I’ve seen it rainin’ fire in the sky

To all the John Denver Fans out there, I have now experienced the “Raining Fire in the Sky”.

Turns out I was really close to Breckenridge when I stopped for my lunch at Wendy’s. As I poked along through the construction traffic the sky opened up with a tremendous BANG! Rain came down in a deluge, but the most amazing part was the lightening! I could see the lightning strikes hitting the mountains. 

It wasn’t like on the east coast with flashes followed by rumbles and grumbles of thunder. No this was Thor on a rampage. Lightning bolts rained down and the thunder cracked. The storm was intense. In Boston it would have had folks pulling off to the side of the road but here it was just business as usual!

The Lodge by the Blue

It was during a lull in this storm that I spotted my goal, the Lodge by the Blue. The rain didn’t let up for long, so I waited out the worst of it in my car.  Check in isn’t until 4 pm but I gave it a shot even though it was only 3:30. By now I had a mild headache which I chalked up to lack of sleep. the long drive and minimal food (except for the Wendy’s stop). It never occurred to me that I might have some mild altitude sickness. 

As I checked in my host pointed out that I was now at 10,000 feet. Another guest who lives in Colorado offered to help me with my bags as I was on the 3rd floor (no elevator) and he felt strongly that I probably was suffering from the altitude. 

Dragging those suitcases upstairs did seem awfully hard and I was out of breath by the time I got my door unlocked. I did notice my hand was shaking so I just bailed for the bed. No dinner for me tonight, just sleep.