July, 2010
Dear Helen and Mike,
We are in Colorado for our vacation, and saw the great Christo “Over the River” exhibit today. Or should I say, we survived the exhibit. We got to Canon City this morning, but it took 8 hours to get to Salida, what with all the cars trying to get up the canyon. The temperatures were in the 90’s, and there were so many cars that either ran out of gas or just overheated, they had to be pushed off the highway. No one told us to have food, water and extra gas with us, so when we got to Salida, we were starved and on empty. And, of course, there were no motel rooms in this beautiful little mountain town since they have been inundated with people who came to see Christo’s project. It was difficult to get any supplies – I guess they rerouted all the commercial trucks around this area, so there is little food here. We had hoped to go rafting, or maybe do some fly-fishing on this scenic river, but the masses of cars prevented either. Didn’t see any of the Bighorn Sheep, for which the canyon is named – I guess they all left because of the 2 years of construction for the project. No eagles, deer, elk or other wildlife, either. Oh well, the fabric was a sight to behold – when I dared to take my eyes off the road. We saw 3 major accidents, which held up traffic for hours, and I’m sure you heard about the wildfire – it burned the entire town of Howard. Colorado is the last place I would come back to – too many people, trash, no wildlife and just a lot of bad memories.
CY - Canon City