The High Plains and the Englishmen

A straight road in the Pawnee Nat. Gransslands. Not CO 71.

Some years back I was flying from London (Gatwick) to Denver, across the Atlantic at night, then over the frozen wastes of Labrador, moving on and on southwesterly towards Colorado.

It was December, and the aircraft was only about half full in coach. Behind me were two twenty-something English guys, who had purchased a ski package tour to Breckenridge, their first trip to the US.

We entered Colorado airspace,somewhere near Sterling, and I could feel the plane beginning to descend. The captain announced that we were now over Colorado and XX minutes from Denver International Airport.

Notes of nervousness entered the two Brits' conversation. We were on the right (starboard) side, so the northwesterly view was northern Colorado, into the Nebraska panhandle. All High Plains all the way to the horizon.

They were worried. They had bought a ski trip to Colorado, they were in Colorado, supposedly, and there was not a mountain in sight. Was this some kind of fraud perpetrated on foreign tourists? 

I leaned over the seat and explained that eastern 40 percent of Colorado was not-mountains. and not to worry. 

Then one said to his seatmate, "Look at that!" I looked out too. What was he seeing? No mountains yet, for sure. 

It was Colorado 71, a two-lane highway running ruler-straight miles and miles north toward Nebraska. To someone from a land of winding lanes, it must have seen almost sculptural. 

And then we turned more to the south, bringing at least the Medicine Bow Range and the Rawahs into view and dropped toward DIA. 

I hope they had a good ski trip once they got to Breck and experienced mountains.