The 13 hour drive from Effingham to Denver may have lulled us into a false sense of security.  After all, the positive attention across Missouri and Kansas led us to believe we were simply among friends.  And then we hit Denver.

We exited the interstate and made our way to Downtown Denver.  All was relatively calm until we rounded the corner on 15th Street.  Dick Rhodes, at the wheel, had landed our vehicle smack dab into the middle of a protest march by a group best described as skin heads, universalists, anti-war protesters and assorted individuals who appeared to have dressed in the dark that morning.

To say we looked out of place would be an understatement.  We were the bull fighters, having just entered the ring, only to discover that we had mistakenly worn our RED suit that day.  

Needless to say, we navigated the protest and made our way to the press headquarters to pick up our passes without incident.  Although after the skin head protest my definition of "incident" is a slightly higher hurdle - like my hair being on fire!! 

We had other great adventures, as members of the fourth estate, but I'll save those for another post. 

Departing downtown Denver late in the afternoon, we made our way to the beautiful home of Larry and Linda Drager, our gracious hosts for the week.   Situated in the foothills of the Rockies, their home enjoys gorgeous views of the mountains and spectacular sunsets.

Larry is the former head of the Illinois State Police.  And his wife Linda is a retired educator.  They are great friends with Dick Rhodes' sister, Kim who put us together (THANK YOU KIM!)  



(l to r) Linda, Larry, Bob and John

We knew it would be a fun week at their home, when we arrived at their door to find the following sign:




We are truly blessed.  It looks to be a very fun week.