Spontaneous adventures among the wildflowers (Denver, Colorado, USA)
Going back in time a bit... Before it grows stale in my mind, some notes on Colorado.The following events take place between the 29th (NOT the 28th) of August and the 2nd of September.
My departure from Rhode Island on the first leg of my trip, out to Denver for a few days with Michelle and Kristina, was a very pleasant one. There is no greater way to herald change than having real Maryland crab cakes and a Guinness while reading an article on Kurt Vonnegut. True, the surroundings could have been better than the BWI airport, but it was a nice start.
My flight out to Denver was a beautiful one--the clouds put on a show for me, forming crisp shapes of cream puffs and giant waves and clam shells. Michelle, my former colleague and roommate, who's living in Denver for the moment with her husband Doug, met me at the Denver airport, and we headed home for a home-cooked meal and a glass of wine. I had harbored hopes to stop by Borders and pick up a book on New Zealand, but, alas, a month-long lack of sleep, topped off with a grand total of one and a half hours the night before I left, finally caught up with me. I fell asleep on the couch at 7.
The next day Michelle and I headed out to Rocky Mountain National Forest for a nice hike up to Emerald Lake. The trail was a well-worn one, and a bit crowded, but quite tranquil, as we passed by lakes the color of Ireland and up small hills, where the forest would open up, revealing the jagged peaks of the Rockies and a sky bigger than you'd ever seen. Men passed the time fly-fishing in contentment, surrounded by the best nature could offer for them to ponder. We had lunch on a rock by the aptly named Emerald Lake, where I unfortunately lost my clover, but life goes on.
Thursday, I dropped Michelle and Doug off at the airport (they had to go back east for a wedding. They kindly let me use their car and their apartment for the next few days.) and met up in Idaho Springs for pizza with my friend Kristina. The original plan was a small hike, but after the pizza, we decided to go on a spontaneous adventure. A quick drive down the road and up Mt. Evans we drove. Mt. Evans is the home of the highest auto road in the States. At 14,000 feet up, let me tell you, your faith in your car's ability (or your friend's car) to not fall clear off the edge of the Earth has got to be pretty strong. It was worth it. Above the tree line, the surroundings were cold and desolate, but absolutely beautiful, rocky with random scattered pools of water that reflected a darkening sky. You could hardly believe you were still on planet Earth. Had we driven so high that we were on the moon? We spotted long-horn sheep, mountain goats, and badgers. Badgers make a really funny, high pitched trill of a sound to communicate. Quite unexpected from them, really.
We drove and drove--would this ever end? Finally, we reached the top, just in time for a dazzling blaze of a sunset. If it weren't so cold, it would have definitely been a perfect moment.
I had originally planned to drive back to Denver and have a quiet night by myself at Michelle and Doug's apartment, but I don't get to see Kristina much, so on a whim, I drove out to Vail, where she lives. I met her roommate Marjean, who showered me with photos of Bali. The three of us headed out in west Vail to a local restaurant with a bar, where a young George Bush started talking to us. He only looked like W, didn't act like him. Unfortunately, this Georgie Porgie had been doing a favor driving a friend's 18-wheeler through Colorado when the truck's brakes caught on fire. The Rockies are not kind to inexperienced truckers. Georgie decided to solve his dilemma by getting drunk and talking to cute girls, trying to ignore the scene of no less than 4 tow trucks towing away his only mode of transportation back to Alabama, or wherever he was from, behind us. Not that I could blame him. We returned home and had a beer in the freezing cold underneath the sweep of the Milky Way. I had forgotten how many stars there are out there.
The next morning, I drove back to Denver. I found home in the car back through the Rockies, as the sun shined on my face and I left the window open to feel the cold, fresh mountain air. Colorado is as beautiful in the summer as in the winter. Wild black-eyed susans dot the landscape, as the sun and mountains play shadow puppets on green forests. Life was good.
Friday I spent the day writing the recommendations I should have done when I had more time in the summer, but you know me. I then headed out to the Denver ghetto to meet up with Brooke's old friend, Evan, whom we'd stayed with in February. Evan works the door at a great bar with amazing music, so I hung out with him and his friend Vinny until I was about to fall asleep on the table, then drove home. Bridget Jones's Diary was on TV and I had an amazing phone conversation. It was a nice way to spend my final night in the States.
posted by La Rizz @ 9:12 PM
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