I know the tourist season is upon us in Colorado when I’m driving home stuck behind the “turtles.” Our friend here in Nederland first acquainted us with this term, when she told us it took her a bit longer to get home one day going up Boulder Canyon because she was stuck behind some “turtles.” We live in one of the most beautiful places in the country, and I have to remind myself of that sometimes when doing my daily commute. My daily commute is a bit different from other people’s in that instead of being on a highway, stuck in traffic, I drive about 40 miles each way along a road called the Peak-to-Peak Highway. The Peak-to-Peak goes from Estes Park in the north down to Idaho Springs in the south, and goes along the east side of Rocky Mountain National Park and then along the Indian Peaks wilderness. As you can imagine, the scenery can be quite breathtaking, and it is something of a curvy, winding mountain road. However, when you get to know the road really well, by driving it twice a day, it really doesn’t seem so windy or scary, and you can lose sight of the scenery along the way.
Today, driving home, I was stuck behind some folks with Texas license plates who were driving 35 mph in a 55 mph zone. As I started to get more than a little aggravated, I had to take a deep breath and remind myself that part of the reason for their slow driving is because I live and drive along a road that has amazing scenery that these people were really enjoying on their drive. Remembering this makes me feel grateful and fortunate to live amongst this mountain splendor. However, I will tell you that didn’t keep me from gassing the car at the first available passing lane and leaving them behind in my rear view mirror 🙂
