff. More later!

The day before the day before

It's a relatively balmy Saturday in Saaaaaaf London. We've done our lists, lists of lists, itineraries and so on. The laundry is all done, passports located and we even know how we're getting to the airport.

The Estes Park Elk, who are so excited at us coming to see them, even moved into the office for my last day at work. Sorry to the cleaners who have to remove the smell: