Greetings from The Rocky Mountains

Where did we leave off?  Let’s see, I was in Emporia Kansas a few days ago and sent 3 blogs in rapid succession.  You gotta hear about my latest 2 new friends, Bob and “What’s his name” (WHN)  I’ll think of it.  I heard on the Fox news medical segment today the memory loss IS NOT a normal part of aging………So  WTFO?  I forget things like names all the time.  The Medical segment said it may be symptoms of early Altzheimers.
Where was I?  Oh yeah, my new  friends.  So I’m tooling along, you know Christine and I on what we thought was state route 24 in Colorado.  Well after awhile, you get involved in absorbing the absolutely magnificent scenery in the less populated areas of the country and with all the twists and turns of the back roads in America, it is easy to lose track of where you are, even though you know where you are supposed to be.  It’s like your weight.  You know you should be X pounds, cause that’s what you were the last time you looked.  Next thing you know, following the twists and turns of daily life and absorbing the magnificent wonders of a habitual routine, you get the feeling something is amiss and you get on the scale and…….SHAZAMM!  Now you weigh X + 10 pounds and you have no idea how you got there.  Well that is exactly what happened to me and Christine today.  We pass an intersection and aren’t paying much attention cause we are trying to avoid getting run over by big Western State type automobiles.  Pretty soon, things look….well….different.  As a matter of fact, we got to another intersection and it was two gravel roads to the left and right, and an imposing barricade in the front saying  “Road Closed”.  Well it may have well as said “Road disappeared” or “Road abducted by Aliens”, cause there was no evidence of a road ever having been there.  I thought for a minute that Christine and I had veered off to Roswell New Mexico and had stumbled upon Area 51.  Now what?
Well we had to double back, looking over our shoulder the whole time for Aliens or something, and we safely arrive at the “store”.  Every town I have been thru, and there have been a bunch, no matter how small, has a “store”.  So I go into the “store” to find out how to exit the Twilight Zone.  There were 2 gents in the far end watching the football game and jawboning.  So, bashful me strolls up to them and tells then my problem, asking the way to southbound State Route 24.  Well Charlie…..That’s his name, Charlie (I think) tells me you can’t get there from here because they did away with the road some years ago.  Bob concurs and verified that I was not in Area 51 in New Mexico, but said that being around Charlie for any length of time may make people feel that way.  (Joke on Charlie).  Charlie, tells me they had to do away with the road because they spent all the road money on the Interstate 70 that runs parallel to what used to be State Route 24 because all the folks from Denver used up the Interstate 70 too fast and the State had to spend money on it that should have been spent on old State Route 24.  So eventually, they made old 24 go away.  (So that is how it disappeared I guess)  Charlie was a great guy, but I was just wondering about him.  He may actually read this blog, but I doubt it.  He has no computer or email account.  Now if Bob reads it and tells Charlie what I’m saying about Charlie, he’s probably gonna come find me and kick my ass.  I hope Bob doesn’t tell him.  They were both such good sports.
So Bob and Charlie tell me to get on the interstate 70 and follow it to Limon. According to them, that’s where they left the remains of State Route 24, (and they actually did and I actually found  it.)  Now, Back to Charlie and Bob.  Charlie, in the midst of our conversation was mentioning his sister, older sister he says and she was just 62.  Well I’M 62 and that means Charlie is at least 9 months younger than 62 at the oldest.  Well if you look at me and Charlie in the same room, I mean standing right next to each other to be exact, it won’t take you long to figure out one of us may be lying about the age 62 thing.  Charlie was an over the road trucker, working Colorado mostly in the past and he just retired.  He’s from Pennsylvania and didn’t have much to say about the infamous Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania political fame.  Charlie apparently didn’t care much for Arlen, or Pennsylvania for that matter.  Truckers must have rough lives because Charlie looked even more road tested than me, by at least 200,000 miles.  He had no children and was never married.  I told him that was his problem, because if you have kids and eventually grand kids, they will not under any circumstances allow you to get old until they are at least 30 themselves.  Charlie accepted that fact without a retort.
Well Charlie, Bob and I chewed the fat for the next 15 minutes and I was smart enough to go get my tape recorder and get some audio of my momentous trip.  Charlie had a great story about how the town, Siebert, population 126, got its name.  I’ll save that for another blog time.  I need to send this off now.  Next blog will be about my time in Colorado Springs where I am currently spending the night in my new $40  tent from Wal Mart.  I have to tease you with something so you’ll read the next blog….stay tuned.  Drake OUT!