We arrived in Denver around 4pm today after a twisting trip through Wyoming and northern Colorado.  We took I-90 west of Spearfish to Wyoming 585 which runs southeast from Sundance, WY to Four Corners, WY and then joins with US-85 that heads south to I-25.  The road from Sundance was absolutely breathtaking, mountains and high prairie, all manner of livestock on farms and ranches, but the real surprise was the herd of antelope and the occasional deer that occupied the landscape.  

 

We wrote postcards along the stretch, pausing only to use a deserted rest stop.  The trip to I-25 was a lonely patch of road, only passing a few cars between Newcastle and Lusk, and then westward to I-25.  That was my favorite section of the drive, tracing the same path as the railroad through rural Wyoming.  We passed a long empty train heading West with us, but two trains, similar in length, filled with coal heading east toward Lusk and beyond.  

 

The long descent into Denver took us through Wheatland where we stopped for lunch, and then Cheyenne where we stopped for our cheapest gas of the trip at $2.77/gal for 87.  Some of the gas stations that we’d frequented in South Dakota and Wyoming were offering 85 octane gasoline as “Regular” instead of the normal 87 octane that we’ve seen everywhere else.  We opted for the 88 “Plus” gasoline instead at these places, but I have to wonder, how is it they can dispense 85 octane and call it regular?  Most cars these days have 87 as the bare minimum for gas...

 

The station in Cheyenne that we filled the tank at was instantly familiar to me, as I’d seen it before on many cross country treks.  I-25 and I-80 intersect there in Cheyenne, and the summer after graduating from college, I’d been marooned in the Comfort Inn across the street after a freak May snowstorm closed I-80 west of Cheyenne.  We got the last two rooms in the place before all the truckers took over.  Nostalgia complete, and truly what roadtrip is complete without nostalgia, we headed south into Colorado and Denver proper.

 

The trip down the Eastern side of the Rockies is a beautiful one, and though we would have loved to have headed for Estes Park and the National Monuments there, we had no time to do so, leaving us to gaze at the clouds over the Rockies wistfully.  

 

Our friends Dennis and Lindsay had recommended a hotel in LoDo that we’d booked for a great rate and getting there was cake from the freeway.  The Jet Hotel, right in the heart of LoDo on Wazee Street is the perfect boutique hotel.  The lobby is a swank and stylish bar, the check-in desk hidden in the corner, a secret.  Our room was lovely and had a balcony that looked out over the LoDo scene from three stories up.  We met our friends in the bar and proceeded to rack up a decent tab, but not too indecent.

 

 

Okay, let me digress for just a moment.  Rachael Ray may be the hottest piece of ass on the Food Network short of Giada de Laurentiis herself, but how the hell did she miss this place as part of her $40/day tour of Denver?  Seriously.  It’s not like they weren’t in the neighborhood already.  It fits her bill for inexpensive and stylish, as well as a bit hidden in the middle of LoDo.  This is absolutely the sort of place she’d focus on, but it was conspicuously absent from her recent trip to Denver.  Did they turn her away?  Anyhow, you have the scoop now.

 

 

More than a little...hammered, we stumbled back to the Jet where we crashed contentedly.  When we woke up this morning (yes, I realize the date is set for the night prior.  Deal.), we were incredibly grateful to see Dixon’s across the street open and serving up breakfast by the platter.  It was just what we were looking for; the culinary equivalent of a swift slap and deep tongue-kiss, most necessary in light of our evening’s extra-curriculars, even if the service is a bit spotty.  

 

Oh Denver, what a great first impression!  We are soooo coming back.