Odyssey Pilot Hours–Around Town

While living in Erie, Colorado and flying at Odyssey Pilot Hours (OPH), I flew from dawn until early afternoon nearly every day. The rest of the time, I was free to do whatever I wanted. On some days, I went exploring.

View of the Rocky Mountains from the neighborhood

Tuesday, July 22

On Tuesday, I asked around for good hiking trails in the area. One person suggested Boulder Falls, but when I looked it up, I discovered that it was closed due to a rockslide. Someone else suggested the Royal Arch Trail at Chautauqua Park, in Boulder. That looked promising, so I filled my Camelback with water and headed to Boulder.

When I arrived, I couldn't find a trail map. I saw a bunch of kids coming down the trail with their adult chaperones, so I asked one of the adults how she liked the trail. She said that it was nice. So, that's the trail I chose. After hiking for only a few minutes, I began to feel the effects of being at 5,500 feet above sea level. My legs were fine, but I was struggling to breath. I told myself that it was not because I'm so out of shape; it's the thin air.

The trail split several times, so I took pictures of where I'd been to be sure I could find my way back. Soon, I ran into a guy who was going the same direction, and we started talking. He moved to Colorado decades ago and has loved it ever since. We walked along a mesa trail together for about a mile, then I turned around and headed back the way we had come.

David on a trail near Chautauqua Park, Boulder

Back at the car, I thought about what else I'd like to do. I decided to go tour the University of Colorado, which is also in Boulder. I found a parking lot that wasn't too expensive, then started walking. I found a campus map, then headed for the stadium. All the gates were closed, but I found a spot with a pretty good view.

Home of the Colorado Buffaloes

Then I continued through the older part of campus. The buildings were very old, and several were in the process of being restored. I walked past a small pond, then headed for the student union.

The student union was nice and reminded me of nearly every other student union I've ever visited. One of the banquet rooms was being set up for an event. There were two people sitting at a table outside the room and I stopped to talk to them. I mentioned that my son goes to UCF and the girl said that she was from Florida. We talked a bit about how the football game was almost cancelled due to a hurricane that passed through the area during the week leading up to the game.

Student union at CU

My next goal was to find a view of the Flatiron mountains from somewhere on campus. It didn't take long to find it. I sent the picture below to Andrew, saying something like, "UCF campus is nice, but it doesn't have mountain views!"

Flatiron Mountains from CU

Thursday, July 24

On Thursday, I returned to Chautauqua Park. I wanted to find the Royal Arch Trail. This time, I went to the proper park entrance and found not only a trail map, but also a guide. I told him that I was told that I must do the Royal Arch Trail. He told me that it was nice, but it was the hardest trail. He suggested the Flatiron Trail. I thought it wise to take his advice.

From the park, the trail rises very rapidly about 1,500 feet vertically. Needless to say, I stopped several times during this section, to take pictures <cough><cough> of course. I eventually came to a decision point, where one trail was easy and the other was medium. I told myself to suck it up and take the medium trail, so that's what I did. While coming around a bend in the trail, I saw a nearly vertical cliff rising above me. And to my surprise, there were people climbing it! Nope, that's not for me.

Climbers near the Flatiron Trail

On my way back to the condo, I decided to stop in downtown Erie. It is a very small town with some mining history, but it is growing rapidly. On this evening, they were setting up for a street fair. Vendors were busy setting up tents and putting out their wares. I like it when towns show their civic pride and hold events out in the streets.

Sunday, July 27

On Sunday, I decided that I wanted to drive into the mountains. I routed a trip that went to Estes Park and came back down a different route. I asked my house mate Daniel if he wanted to come along. He said yes. The route started in Longmont, went west to Lyons, took US-36 to Estes Park, then took CO-7 back to Lyons.

It seems like July 27 is event day in Colorado, or maybe it is like that every weekend. In Lyons, there were cars and people everywhere. A lot of them were carrying innertubes and floating on the river. Then in Estes Park, the sidewalks were overflowing with people. It was chaos, but it looked like a lot of fun. Then something absolutely crazy happened. We were leaving Estes Park - just a mile out of town - when we came across a female elk standing right beside the road! The hustle and bustle didn't seem to affect her at all.

The drive down CO-7 was amazing. The road follows the path of the Little Thompson River as it winds its way through a narrow canyon with steep walls. We stopped in several places to take pictures and to touch the water. I nearly fell in as I jumped onto a rock to take some low angle pictures.

Little Thompson River

Tuesday, July 29

On Tuesday, the weather was not conducive to flying, so I took the opportunity to ride the Denver RTD train. With Andrew coming on Thursday, I wanted to ride the train and avoid the traffic and parking issues at the Denver airport. I thought it would be good to ride the route ahead of time so that I'd know what to expect when he arrived. I asked Daniel if he'd like to join me and he said yes.

Our first stop was in Eastgate. Eastgate is the stop that is closest to Erie. From there, we rode south into downtown Denver. The end of the line is Union Station. We got off the train and looked around Union Station while we waited for the next train to the airport. This is a stop on Amtrak's California Zephyr route, which we chased around Granby and Winter Park the last time I was in Colorado.

Union Station in Denver

We boarded the next train to the airport, sat back, and enjoyed the ride. Once at the airport, we walked around for a while, then boarded the next train back to Union Station. Just to mix things up a bit, I decided to get off the train at the Peoria station and ride a different train to Aurora. I was hoping Aurora would be nice, but it wasn't all that special. We got off that train and caught the next train back to Denver.

The next train took us to deeper into downtown. From here, we walked past the famous 16th Street Mall. We were in a bit of a hurry, so we didn't have time to explore it. From the street, I couldn't see why it was so popular. Back at Union Station, we caught the next train to Eastlake. On the way out of town, we passed by Coors Field and a BNSF rail yard. I miss seeing those big, beautiful "pumpkin" locomotives.

BNSF rail yard in Denver

After hearing so many stories about how bad Colorado has become after legalizing marijuana, I have to say that I didn't smell it at all the entire time I was there. Also, I left Denver feeling like it is a small city, trapped inside a huge metropolitan area. Most of the buildings in downtown are old and less than six stories tall. Finally, I noticed walking paths everywhere. During most of the train ride, there was at least one paved path visible. Colorado takes outdoor living seriously. This is something I wish more cities would do.