Why Living in Colorado is Cool

This past weekend was quite a success. Let me explain.

Picture a plot of land nestled in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range. Add some cabins, a cook house, four natural hot springs, one eighty foot pool, a suana, sand dunes, and a bunch of naked hippies in an alternative state of mind and you get the Valley View Hot Springs. My pal Jess and I brought along two guy friends, a couple cases of beer, and wha la! A successful weekend is born.

We arrived late the first night and as a result the gatekeeper turned us away, so instead we broke camp in a dirt parking lot down the road and libations were consumed. Let’s just say, to keep everything PG, that we stayed up for the sunrise the next morning. We spent next day in its entirety at Sand Dunes National Park, which I must say is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen. Think about the scene in Aladdin before they break into the cave to steal the lamp. One step on the grounds and you are surrounded by sand cornices and white peaks that rise up behind the dunes. I wanted to sing Arabian Nights at the top of my lungs once we reached the highest dunes, but there were other activities planned for the weekend and we needed to get back to Valley View stat.

The rest of the trip was spent sans clothing, a lot of soaking, and involved some fascinating conversation with the regulars. I have never come accross people who were so comfortable with their bodies, or had so many interesting tattoos. If you have never visited a nude colony, I highly suggest it. Everyone is incredibly jolly, and most likely you will come accross aboriginal musical intstraments being played in the wee hours of the morning. Believe it or not, the sound of a didgeridoo can be soothing whilst soaking in 104 degree water and a views of snow capped peaks are exploding all around you.

Overall, Valley View Hot Springs is a destination not to be missed. If you ever come to Colorado, make sure to hit up Vail and all the ski resorts (obviously), but also add nude hot springs to your list. Your trip is bound to be sucessful!

I’m on a Bus

If this…is coming…through…choppily…it’s because…this internet…is…very…very…slow. Okay just kidding. But really, it is. That being said, I’m taking a bus from DC to New York City and it has internet. The connection is as slow and painful as a snail trying to moonwalk across a frozen French lake, but it’s internet nonetheless. I’ve been looking out the window, seeing if any auto-parasites have caught on, hovering in the lanes next to us and leaching our internet, but I think both the bus and the internet are moving too slowly to make it worth the effort.

Anywho, I strongly recommend the Bolt Bus as a means of travel. The seats are comfortable — if bus seating can be comfortable — it’s not too crowded, and it seems like the riders have a general concept of social decency, unlike on Amtrak, where it seems like passengers wait to get on the train to have tormentingly awkward phone conversations for everyone else to suffer through. Best of all, it’s $39 round-trip and drops you off right at Penn Station. The driver also informed us that they’re now doing trips to Philadelphia, Richmond, Raleigh, and some other cities around the Mid-Atlantic coast. Anyways, it’s about to be big boy in the big city, so hopefully I’ll hit you with something more exciting next time.

Wanna experience some Big Love?

Colorado City, Arizona, the alleged home of at least three polygamist mormon sects, is now a tourist destination. For those of you who’ve always wondered about life as a polygamist, you’re in luck. As of tomorrow, you can now sign up for a four hour tour of the city called, no joke, “The Polygamy Experience“. For the bargain price of $69.95 per adult ($10 off for kids under 11, and a 20% discount for groups of 20 or more), you can:

“Experience a day in the FLDS* life with former FLDS members who were born and raised in the Creek. Stories of growing up in this unique religion, a picnic set in the beautiful Vermillion Cliffs of southern Utah and northern Arizona, and intimate views of markets, parks and cemeteries, frame the previously closed community with detail and respect.”

If you’re curious, here’s more about polygamy and mormon fundamentalism. It makes for an awesome wikipedia adventure.

Ok. I think I’m done here.

* Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

50th birthdays

Today is my father’s 50th birthday, and though I try my best to keep the spectacularly dull details of my personal life out of this blog, I thought that this particular event was an appropriate exception. So, even though I don’t think he reads this, I thought I’d do a post on things that, like him, turn(ed) 50 years old in 2009.

Ben-Hur

Despite my objections to its overtly religious undertones (Its unofficial title is Ben-Hur: A Tale of Christ), I can’t deny that this film is a Hollywood institution. It was released in 1959 and won 11 Academy Awards in 1960–a feat to this day equaled only by two other movies, 1997’sTitanic, and  2003’s Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. If you haven’t seen the flick, it’s worth it if only for the chariot race scene which I argue to be one of the sweetest chase scenes in cinema. Learn more here.

LEGO

Until I went to do the research for this post, I had no idea that LEGO was so old. But it is, and believe it or not, the toy has a really rich history. I won’t go into too much detail here but suffice it to say that I learned that there is an annual conference tailored to adult LEGO hobbyists. Furthermore, there is an official list of LEGO ambassadors, and a select few LEGO certified professionals. Yeah. So. I guess that’s…cool…

Alaska

I mean, its worth mentioning.  In 1867, America purchased it from the Russians for two cents an acre. In 1959, after numerous administrative changes (from land to organized territory), it finally became the largest state in the union (by area). It’s the least densely populated state (averaging 1 person per square mile), as well as the state with the highest male:female ratio (1.7:1). In areas outside the cities, this ratio can get as high as 5:1. It’s also about 7o% caucasian.  So basically, because of Alaska, Sarah Palin and a bunch of white dudes living in isolation are proud to call themselves Americans.

In all seriousness though, Alaska’s dramatic landscape and biodiversity is without comparison. If you’re interested in going, there are opportunities for all kinds of travelers, from crunchy backpackers to resort-types. If you guys like to ski, you should make it a life-goal to go to Alyeska. It’s sweet.

Mini

From its iconic British roots to BMW’s classy modern reinterpretation of the 1959 original, this is one of the most adorable cars ever put on the market. Interestingly, it’s the first car to be developed primarily as a fuel saver– it was originally launched in response to the fuel shortage caused by the 1954  Suez Crisis. What is the 1954 Suez Crisis? Uh, beats me. 

Miles Davis’s Kind of Blue

If you want to lead a happy and fulfilled life, you will go listen to this album, immediately. I’m not joking. Really, I’m not.

The St. Lawrence Seaway

The Seaway is is system of canals and locks that follows the St. Lawrence River between the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean. The stretch of river has long been used for shipping, but legal, political, and logistical issues between the United States and Canada, building wasn’t approved until 1954. The seaway opened in 1959, having racked up a total cost of $470 million. 75% was payed for by the Canadian government, and 25% by the Americans. The two countries collaborated in the seaway’s formal opening, for which Queen Elizabeth II and President Dwight D. Eisenhower took a short cruise aboard Royal Yacht Britannia after having delivered a joint address in St. Lambert, Quebec.

I’ll end by saying that it’s difficult to convey the connection that the Québecois feel with the St. Lawrence. Understand, though, that there is a deep and almost intrinsic cultural reverence for it. My father, born and raised in Montreal, is no exception– he loves the St. Lawrence so much that he often refers to it as “mon fleuve”, or my river. Seeing as it’s his birthday and all, I thought it fitting to finish with that.