C O L O R A D O | Getting High & Discovering a Small World

Wander in wonder, this is the mindset I had the moment I landed in Denver, Colorado. I arrived late Monday night and immediately felt the altitude difference. After exiting the airport and walking a few steps I was literally tempted to get on a wheelchair and just roll my way into arrivals because damn, I was out of breath.

Colorado has been on the bucket list of states I wanted to visit for a long time and about a year ago for spring break I was supposed to go but couldn't afford it. It’s funny how things tend to work themselves out because shortly after that, one of my friends moved out to Denver and left an open invitation if I ever decided to come visit. So I searched up cheap flights, and within 2 months i was ready to explore the state.

I had done my research on Denver Colorado in advance and immediately created a list of places I wanted to see. However, attempting to tour through these hidden gems I quickly learned that 2 days and a half wasn't enough time to truly explore Colorado. So my friend and I strategically planned what main points we had to go visit. 

So first stop was to the Garden of the Gods. This national park is located in Colorado Springs, which is about an hour and 15 away from Denver. With 300 feet of sandstone rock formations towering over you, this natural landmark is the perfect place to make you feel small and connected to the states greatest creations.

Before Megan moved to Colorado I had an old friend who already lived there and promised a quick tour of some mountains he lived nearby. So this time around it was a must we linked up. After some lunch in a small cafe called The Yellow Deli off of Pearl Street in Boulder, we drove up to Flagstaff Mountain. The drive up the mountain had a few rest stops to see different points of view of Boulder. The drive itself also proved how steep the mountain was if we would've hiked by foot. After noticing some snowfalls, the higher up we drove, I was glad my bougie ass was sitting in the heat of my friends car. About 10 more minutes driving north we finally arrived at what seemed the very top. Toward the lower stretches of the mountain we noticed a remarkable view of the Flatirons which later became the hike we would climb the very next day. 

Just so you all know, full disclaimer, I am well out of shape. This is not an understatement. Want to know why? Because while hiking up (even coming down) the Chautauqua Trailhead, there was a woman who was hiking with her baby strapped on to her body and must've done laps around me. I was literally panting out of breath, sitting down and taking breaks after every 10 minutes, and jumping at the sound of any animal nearby.  

There was even a moment as I was coming down the mountain I couldn't help myself but take my time. As I carefully stepped onto each rock coming down the mountain I had both arms spread out for balance. I am not a trained hiker so from a distance it almost seemed dramatic how delicately I hiked down this mountain. As I stood focused repeating in my head don't worry as long as you make it down safely, I continued to hear the sound of ruffled leafs behind me. 

I noticed the sound before but I knew that was the sound of nature so I tried my hardest not to get distracted. All of sudden the ruffling sound became louder and eventually heard what sounded like branch broke echoed and I screamed. Yes I screamed. My entire body tensed up and both of my arms were crossed against my chest. I stood there frozen in silence for a few seconds to realize it was just a little bird flying away from a tree. Down a few feet ahead was a guy who I guess stopped in his tracks as well and was staring directly at me just smirking. He looked at me trying not to laugh and said "did the little bird scare you?" Finally giving into my own embarrassment, I laughed and just said "I'm not from here..."

For those who don't already know I reside in Florida and the altitude where I live is practically below sea level. Now on Colorado flat ground, thanks for the snapchat altitude filter, is over 5,000ft. Now hiking a few miles up from that onto the mountain, we reached over 7,000ft!! That means my poor lungs and body temperature practically dropped.

Don't worry, I clearly survived.

The truth is I have hiked before, actually a few times in Dominican Republic one of them being Pico Duarte which is technically the highest mountain in all of the Caribbean. So maybe I am being over dramatic about the Flatirons, but it was still a challenge that of course became worth the hike.

Although I was only in Colorado for two days and a half and couldn't truly write about every single place I wanted to discover, I do have to say visiting Voodoo Doughnuts, Tattered Cover, Denver’s Botanical Garden, and William and Graham Speakeasy were the top places I am so happy I got to see. 

To cap off the trip, the very last activity I had to make sure I do before heading back to the sunshine state was to have a local Colorado craft beer. So we headed back to Downtown Denver and arrived at Lodo’s Bar and Grill. Megan seemed a little pissed when I made it a point to sit at the rooftop since at the moment it was below 40 degrees, but how can I have a local Colorado beer without the view of Denver?

At the bar we immediately met two local guys who struck a conversation with us. After the small talk and discussing where we were from and answering the question “So why Colorado….” the guy mentioned having family in Central Florida. Long story short, his cousin owned a restaurant my mom used to work at while I was in high school!! Next thing I knew, we were name dropping people we both ironically knew and he called up his cousin and passed the phone to me to say hello.

What a small world.

For privacy reasons we’ll call him Freddy*. Freddy had four tickets to the baseball game that was currently playing across the street at Coors Field. Although the game was at its 7th inning Freddy insisted on going to the game. I told him it seemed pointless but then said “well who cares…at least you could say you were able to go to a baseball game while being here.” After chugging our beer, walking to the field with a minor buzz, I practically sat on the field at my first Colorado baseball game.

Crazy how I specifically wanted to go to this particular bar and sit outside in the cold to end up encountering such a funny moment. Quite the experience uh?

Overall, Colorado was a beautiful state with much to see and truly showed me the meaning of slowing down and becoming aware of your surroundings. Colorado you were absolutely breathtaking....literally. 

Thank you so much for reading!! Don't forget to subscribe! What state have you always wanted to travel to? Leave your comment on the comments :) I would love to know!