1 year anniversary mega-trip
The r-dub site has been online one year as of 5/12/06, and I thought it best to celebrate with another roadtrip. I planned this one out before leaving home, and just kept going until the batteries in my camera were dead and the memory card in my camera almost full. What I was left with was a ton of pictures and a car with an additional 720 miles on it. Okay, maybe this trip was a little too long...
Hit the road, jack.
Let's start by heading to Denver. An online friend who creates computer games asked me to get some shots of downtown for an upcoming game, and I said sure. Those pics are near the end of the page.
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Heading north past Monument. The approach to the weigh station and the SH 105 interchange behind us were recently redone, and the crews couldn't resist making a mistake with a sign. You think people could see this coming, but as I took the pic, a guy tried to pass me on the right and ended up having to (slowly! Heh.) drive through the scales.
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At the top of Monument Hill. This is a natural barrier for weather systems along the Front Range. Either Denver gets hit and the Springs stays dry, or vice versa. It's interesting to watch.
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Just what I always wanted!
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So I guess the regular sized signs weren't doing the job, so these bohemiths had to be made.
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You've seen this sign before, but I have another snarky response: what if the driver is just agressive: not drunk?
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De plane! De plane!
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De train! De train!
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The only warning about the lower clearance we get. Good thing it's not that low and only on the shoulder.
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We've seen this shot before on another trip of mine. Now the old bridge is gone, except for the western abutment, which has been turned into a retaining wall. You can't see it in the pic, but crews installed a guardrail to stop trains from going over the edge where the old bridge was. I'd pay good money to see a guardrail stop a train!
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SH 86 is now officially routed to this interchange. How many other spots in the US are there where there's a state highway that ends at a US (or interstate) that's one number less (or more) than the highway?
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Kinda smoggy in Denver today. This is the shot you see as you crest Surrey Ridge on I-25.
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This is the end of the line for the new light rail tracks that parallel I-25 in Denver. They'll be operational by the end of November 2006.
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One of the missions of this trip is to capture more highway ends for the Colorado Highway Ends page I've added here. You'll see quite a few on this trip. Here's the leadup to the end of CO 470/E-470. PS: Slug-bug!
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The stack of I-25, CO-470, and E-470. End #1 and #2 done.
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Watch that first step!
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In order to not have to replace this bridge in the process of the TREX expansion, crews narrowed the left shoulder.
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End #3: I-225's south end.
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The end of 225. I like how the bridge pillars all have signs on them.
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Ends #4 and 5. US 285 heads southwest from here, SH 30 heads east.
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Damn DUI movers get their truck right in the middle of the shot. Here's SH 30...
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...and here's 285. I'll have to come back up to get shots from the street level.
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New concrete that had to be shaved a lot to keep it smooth. This is at the Colorado Avenue interchange.
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Now in "The Narrows." How long do you think it'll be before vandals make it over the fence and have their way with these brand new signs?
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In the heart of The Narrows. This pic doesn't really show you how high those sound walls really are.
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Streets criss-cross overhead, with intersections happening just after the bridges.
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That's a covered platform for the tracks on the left. Above has been turned into a little park.
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The Lincoln/Broadway exit. All the ramps in The Narrows are braided like this one.
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The southern end of the TREX project. The construction after the Logan Street bridge is to replace an aging viaduct. This scene changed the night I took this pic, with the NB traffic being shifted onto the new NB bridge.
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Interesting curve signs. All the left-pointing chevron signs ahead were recycled. Looking at the backs of them, you saw a bunch of advisory signs (T-intersections, curves, etc.).
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Closer to downtown, the bridges over I-25 lower, much to the shagrin of truckers everywhere. (This and the next 2 pics were taken on a different trip to Denver)
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Gimmis an 8! Doesn't matter what size.
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The Speer Blvd. bridges have been hit waaaaay too many times. There's no timeline for the bridge replacements, however the interchange itself will be upgraded this summer.
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Back to this trip, now. We've exited 25 and are headed southeast on Speer. These bridges were built in the last 10 years.
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A VMS on a city street. What will they think of next?
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Turning right here takes you right into the parking lot of Six Flage Elitch Gardens.
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And here's the Pepsi Center (a.k.a. "The Can"), home of the Denver Nuggets (basketball), Colorado Avalanche (hockey), and the Colorado Crush (arena football).
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The "Michigan Left" appears in Colorado.
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Okay, now to make good on a promise to a video game developer. Systemcat, let me know which one(s) you want! I have the full-sized images waiting.
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Celebrating the tenth time the Aves have been to the playoffs. It wasn't a pretty playoff for them, however.
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Too bad, though. I think Denverites were itching for another victory riot.
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Shoulda stopped and said hi to Kevin Flynn, if I could have found the Rocky Mountain News building.
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Light rail runs through downtown.
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Don't ask me where any of these shots are at. I got myself all turned around just driving around trying to find the best shots.
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At the edge of downtown.
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Heading back into downtown. The street grid changes direction just ahead. It's kinda confusing when you're not used to it.
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I wonder if this is the same truck that got in my picture a few back.
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A study in shadow and light, or something artsy like that.
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On the way out of downtown on 20th. Here's Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies (baseball).
- Where to next?
- This trip's Index
- Page 2
Section Links
Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with any of the orginizations listed within this site. I'm just a bored roadgeek with way too much time on his hands. All of the picts in this page are mine and mine alone unless otherwise noted. Remember, kids: stealing is bad, mmmm-k? I get quite pissy if things are taken without telling me. I don't like to be pissy. You won't like it either. If you want to link to this page, that's fine. Please shoot me an email beforehand so I can link to your page as well. K? Thanks. --Ryan
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