Member Feedback

Balloons identified

The two balloons pictured on page 64 in the Nov/Dec issue belong to two long-time Colorado pilots. Jim Carter, with Chris Carter, from Pueblo, flies "Colorado High"—the one that looks like the Colorado flag. Frank Kafka, from Denver, flies "Fire N Ice," the multi-colored balloon in the photo. Both gentlemen have been very active for a long time in the ballooning community. It was very nice to see those two balloons pictured together.
—Deborah H., via email

Transportation funding

If Colorado infrastructure is so old and outdated [Jan/Feb, page 10], why didn't the state do something about it before it became a politically super-charged word? If roads and bridges were designed to last 20 to 40 years and some are now 70 to 100 years old, who dropped the ball?

A tourist state such as Colorado should have been using large chunks of tourist revenue to maintain and build new roads/bridges all along, instead of waiting until we are facing unprecedented economic challenges.
—Suny W., via email

While I agree transportation is a key to our state's economic success, it's no key if we bankrupt ourselves in the process! The Governor talks of a transportation network which incorporates "modern modes of transportation like light rail and regional transit." Neither is "modern." Light rail was used in the L.A. basin in the '30s and regional transit has been around since before most of us were born. Only once, in his entire statement, does the Governor use the word "roadways." Everything else is about a Disneyesque view of a world where people happily board mass transit options.

Secondly, the Governor notes that our "investments" in our transportation system 50 years ago helped our state to become mobile and prosperous. To be clear, those investments were in our roads, not in some light rail system. To far too many elected officials, "investment" is a code word for money collected through taxes.

As a final reminder, Governor Ritter pushed for the passage of Amendment 58. This would have increased the severance taxes of energy producers in the state. Currently, much of the severance tax collected is directed to the counties where energy is produced, in order to fix roads, etc. With the turnaround in the energy market, has anyone calculated how much money local communities would have lost for road repair?

AAA is a member group about driving in America. There are times when other transportation options add to that experience. But it's fundamentally about enjoying the freedom to drive. To support an agenda whose goal is to get us out of our cars is to support the gradual decline and maybe even demise of AAA. After nearly 40 years as a member, that is something I would hate to see.
—Roy P., Arvada

Llamas or alpacas?

The article "Behind Pikes Peak" was great! You mentioned a herd of llamas a couple times, but the picture on page 50 is an alpaca, not a llama. Alpacas are half the size of llamas and are raised like sheep, strictly for their fiber.
—Marjean B., Fort Collins

Mountains and Elvis

I am wondering if the Elvis sighting [Jan/Feb, page 56] was Greeley's own Elvis impersonator, George Gray. Elvis, as we know him, does lots of events in the area but one never knows, it might have really been Elvis!
—Carole A., Greeley

In 2007 I climbed Grays Peak and I saw him too. I attributed it to the altitude, or possibly graduating from CU in the early '70s, but now thanks to Encompass I know he was real.
—Rich S., via email