Recalculating.

Before I start talking about my recent trip to Denver, I need to tell you about the level of intelligence that was in that car. 6 college degrees, two more in process. 2 paralegals. 2 former federal employees. 2 graduates of Albuquerque Academy. Like, gave new meaning to the term "smart car".

Now, watch this and know that it was the single, most hysterical moment of our lives.




I think I've turned going to Denver into some sort of hobby. Really, I'm a bit confused. Because, truth be told, I don't like Denver much at all. But, I sure do seem to go there a lot. And I have fun every time I go. Does that mean I like Denver?

No.

We, being Kyle, Tom, Marky, Alexis and myself went to D-Town to see Flogging Molly and the Aggrolites at the Fillmore, which might be my favorite venue in the world (there's a lot of them I have yet to see). We left last Monday, stayed the night in Colorado Springs, went to the show on Tuesday and drove back on New Years Eve.


We stayed with Tom's uncle in Springs. And since his uncle's a Maloof AND the head golf coach at the Air Force Academy, his neighborhood looked like this. Or, the sort of neighborhood crazy people snatch up little blonde girls, as I so poetically deemed it. Tom's uncle had a giant and fantastic chocolate lab named Maverick. Best dog in dog world. Most dogs think they're people. Some dogs even think they're cats. But Maverick knew he was a dog. He liked it and he was good at it.


We had some time to kill in Denver before the show, so we went to Casa Bonita. Trust me, it's just as awesome and horrible as you can imagine.



Cliff Divers.


This is Tom, sort of excited about gordita. And Alexis, not excited about beef taco. And Mark, really excited about tequila.


And this is the Jonderpool Holiday Photo, 2008.

After Bonita, we decided we needed beer. And we needed to take Tom on his family spirit quest (walkabout!) to the Coors Brewery in Golden. After driving allllll the way out there, we find out they're closed on Tuesdays. Now, Tom will never know who he truly is.


So, we went to the Denver Art Museum instead.

This giant sculpture had a plaque with it, describing what was and was not okay to do to the broom and dust pan, that said things like: Taking your picture with the broom is okay. Chatting with the broom about cleaning products is okay. Blaming the broom for the degradation of contemporary morals is okay. Caressing the broom is not okay. No, really.

About the time we finished looking at art (and completely ignoring the Native American sections, because really, can Denver teach me anything about Native American art that I can't learn at home? No. The answer is no.) it was time to head for the Fillmore. This is about the time I start to get super paranoid. Because this is about the time in my last trip to see Flogging Molly at the Fillmore that everything went horribly wrong. Between myself and Marky, I think we analyzed every, single thing that could possibly go wrong. I was checking out hotels in the area. I even asked Tom how good the insurance policy on his car was.

Luckily, after a few plastic cups of High Life on an empty stomach, I was pretty content with things. The show was almost exactly what I expected. For the most part, no one understood Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band or the Aggrolites, but our little group danced away, regardless. See, Denver's got a lot of bro's. Like, BRO'S. BRAHS, even. And brahs think Flogging Molly's the shit. So, I went in expecting that no one would get the openers. And that everyone would be insane for F-Molly. And they were. If any band in the world deserves a crazy crowd, it's Flogging Molly. They put on one hell of a show. But, even though it goes against the fundamental basics of punk rock, there are certain, universal rules of etiquette at punk rock shows. And Rule #1 is, when someone falls down you pick them up. And when this rule isn't followed, things get dangerous pretty quick. So, after having about 7 white hats pile on top of me, and no one help me up, I decided that the bar was a great place to watch the show. Maybe I'm old. But, I still had fun.

We stayed the night with Bill, the former bass player of Half-Stache and one of my favorite people in the world. But that also meant we had to be up and on the road by 7:30. We barely made it. We stopped for gas at the Denver Tech Center and searched down breakfast. I think we were all dreading the thoughts of McDonalds or some sort of fast food, thanks to Casa Bonita's fine cuisine from the previous day. But, we located a blessed Einsteins.


Really?

Ride home was uneventful. I rode shotgun or drove for most of it, which made me iPod master, a role I very much enjoy. We got home in enough time for me to nap before heading out for New Years Eve.

But, the moral of the blog is, CURSE BROKEN, BITCHES. The worst thing that happened on the trip was sleep deprivation. So, do I like Denver now? Now that the curse is off?

No.

Bread.

I would like to begin by thanking The Lawrence Arms and the Aquabats. Without your fine music, I would not have made it across Kansas.

I was almost excited about that drive, as it was the first of my trip that I hadn't made before. In a way, I feel like this mini trip is almost a cop out, no real adventure. I've been to these places, I know these people. I don't feel that bold, that isolated, or that far away from home. So, driving through Kansas to Norman Oklahoma was appealing. (I took I-70 all the way to Salina Kansas, took a VERY EXCITING turn onto I-135, which turns into I-35 and took that all the way to Norman. In case you're curious.)

But, DAMN THAT STATE. It's almost romantic, all the wheat fields and silos and open space. But, that lasts for about an hour (if you're lucky) and then it's just painful. I mean, NOTHING. It'll make you crazy (I made some mpegs along the way of car-dancing. Those were promptly deleted.)

I had some great banter with the gas station clerk in Hays Kansas who asked me my new favorite variation: "Doesn't that hurt?"

"Nope. Not right now." He rolled his eyes and double-counted my bills. As I'm walking out the door, he says "You don't have to be so rude."

OR DO I?

But, I would like to congradulate Hays for having a mall named "The Mall" right next to a car lot named "The Car Lot". Impressive.

However, the most exciting part of my day was the random cow I saw hanging out in a pond. Yes, that's correct. EXCITING. It was hot, I don't blame him.

So, here I am in Norman Oklahoma. I'll pull the official mile count off my truck tomorrow, but I broke 1,000 today. It was an 11 hour drive.

The thing that always shocks me about Oklahoma is that it doesn't get cold when the sun sets. It's almost midnight and the temperature has dropped maybe 10 degrees since 2:00 pm. I guess I just expect that when the sun sets and the heat source goes away, things get colder. Nope. Illogical. I'm sure there's a fantastic environmental explanation as to why, but I like to think it's because people barbeque so much here.

Speaking of, I was SHOCKED to pass a billboard for Rudy's on my way into town. They must be expanding!

My last day in Denver was fun. Sarah and I tried an experiment to see if we could spend a fun-filled day in Denver without spending money. We almost suceeded, minus the $1.85 for a giant Coke from Subway. I don't think that counts. Me and Sarah spent most of the day downtown, admiring the big ol court houses and parks, as well as some nicely over-the-top public art.





Also, supremely classy of you Denver, here's little children swimming in a fountain.



Also, since Raton is the smallest town in the world, Sarah and me ran into two kids I went to high school with on the 16th Street Mall. Since I told them I was going to blog about it and they laughed, there that is.

WHY IS MICHAEL BUBLE PLAYING AT EVERY STARBUCKS IN THE WORLD?!?!

Sup dude.

(Photo post to follow)

Yesterday was a busy outdoor day. Sarah and I got an early start, leaving the house around 11:30. First stop was City Park, a 330+ acre park right in the middle of Denver. They advertised having paddle boats, something me and Sarah were pretty excited about. However, upon arriving at the park, a huge chunk of it was under construction, including the paddle boat pond!

However, we got a very unexpected surprise, in the form of geese.



First, there were a few, here and there. They seemed to have no hesitation about people. And then, someone broke out the bread.



HOLY SHIT. At least 200 geese came from all over. It was a little scary, I’m sure they could have tackled some poor, harmless child at any point.



Geese effing everywhere.



And a majestic fountain.



After the City Park, we went to the Botanic Gardens, probably the bargain of the city; only $5 for students in the summer ($4 in the winter). 23 acres, all covered in plants. If it would stand still, it had something growing by it. Also, it’s open til 8 on weekends in the summers.



The best part about it were these fantastic ponds, in what they called the “Monet Garden”. They really should have called the whole thing the Denver Monet Gardens, because there were ponds all over, all still, making fantastic reflections.



Also impressive was their Japanese garden. It was so tranquil. There was even a tea house which we really wanted to go into, but there was a tea ceremony in progress, dang it.





YOU WISH YOU WERE HERE.



Kissey face. I wish it was in focus. Damn camera…



But, all in all, blind photography is getting kind of interesting.





Also, Sarah and me were pretty excited about this giant ant.



YES.



We spent at least an hour just hanging out on the grass, watching one of the many weddings in progress at the park. Good day.

I’ve started a “Five Things You Might Want To Do When You’re In: …” thing, for all the cities I’ve been to. Not sure if I like it yet. I still feel very much like a tourist. I think those lists are for those who really know the city. When does tourist become resident. I wonder. I’ve been trying to avoid tourist-things, like the Denver Mint or the Coors Brewery Tour (if it was any other brewery besides Coors…) and trying to find more local activities, like the park. However, I think experiencing local Denver requires a Broncos game. Maybe in the fall.

Art Saves Lives.

I tend to judge cities on the caliber of their museums. It’s the anthropologist in me, also something I learned from my mom. So, imagine how excited I was to hear that the Denver Art Museum is open til 10:00 PM on Fridays!

Sarah made tasty spaghetti and we headed downtown for the museum last night. Turned out only one building (of two) was open. But, luckily, that one building was the one that held all my favorite modern art.



Gee. This might be the building with the modern art in it.

The building itself was, obviously, impressive. It's new, maybe a few years old, parts of it still under construction. It had these odd LCD number counters implanted in the walls of the stairwells, that looked like they were for elevators, but they moved at random. I was pretty fascinated.

The collections were fantastic, clealy Denver has some cash. But, I liked reading that a lot of the pieces were on loan from private collections from the Denver area. It's nice residents taking an active interest in sometimes ridiculous modern art. I was pretty happy to see a Warhol soup can up close and personal for the first time.

I was a big fan of an outdoor sculpture deck, which we happened to stumble upon right around sunset.



Fantastic!



Meet Sarah. She's happy to meet you, too.



They had this FANTASTIC interactive exhibit with these bubble being projected onto the floor from the ceiling. However, they were rigged with some kind of motion detector and actually popped when you stood on them. I WAS IN LOVE. Sarah and I spent a good 15 minutes bubble stomping.

Security at the museum was really friendly. We were chatting with one of them, talking to her about how modern art just asks to be touched. She said, "Oh, you can touch this one." It was a stack of paper, big sheets, that just said "Memorial Day Weekend" in the center. Turns out the artist meant it to be a moving exhibit, we were supossed to take pieces of the paper. Me and Sarah proceeded to take about 5 sheets each. The security guard said, "Yeah, I don't know. The guy shows up about once a month and just brings more pieces of paper. I don't get it. Like, why would he do that?" I laughed a quiet and supremely pretentious laugh in my head. What's up, fine arts degree?

On the second floor, they had the "Western American Art" exhibit (and a make-your-own postcard booth. LOVE) that housed stuff from George Catlin. Homeboy looooved to exploit the savage, just like most white people did in the 1800's. The painting, called "The Cutting Scene" (which I cannot find anywhere...) showed a O-Kee-Pa rite of passage cermony that featured, you guessed it, suspension! They had all this interactive stuff with the painting about it being one of the most controversial pieces of art in the museum. And why? Well, partially the whole "glamourizing the native" thing, but most of the response came from because it was a suspension. I left some grand comments, you better believe it.





All in all, good time at the museum.

Today, Sarah and me are going to track down paddleboats and do some exploring downtown.

Chairs from the Mile High City

Not the best birthday I’ve ever had, that’s for sure. I dropped my digital camera at Casa Bonita and broke the LCD screen. Pretty lame, especially when there’s no view finder on the camera. BOO. But, I’m trying to be positive, thinking about “blind photography” and some of the interesting images I’ll get. I've become far too dependent on that foolish "delete" feature anyway.

(Listen to what UNM Media Arts has done to me!)

When I turned 18, I spent most of the day alone, with the exception of a short trip to the mall where I just happened to meet the drummer of The Big Spank. I felt completely isolated, all alone in a city I knew nothing about. Number 23 was about the same, but it says a lot more on my perspective. I wasn't sad yesterday, I remember crying myself to sleep 5 years ago. There's still this sense of isolation, but I guess I'm more comfortable in my own skin.

However, all the phone calls and well wishes I got made it that much more awesome. Especially a call from Seattle!

On top of going to Casa Bonita, me and Sarah went to see Waitress, which I highly endorce. There was one line that made me so completely homesick, being "Dear Baby, I hope someday somebody wants to hold you for 20 minutes straight. All they do is wrap you up in their arms without an ounce of selfishness to it." I guess it just made me miss my network.

But all in all, mood is positive. I'm proud to have located free wifi at an independent coffee shop (hiiiiiiippie...) near the apartment I'm staying and I'm super proud that I've kept my spending to a minimun. However, I will be extravigant when I get to Oklahoma by taking a day trip to Arlington with Matt for Six Flags Over Texas, something I am SO excited for. Rollercoasters! I was highly debating going to Elitch Gardens, which is Denver's theme park. However, I've ridden every coaster they have about 8 times, so I decided to wait until Texas. (A little Elitch Gardens History: the park was bought by Six Flags a little over 6 years ago, something that upset a lot of Denver-ins, as it's been a Denver landmark for over 100 years. Apparently, it's no longer a Six Flags, so congrats on getting your park back, D-town!)



I find Denver to be a lot like Albuquerque, but segregated. I'm staying in a very working class neighborhood of apartment complexes, that borders the fancy-pants Cherry Creek/Hills neighborhood. It's like I am where the workers live, the servants quarters. I already miss that about Albuquerque, the multi-million dollar estates next to the trailor. I was very excited to see a Drive In theater, hopefully me and Sarah will visit it this weekend. Even though I think I've seen everything it's showing, it's completely an aesthetic thing. I'm also excited about a visit to the Denver Art Museum this weekend.

People here seem to have a lot of pride in their city. They're freaks about the Broncos. Angie was telling me stories about going to the last event at Mile High and watching people rip up chairs, so they could have a piece of the stadium. It's hard to not love a city that so many other people do. However, I think it's just the area I'm in. I'm not feeling it in Englewood.

I'll be here for the weekend, then Monday I'll be driving through Kansas, Oklahoma-bound. If anyone knows of anything awesome in Western Kansas, let me know. I'm kinda already dreading that journey.

Sarah, sans parka.

Location: Englewood, Colorado, Starfucks.
Miles Logged: 502

Well, I’m officially 23.

A big part of me wishes I was home, surrounded by all my friends. But, being in Denver ain’t so bad either. Minus the fact I just had to pay $6.00 to T-Mobile for wi-fi. I am a sucker.

I’m staying with another dear Ratonian Sarah. She’s a few years older than me and I’ve always idolized her confidence and her sincerity. Yet another person I feel honored to meet. She is the queen of the perfect one-liner. Yesterday, she told me, in absolute seriousness, “Cat, I need to ask you a question. Am I a parka person?” While, out of context it’s terrible, if you know Sarah, and the fact her family decided it was the perfect gift for her, it’s hilarious.

Dinner at Casa Bonita tonight! Excitement!

Also, I back-posted a bunch of stuff since I was without net for a while. Read, read, and read.