17th Dec - We arrived in Denver last night after a two day train trip from San Francisco. The view from the train was spectacular and at times beautiful. We went through areas of desert, snow, places where you wondered how anyone made a living and areas that looked quite productive. We passed small towns and big cities. The canyons and The Colorado river were quite beautiful.  We had booked a Roomette which had bunk like beds that came down at night and were adequate for sleep. The meals were OK but you had the same options each mealtime. Lots of interesting people on board and some traveling long distances. Quite a few from Aussie. We saw some interesting wildlife on the way - Bald Eagles, foxes and squirrels as well in some areas near to Denver, cattle, sheep and horses.  The train was two hours large arriving in Denver so we were glad that we had booked a hotel. It is an older hotel which has been extensively renovated and the rooms are big with a very comfortable king bed and large bathroom with shower and bath. Total cost for a couple $43 breakfast included. We have booked for the next three nights and for the two nights when we come back on the 26th.

Today we went into town on the free shuttle and had a look around. The shopping centre is a mile long and on one street and has free buses running up and down all the time. We had lunch at Subway then went on a tour of the State Capitol building which was interesting then picked up our rental car and came back to the hotel. 

Tomorrow we are going to Maitou where there are ancient cliff dwellings which sound interesting. Apparently there are also springs there - I'm hoping they are hot. The weather today was cold but warm in the sun and with lovely blue skies. Apparently it is going to snow tomorrow.