Visiting Denver: Half-Day Layover

“The differences between Eastern cultures and the United States can slap with jarring force upon return.” – Old Sean

Stark and Contrast

After spending a solid month in Vietnam and almost a full year in Asia, I’m returning to the United States.

My flight back to the United States was simple enough.  Actually, as far as flights go, it was remarkably pleasant.  Despite a couple of layovers, the first two trips I took were virtually empty, thanks to the rampant spread of Coronavirus.  My flight out of Vietnam gave me an entire zone free.  My flight all the way back to the US granted me an entire row in business class.

I even got to see the amazingly beautiful Dongsha Atoll National Park from above while flying.  This marine park is a narrow strip of land in the shape of a semi-submerged crescent, giving the impression of oceans tumbling down into an underwater-waterfall.

Overall, very pleasant flight experience.  But my favorite part was my short visit to Denver.

My final layover, before arriving in Little Rock, was an 11 hour stop.  The timing was somewhat fortuitous, since I would be able to walk around and check out the city in daylight hours. 

My favorite hobby-of-opportunity while traveling stems for layovers long enough for brief exploration, so I marked down a short list of things I wanted to see before landing.

Arriving in Denver

I was looking forward to Denver in particular because I spent a semi-homeless summer after college living and working Boulder. It was one of the most tumultuous and engaging experiences of my life.  However, I had only made it out to Denver a couple of times, and felt like I missed a bit of the city.

At the airport itself, I made sure to check out the notorious Blue Mustang statue (just a quick glance and pass by).  I spent a bit longer caching up with an old friend using spotty airport Wi-Fi before I grabbed my gear to go out and see more of the city.  The night was still going strong when I landed, so I arrived to a full moon and hitched the A Line to Union Station downtown.

With the full moon above and decked out in my usual travel attire, I spent a few minutes waiting for Union Station to open (beautiful building) before walking over to a coffee shop to get some Wi-Fi and double check my schedule.  Between the excellent and surprisingly affordable coffee at Amante Coffee at the Oxford and my own haywire sleep patterns, I was fairly energized to wander around.

City Jaunt

The first place I wanted to visit was the Carpio Sanguinette Park.  I’d been told about it years ago as a sort of re-gentrified pipeline park. 

I took a train and a hike there as the sun began to rise, enjoying the brisk weather and walking along the river.  But the park was ultimately a disappointment.  Denver is still extremely dead and brown at the time I’m writing this, so the natural appeal was diminished.  The park itself doesn’t have what I consider compelling structures. 

While the graffiti is fairly interesting, the park itself is a flat stretch of land covered in a considerable amount of goose residue.  I ended up walking back pretty quickly, getting a swift picture of a snoozing raccoon at the base of a graffiti grid.  The surrounding area isn’t really worth the walk either.

Afterwards, I made my way back downtown, first checking out the area around Larimer Square.  Denver is very brick-and-mortar oriented, with the vast majority of its buildings taking on a red-brick-rustic feel.  It feels very Midwestern to me, which might attribute to why it felt so familiar walking around.

I eventually made my way to the capitol building area and was duly impressed.  Denver has a wonderful capital area, with green fields, bits of art and regal buildings.  There’s a fairly large homeless population milling around here, but they keep on the move and don’t panhandle.  It seemed like more of a congregation area than anything else, and indeed, most folks drifted off to do other things leaving me staring at an empty park.

Breakfast near the Rockies

I eventually passed by a classic American diner called “Tom’s Diner” and was charmed.  Not just because of the endlessly catchy song playing on a loop in my head for the past decade.  American Diners are a staple of the country and it’s hard to find natural renditions outside of the US.

I’ve been to a couple in Spain and one in Korea, and while they get the booth and bar feel down, the food is a bit off and the colors are tacky.

A classic American diner though?  Where pancakes, eggs and bacon are an icon?  And two older guys gab aimlessly at a cute, bright waitress?  Those are somehow timeless and extremely reminiscent of the suburbia I grew up in.

Can’t beat it.  Nothing else feels like coming back to the States for me half as much as a diner visit.

I gorged myself on pancakes, eggs and bacon before heading further down the street.  I next found Voodoo Doughnuts.  This place, predictably, is an artisanal doughnut shop.  The color-blasted sugar rings are more eye candy than anything else, but they taste fine and I managed to purchase a couple to walk around with.

Park Tour

I ended up visiting a couple more parks as I walked around, including Cheesman and City Park.  Both are nice areas full of trees, people in hammocks and citizens walking around peacefully.

It was a good wind-down before heading back.  I didn’t have a terribly busy visit to Denver (since I arrived at 4 AM and most stuff was initially shut down.)

My final flight was to Little Rock, Arkansas, where I checked myself into a hotel for the next four days to gradually batter down my jet lag.

So far, Little Rock has been a relatively quiet affair.  Without any good public transportation options, I was really only able to walk around my hotel area and complete some shopping errands.  The sky remained chilly and overcast, and despite originally intending to send my jacket back to Texas ahead of me, I decided to keep the extra weight to fight off the chill.

By this point, I’ve successfully prepped for my trek, which will take me through the Ouachita Hiking Trail, starting at Pinnacle Mountain in just a few hours.  I’ve sent home the majority of my electronics, purchased a Hennessey Hammock and Rainfly, and gotten an appropriate amount of hiking food packed away.  Taxes have been mailed, gear tested and emergency contracts notified.  As such, I’ll be out of touch for the new month or so.

So until the trail is passed,

Best regards and excellent trails,

Old Sean

Written March 11th 2020

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