Visiting Denver: Breathbeat

“Take your air always, not just when you can get it.” – Old Sean

Downtime

Since the 20^th of July, I’ve traveled with my friend and travel companion through the western portion of the United States, making an enormous loop from the south to north and back around.  Our last prominent stop was Denver, Colorado, where we initially went camping but eventually returned to the city to stay with friends. 

Over the next few days, we tried several recommended restaurants and did our best to delve into a few of Denver’s more iconic features that I had been fondly reminiscing about.  Most of our time, however, was spent lounging at our base of operations.  We played with dogs, poked at dominos and occasionally sat out back under large, blue awnings.

Odd Sights

As for Denver itself, our first feature stop was Voodoo Doughnuts.  This shop sells dense artisanal doughnuts, more like cake-doughnut hybrids than anything else.   The enormous box of sugar we bought here became an enjoyable but unhealthy breakfast staple for the next few days.  The Key Lime and Coffee glazed doughnut was particularly vivid in flavor. 

Following Voodoo Doughnuts, we attempted to visit the Technicolor Church of Cannabis (which feels extraordinarily Colorado), but the price was too steep ($25 dollars per person). 

Seeing as we had four people, a collective $100 dollars was well beyond our comfort range for an hour or so of entertainment.  As such, I never really went inside and experienced the odd, perhaps consecrated grounds.  I did gather that the interior of the church is a sort of light show, interactive experience.  Very trippy, supposedly. 

A real gem recommended by a friend was the Mile High Comic Book Store.  Built into an enormous warehouse, this is of course a nerdvanna paradise.  Boxes of comic books take up large columns and pop culture icons and figurines are tucked into virtually every corner behind preserving glass cases.  Life-sized statues are in full display, depicting characters from Spider-Man, Monsters Inc., Star Wars and other icons from a full era ago.  There are also large art projects scattered about, such as an enormous cardboard X-Wing serving as an awning and a clunky Galactus dominating an entire wall.  Cardboard cutouts of aiming Stormtroopers guard the portions of the store that are available only to employees. 

Ari’s wallet was not particularly safe during this segment of the trip.  And I confess, I took a small financial hit buying a few buttons as gifts for friends. 

Local Hikes

Following our visit to the Mile High Comic Book Store, we made a point of driving out to the Red Rock Amphitheater.  Though there are no concerts or events due to COVID, the area is still worth a visit. 

The huge outdoor bowl is carved straight into sharp, vibrantly red cliffs with layers of wooden seating available to attendees.  There are also several hiking trails, tunnels through the cliffs and a few other nice aspects to the area.  A slight, extremely welcome drizzle attempted to break the heat while we walked.

Following our visit to Red Rock, we were due to meet Ari’s girlfriend’s brother, at which point we picked up a few beers from an area called New Image (primarily a brewery) and some excellent pizza from a place called Homegrown Tap and Dough. 

However, prior to attending dinner, we passed by a unique mineral shop called Lithos – Mineral, Fossil, Meteorite, Book and Hobby Shop. 

Ari is an avid collector of minerals and crystals, so we ducked inside and were promptly trapped by her adoration.  I’m a large fan of minerals and compellingly named stones, so I had an excellent time browsing pirate, amethysts, fish fossils, trilobites and obsidian snowflakes.  The selection the shop had was much more exotic than that, but those, along with base elements such as copper and iron were the only ones I recognized offhand. 

I did make a small purchase here, buying a tiny button that showed a T-Rex stating “Right to Bear Small Arms.”  I thought my friend Callum, back in Texas, would get a minor kick out of it.

Mountain Day

With another day under our belts, we made a point of doing a bit more exploring the following morning. 

We stopped at a nice little shop called Herbs and Art which was functioning with limited capacity.  After this brief stop, we drove deep into the mountains past Golden, Colorado to meet another one of Ari’s friends, a man contracting his own mountainside villa named Parker, who introduced us to a nearby horse and his very Zen, one-eared husky. 

Getting back down the mountain took a fair chunk of time, so we were forced to abandon our plans of disk golf and instead roamed to my favorite restaurant in Denver, the Bull and Bush Brewery. 

This food was exquisite, with a special delightful dish of shrimp and a bison burger I forced myself to consume despite being nearly completely full.  The massive, self-poured root-beer-float didn’t help manage my stomach at all.

Back to Driving

Following this last detour in Denver, we drove Ari’s lovely significant other to the airport, driving past the slightly demonic Blue Mustang Statue, which worth a glance and a half for anyone driving by. 

With this sorted, we ran a few other small errands in Denver and returned to our customary camping itinerary. 

For a long while now, Ari and I have remained mobile on the road. Denver was the last place where we had a chance to catch our breath. From now on, we were due to drive south, returning home to Texas.

So until the ride home,

Best regards and excellent trails,

Old Sean

Written August 12th 2020

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