You Stay Strange, Boulder..

My new job has brought new influences new faces, renewed inspiration, and most importantly, new and abstract experiences. On friday I wrap up a ten week road trip that has brought me to call the desert and the rocky mountains home. My struggles to answer the seemingly omnipotent query of where I call home has become increasingly difficult, as these temporary left coast stays add to a resume of locations that have shed their hospitality on this Northeast native.

These new atmospheres provide for infinite opportunities, and I have pleaded with my sleep cycle to make cultural submersion a priority at each new home. During our family vacations my parents always made sure that we experienced some aspect of the local culture during our stay. When I was younger this was often unwillingly forced upon me, as Dad usually felt that we should experience both the good and bad pieces that made up local folklore and cultural norms. My Dad has some unexplainable sense for sniffing out the dive bars and tourist free restaurants which offered the most authentic cuisine and conversation in the area. I feel blessed as that same curiosity and desire to engage has given birth to a new generation of wandering and exploring.

I find the best answers to the 'how come's' are experiences not explanations; and the catalyst of cultural clarity is diving head first in to the waters and body surfing the local tides to the shores of influence, perspective, and inspiration.

Boulder, Colorado is a warm dish composed of local ingredients. It best served by the ambience of the reflections of the moon off the flat irons that pierce out of the sides of the foothills like the jagged teeth of a jack-o-lantern. Boulder is a trendy kind of simple which is almost undefinable. Upon my arrival I was continually notified of the significance of the area, however after five weeks here I can personally contest that no preparation will do your experience justice.

As I reached the top of the final hill on Interstate 36, the city of Boulder came in to view for the first time. The large stone buildings of the University appeared miniature against the backdrop of Foothills, and the white tips of the Rockies undermined those same Flatirons. As I exited the Denver Boulder connector two homeless men stood next to the stoplight with cardboard signs. The first sign read, "Unemployed Deadhead, anything will help", and the other read, "4:20 pm, God Bless".

When I think about Boulder I can't help but to draw upon my experiences in Tucson, Arizona for the five weeks before it. While both exist as towns that play host to a college, it is difficult for me to define both as college towns. While Tucson exists almost as a community to serve the college, Boulder exists as a town with a college in it, undefined by the fact that 34,000 college aged students reside within it's city limits. Boulder the city has it's own vibe, it's own culture, it's own swagger.

The restaurant was dimly light at the corner of Pennsylvania and 13th. When I asked the bartender if he had anything local he immediately replied, "everything's made with local ingredients". When he realized I was asking about the beer he replied with a slightly different answer, "we only serve local beer." Of course you do, this is Boulder. The neighboring mountains seem to shield the local culture and atmosphere from the craziness of the outside world. Even with Denver less than thirty miles away, the buzz of the big city seems distant and abstract. The towns and cities of Colorado exist as identities seemingly larger than that of the state, and this is especially true in Boulder. When I asked my friend, an Oregon native residing in Boulder to rank whether the city was overrated or underrated her answer spoke volumes. "Both" she said, "it's underrated to everyone else in the world, but overrated locally because everyone who lives here thinks it's the greatest place in the world."

Boulder has been called the most liberal City in America, and the fact that marijuana dispensaries outnumber Starbucks may very well lay some foundation to this claim. The politely carefree attitude that exists below the peaks harbors a easy-going vibe that is unrivaled anywhere else I've been. The store fronts are littered with Garcia tapestries, eat local stickers, and posters for concerts.

Despite the liberal feel, the city has an eerily conservative undertone to it. Kegs are not allowed to be seen from the street, even in "The Hill" community that serves as the primary off-campus housing site for CU Students. This conservative nature exists in compliance with the identity of Boulderites, a community which refuses to be nailed down as just a college town. A few years back a proposal came in front of the town to take the open fields leading in to Boulder and fill them with Buffalo herd, paying tribute to the long running mascot of CU. The town ultimately shot this down with no real reason as to why. However, if you have the pleasure of staying in Boulder for a few days it is obvious why.

With the Universities recent decision to leave the Big 12 for the Pac 12, CU will be forced to move the Buffalo statues around campus. I found it most fitting that these statues were positioned so that their butt's faced the direction of their past conference rivals, because it almost seems like the entire town's rear end faces that of the rest of the world. It's a polite and unique kind of arrogance which is rightfully earned.

The significance of Boulder can be summed up with the experience I had at a bar way outside of the city. When I asked the Bartender about Boulder she explained that it was "a distance away" and "a weird, hippy town". When I asked her if she had a local beer on tap she answered me with, "have you had Coors?"

The community is extremely welcoming, and I am confident that it is impossible to visit without Boulder leaving an imprint on some aspect of your existence. The cities unparalleled beauty is only a small aspect of it's indescribable appeal. In two day's I'll be leaving Boulder, with three CD's of local musicians, two concerts under my belt, and one unforgettable experience. 'Til next time, you stay strange, Boulder.

Recommendations:
Upslope Brewery: "Cabernet IPA", (currently only distributed in CO).
The drive from Denver to Breckenridge (passing the Continental Divide).
Twisted Pine Brewery: Jalapeño Beer
A football game at CU (One of the Nation's prettiest stadiums)
Mountain Sun Brewery: "Illusion Dweller IPA"