If you read last weeks blog post you’ll be caught up on the cross-country adventure that got Jacob and I to Denver. If not check it out here!
Denver
We met up with Jacobs ex-girlfriend, Ashley for breakfast at the Bacon Social House. The breakfast and bacon were actually kind of disappointing. We got a bacon flight that had 6 different kinds and they all pretty much tasted the same, one was a little spicy but that was the only real difference.
It was pretty awkward being the third wheel in this already awkward situation of reconnecting with an ex so I tried to give them as much space as I could. Jacob and Ashley were both regular weed smokers so we went to check out some weed shops after breakfast. Going to a weed shop in the USA was a lot different than in Amsterdam. In Amsterdam, it was all very casual but in Denver, it seemed pretty serious. In Amsterdam, we just walked in and ordered a brownie no real security or anything but in Denver, they scanned our IDs in a separate room before allowing us to enter the dispensary. Ashley bought a couple different things but I was only interested in edibles so I didn’t get anything.
That afternoon the three of us went to the wildlife refuge, it was beautiful. As we pulled in we saw a bunch of prairie dogs popping out, so cute! They also had deer roaming the refugee and a few spots with Bison too. What really got me though were the views, the mountains in the background were perfectly snow-capped.
One more photo because it really is that beautiful!
We stayed with Jacob’s friend Victor that night and planned a sunrise hike for the next am.
Denver day 2
I was completely unprepared for a hike, I didn’t think we would have time so I didn’t bring boots. Victor was well aware that I only had converse for shoes and assured me that the hike was plenty easy enough. He could not have been more wrong. I was so mad at him. I was slipping and sliding the whole way up and down the mountain! We did make it up to the halfway point in time to see the sunrise over Denver which was stunning.
Ashley had come on the hike with us and thank god for her. She helped me up and back down most of the mountain and kept me from falling on multiple occasions. The guys left us, hiking way ahead of us so her and I really go to know each other. She was super nice and even offered to let me stay with her that night.
Ashley and I ended up staying up until 1 am talking. It felt like a high school sleepover! She was really cool but the more I learned about her and Jacob’s relationship the less I thought they should get back together. They were individually great people but together they were actually fairly toxic. How do you say that to someone you just met?
Denver day 3
I met up with Jacob for breakfast at the Denver Biscuit Co. They have several locations around Denver so there’s really no excuse for not checking one out. They have all kinds of yummy biscuit breakfast sandwiches including a french toast biscuit sandwich which is just as delicious as it sounds.
Oddly enough a friend of mine, Venessa had moved to Silt, Colorado a few months previously and since I had some extra time I decided to go visit her. Greyhound had a bus from Denver to Glenwood Springs for $40 USD each way so I figured why not.
The bus ride was really beautiful, the mountains seemed to go on forever. I arrived to Glenwood around 10 where I met up with Venessa and her boyfriend John. They lived with John’s parents in Silt, CO a very small town about a half hour from Glenwood Springs.
When we got back to their house I noticed my wallet was missing. I searched my backpack twice and still came up empty. Maybe I was just tired? It would be there in the AM hopefully.
Silt
As soon as I woke up I searched everywhere for my wallet but still came up empty-handed. I called the bus company and they, unfortunately, hadn’t found it either. Thankfully my passport didn’t fit in my wallet otherwise I wouldn’t even be able to fly home. Since this incident, I have always kept at least 1 credit card separate from everything else just in case!
John offered to lend me some money to last me the next few days which was so incredibly sweet of him.
After dealing with my lost wallet situation, the three of us Venessa, John and I decided to go for a hike. Venessa had sent me a photo of Hanging Lake that looked magical! Hanging Lake is crystal clear and situated fairly high up a mountain inside a canyon.
Being that it was only the beginning of March there was a lot of snow and ice on the trail. Thankfully Ashley had let me borrow a pair of hiking boots so I was a little more prepared for this hike. It was really challenging though and multiple spots were sheer ice.
We made it a little over halfway before calling it quits. The worst part was still up ahead and the higher up we got the colder it was. The sun had also started to go down and I was nervous about having to hike down in the dark. There were still some really pretty views but I was disappointed to miss seeing hanging lake.
When we got back to John’s families place we wandered around on the property for a bit. Being so rural they had a lot of wildlife come through so there were a bunch of deer prints and we even found some deer bones.
There was wild sage growing everywhere as well as tiny adorable cacti. It was so peaceful out in the mountains. They even had their own little mountain in their backyard. The next morning I was heading back to Denver so we spent the night catching up with a few drinks.
Back to Denver
I hadn’t realized how much I had missed on the bus ride to Glenwood Springs in the dark. The way back was even more beautiful, there were so many little caves amongst the mountains. You could spend months hiking through them and still not see them all. Throughout the mountains, there are also natural hot springs. Sitting in a hot spring surrounded by mountains sounds like my kind of spa day.
As I was telling Jacob about my lost wallet the bus company called me they had found my wallet!! Such a relief.
That afternoon Jacob and I went to check out Red Rocks Amphitheater. Red Rocks is only about 20 minutes outside of Denver, totally worth the quick trip! I’m not quite sure what it is but I absolutely love the deep red of the sandstone rocks.
It is a life goal of mine to see a show at Red Rocks Amphitheater. It just seems like it would be such a great experience. Listening to live music under the stars sounds like the perfect way to spend a summer night.
They also have a little music hall of fame at Red Rocks. It was really cool to see all the bands that had played there over the years!
I asked Jacob to take a photo of me at the Amphitheater and this is what I got…
Since it was my last night in Denver I had to get some edibles. We went to a couple of shops and I bought a wide variety of edibles, hard candies, cookies, and lots of chocolates. At this point, I had smoked maybe 10 times and done edibles maybe 5 times. Nothing had really happened to me so far so I was hoping this time would be different.
Considering Jacob was a regular smoker I figured he was more knowledgeable with this stuff than I was so when he told me I should eat three 10 milligram cookies I trusted him and went for it. The cookies shockingly didn’t taste like weed at all. After I had eaten them Jacob decided to read the package and goes “Ut oh, you’re not going to like this.” Oh great! Thanks for telling me that now that I’ve already eaten them!
Apparently, the cookies were made with Sativa which gives you more of a head high than a body high. Well I decided to just go with it, my only other option was to force myself to throw up and that sounded terrible.
About an hour later the cookies started to kick in, at first I just felt kind of out of it and giggly. I was laughing and enjoying the feeling. I couldn’t focus on anything and time seemed to be moving in slow motion. Jacob thought it was hysterical how high I was and at first, I thought it was really funny too. Then all of a sudden it wasn’t funny and I was seriously freaking out.
We were on our way to meet up with Ashley at the bar she worked at but the absolute last thing that I needed was to be around a bunch of people. I was paranoid about everything. I was sitting in Jacobs truck when we got there worried that the person in the car next to us knew that I was high.
Jacob convinced me that I needed to get up and walk around but I couldn’t even focus on walking. I was stoned out of my mind. After Jacobs persistence, we went into the bar, he said I would feel better if I ate something. I couldn’t even look at the bartender I made Jacob order for me. I had the worst cotton mouth I couldn’t swallow anything without drinking a gallon of water. I just wanted to get out of there. I was close to having a panic attack that everyone in the place knew I was high.
Finally, Ashley was out of work so she took me back to her place where I was staying for the night. As soon as I got inside I laid down completely dressed and fell asleep.
Unfortunately, that’s not the end to the night. **trigger warning: non-consensual exposure** I’m a fairly light sleeper especially when I’m sleeping in a new place. Sometime in the middle of the night, I woke up to voices in the room. It was Ashley and Jacob. I heard Ashley say “you taste like pussy” oh great I thought. And I went back to sleep hoping not to hear anything else.
The next AM I woke up to them making out and I’m pretty sure they were having sex in the same bed I was in. I was pissed but had absolutely no idea how to handle the situation. I was so mad that neither one of them even had the decency to wake me up and ask me to leave the room. I’m a very easy-going person and Jacob knew me well enough that he should have known he could have just asked me to leave and I would have happily given them some privacy.
Last day in Denver
I was thrilled that this was my final day in Denver given what I woke up to. I could barely look at either of them I was so mad. I had found a cat cafe in Denver and wanted to check that out before leaving, so Jacob and Ashley dropped me off there. The Denver Cat Company is adorable and such a good cause. They have a bunch of adoptable cats there along with some pastries and coffee.
There is a small entrance fee but it all goes towards the cats. They have a wall of cats that have been adopted from the cafe along with stories of the cats they currently have. All of the cats were super friendly and loveable. They even had some toys out so you could play with the cats.
The Denver airport ended up being grounded that day because of a wind storm. They canceled and then rescheduled my flight 5 times! I ended up spending the whole day/evening at the airport and didn’t get home until the next morning.
The trip didn’t end on the best note but overall the trip was amazing. Colorado is a nature lovers paradise and one that I hope to visit again.
