Originally published at These are just words. You can comment here or there.

This caught my attention:

The deputy mayor of the Indian capital Delhi died on Sunday after being attacked by a horde of wild monkeys.

Crikey - of all the ways to go! In other news, here is the second (and final) part of my Colorado Duology:

The following day, disaster struck - it was raining! I had planned to go back to the Glenwood canyon, hire a bike, and cycle the entire 18 mile length, before driving to my next hotel (in a place called Gunnison) via Aspen, but I didn’t really fancy it in the wet! I didn’t know what to do, and I remember sitting in my car in the hotel parking lot for about 30 minutes, trying to work out what I could do with myself. In the end, I headed west, more out of hope than expectation! I had originally planned to drive to Grand Junction, to see what the place was like. However, when I got there, the rain had cleared a little, and although there were heavy clouds in the east, I could see a smattering of blue sky in the west. I ate at a McDonalds (this type of food became quite a regular experience in the latter part of my Colorado adventure!) and decided that I’d follow the blue sky, into Utah! I planned to drive to just past the Utah state line, and then turn around and head back to Gunnison - this was simply so I could say that I’d been to Utah!

However, as I drove further west, the sky became bluer and bluer until eventually I found myself out in the desert, in perfect weather. I looked back east, and could see the heavy dark cloud, and decided that I may as well make a day of it, and drive to Moab, through the Arches National Monument! And so I did, and I’m really glad I made this decision. The scenery was… well, it was the sort of thing I’ve seen on TV, but have never experienced in real life. Orange canyons, arches and pillars, with the sun beating down, and the occasional abandoned trailer. The weather became hot, and I had to dig around for some sunblock. I drove along a river, through the Canyons, to Moab, stopping to take photos every mile or two. It was a lovely day. I reached Moab at around 5pm, and began to realise that I had a long drive ahead of me to get back to Gunnison; I was slightly worried the hotel office would be closed for the night, and so my only interaction with the people of Moab was a quick stop at a petrol station. Then, it was a quick 30 mile drive north to get onto the I70 Eastbound (there was a scenic drive back east, but I had no time!) and then a long drive east. I was aware that Moab was the most westerly point of my trip, and that from here on in, I was driving closer and closer back to Denver, and the end of my trip. This was a little saddening, although not for my bank balance! I drove back into the remnants of rain in Colorado, and saw the most stunning double rainbow I’ve ever seen - it was absolutely neon bright, and I desperately wanted a photograph. Unfortunately, by the time I found somewhere to pull over, it was over… a real shame!

Apart from a quick stop at a McDonalds (it was the only place I could find along the road, honest!) for a rest break, meal, and sat-nav tuning (I had told the sat-nav to take me to Gunnison, but had not specified the exact hotel address) I drove solidly for at least 4 hours, perhaps more. Toward the end of the drive, I was racing through blackness on either side.. it was kind of strange, as I knew I was driving through a really scenic stretch of road, but I couldn’t see a thing! I probably drove slightly faster than I ought, given that I was climbing up into the mountains again, but I really didn’t want to spend the night in my car! As it was, I reached my hotel (another Rodeway Inn, which was better than the previous one, and cost only half as much!) just before 10pm, and was relieved to get my key! The hotel was really nice, and I was very impressed, especially given the price! It also had wireless internet, which I used along with the road atlas I had been given in Boulder to find a hotel for my final night in Colorado. I wanted somewhere close to Denver, but not actually in the city (I wanted a quieter place that didn’t cost too much). Alas, everywhere in the Denver environs seemed a little pricey; I eventually booked a La Quinta Inn (I’ve stayed at quite a few - nothing special, but reliable) in Colorado Springs.

After I checked out of the Rodeway Inn, I decided that I was going to spend some time at the Black Canyon of Gunnison - it sounded spectacular, and I was curious to see the road I had driven through in the dark (I had to head back the way I came for around 25 miles before I reached the Canyon entrance). This was another decision I’m really glad I made. The drive was nice (lots of trees and also the Blue Mesa national storage area - or reservoir to English people) and the canyon was stunning. I was a little surprised I had to pay to get in (I think it was $20), but it was worth it (and my ticket was valid for a week!) The canyon is called the Black Canyon as it’s so narrow and high that sunlight doesn’t really reach the bottom; I really wanted to stand there and look up at the towering cliffs, but time was an issue, so I just did the drive along the top. This consists of a road that runs along a section of the canyon, with (incredibly) scenic stops every few hundred yards.
I made a point of stopping at (almost) every lookout point, and took a million photos (not literally). The weather was wonderful, and I felt quite lucky to have somehow escaped the rain of the previous day. I didn’t leave until after 2pm, and decided to drive a little bit further east to Montrose to grab some food. Here, at the Wendy’s restaurant (at least it wasn’t McDonalds!) I actually got talking to a really friendly member of staff, who was very impressed at my Englishness - apparently they don’t get many British people in Montrose! It was then time to say my goodbyes to Montrose, and head back west, along the same road to Gunnison that I’d raced through the night before. I was acutely aware that even though I was going to drive straight to Colorado Springs (going through but not stopping at Canon City, where I had originally planned to see the Royal Gorge Bridge), I would yet again be pressed for time. I drove through many small places, as well as the Gunnison National Forest, where I stopped (despite my time concerns) to take photos – the views were spectacular, and the road was slightly scarey (a huge drop right next to my car, with no barrier in places!).

The drive took quite a while – several hours, and it was night before I found myself driving on the highway heading into Colorado Springs. After so many days of small towns and countryside, it was a bit of a shock to find myself back in a large city. Roads and traffic were everywhere, and I’m glad I had the sat-nav to guide me. I checked into the La Quinta with little issue, and had a little rest. I eventually left my room at 10pm, hoping to find some food. I fancied a pizza, but after driving to several places in Colorado Springs, it became apparent that nearly everywhere was closed! It seemed odd that a city as big as Colorado Springs had so few restaurants open later. In the end – and very predictably – I found a McDonalds. Even this seemed to be closed, but a chance conversation with a member of staff having a smoke outside revealed that the drive-in section of the store was still open. With little choice, I drove in. When I got back to the hotel, I found that the meal was only luke warm, but I was grateful I’d managed to find anywhere! And so to bed, as Pepys would say, and onto the last day of my visit to Colorado.

I let myself have a bit of a lie-in in the morning, well aware that I had a long day ahead of me. For the final day of my trip, my plan was simple: drive to Denver, visit the Museum of Nature and Science, and then head to the airport. Things went smoothly enough; Denver seemed busier than I remembered it, but I found the museum without too much trouble. Inside, I opted to pay extra to see an exhibition on the Titanic, as well as an IMAX film about an expedition there, filmed by James Cameron in 2001.

I wandered around the museum, first visiting the precious stones/gems exhibit, which I remembered that I only fleetingly got to see during my last trip to the museum, in early 2002. Afterwards, I walked around the animal exhibits, had lunch (a very poor and predictable burger and fries meal), saw the film (it was pretty good, although slightly dumbed-down and “Disnified”, which wasn’t surprising given that Disney were involved in the production. The film showed a submarine expedition to the wreck of the titanic, but instead of showing solely the footage of the wreck, kept trying to throw in some “human interest” filler in the form of facial reactions to the images, etc. etc.), went through the exhibit (pretty good – it featured loads of artifacts recovered from the ship, including a section of the hull), and then had to leave. I informed my car (one should always talk to one’s car!) that we were about to go on our final road trip together, and headed for the airport. I dropped the car off at the Budget Car Rental place, caught the shuttle to the airport, checked in (not getting an exit row seat, which annoyed me immensely, as I arrived over 3 hours before the flight took off… apparently you can get an exit row seat through online check-in with BA these days), wandered around the departures area for a few hours, and flew to London.

Shall I mention the hassle of international travel? Probably not in much detail. Suffice to say that I had to endure a long flight to London (after having had a full day in Denver) with no sleep, had to wait around in London Heathrow for several hours, fly to Manchester, get my bags, find a train to Leeds, then wait in Leeds for a train to my house. A long end to the trip!

And that was that. I arrived back home safe and sound, with the knowledge that I had over a week to relax (excluding time at work) before my next big trip – this time to China!