High in the Rockies

It was the summer of 1979 and I had a brand new 1978 Mercury Cougar. My best friend, Jeff, was living and working in Greeley, Colorado. We'd spent 1975 bumming together; we were unemployed. I had a week off from the newspaper. The entire staff had off the week of the 4th of July, so I decided to visit my buddy and spend some time in the Rocky Mountains.

I don't remember much about the drive from Wisconsin to Colorado because most of it was at night, but I do remember how long and boring it was to get through Nebraska!

I'd been in Greeley about an hour when I got on Jeff's case and said, "Hey, I've been here an hour and have yet to see the Rockies!" He said, "Let's go!" We grabbed some beer, piled into his Triumph Spitfire convertible about 6 that Friday night and headed west. It was dark as we made the climb to 12,000 feet above sea level.

You could tell it was a sheer rock wall on one side and an empty abyss into darkness on the other as we traversed the often hairpin turns, climbing all the way. We found a turn-out at a high elevation, popped a few more beers, and waited.

A glorious sunrise greeted us. It illuminated the vast, sweeping landscape before us in such an awe-inspiring way that I will never forget it.

The next day I drove to Colorado Springs to visit with a stock photography house as my business and passion at the time was photography. As a photojournalist, the trip to the Rockies was also an opportunity to capture some great images. On the way back to Greeley, and after a stop at the Air Force Academy to marvel at the architecture, I drove the back dirt roads through the mountains. They were often one-lane paths that were treacherous when another car came along, but I still got out to snap photos of rock formations or the vista before me.

Jeff and I spent the 4th of July in Aspen at a rock concert, then drove back to Greeley through Rocky Mountain National Park. Little did I know at the time, but the young lady whom I'd asked to accompany me on the vacation but was unable to would later that year become my wife.

It was a fabulous summer!