May 18 – Blackhawk, Colorado

         An angry traveler several rooms down from us duked it out with the manager in the corridor about their barking dog. The language was quite colorful and very loud. It began about 4:30am and carried on for an hour. Our restful stress-free not-in-a-hurry laid back pace was thus interrupted by this heated exchange. Not a pleasant experience, but best of all, Chewy remained quiet and seemed to be listening too.

Chewy loved looking at the dog in the mirror

         In spite of a chilly morning, strolling about the neighborhood yesterday evening motivated us to do the same this day. Wide-awake from the confrontation in the hall, we walked into the Ellis neighborhoods once again. It was a delightful morning and the sunrise especially worth the early rise.

         There was practically no traffic all the way to Blackhawk, even getting through Denver was a breeze. Potty and rest stops, lunch at the IHOP in Limon (highly recommend it -- on North side at Exit 359), and a brief time of getting lost (be mindful when you are trying to follow Hwy 58 signs off of I-70), made our time to the mountains swift and easy.

        The mountaintops are covered thoroughly with the most beautiful white snow we have ever seen. In spite of an 82 degrees in Denver, and a delightful 72 in Blackhawk, we are getting prepared mentally for colder temperatures and snow in and above Estes Park for sure. We shall see.

        The Isle of Capri is excellent. Large room, no smoking everywhere, even in the casino. Chewy loves his new setting and since the hotel “pet area” is a chained off 10x10 square foot space inside the parking garage, we walk him to a patch of green outside the hotel; each time he knows what to do, and all goes well.

         I am exhausted and go to bed early while Debbie wins and then loses back part of it in the casino; in the end, we win more than we lose and have fun in the process.