Saturday, September 19, 2020

Denver 2020: I did it!

I've been back from my Denver Road Trip for a week and I'm just coming up for air. Why is it when you take three days off work you end up working an additional five? 

The trip felt GREAT! Sheldon and I had such a good time. First, we didn't get through our entire Topic List, even though we had five (5) full hours together. I'm not kidding when I say my throat was sore at the end of day one...but I persevered and came back strong day two.

We took 1.5 days to drive to and from Denver (from Minneapolis). It is a total of 891 miles, estimated at 12.5 hours, and we didn't have a need to push through in one day. We made North Platte, Nebraska our overnight stop both ways. So many friends have mentioned North Platte for similar road trips that I couldn't resist. We stayed at Husker Inn, due to the high reviews and cheap rate ($44.99/night), and it was perfect. Nothing special, but it did the job and included free cold breakfast and fabulous service. Pro-tip: They don't have a website so call ahead to book a room instead of going through Booking.com (I hate booking.com). We had breakfast at Penny's diner, where the waitress scared me she was so coarse, but it was a fun experience in a renovated rail car.

Gas Station stop with Mr. Cowboy
Husker inn
Old School Check In

We landed in Denver day two and went straight to Denver Botanic Gardens. It was a great way to get our legs moving, acclimate to the altitude, and see some cool things. 


From there we went downtown Denver where I met my nephew at Denver Central Market for some dinner and a couple drinks while Sheldon went for a massage. The weather was great during the day, but I ended up freezing my ass off while outside (note I was wearing my winter jacket and jean jacket). I imagine it was due to being a bit tired, the altitude adjustment and possibly the liquor. 

Nephew Josh and I

We settled in for the night at Carolanne's Airbnb in Boulder. The place met our needs but Carolanne was a bit uptight (all her notes made me feel like I was a child). The next day we went to Chautauqua Trailhead and did some hiking. I say we did more standing than hiking as it was a strenuous hike for the two of us but it was beautiful. It doubled as a photo shoot for Sheldon as we were trying to get him photos for his dating apps. I just posed next to a snowman as I'm not as motivated as him with the whole dating thing (please send men my way that travel, stand more than hike, are bald and sarcastic). 





Our bodies wanted to nap but our minds said "you only have 48 hours in this town get going" so we cleaned up and went to the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder. We walked, stopped at a dispensary (which isn't as fun now since the "shopping experience is hampered by Covid") and ate at Oak on Fourteenth per the recommendation of Josh. It was a fabulous evening - exactly as we had hoped. 

Pearl Street Mall is famous for artists. There were very few, I imagine due to Covid, but we came across @DreamPoetForHire. Twenty (20) of the 24 topics on our Topic List were about relationships and love, so when he asked for a topic I picked "partners". I thought his poem was perfect. 

@DreamPoetForHire



A Dating Profile Keeper

The next morning we had breakfast in our car (literally), which included yummy bloody marys, because we couldn't find a seat at a restaurant. Covid sucks. We drove back to Denver and stopped at the Red Rocks Amphitheater. We actually ended up spending a couple hours just observing the space, having a drink and dreaming about going to a live show again some day. As soon as Red Rock opens I'm flying out - I don't care who the artist is I just want to experience this view. 

Red Rock Amphitheater

Not Sure if Dating Profile Worthy - But Cute

That afternoon we got on the road for North Platte and simply reversed the course that brought us to Colorado. Sheldon got his donuts and I got my diet Mountain Dew along the way and we tried hard to knock items off our Topic List.

Go Vote!!

I want to point out both of us felt safe along the journey. It doesn't need to be said that masking is political, so adherence to the CDC recommendation depends on the state you enter, but we both felt safe keeping our distance from those that weren't wearing them and road tripping allows you to keep your distance, if you so wish. 

This trip met all our desires of getting away, spending time with one another, seeing some mountains and dipping our toes into the world beyond the Twin Cities. I'm thankful to my travel buddy Sheldon for making this happen.

Thanks for following along my friends. I'm not sure why my views jumped from 70,000 eight months ago to 160,392 today, but I'm thinking it may have to do with people "travelling through blogs" due to shitty Covid. If you are new, welcome! My goal is to motivate you to get out and explore this great world we live in - of course safely. Travel truly does give you perspective to different cultures and forces you to look at the world differently. 

If you are from America...please vote November 3 and if you need info please hit me up (I'm an poll worker - aka Election Judge)!

As I mentioned in my previous post I am re-starting my travel life post-Covid so watch for updates soon. Damn I miss traveling. 

Statistics:
  • Days: Five (5)
  • Countries: One (1)
  • States: Four (4)
  • Miles: 2,142
  • Views on blog: 160,392...from 71,161 in December 2019 (What?!!)
  • Hours of Talking: Ninety-five (95)
  • Total expenses: $1,071,55 (tracking via Cost Split app...LOVE that thing!)
  • Cost of Lodging: $242.11
  • Cost of gas (estimated at $2.25/gallon - cheap): $174.54


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