Colorado/Nebraska Road Trip Report

I decided pretty much on a whim to take this trip.  I saw that there was a western Nebraska half marathon on Columbus Day weekend (State holiday) in the town of North Platte.  It's roughly 3.5 hours from Denver, which is one of my favorite cities to visit.  I wasn't expecting much in the race so this whole trip was just for fun.  Lastly, Nebraska was my only visited state that did not include a tourist attraction so I wanted to shore that up now rather than later.

Weather:
For the 3rd straight trip, this would be a major factor.  I was looking at a dry and pleasant day on Saturday (60 in Denver) with a chilly and windy rain (40F/20 mph) over the next 2 days.  For this reason, I decided to reverse the initial plan to save the mountains for after the race.  Saturday would be my best chance and I knew that a chilly rain in Denver meant snow in the mountains with possible road closures and unsafe conditions.  The only downside would be lots of driving and a late arrival before race day.  So What!  I wasn't going to set any records anyway.

Saturday:
I was up at 4 AM to catch a 6:05 flight out of Birmingham with a short connection in Dallas.  Due to an unexpected long line at Security, I got there with just a few minutes to spare but the rest of the trip was smooth and I got in at 10 AM as planned.  I ate quickly at the airport then hit the road to the mountains.  The route was I-70 W to US-40 then hopefully Trail Ridge Road before the Interstate to Nebraska.  Although I saw some pretty awesome scenery, Trail Ridge Road, which goes up to 12,000 ft. elevation was closed at the top due to snow the previous day.  Rats!  That meant I would have to take a detour and instead of getting to Nebraska at 9 PM, I would not arrive until 11.  Ouch!  I really can't fault them for closing the road.  There are not many guard rails and if you hit the ice and slide off that road, you are a goner.  Better safe than sorry.

The detour road was Hwy 14, which was a winding canyon road with a creek to my right and extremely steep rock formations to my left with occasional views of snow capped peaks in the distance.  Beautiful scenery but not so good if you are in a hurry.  Fortunately, I got to the Interstate at Fort Collins before dark and it was clear sailing to Nebraska.  Despite being up since 4, I held up okay and would get 6-7 hours of sleep that night.

Sunday:
The race was called the Autumn River Run.  It was super convenient with a start and finish at the host hotel.  All I had to do was go down 1 flight of stairs then out the door and I was at the starting line.  It was actually a pretty interesting course with highways and dirt trails partly next to corn fields and partly alongside a river.  It was nearly dead flat but the elevation of 2800 probably cost me 60-90 seconds over 13.1 miles.

Fresh off a relapse on the medical front and running with a tender ankle, I was just looking to survive with a finish under 2 hours.  I set out at a comfortable 8:40 pace and held it for 10 miles before the expected fade.  Comfortably under the barrier and running in nasty weather conditions, I just cruised it in with a 1:57:xx and didn't really care.  Another state is in the books and I still have a shot at all 50 under 2 hours.  I still need the B-complex but the Molybdenum needs to be cut out and it probably hurt me out there today.

The perception of Nebraska is that it is nothing but high plains and corn fields.  That is not accurate.  If you venture off Interstate 80, you will find a mix of flats and rolling terrain with lots of sand hills in addition to cornfields.  I stopped briefly at a lake as well as Chimney Rock but the real treasure was Scottsbluff Monument and the old Oregon Trail.  It was a beautiful rock formation with stunning views from the summit despite a bit of fog.  From there, it was back to Estes Park, Colorado for the night.  I did treat myself to a steak at a local restaurant in Cheyenne, Wyoming on the way.  If you have a goal to visit all 50 states, Scottsbluff, Nebraska and Cheyenne, Wyoming are legitimate tourist destinations within reach of Denver so that could be 3 states right there.

Monday:
I awoke to a dusting of snow and clouds which dipped below the mountain peaks.  That made for beautiful scenery at 7,000 feet but very poor visibility at 10,000.  Even if Trail Ridge was open, I would not have been able to see anything.  Instead, it was Canyon Blvd into Boulder then US-36 to Denver.

 Once I got into town, I parked my car and took a stroll down 16th St. Mall in the LoDo district plus a couple of side streets to Cherry Creek.  I purchased a nice blue Colorado sweatshirt and some Mellow Mushroom Pizza.  Fortunately, there was a free shuttle along the road so I hopped on when I need to stay warm.  Next, I went down Broadway to the Capitol area and ended up inside again at the Colorado History museum.  That was pretty interesting as well.

Finally, it was a ride on Colfax to City Park.  I did a junk run around the lake and got a decent shot of the skyline from the top of a small hill.  Darkness was coming soon so I headed back towards the airport and splurged a bit on the hotel.  The flight back home was direct this time and went off smoothly.