Today I was reminded of a funny saying I first heard when living in Lake Tahoe among the Sierra Nevada Mountains — “there are two seasons in the mountains — winter and road work.” This year, it seems even more true than other summers, because of the devastation of last September’s floods. Many of the roads leading up to the mountains were damaged by the historic floods, and the road crews did an amazing job just getting any type of road passable before the winter snows set in. Because of this, they are doing even more work than usual on the roads now to get them back to a permanent, paved status. Probably the worst in terms of delays right now is Route 36 leading from Lyons to Estes Park. Not only are they trying to repair the road, but they are actually relocating it in places to avoid future flooding problems, so major construction is going on, thus resulting in 1 hour delays or more. I remember one summer working in Lake Tahoe, where I took to carrying a small yard chair, a book, and some snacks in my car, so that I could relax and enjoy my road work delays as I drove around that summer. Maybe the good people of Lyons and Estes Park should suggest the same for those heading back and forth on Route 36 as well.
