Denver - City Living and the Cultural Experience

My Denver rental was only an hour away from Colorado Springs. I requested an early check in and had to wait about 40 minutes since the previous guests checked out late. The weather was not cooperating, and it rained pretty much the whole time since I left the Springs. I parked on the street as there was no other parking available with this rental, but street parking was reasonable. Kitty was a bit anxious, but waited patiently.

I met with the host and unloaded the car. The place was much smaller than the house, but had all I needed for my stay. It was a studio apartment above a garage with full kitchen and a convertible bed/couch. It also had a washer and dryer and an updated bathroom.

Kitchen

Couch that slides out to become a queen size bed

The bed rolls out, and you can lie against the wall watching TV

...and because there is no real fireplace there, I have a pretend video of a fireplace

After I unpacked a bit, I took a walk in the neighborhood to Trader Joe's which was only 25 minutes away. It was really nice to live in a walkable city, although every house in the area seemed to be crammed with tenants in very little space.

I also was very close to downtown, only 45 minutes away walking distance. 

Rooftop (somewhat) lounge in downtown Denver

Of course, I visited a local Honda dealership to address my brake booster issue, and they diagnosed another problem that according to their quote would cost me $900. This was getting out of control. I get it that my car is old (2006), but come on! I decided to think about it and see if I could get a better quote elsewhere. I loved the transparency of the dealership and specifically the detailed inspection with photos and a video from the technician!

Inner drive shaft boots were recommended to be replaced

I visited a local coffee/bookstore that seemed unique - just 15 minutes walking distance from my rental. I was starting to like this "walkability" concept.

One night I went to see a play in Vintage Theatre called Driving Miss Daisy. I have never seen the movie, so I was excited to see the play. I was not disappointed. It was spectacular. Low key, 3 actors, community theater - exactly how I like it. 

Since I could easily walk downtown, I decided to explore even further and stop by City Park. I walked around there a bit a stopped by the farmer's market (total ripoff, by the way! Why on earth would I want to pay $8 for a bunch of kale if I can get a smaller bunch for $2 in a grocery store!). 

City Park

A ridiculously expensive and super sweet (when requested no sweetener) cup of coffee at Plant Magic Café

On the way home, I stumbled upon another festival (something about chalk and the streets), but I was too tired to stop by.

Colorado Springs - Restaurants, Hiking and Car Troubles

I didn't realize how happy I was living without a roommate. I no longer felt confined to the upstairs and could clean the kitchen and keep it clean. If I felt like wearing no pants, not pants it was! The freedom of living solo.

I continued going out to Meetups, hiking and occasional dates, but my home-base remained stable. I visited Castle Rock and Denver, and hiked Spruce Mountain Trail on the way from a Denver Meetup event. "Green Colorado" is what the locals call the state this year with all the rain. Indeed, it reminded me of spring in California after a good rain season.

I revisited The Garden of the Gods, a very popular park with spectacular views that I visited back in 2016, by hiking the 6 and a half mile outer loop that was not as crowded as the rest of the park yet just as impressive.

Another trail that I found to be challenging yet rewarding in the end was Catamount Falls Trail. The 2,000 ft elevation gain was the challenging part, but the flowing water, the views along the way and the view of Pikes Peak at the end were worth it.

No new destination happens without a car trouble. As I was backing out of the driveway, my brake pedal felt stiff allowing the car to roll further than I felt comfortable with. After taking the car to Brakes Plus (big mistake!) and two replaced brake boosters, the car braking system still does not feel the same. Sadly, it is another negative experience with a mechanic that I can live without. Living "on the road" is pretty challenging from that perspective, you always have to find a new one who may or may not be reliable.

I also explored a few restaurants with some company. One of my favorites was Vine & Wheel, a wine bar with an enormous variety of wines, great food and, most importantly, chill yet classy atmosphere. Jazz was playing until almost closing time, but was not too loud allowing for conversation to happen in a light and easy way. Another place specializing in tea, Yellow Mountain Tea House, had an almost authentic Asian-style atmosphere where the server made tea right at the table while trying to convince us that it cures cancer. These billions of dollars spent on research is a total waste of resources... 

Manitou Springs was the last stop on my Colorado Springs adventures. I finally explored the crowded downtown and had a wonderful dinner at a Mexican place followed by a karaoke night back in the Springs. It was time to move on to my next destination. Denver.

Colorado Springs - Solo Journey Resumed

One of the last hikes my friend and I did together was to Mt. Culter via the Columbine trail in the middle of the week. I have rarely hiked during a work week, but it was something different to do, so together with a Meetup group my friend and I ascended 1,100 ft to get spectacular views on top of Mount Cutler. On the way there we saw a large bear which made the hike even more special. Some members of the group were a bit too friendly with the bear. Sadly, some people don't realize that it is a wild animal with unpredictable behavior and by approaching it closely you risk to get the bear in trouble. Luckily, all went without an incident this time.

That little stream of water you see is St. Mary's falls that we visited earlier

I changed my mind about hiking in the middle of the week; I'd like to do it more often.

On the weekend, I decided to go to Red Rock Canyon and hike Sand Canyon Mesa, Greenlee, Red Rock Canyon Trail. While the day was overcast, my friend went out with a Meetup group, so I didn't want to stay home and went hiking solo. With a cooler day comes less crowd which I enjoyed quite a bit on an early Saturday morning when I was pretty much by myself for the first hour and a half.

Stream from the recent rain

I got home after the hike and made lunch. My roommate arrived from her meetup and we had a brief exchange where I mentioned to her that her pot has been in the sink for the past 3 days and that I had to finally wash it myself. She was genuinely surprised, and after attempting to avoid conflict and any further conversation, she said she was leaving the following day.

I went to the symphony by myself...

It was wonderful, almost a breath of fresh air.

My seat was very close to the stage

The following morning my friend was gone with an apology note left on the coffee table. There was so much more to it, but who wants to read it here. I can only say that I was relieved to be living without her. It sadly ended the friendship chapter, but it brought a lot of lessons learned, so time was not wasted. And so my solo journey was resumed.

Colorado Springs

My room was upstairs. It was a large master bedroom with an attached bathroom. The window air conditioner obstructed the view partially but served as a white noise maker as the house was near a road. At night, I could hear the traffic without it, so it became my best friend.

As I mentioned previously, the house was not in the cleanest condition, and the sheets provided were paper thin and synthetic. My first purchase was flannel sheets.

I was also allergic to something in the carpet although the landlord said that the carpets were professionally cleaned. I didn't believe it for a second.

I settled in and had another 2 days off from work, so as my new roommate settled on the main floor with all her computer equipment to work, I headed for my first hike in Colorado. Templeton Trail was only 15 minutes from the rental house, and on a Tuesday morning there were few people at the trailhead. As I started the hike, I realized that I was getting out of breath quicker than usually. The elevation of Colorado Springs is around 6,000 ft above the sea level compared to Nashville of just over 500. I didn't feel the sickness I felt years ago when I visited Brian Head, but it took another few weeks to get my heart rate closer to what it was in Nashville. The hike was beautiful. It didn't feel like I was in a city (albeit a small one).

After a short work week, my friend and I headed to hike Manitou Incline, one of the top rated hikes in Colorado Springs. Somehow I decided that 5 days would be enough for acclimatization and I would not have any issues with this challenging hike where in the first mile you gain 2,000 ft elevation. I was mistaken. It took me about an hour to get to the top, and I was completely drenched in sweat. 

At the start...

Miserable people below

Almost there...

The view at the top

The view at the top was very nice, but I felt more satisfaction about the accomplishment of the hike from a fitness perspective. I don't think I would do it again, but it was a good experience.

In the meantime, my relationship with my friend who became my roommate was getting worse and worse. She did a lot of things by herself, and besides a few hikes that we did together, it felt like she was my roommate. Perhaps that was her intention all along, but I did not address this when we decided to live together. Now it was too late. I was annoyed with her about cleanliness, cooking, space and several other things. She consistently avoided conflict, so it was impossible to resolve anything. The fact that we had separate living areas (hers was downstairs and mine upstairs; we shared the living area and the kitchen on the main floor) allowed us to avoid each other which we did successfully. She would come home from a meetup event and head straight downstairs while I watched TV on the main floor.

We did buy tickets to the magic show and symphony. Cosmo's magic show was a fantastic way to get away from the everyday routine. The theater was hidden in a shopping area, but was beautifully decorated in a vintage style.

The show itself was very entertaining and unique. There were at most 30 people in the small theater, so the experience felt intimate and personalized. From the card tricks to audience participation, all exceeded my expectations. My friend has never seen a magic show before, so it was a child-like experience for her.

The following day we went on another hike to see St. Mary's Falls. The hike still felt pretty tough although I was starting to get adjusted to the altitude. It was another cloudy day, but the weather held up with rain starting only in the afternoon.

The weather was odd in Colorado and unpredictable. Just by looking at the forecast you don't know what it's going to be like. Several days it hailed out of nowhere...

...and other days it was eerily cloudy...

...but the views were almost always spectacular.