I Finally get John Denver

Thank you, Colorado. After the seemingly eternal, death-drive through flat-as-a-plate-of-piss, Kansas, I really needed something to restore my faith in the great American road trip. Whereas Kansas made me yearn for the sweet release offered by a debris-filled tornado or a late-night run-in with some Children of the Corn extras, Colorado re-energized my travel batteries and now stands as a potential retirement destination once the attraction of Naples humidity (and the hallucinogenic qualities of their community-wide, mosquito abatement spray) wears off. 

Prior visits to Colorado, for me, have consisted exclusively of long, anxiety-riddled sprints through the Denver airport, where the window views of majestic, snow-covered mountains are tainted by the sickeningly sweet smells of Cinnabon kiosks combined with the pungent aroma of ironically un-bathed, back-packer hipsters. I assure you, having actual boots on the ground tendered a far superior experience. It also helped that we got to spend some time with our sister, brother-in-law, and our (University of Denver attending) nephew. Good people, every damn one of them.

Thanks to a suggestion from brother-in-law, Tom, we day tripped up to Estes Park, where the real-life hotel, The Stanley, that inspired Stephen King's The Shining, is located. The Shining was the first Stephen King book I ever read, and I was far too young to accept the consequences. As a result, my sphincter still tightens a bit when I see topiary animals or smell oranges. But for the sake of tourism, I faced my fears, and we all bellied up to the hotel bar. Manhattans have a way of making everything better.

Oh, at first I didn't see him, but there he is.

We also got the chance to see our renaissance nephew, John (the Baptist), perform in a choir concert. He's a math major, so music is a natural, extra-curricular fit, but I don't know how he crams it in with his aggressive academic schedule. He obviously doesn't take after Uncle Mark in that regard.

Tom reacting to his son's latest tuition bill.

We also had a chance to pass through Boulder (sadly, no Mork & Mindy sightings) and grab a quick drink at a college bar. Great town, but in all of Boulder, we were the oldest people by at least two decades. I kept looking over my shoulder for the Logan's Run collectors to show up. Fortunately, now that Colorado has legalized recreational marijuana, they were probably still sleeping.

All in all, Colorado was a blast, and we should probably just give them Kansas to use for overflow parking.