Denver...Day 1

 Me from Rico's deck...

It is about 7:30 a.m. Denver time… and I am sitting in one of the guest rooms at Rico’s house and it is beautiful… the guest room itself is beautiful, but that is not quite what I meant.  I meant here, at Rico’s house… it is beautiful.  I’m not really sure if I had a vision in my head of what Colorado looked like and had not really pictured what a ‘typical’ home out here would look like… which I suppose means that I ad no real expectations.  I, of course, have seen pictures of Denver and have heard so much about the mountains here… a friend on facebook who grew up here and had moved to my hometown in 7^th grade (And was teased mercilessly for wearing bright orange Broncos gear…)  told me to make sure I was awake for the landing because flying into Denver, with the mountains as they are …was something to behold.  The flight yesterday was about four hours and fifteen minutes… not bad considering how far from Maine I really am. From my side of the plane I felt like all I saw were plains…for miles and miles… I took some pictures on my phone and will post a couple once I get the pics from my phone onto my computer… and as we were descending I thought, “Mountains? I don’t see no stinkin’ mountains…”  But then I glanced out the windows on the opposite side of the plane and caught a very brief glimpse of what appeared to be snow covered something… When I got off the plane I rushed a bit, as Rico wanted to have the ‘perfect airport pick up’… The Denver airport is BIG…very Big… I had to get on a train to get to baggage claim??!!  Yup.  The perfect airport pick up would have happened… except I checked a bag!  Apparently this is a novice traveler move, according to Rico and his wife.  Because I am not an experienced traveler, I wanted to make sure I had everything I would need while I was here… a few pairs of jeans, a few pairs of shoes (I did not bring dress clothes, so no heels, but still wanted a few choices… sneakers for walking around, hiking shoes for getting dirty if needed, and a pair of fun sneakers for.. well fun… oh and flip flops of course… which I wore because it was way easier when going through security.)  So… It all fit into my suitcase and while I had to pay the fee for checking a bag… it was under the weight limit, which to me, was a success!  When I arrived at the airport I talked to Rico and he tried to guide me through the Denver airport, but with limited reception it was hard to understand him… Because he was here I didn’t really have to worry too much about where I was going etc., which was nice, but I also need to make sure I can do this stuff solo.  I got up yesterday, to start my Rocky Mountain adventure, at about 3:30 EST… I got to Denver around 1:30 Denver time… and it has been a lot of fun.  Rico and his wife don’t seem to get why I am confused by all of the Colorado license plates… I mean… I have never seen so many Colorado license plates in one place!  Anyway… Once I got my bag I met Rico outside the airport and it was great to see him.  It’s been just over five years since we had seen each other, when he visited me before Mom.  But I think we have seen each other once since then, in Boston… Anyway… I told him I did not believe there were mountains here… and he told me I would see them… and once we got away from the airport…WOW… they are beautiful.  I had my phone out and my camera out trying to take pictures.. which from a moving car was not easy!  But it really was beautiful.  And I must add it was warm here… ahhh… I don’t know how warm, but warm enough for me to not wear a sweatshirt for the afternoon!  We headed to Rico’s house and stopped in Castle Rock to pick up some beverages.  It was nice to see Rico in his home environment and the people we ran into were very nice.  They did of course ask how tall I was, but in a positive way, which was refreshing!  Then we came to Rico’s house and I finally got to meet his wife!  She and I have talked a couple times on the phone, but have never had the chance to meet.  She spent summers as a kid in Maine, not too far from Portland, and it was fun to talk to her about that area.  Their home is amazing.  Absolutely gorgeous.  Apparently it is Colorado style… which I suppose fits well… There is a lot of wood throughout the house, exposed beams, etc.  and on the outside there are some rock features and it has breathtaking views.  I told them that if I lived here I would be very unproductive… I would not want to leave the house.. I would sit here and just watch the sky..look at the mountains and watch the wildlife.. yesterday there were close to 10 deer laying on their lawn under a tree… the first one I saw I thought it was a statue… but eventually it got up as did the others and ran away.  They are obviously like the deer in Maine… but they were more of a grayish brown than a reddish brown like I am used to… and I just stopped typing for a moment because I looked out my bedroom window and saw a coyote in the field… I tried to get a couple of shots and think I did, but we will see… Rico says there are mountain lions here..and elk… Not sure I want to experience a mountain lion, but seeing elk would be pretty cool…

After we visited at the house for a while we ventured back towards Denver to see a rodeo!  Rico’s wife loves horses, in fact we are going to go horseback riding today… and they assure me Walter, the horse I will ride, is big and strong and will not mind carrying my BFA around… we will see.. Walter may have other ideas!  Going to the rodeo was a good experience.  I admit that while I think I am accepting and open minded about things… I also have some pretty strong stereotypes… and some of them were squashed last night… I have often thought that the rodeo scene…cowboys…if you will.. would involve a lot of rednecks…which in my mind is often related to ignorance… I still believe some of those things to be true… and also think most of the people in that culture are republicans…but… what I saw last night was hard working people…whose lives revolve around animals… and it was quite a family affair… there are kids running around in cowboy boots and cowboy hats… there are people dressed up with shiny belt buckles and I did feel a bit left out without having my own pair of cowboy boots.  It was nice to see people out, families, spending time together.  Rico and his wife had forewarned me that the little cows get thrown to the ground and that it may bother me… but since I am not a vegetarian, I should be able to see how the animals I eat are handled…I do admit it was hard to see them get roped and when the rope tightened get pulled to the ground… but… I also can see how the competition is a big part of the culture…and I do believe the animals are well cared for… the animals are so strong… so so strong… and the guys.. I think they are called the pull out guys… they pull the riders off the bucking broncos and calm the horses down after… are amazing… attractive really!  I may have a new appreciation for men in jeans and cowboy hats! 

Well I suppose that is all for this installment of my Rocky Mountain adventure… I hear other people up and about so I think I will join them.