The Rainbow Gathering had come to an end, and Mitchell and I were heading to Denver, Colorado. We had picked up two travelers, Guy and Jon Boy. The three of them rode in Mitchell’s bus along with Thomas the Cat, while I followed behind in my car with the dogs.
We stopped by two different hot springs along the way. My favorite one had a muddy bottom, which made a perfect face mask. The other one was alongside a beautiful river. The river itself was freezing but locals used rocks to trap the warm water into little bath areas. At both hot springs, we ran into other people from The Gathering; everywhere we stopped there were Rainbow People. It was like a fun-filled, mini-reunion.
Once we got to Denver, Guy and Jon Boy went their separate ways, and Mitchell and I stayed at Little Cheeseman Park. My first experience with Denver was not the best. Mitchell and I had been hanging out in the park with my pups, Maggie and Sophie. They were chilling and chewing on sticks, so I let go of their leashes since they weren’t moving. That’s when we were approached by park rangers who asked, “Are you aware that dogs are not allowed off-leash?” I looked around the park at the multiple dogs running around without leashes, but politely said, “No, I’m not”, and apologized. I explained that I wasn’t from the area and told them it would not happen again. They told me that they would be giving me a $100 dollar fine anyway. They asked for my name, and I unhappily gave it to them while Mitchell tried to reason with them. They said it was up to the officer’s discretion whether or not to give a warning, and they did not want to. That’s when Mitchell got a great idea and said, “Wait, don’t tell them anything else, they are just park rangers, let’s leave.” We started walking off, which made them mad. They followed us for a while, yelling that we had to come back, and if we didn’t it would make matters worse, and they would mail me a ticket anyway. We ignored them and kept walking until we lost them, and low and behold, I never received that ticket in the mail.
After that I wanted to stay somewhere else, so we went to a different nearby park. Within twenty minutes of us being there, the police showed up. Someone had called them and told them we had been camping there for days; obviously not the truth. The police were nice about it, and let us be. We stayed on a side street nearby and continued to swing by the park almost every day, and every time we did, the police showed up.
Denver did start to get better, though, and it kept going in that direction. Guy had told us about a concert at Meow Wolf; Desert Dwellers would be playing. I had never heard of them, but Mitchell was a big fan.
I loved the venue. Its walls were painted with trees with mushrooms growing on and around them. Projectors made the scenes come to life with swirling colors.
We then took a two-day trip to Boulder so Mitchell could help his friend Silky fix his car. I absolutely loved Boulder. We stayed at a little park right next to a river. There were walking trails along the river that we explored.
Throughout the city, paintings on trash cans, walls, rocks, and anywhere you can imagine could be seen. There was one specific artist who did very fine, detailed works that were my favorite. He mainly painted people and animals, and they were all done in individual brush strokes.
I spent time going through the cute shops of Boulder. They had a pedestrian mall where each store was locally owned. It was also lined with statues and gardens, and it was simply beautiful. I wanted to spend more time there, but we had to get back to Denver, to help friends with their projects and to finish our own.
Mitchell had lived in Denver for two years before he hit the road, and he wanted to show me everything. We spent a day on the dirt bike exploring, and then as the sun was setting, he took me for a beautiful hike up into the mountains.
He also took me to an ecstatic dance; it was the biggest one I had ever been to. There were over 100 people there. I loved the way everyone danced, fully embracing the music.
Afterwards we went to the Temple Lounge, a hangout spot where some of Mitchell’s friends live. Multiple people were gathered around a fire, while others were fire spinning in the side yard. Thomas the Cat even came down and joined the get-together.
Sophie loved Denver because of another pup named Josie, who was our friend Jon Paul’s dog, and older than she, but still a puppy too. They played together almost every day, tackling and chasing each other, it was great for socialization and getting her puppy energy out.
One day as I was hanging out in the park with my pups, a man and his dog approached us. Sophie and his dog played while he and I talked. He owned the International Church of Cannabis. It was his own creation, and the only one in the country. He said they were having a service that night followed by a barbecue, and he invited me and my pups. I was intrigued by the concept, and can’t turn down free food, so I went to check it out with Mitchell.
There was a game room downstairs, along with art supplies everywhere. We hung out down there before the service started while Sophie and her new dog-friend played. There was a cool evolution mural with an alien and a gorilla. The last evolution spot was a chair so you became part of the art.
The service started upstairs and we found our way to the pews, where we were surrounded by artwork. The ceiling was covered in multicolored, kaleidoscope paintings. There was a massive mural behind the pews that had two bird-like creatures, each sitting on the side of a window. It was a place of beauty, and you could tell there had been hours of work put into each painting.
Maggie sat in the pew with us as Sophie ran around playing. The service started by lighting a candle while they said their mission statement, which was something along the lines of “Be your best self in whatever way that looks to you.” We were told we could smoke throughout the service, and they encouraged us to use the candle they lit at the beginning to light joints.
During the sermon they interviewed an artist who did murals all over the world. They encouraged everyone to create their own art. It was interesting and kept my attention, which is hard to do.
Afterwards we all hung out in the backyard for the barbecue. I was really grateful that I had been invited, and knew I would swing through again next time I came to Denver.
In between all of this, I had been working on my bus, which I talked about in my previous blog. As my time came to an end in Colorado, I loaded my three animals into my bus and left for Central New York to visit friends and family.
The trip went smoothly. The animals mostly slept in a pile on the floor, other than Thomas occasionally jumping on the dash, working as the co-pilot.
My time in New York started off with a trip to the Sterling Renaissance Festival with my brother Ben and his girlfriend Brittany.
There was jousting, an escape artist, and my favorite was the bird of prey show. There were three different birds we saw, an owl, a falcon and a vulture. They were all birds he had rescued which made me like it even more.
That evening and the next day was my annual family reunion. I look forward to it every year, and I’ve never missed a single one in my life. I got to meet my nephew, Orin, who was eight months old. He was the sweetest little boy, and took a liking to both of my pups. He loved playing with them on the floor.
Later in the week I went to a concert to see Dashboard Confessional with two of my good friends, Heather and Jake. It was so nice seeing old friends that we mainly talked rather than watching the show. We had all missed each other so much.
I spent the rest of my time in New York visiting family and friends, getting my bus in order, making some new friends, and working. I stayed for almost three weeks before I was off again. It always seems like my visits back home fly by, but they are packed with so much love!
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