So I arrived in Denver on August 1st, just under a month ago. The way the bus comes in I was greeted to a newer, "hipper" city. Where no one dresses anything above shorts and flip flops, and everyone is skinny with a tan.
My first thought about Denver was that all of the architecture was really interesting, like a modern, western style city. Really quaint.
The first couple of days here, my impression of Denver, was that it was the extension of two long roads, with a whole lot of commercialism. Before long I actually realized, this city is actually pretty huge.
(on a shorter tangent: I would like to say that Greyhound can kiss my rear.)
The "city" itself, is relatively small and runs about 2 square mile radius, but all of its outer limits are a bunch of smaller neighborhoods that have a lot to offer.
There are what I would say are scales of neighborhoods.. going from working class/poor to extreamly wealthy. And those neighborhoods rarely run into one another.
It also has quite an excellent transportation system. I have yet to experience a bus that was any more than 4 minutes late and there are four train lines that jut out into the four corners of the city and beyond.
Denver also has an excellent night scene to offer. Last call here is at 2 and between Thursday and Saturday, and even the days in between, you are more than likely to be able to find something to do, if you are over 21. Under 21 I have yet to research weather or not there is anything for those people. But even so, up until at least 11 you are more than likely to find something to do, like "retro" bowling. Oh and there is LeeLas European Cafe which I have come to spend a significant amount of time at, because a.) I don't know a whole lot of people yet b.) they have a bottomless coffee, iced coffee, and sodas and c) they have free wi-fi.
They are infact all ages, and on the weekends have different bands play. Also on Tuesdays, a local artists group meets and illistrates/writes there. I do enjoy it there, and the staff is pretty awesome.
The night scene aside, there is a collection of museums, restaurants, libraries one could visit, along with about a thousand day time activities including the gigantic park and several large parks to visit.
So with all of those good things, coming from the east coast, where it is humid, very humid, to somewhere polar opposite, like in fact how dry it is, I had a really hard time adjusting to the climate here. It has been sunny and between 75 and 90 nearly every day and it has only rained twice. I have come to also be informed that Denver is in the middle of roughly a ten year drought. So people water their lawns at 10:00 at night, no joke, because there is a city ordanence that you cannot water your lawn or use a hose for that matter between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
I head to Nevada in a month for Americorps for the year, I'm going to be doing land conservation. For The Great Basin Instatution .
