August 6, 2011

Blogging from a McDonald's in Charles City, Iowa.

We're almost home, having left Denver yesterday at 10:30 p.m. Mountain Time. We drove through the night, smoothly taking turns driving and sleeping.

I put up that "Airplane Sunset Café" last night to give readers a place talk while we were off line and on the road. I didn't think I was revealing anything about where we were, but FedkaTheConvict showed up and said:
KAPA Centennial Airport, about 20 miles southeast of Denver. I've flown into that airport countless times and the view is unmistakeable.
Ha. And here I was trying to hide that we were away. But we're almost home now, and I'll have some Colorado pictures soon. I mean, I've already posted some, closeups of flowers, and no one went all FedkaTheConvict on me and said Betty Ford Alpine Gardens, Vail, Colorado. The view is unmistakeable.

Here's one mountain pic, the view from above Beaver Creek:

P1010825

UPDATE: Home!

34 comments:

mesquito said...

Ahhhhhhh.

Monday morning, 0500 hours, I appear at work for a few hours to get the week going. Then I mount up and start driving north and west to get the hell out of Texas to find some cool and some green.

I've got six days.

The Dude said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
victoria said...

I love Beaver Creek. One of the best places in the world to ski.

Pretty too


Vicki from Pasadena

michaele said...

This little sequence has been sweet. You can't hide things from observant family members.

YoungHegelian said...

I gotta give props to McDonalds -- they often provide superbly functioning wi-fi in the strangest of places.

Not a corporation I generally do much business with, but between them and Panera, they're good places to find functional wi-fi.

FedkaTheConvict said...

Hmmm...its always startling when I see my handle in posts. The airport looked familiar to me since I'd flown there several times and became familiar with the taxiways and scenery. So I pulled out my Jepp Charts and sure enough it was KAPA.

Sorry to blow your cover.

Sal said...

I suppose there isn't enough time to run over and steal Meade's cucumbers before they get home.

Chip Ahoy said...

This looks similar to your Bachelor Gulch photo taken on your moon of honey.

MadisonMan said...

You couldn't find a Culvers to blog from?

edutcher said...

Magnificent view, Madame. Something to remind us on this weekend that we still live in a magnificent country.

And we won't say anything about Beaver Creek.

But I did guess you might be headed back to CO.

So do I win the pool?

If there was one?

PS Glad you took a little anniversary trip. You've earned it through your mighty labors this year.

ndspinelli said...

You must be very dedicated to stop in a McDonalds to post. I just always pull up near a motel when I need wireless.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

First lady's overture rebuffed by Althouse's visit to McDonald's ;)

Anonymous said...

Ah, yes! Centennial.

We had the picture over to our American Airlines pilot friend, and were google mapping all the airports we could think of, and couldn't come up with it.

I too have been to Centennial a bunch of times. We used to live in Highlands Ranch, just south of Denver.

CachorroQuente said...

Charles City was one of the overnight stop cities for the 2010 RAGBRAI. About 10,000 visitors to a town of less than 8000 for one night only. My brother the engineer says, "they can't do that! They don't have the infrastructure." Well, the portable infrastructure traveled across Iowa with the bicyclists.

We had dinner that evening at a wonderful small Mexican restaurant called Mexican Plaza. Considering where in the world we were, it was pretty damned good Mexican food. And cheap, too. Their mole is flavorful and authentic -- as good as you'll find most anywhere. My sister had carne asada and pronounced it superb. I sampled it and it was very good and tasty though I am certainly not the carne asada expert that my sister claims to be.

Having experienced a couple days of small Iowa towns coping with 10,000 people all wanting dinner at the same time, we were sufficiently clever to head on over to the restaurant as early as possible and when we got there the wait was quite short. By the time we finished dinner, the wait was probably two hours or more. The staff seemed to handle it well.

So, if you ever end up in Charles City again, skip McDonald's -- you won't be disappointed.

Crimso said...

I was in Telluride for a week last month. Now there's a place that has to be part of the Matrix. Can't believe a place that looks like that really exists.

Fred4Pres said...

I like cloud pictures like that.

Anonymous said...

The fish sandwich is pretty good, try it.

MadisonMan said...

Welcome back to Madison. It's a little sticky out now, but next week is supposed to be delightful.

Ambrose said...

Did you get a toy or some apple slices with your Happy Meal?

DADvocate said...

...smoothly taking turns driving and sleeping.

It's very important to take turns smoothly. Taking turns in a herky jerky fashion just doesn't work at all.

Anonymous said...

Beaver Creek looks as though it has been clear cut. Do not tell ironrailsironweights.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!


Peter

Ann Althouse said...

"You must be very dedicated to stop in a McDonalds to post. I just always pull up near a motel when I need wireless."

It's a good bet if you want a bathroom, some food, and free WiFi.

Carol_Herman said...

Was the trip an anniversary present?

Didn't the two of you marry on a hill? Wisconsin doesn't have them.

(It takes a married couple to stop at McDonald's though.) Gone are the days when you looked for a bottle of wine. A loaf of bread. And, thou.

Glad you're home. When you're happy that's what you celebrate. And, all good roads lead to home.

mariner said...

Nice work, Fedka.

You never know what kind of knowledge or expertise may be found here.

ricpic said...

I've often traveled Colorado east and west on I-70. I can't imagine living anywhere between Vail and Denver. Silverthorne, for example. If you want to go east you have to climb that humongous upgrade to the Eisenhower tunnel and if you want to go west you have to climb up to the Vail pass and then careen down that horrendous downgrade to Vail. Takes a special breed.

Fred4Pres said...

You can get an ice tea for a $1 at McDonalds. And their coffee is okay if you need a shot.

Chuck66 said...

I've eaten at the McDonalds in Charles City. And stayed at the Super 8 there. Did you know that every Super 8 in Iowa is owned by an Indian named "Patel"?

james conrad said...

Hey Kidz, WELCOME HOME! Did you enjoy your trip?

Aridog said...

Victoria said...

I love Beaver Creek. One of the best places in the world to ski.

And ... the home of the "Birds of Pray" alpine downhill course, a world cup level course that tests both the technical and gliding skills of any racer. Awesome.

Tank said...

Nice pic.

For those who have never been out west in WY or CO, it's impossible to explain how beautiful it is.

The sky goes on forever. Ya can't really understand this unti you're sitting on a horse on top of a mountain out in the middle of nowhere Wyoming. Good times.

Meade said...

MarkG said...
"I suppose there isn't enough time to run over and steal Meade's cucumbers before they get home."

Take my cucumbers. Please take my cucumbers.

Fred4Pres said...

Sixty Grit said...
Beaver Creek looks as though it has been clear cut. Do not tell ironrailsironweights.

8/6/11 3:25 PM



With the exception of those preserved a few preserved groves in National and State Parks and a few very remote areas, virtually everywhere has been clear cut at least once. And even in places like Yellowstone, there is no "old growth", the trees get wiped out by periodic fires and other events not manmade. They grow back.

Gretchen said...

The kids and I spent the weekend of July 4th in Breckenridge. My kids were amazed by the mountain views and loved the mountain goats we encountered nearby. They'd only been in mountains once before, in Yellowstone- though the oldest was born in Utah, she doesn't remember the view of the Wasatch from our kitchen and her bedroom.

The only bummer of the trip was being stuck on I-70 for a few hours due to an overturned fruit truck near Lookout Mountain. Missed our flight back to Wisconsin, but have a weird story to tell.

SJL said...

What a beautiful pic! Here in PA, it is so humid, no picture would be good.