Arrived in Denver

It was a smooth trip to Denver, with most middle seats on my AirTran flight (including the one next to me) empty, no screaming babies, and good weather for flying. Good weather all 'round, in fact--it was warmer in Denver than in Atlanta, hitting the upper 50's. That won't last, however.

New/old hotel for this trip. Instead of the Residence Inn we've been using for several years (and which got busy enough to not offer the low group rate any more), we're at a Hampton Inn. Which used to be the quite upscale Compri when I first started traveling to Denver for work in the late 1980's, then became a Sheraton Four Points, and now to a Hampton. It still appears to be kept up pretty well...will judge the quality of the free breakfast tomorrow. Rooms have been retro-fitted with a mini fridge and mini microwave, which I much appreciate as a diet aid. I do somewhat regret the closet space sacrificed for this.

The Hampton is a lot closer to the Federal Center (across the street, actually, though it'd be quite a hike to the USGS Training Center building with laptops and other paraphernalia), and with a number of restaurants in easy walking distance. I do like the Residence Inn's full kitchen, but this may do just fine.

Denver weather

The Training Center staff member who gave the introduction session this morning included a few warnings about watching out for altitude sickness, keeping hydrated, and watching for abrupt weather shifts while in Denver. He threw in that tonight's forecast was for 'chance of scattered snow showers', and that that was Code Red for 'could snow like h*ll'.

The day was pretty, temps dropping some--the high was around 50, I think--but windy as the front moved in. Gary and I hiked the short mile or so to Subway for lunch, past the prairie dog colony with all the curious-but-alert prairie dogs keeping an eye on us and the magpies scolding in nearby trees. Now (9 PM) I can hear the wind still blowing hard, and a quick look shows snow blowing every which way.

(5 minutes later) No snow, still windy. Tomorrow is supposed to be clear, regardless of tonight's precip or lack thereof, but the high will be mid-30's. A lunchtime walk will be less attractive, I'm sure.