We are on tour. For the longest time we have wanted to see where our grandkids go to school. Seeking out environs in Colorado, Montana and Bellingham,Washington we have hit the road. No planes but ribbons of highway. Scenic to say the least and riveting in so many ways. 

We began in Rado where one goes from small to extra large. Colorado College in the Springs has a student body of 2,000. A compact campus and a different way of learning. You study one subject at a time for three and half weeks full bore. Then five days off and rinse and repeat with a new subject. Anders is just starting. I can’t wait to see how this turns out.

Next up is CU(University of Colorado) in Boulder.

This is home to 38,000 students and of course Coach Prime. The campus rambles for blocks and all the time you have a view of the magnificent Flatirons. I asked my very social granddaughter how many of the 38k she knew? We walked into a restaurant on Pearl Street and among the staff were three of her friends. Divide and conquer. 

Heading North we went through Wyoming. The vastness of miles and miles of rangeland are strangely beguiling.

It is our first look at a gigantic state with only 590,000 inhabitants. We stopped at a McDonalds in who knows where and there were six old hands in jeans and baseball caps. Drinking coffee and trading thoughts. You become jealous not bored with the sheer simplicity. 

We spent the first night in Jackson Hole which runs the gamut for well heeled to worker bees. Swells to ski bums. The Tetons are dramatic in their youth. It seems the sheer peaks were formed later than most of the Rockies. Simply put they have not been ground down yet. Give them another million years or so. The next morning we stop for an everything bagel with BEC in a local coffee shop. . Huh? Bacon,egg and cheese. I am learning. 

We then climb to around 8,550 feet above Florida at the Teton Pass. Spacious views but holy crap we have to drive down the backside. Ten degree grades! For the initiated that is seriously steep. You note the steady stream of traffic going the other way into Jackson. As in every ski town there is no way ordinary folk can live nearby. This was a gorgeous autumn day. Can you imagine navigating all this during  a blinding snowstorm in a month or two hence? At the bottom, Voila we are in Idaho ! Go figure. 

A hop skip and a jump and we are in Montana making our way towards Bozeman and home to my grandson and Montana State University. The state’s  population of just over 1.2 million, is sprinkled with cities of  25-30,000 people….and a lot of cows and wheat. The 17,000 students aka Bobcats, are a mix of on and off campus housing. This is where it gets interesting. 

Aiden is studying Civil Engineering. After my BA from Georgetown this is nuts. We toured the campus and wound up in engineering central. There are classrooms, labs and we pass by a cache of students working on a very complex formula. There is a room called Make Space where these dudes and dudettes can just come in and dream stuff up. Electrical, mechanical, you name it. Does anybody have any fun?

There is an area outside of town called Big Sky. And it is big!

The base of the mountain is about 6,000ft. The summits is 11,100. That is a lot of vertical drop for skiing. Steep and deep. There is also some serious money here. One wonders where they come from? What did or do they do. 

A very private aside as part of Big Sky is the Yellowstone Club. It costs over $400,000  and upwards of $40-70k for yearly dues. to join but you have to be a homeowner. That can cost you about $4mill for a one bedroom condo to $5-15 mill for a house. The club is estimated to have between 50 and 80 billionaire members The club’s 900 homeowners are worth more than a combined $290 billion.It is very impressive a ski area but all of this seems strangely out of place. 

We are now in Whitefish, Montana after driving through Glacier National Park. The sheer magnitude of the soaring heights and incredible sheer rock faces makes this more than awesome to a former Coloradan.

From a road that is around 6,000 feet, the highest point is Mt Cleveland at over 10,000 feet. That is almost a mile higher. The highest building in the world is 2100 feet. This is serious. 

I could go one and on about the vast expanses and towering heights but just being here is beyond chill. People are friendly but not overwhelming. We haven’t looked at the news in four or five days. In all this driving we have encountered just two BMW’s and one Audi. The state vehicle has to be a Subaru or pickup truck. If you are a local your vehicle has a patina of mud and grit. Probably several years worth. 

I will go back to the fact that if were any other country we would probably be four or five separate ones. Our divisions are natural. I can see why these are red states. They want the government to leave them alone. I am pretty sure they don’t care who the Trumpster hires or fires. Woke isn’t even on heir radar.Yet at the same time there is an allegiance to each other and to their country. They don’t take a fancy to threats or even scandals. Live and let live. They are doing just fine. 

This all leads to MAGA in a way. After many miles, America is already great. Whether you are lunatic left or right can’t you understand all we have? This process of blowing everything up after every 2 or four years gets tiresome. Waste and corruption seems to me to be evident on both sides of the ledger. Maybe all the crazies should just take a ride with me…on the Road to The Sun.

As always

Ted the Great 

Factoids :

Road to the Sun is a 50 mile long pathway through Glacier National Park. “Journey to the Sun” is a documentary film about the Going-to-the-Sun Road. Look it up and be amazed

In Dubois,Wyoming there is a National Museum of Military Vehicles. It is about 30 miles from Jackson but could be on the planet Mars.

A billionaire has collected over 500 military vehicles(and a few boats )and has assembled them in a 160,000 sf exhibition hall. He and his family have spent over $100 million to collect all these pieces and build the museum in less that four years. Now that’s a guy we should have in government. Go to :https://nmmv.org

Our trip will end in Bellingham Washington to  visit  our last stop and grandson at Western Washington University where he is studying Kinesiology. We will have covered over 1800 miles. 

Wyoming 587,618 residents

Colorado 5.9 million

Idaho 2.02 million

Montana 1.137 million 

Washington 7.95 million 

Total around 16 million 

California 39 million

Texas. 31 million

Florida 23 million