Even for someone with a media pass, getting close to Pepsi Center was a challenge.

The light rail stop at Pepsi Center is closed, meaning I had to get off at Invesco Field and walk through a warren of fences and concrete barriers to reach the convention. Feeling like the proverbial mouse in a maze, I had to ask cops how to get out at multiple points. Below is a major highway sealed off, something you don't get to see very often. It felt a bit eerie and post-apocalyptic.



I passed a lonely-looking parking lot that a bystander informed me was one of the free-speech zones. There were about 5 people gathered there, looking like they were about to do something. The day before, a bunch of anarchist types raised a ruckus on the pedestrian mall (yes, they have one here too -- but ours is better). On Sunday, about a thousand protesters briefly shut down access to Pepsi Center, but the only sign of them I saw last night was downtown, several blocks away from the convention. A street had been shut down to accommodate them, causing my exasperated cab driver to say "they need a good whoopin'."

While security seems very tight around the perimeter of the Center, getting through the main checkpoint to the building was remarkably quick -- much quicker than many airport lines I've been through.