Denver

We reached a very cold Denver on Sunday night. After an interesting cab ride to our hotel (our cabbie was Algerian and loved football, above all his hero and countryman Zinedine Zidane) we checked in and got some well deserved rest after a 14-hr train ride from SLC. The next day we eventually managed to find a hostel that was open and checked in. Denver is a pretty cool place (literally!) with loads of skyscrapers, and a handy free electric bus that cruises up and down the main shopping mall all day. The 13th step of the State Capitol building is exactly one mile above sea level, which explains the temperatures there. After yet another hamburger meal that night (it's pretty hard to eat healthy round here!) we got back to our hostel. There I met Blue, an aussie backpacker on the final part of his US roadtrip (hey Blue if you're reading this!) The next day, Blue took me and Clare out for a mini road-trip to Boulder. Boulder is a great, laid-back place, but the best thing was that the VERY FIRST snow of the season started falling as we looked out a coffee shop window. We carried on in the snow to Estes Park (please note at this point, that Blue had only seen snow for the first time in his 29 years a day or so ago, and had obviously never driven in it) where we found the Stanley Hotel, a big spooky looking hotel that was the inspiration for Stephen King's The Shining. After a tasty lunch there we headed towards the Rocky Mountain National Park through the mountains in a roundabout way back to Denver. The snow started to come down very heavily making Blue's first driving experience very tricky indeed (his 2 wheel drive van somewhat inadequate for the driving conditions!). After 3 slight 'detours' off the road we make it back to Denver in one piece (3 1/2 hours to drive 35 miles, steady now!). We checked in to our motel after saying our goodbyes to Blue for a very short night's sleep. The next day we were up at 5AM to take the bus, then train, to New Mexico where we are now. Photos from Denver to follow.....