winter closes in. early. Stef contacts old amiga Mary who encourages me to stop by and stay in their Steamboat condo until the Echo Park road re-opens in Dinosaur. haven’t seen her since 1989 perhaps, she and her husband and kids are based in Laramie, about a two hour drive from Steamboat. the drive from the Front Range to the (north)Western Slope is routine. scrolling landscape behind windshield and tinted windows. but winter seems to have come faster and heavier than is recalled easily. thinking there is some risk to be moving around without chains at this point. chainless.