I was kind of in a hurry...needed to get to my son's home in order to go out again...though when I arrived, they were not hurrying at all. And since the stretches with 2 lanes were still folks driving 70 mph, I couldn't very well take photos unless NOBODY was around me. So I took photos of none of the fabulous vistas or mountain passes that make this drive amazing...sorry.
The little sunflowers along the road were very pleasing. Here you can see the backside (northern edges) of Mesa Verde's mesa!
Another Ute Tribe is on The Southern Ute Reservation which runs along the southern border of Colorado where it hits New Mexico. Both these tribes have casinos.
Excellent burger, with all the fixings included. Onion rings were more crunchy than I was used to...perhaps coarser corn meal Good lunch! Slow to get fixed after you order it!
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Weather for Labor Day weekend has been wonderful. Mid 80s in the afternoon, but low humidity. Then into 50s at night with maybe 40% humidity. It's also the Four Corners Motorcycle rally in the area, with many in Durango. There are still a lot of bikers in Cortez too. But I found gas for $3.99 which was lower than anywhere in Durango that I've seen this week.
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Repost from August 20, 2026
Fourth floor lobby between elevators and two directions of halls.
The last door in this direction is a trash chute, for small items.
It was fun for Bing to post this photo as a screen saver the other day!
The view from my desk. I'm kind of struck each morning as the sun blasts its reflection into the windows, which can be blinding compared to the best efforts of my monitor. This was taken a few minutes after the one at dawn on Aug. 15, which I used as a header. I'll share it here too because when I change headers, it's lost from blog archives. Soon I close the vertical blinds with just a crack for fresh air to come in. The Storytime shot says "I've never met the devil (yet) but I imagine it's a pretty scary experience. but then again I guess that's the point."
Saw smokestack dawn again on Aug 17 at 7:03 am.
The 8 am train (came by around 8:25 Saturday) and I didn't bother to close the windows. I noticed when the engineer toots the whistle, it emits white smoke, but there are definitely puffs of black coming out that engine. If I start noticing anything sooty in the apartment, I'll probably change my attitude.
Yes, I'm very happy here.
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Tuesday night I woke up at 2:30 am and opened the windows...it was definitely cooler outside than in. And for the first time I stood at the window and saw the stars. I had to block the city lights below me, and there they were. Very nice indeed.
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No, I haven't made friends yet. It's coming.
I'm feeling much better health-wise too! The heat has had a break...and I hope it doesn't come back, but it (was) still August.
My gratitude goes as high as these boundless skies!
