Travels

After biking I packed up my day pack and headed up towards Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) to climb Long's Peak tomorrow. I drove CO-119 through Central City which I was surprised to find is full of casinos all tucked into a narrow valley. I guess this is where Denver people go to gamble. I continued on 119 towards Boulder. The drive through Boulder Canyon was pretty cool. I can see why this area is such a rock climbing mecca. There were an endless assortment of walls and other great climbing rock. I stopped in Boulder for dinner. I'd never been to Boulder before and wanted to check it out. The city center was nice with lots of shops and restaurants. It felt a little like Berkeley, but the city center was a bit nicer. The homeless people seemed more like the "I flunked out of school and wanted to stay here" homeless people than the "I'm crazy" homeless people you find on Telegraph Avenue. Some of the residential neighborhoods I drove through were nice and cozy as well. After Boulder I headed for RMNP arriving at the trailhead around 11pm. Despite signs saying "No Camping in Parking Lot - Strictly Enforced" I slept in my car. My plan was to get up around 3am to begin hiking.