The 'hound to Denver was the longest yet. 26 hours of interstate cruising. Nice. On arrival our heads were filled with plans of a quiet afternoon, followed by a bike rental and cycle to the mountains before we had to whizz off again to Idaho Falls. To be honest, we only ever saw Denver as a quick rest stop to take in some views and break up the long journey east to west. We didn't think we had time for anything more here. That was until we wandered past a car hire office on the way to our hostel and worked out that a days CAR rental wasn't all that much more than a bike...
After some brief research we decided a walk to Enterprise rent-a-car for a quick Q and A could do us no harm. This is where things once again get silly. On the way we stopped at a corner shop where Stu bought a scratchcard... and proceeded to win ten dollars! We then randomly passed a fundraiser for the Denver Broncos NFL team, complete with cheerleaders, ex players and Superbowl trophies!! We picked up some free souvenirs for ourselves, and we also managed to get something for our respective dads (which may or may not involve two of the fittest cheerleaders - by this afternoon there will be a package in the post boys!!). Part of the stuff we picked up was a booklet of discount vouchers, one of which was $10 off at the Broncos team store at the stadium. This was in walking distance. An hour later we were both kitted out with Denver Broncos woolly hats, which turned out to be very useful indeed. We should also mention that around this juncture the fundraiser must have finished. The cheerleaders I spoke off drove past us beeping horns and waving. We had clearly made an impression! That evening we went to a 'Wine library' Jazz bar and ate sumptuous pizza listening to smooth live jazz. (We also got free Sodas because we had to wait at least 5 minutes listening to the jazz before we got served!) This would normally be a highlight but to top it all off we found out...
we could indeed afford a rental car for a day. So much for a cycle ride. How about we drive into the Rocky Mountains National Park and climb to 11,500ft?! No acclimatization, only the aforementioned woolly hats in addition to our standard kit, and the advice of a friendly park ranger later we nearly summited flat-top mountain. We would have made it to the summit itself if we hadn't got stuck in snow drifts that we fell into our waists in and lost the trail due to the snow fall. We were disappointed, but then a couple came down to us wearing literally all the gear including snow shoes and walking poles saying that they couldn't make it to the top themselves. We prob did well to make it as high as that, they were certainly shocked we were still alive. 
We motored back into Denver along what must be one of the greatest driving roads in the world, curling its way through the mountains. The only slight problems we faced involved Stu deciding he still wanted to drive on the left hand side at a major intersection, and me nearly creaming a cyclist off the road whilst trying to figure out how the cruise control worked (which we didn't use). America is indeed built for the car and we loved it, I even used a drive through ATM... genius. I can't sum up how awesome the day was, or indeed the majesty of the mountains. A video will follow shortly which we hope will give you some idea, but Denver has been nigh on epic.
After some brief research we decided a walk to Enterprise rent-a-car for a quick Q and A could do us no harm. This is where things once again get silly. On the way we stopped at a corner shop where Stu bought a scratchcard... and proceeded to win ten dollars! We then randomly passed a fundraiser for the Denver Broncos NFL team, complete with cheerleaders, ex players and Superbowl trophies!! We picked up some free souvenirs for ourselves, and we also managed to get something for our respective dads (which may or may not involve two of the fittest cheerleaders - by this afternoon there will be a package in the post boys!!). Part of the stuff we picked up was a booklet of discount vouchers, one of which was $10 off at the Broncos team store at the stadium. This was in walking distance. An hour later we were both kitted out with Denver Broncos woolly hats, which turned out to be very useful indeed. We should also mention that around this juncture the fundraiser must have finished. The cheerleaders I spoke off drove past us beeping horns and waving. We had clearly made an impression! That evening we went to a 'Wine library' Jazz bar and ate sumptuous pizza listening to smooth live jazz. (We also got free Sodas because we had to wait at least 5 minutes listening to the jazz before we got served!) This would normally be a highlight but to top it all off we found out...
we could indeed afford a rental car for a day. So much for a cycle ride. How about we drive into the Rocky Mountains National Park and climb to 11,500ft?! No acclimatization, only the aforementioned woolly hats in addition to our standard kit, and the advice of a friendly park ranger later we nearly summited flat-top mountain. We would have made it to the summit itself if we hadn't got stuck in snow drifts that we fell into our waists in and lost the trail due to the snow fall. We were disappointed, but then a couple came down to us wearing literally all the gear including snow shoes and walking poles saying that they couldn't make it to the top themselves. We prob did well to make it as high as that, they were certainly shocked we were still alive. 
We motored back into Denver along what must be one of the greatest driving roads in the world, curling its way through the mountains. The only slight problems we faced involved Stu deciding he still wanted to drive on the left hand side at a major intersection, and me nearly creaming a cyclist off the road whilst trying to figure out how the cruise control worked (which we didn't use). America is indeed built for the car and we loved it, I even used a drive through ATM... genius. I can't sum up how awesome the day was, or indeed the majesty of the mountains. A video will follow shortly which we hope will give you some idea, but Denver has been nigh on epic.
Do you remember, when you were a little boy Steve, you had to listen to John Denver singing 'Rocky Mountain High'quite a lot. I'm playing it again now. The Colarado Rocky Mountains look as perfect as the song tells us they are. Absolutely wonderful. What an awesome place to be. I'm with you in spirit. Carry on enjoying every minute.
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