We followed the Colorado River around the south side of Arches National Park, and then kept following it as we drove east in Colorado from Grand Junction. Vero slept through some spectacular canyon scenery in Colorado, and I was driving as fast as I could to make time. We were on schedule to find a motel room, have a quick shower, and show up just in time for the rehearsal dinner. However, a truck ahead of us on the highway ignored the
tippy-truck signs on the descent toward Denver. The fallen semi and the two-by-fours that it scattered across the highway closed the interstate for a while, and there was no way around the wreck. We finally got passed, only to find that the route we wanted to Golden was closed. We went over a very twisty Lookout Mountain road, with views to Denver that we would have loved if we weren't so late. We got to Boulder and couldn't find the restaurant, because 13th Street is divided into several different segments. As we drove, Vero fixed my wild hiker's hair with a bit of water.
Now half an hour late, we parked. Vero changed in the restroom at the restaurant, and I changed on the street - fortunately without getting arrested. We slid into the gathering, and enjoyed a great dinner. Then we borrowed Ben and Alex's shower at the Best Western before joining the group for dessert and toasts at the Bickman house. It turns out that Sarah's father was a colleague of my grandmother, so he shared his recollections of their meetings. After sorbet and champagne, we cruised around town looking for a place to stay. We made a booking at the Days Inn, but when we got there they were full up because it was Freshman dropoff day at the university, so they made us a booking at the Sandy Point Inne, a nice quiet place away from town. In the morning I had breakfast with a Kenyan distance runner named Luke while Vero caught up on sleep.
That's a long bit of text. The picture is of the Colorado River, with Arches to the north.
Photos Copyright Martin Benjamin and Veronica Savu
