The 38th Parallel - When in Doubt, Go Higher

We drove across the 38th parallel on our way up to Gunnison and Crested Butte this last week.  I guess we always cross the 38th parallel when driving up that way but have never noticed it before. I did know that Baseline Rd. in Boulder got its name for being laid along the 40th parallel.  So there you go.

Myself, the Crestones, and cows

Well, on this drive we noticed this cool sign in the San Luis Valley marking the line and commemorating the Korean War and the dividing line of the two Koreas designated by the 1953 armistice.  I thought it was an interesting road-trip distraction especially considering the current events of the last week over on that side of the world. I also wanted to get out of the car and see if I could still name all the 14ers in the Valley by memory.  Sadly I have forgotten a few.  A small herd of cattle crossed over to the road to stare and mock and otherwise make light of my failure.

Christina and I were also reading a great feature in the Mountain Gazette about alien portals, cattle mutilations (perhaps not all that mysterious considering they can come off as a bunch of jackasses at roadside stops), and a bizarre UFO conference held right there in the San Luis Valley near Hooper, CO.  Didn't see any signs for Hooper but it doesn't surprise me that the Valley is a little kooky aside from the gems of the Sangre de Cristos, The Great Sand Dunes, Penitente Canyon, and the Adams State distance programs. When in doubt, go higher indeed.