Prelude to Alaska

From Manitou to Steamboat Springs

May 27, 2008
by floracycle

I started my morning by finding this cool little coffe shop The Mate' Factor which happens to be next door to the Mariner from the night before.  Fortunately the hula hoop bandits were no where in sight.

I sat down, had breakfast, fired up my PC and caught up on work.  Now this is what I call a corner office with view.

Here I caught up on emails and documenting my journey from the days before.  Since the location was good and it was heavy overcast I opted not to go up on Pikes Peak. I couldn't see paying $10 to drive up in a cloud (fog) so I settled in my little office with a cup of hot red chai. 

I got a late start thanks to my hard morning of labor.  The road out of Manitou was nice and twisty but it slowly gave way to high plains desert.  It wasn't long before the bike and me were ready for a fill up.  I stopped in Florissant at the Thunderbird Inn for a burger as advised by the attendant at the gas station.  She was right on target. 

I took some pictures on my phone of the interior but forgot to bring a patch USB cord.  I'll resolve that later.  I did try to be discreet I didn't really worry about HH bandits but the locals in here were a little tougher.  One rather boisterous fellow at the bar was declaring war on porcupines after his mule encountered one.  I could tell you the whole ordeal right down to the amount of medication required to settle the beast.  Perhaps over a number of drinks sometime.

The rest of the drive was great.  I've tried to watch out for critters large and small.  It could be a large problem if you run into a bear or elk.  So far the only thing I've come close to was a calf loose on the side of the road.  I slowed down, the calf turned, I honked my horn, he spun around, I passed him, then he darted in front of the dually behind me.  They had already slowed down after watching the calf and me do our little dance. As I drove on I looked in my mirror to see the dually pulling over.  Hopefully they were able to collect it and return it back to its mother. I arrived in Steamboat around 5pm and settled on the Rabbit Ears Motel.  I was delighted to hear the price with a balcony overlooking the scenic Yampa River.  When I got to my room I was more delighted to see Kayakers surfing the rapids just off my balcony.

After dinner I settled down for the evening getting my dose of Steven Colbert.  If you havn't watched him you should give it a chance. Don't just watch 5 minutes and form and opinion you need to watch two or three shows to get his angle, nation, moving on.

Anyway I've slipped into something more comfortable with my private balcony door open listening to The Colbert Report when out of the corner of my eye I see something moving in the drapes to the balcony.  To say I was starteled would be an overstatement.  Just then it appeared teeth flashing, eyes glaring as crept toward me. 

Wait a minute, how did a poodle get on my private balcony?!?

Apparently the divider between balconies has just enough space to allow him/her to slip under.  It wasn't long until his concerned owner was calling for the dog.  I am sure he thought his beloved had fell into the rapids below.  I let him off the hook and let him know what was going on.  He called his dog back, apologizing profusely.  I've got dogs at home no problem.