It was certainly cold outside but when I saw Tyler come up the arrival escaltors at Denver Internation Airport, I knew that it was frosty in hell, if not freezing. The plan was to see the sights as well as generally have fun the week between my old and new jobs.
The first stop was Sonic for a Sonic burger and cherry lime-aid. So began a love affair between Tyler and the d-rate fast food chain. In the next two days, we would run through the drive-thru no less then three times.
After a night of bar trivia we decided to head West and spend a night in the mountains. Breckenridge, our destination, is approximately 70 miles west of Denver. Home to the famous ski resort, the town is 9,600 feet above sea level (that's just under two miles to you and me) and a year round tourist destination. The plan was to see the sights and have a few cocktails. After a solid lunch at the Tommyknocker Brewery in Idaho Springs we made our way up to the continental divide at Loveland Pass. There are several interesting facts about Loveland Pass: at almost 12,000 feet high, it is one of the highest places in the country you can get to by car, every drop of water that hits the divide will either travel west to the Pacific Ocean or East to the Atlantic, and the fact that people ski from the top of the pass down to the road where they hitch hike back up to the top.
As you can see from the photo, the only thing Tyler had to wear was a light weight fleece that has seen its better days. This fact would be totally understandable if he had flown in from Florida but coming from Wisconsin this madness had to end. As soon as we arrived in town we went on a mission to get a proper coat. As luck would have it, we found said jacket and even a pair of gloves and a hat in less than an hour. Our night in Breckenridge was filled with micro brews, greasy food, and chatting up the locals. With temps hovering around zero we had to haul from bar to bar and did our best to see every establishment in town. Tyler's new big boy jacket had already paid for itself.
Remember how I said that Breckenridge was nearly two miles above sea level? This fact was hit home the next morning when we both woke up in poor shape. At first, I was worse for the wear but as the morning went on it shifted to Tyler feeling more pain. The dehydration and lack of oxygen makes for nightmare hangovers especially when you spend a whole night drinking like there is no such thing as tomorrow. I believe the phrase, "...worst hangover in my life..." was dropped more than once. It was time to get out of the mountains and back to Denver where an Xbox360 and empty couch awaited our arrival. Tyler got to witness firsthand how much dropping 5,000 feet in elevation can make everything better. After lunch in Denver we both felt generally fantastic.
The good times did not end there but I'll let the photos tell the rest of the story.
Start and end of photos.
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