Denver Reflections

 Transporation

• 6 lanes eastbound are often not enough

• 55 means 65

• 65 means 80

• Express Lane means “do whatever the hell you want”

• Is it a bike lane, a bus lane, both, or neither? You have 1.2 seconds to figure out how to turn right - too late.

• Google Maps does not recognize one way streets.

• Google Maps switches randomly between cardinal directions and relative directions. “Turn west here. Turn left there.” I never knew before how much west and left sounders alike.

• I only had to roll the window down once to flip someone off.

• Allow twice as long to get anywhere as Google Maps says. Then you’ll still probably be late.

• Electric bike and scooter rentals are everywhere.

Shopping

• Get ready for Alaska prices.

• Trying to find local artisan-made goods is difficult and expensive. No, I’m not paying $14 for a bar of soap. In those cases, Alaska is actually cheaper.

• Best bookstore ever - Shop at MATTER! It’s an independent, Black- and woman-owned bookstore serving the needs of all revolutionaries, designers, and other thinking persons. The owner will ask you what you are passionate about.

Food

• Everything is spicy except the Indian food - probably the Thai food, too. Even the sausage on the sausage, egg, and cheese croissant from the gas station is spicy sausage.

• You must eat at West Saloon & Kitchen downtown - ask for Roro and tell him the English teacher from Wisconsin sent you. Get the Cowboy Margarita, Rocky Mountain Oysters, and Elk Meatballs.

• You must also eat at Curry & Grill 2 in uptown. The Butter Chicken is crazy good! I’m pretty sure that’s the rainbow district. Delicious food, fun shops, and a safe and quiet neighborhood.

• Lastly, you must eat at the Teacher’s Lounge by the convention center. Seriously, why not!

Everyday Life

• The altitude is serious, so don’t try to climb a mountain on your first day there.

• Alcoholic drinks will hit you twice as fast and you may end up with a killer headache before bed.

• Rest - get a lot more than I did.

• Bring walking shoes. Denver is big. 

• The airport is enormous - 3rd busiest airport in the U.S. and it’s 20 miles from town.

• The convention center is huge - over 50 square acres. You need at least 15 minutes to walk fast from one side to the other. Also, they don’t have wifi that works.

• Everyone moves fast here - they drive fast, they walk fast, they think fast. I stayed in the slow lane on all three.

• You can buy flower bouquets at the off-ramp stop lights from random Mexicans. Not a bad idea if you’re running late for a date.

• November weather is warm. Roses and Cosmos are still booming - jackets optional, except in the early mornings. It barely rains here. Not what I thought of for a place nicknamed the Mile High City.

• The city is noisy, constantly, even the suburbs that run for a hundred miles in every direction.

Would I go back? If I had to. I’m glad I was there to visit; 6 days was long enough. Maybe I’ll try Philadelphia next November.

Nuka's Elegy (4/29/2016 - 2/18/2025)

Through tangled fields, your nose would lead,
Finding lost treasures with quiet speed.
No need for chains—your heart was free,
Bound by love and loyalty.

The Unalakleet called, and you would go,
Chasing the current, swift in its flow.
Sticks were treasures, carried back true,
Each one a promise, a gift from you.

Through tangled fields, your nose would lead,
Finding lost treasures with quiet speed.

A constant companion, on couch or trail,

Ready to please, never to fail.

No stranger you met, only friends on the way,
Your love was a light that never would stray.
You pressed against us, warm and near,
A steady presence through shadow and fear.

When days grew dark, you held me tight,
A warm, calm soul in the coldest night.
Your tail, a rhythm both sure and sweet,
An excited thump, a heartbeat's beat.

Meek and mild, yet strong and true,
A friend to all who knelt by you.
Children would gather, you’re name they’d call,
To roll in the grass and toss your ball.

Now silence lingers where paws once pressed,The echoes remain, though you're at rest.
In the whispering wind, in the river’s deep song,
I hear you, sweet Nuka, running along.

And though you've gone where we can't see,
Your spirit lingers quietly.
In rustling grass and skies so blue,
My sweet girl, we remember you.