Leg two of my trip took me to Denver. Heatwave: 80 degrees. My friend Kit (whose wedding I attended in Biarritz last year) was getting ready to graduate from law school. As I'd promised/threatened to visit them - and Kit's cousin Holly - on my next viable trip, it seemed that this was the best opportunity and though it was mainly a family gathering, I was made to feel welcome (and, after all, I had met most of the family last year!). Holly and I were drafted in to help set up the picnic in the park and by the time everyone arrived we'd comandeered some more helpful hands and the afternoon went well. Where else in the world can you get lawyers, hot-dogs and blow-up monkeys? (On second thoughts, don't answer that question). Given the weather, it was my idea to grab some water-pistols to entertain the kids. As usually happens, it was the adults that had the most fun with those!

Kit and Ariel headed off to Vegas for a few days celebration, so Holly had arranged to show me the sights, sounds, smells and skyline of Denver. She did a great job. Downtown Denver reminds me of Manchester could be like if it was clean, tidy, more welcoming and hotter. The restaurants are full or great aromas and friendly service. Come Monday and it was off to the Rocky Mountains - about an hour's drive. Holly had told me we'd be going camping, but while tents would have been an experience, I was happy to know we'd have the use of a Nash camping van. The camping ground, near Red Feather Lake was just... amazing. The landscape was breath-taking and the wildlife were out in force. ( "Ooooh, look a bear!" - "That's a chipmunk, John..." - "It's a bloody large chipmunk!" ).

At night we lit a campfire and I pretended to be a hunter / gatherer with all the mustering that a writer / ditherer could muster. Living in a city, you tend to forget how quiet the rural areas are and this was a welcome break from the traffic, smog and rat-race. It was wonderful to listen to the silence that you just don't get with the ambient noise of a city. Later, with 'Somewhere over the Rainbow...' playing quietly on the music system, the moon rising through the sky and a only-slight chill to the higher altitude weather, it was a perfect ending to a perfect day.