Daniel Cann

The following morning Nathan had lessons so I had a day to entertain myself. I asked the bearded, ruffled and slightly bemused man working at the hostel reception for some directions. He surprised and amused me by starting with the line: ‘Here’s what you’re gonna do…’ Was he clairvoyant? How did he know what my future held? I soon learned this was just a figure of speech for natives of Colorado!

A few minutes later and I was walking down into town in search of the interesting sounding and alluring ‘Underground Fish Observatory.’ I was hoping to see some exotic and unusual species of fish. Once I arrived I was soon disappointed. It was basically a large tank full of muddy water with some decidedly ordinary fish! I had to laugh, not everything is as good as it sounds. I went for a walk around the Pearl Street Mall, which was a pleasant place to pass the time. Since being in America I had changed my eating habits from tea and crumpets to coffee and bagels. It was nice to watch the world pass me by, especially when this world consisted of beautiful women jogging and walking by!

After watching a matinee movie and an evening meal I headed back to the hostel where I met Nathan. He took me to a student bar in town with the unlikely name of ‘The Sink.’ Inside it was friendly, informal with good music and atmosphere. Nathan said he had some news: Apparently Ben had phoned his student house and spoke to one of Nathan’s housemates. ‘He sounded pretty fraught and desperate. He has crossed the border (US/Mexico) and will be meeting us soon.’ Nathan further explained that Ben was running low on funds and may not have had the best of times South of the border. It was all a little worrying and I hoped Ben was alright. We had only split up about a fortnight ago and he had told me that he wanted to meet me just before crossing into Canada, this was much sooner so something bad must have happened.

The evening continued and our moods lifted no doubt thanks to the help of a few local ales. I found conversation came easily with Nathan. It was strange really, we had only met once in Australia but here we were in Boulder chatting and laughing like old friends. He was (is) a very humorous, witty and intelligent individual with a passion for nature and conservation. I found most Americans to be friendly and easy to get along with, but Nathan felt like an old friend.

The next day Mark, a lad from England staying at the hostel joined me. Together we visited the ‘Boulder Museum of History.’ It was a nice well-preserved nineteenth century house packed with artefacts. It was nothing spectacular or out of the ordinary but interesting nonetheless combining local and international history. That afternoon we ventured to ‘Boulder Park’ and again I did not have any life or death encounters with any cougars or bears. I suppose all I had to worry about in this scenario was my ability to run faster than Mark!

In the evening we joined a few others from the hostel and had a few beers at another student bar ‘China K’s.’ Back at the hostel we learned that Labour had won a landslide general election, the first time they had been in power for eighteen years. It had been another good day and evening in good company. The next day I would begin my stay at Nathan’s student house so it was a farewell evening to all at the hostel.

The next morning I arrived at Nathan’s and noted that it was more like a penthouse than a typical student house! I think he noticed my jaw drop as he said ‘Pretty good huh?’

After dropping my things in my room for that weekend Nathan explained that Ben was due to arrive at the bus station soon and we were going to pick him up. I wondered how he was; it had been about two weeks since I last saw him.

When we did meet Ben I don’t think either of us could recognize him at first. He was wearing a red bandana on his head and a huge oversized brown poncho that nearly touched the ground! To make his appearance even more surreal he had a pair of shorts on instead of jeans. The relatively clean-cut lad Nathan had met in Uluru now had a long, thick goatee beard and long dishevelled hair. Black rings were under his eyes and he looked quite ashen. What had happened?

Ben was extremely relived to see us both and explained that he had had several bad experiences in Mexico and Guatemala despite seeing some interesting ruins. He had been mistaken for a transvestite in New Orleans that provoked involuntary laughs from Nathan and I. He had been travelling non-stop on overnight buses for five days from Guatemala to Colorado and was exhausted. He seemed strangely subdued and out of sorts, he would not elaborate on the ‘bad experiences’ so we did not press him. I was just happy to have my friend back in one piece.

That evening I went to a house party in Boulder with Nathan. Ben said he was too exhausted to join us, which was understandable. He still had a haunted look about him and probably just wanted to enjoy a normal nights sleep.

At the party I met Theresa, Brian and Nathan again as well as the hostess, Beth who was a lovely and lively girl and her friends. Everyone found me exotic and kept asking me to talk, as my English accent was so different. Thanks to our differences in culture I was interesting to them! It was great fun and the beer and wine flowed, as did the conversation. I can’t remember what time we eventually left but it had been a memorable evening.

The next day Nathan and his girlfriend Kayla took Ben and I to the ‘Boulder Kinetics’ this annual event included a live music concert and a race by land and on the river in contestant’s homemade crafts! The weather that day was beautiful with the temperature just right and the sky flawlessly blue. The thousands that had flocked there were all in high spirits and soaking it all up. It was an unusual feeling watching the ‘Wacky Races’ from an artificial beach with a rock concert going on at the same time. Great fun!

That evening we went clubbing with Brian, Theresa, Keri and four others (whose names escape me now). We went to ‘The Fox Theatre Seventies Night’, which was a great laugh. We all drank and danced through the evening totally oblivious to the fact that a riot was going on outside! When we left the club the streets were crawling with police dressed in riot gear and carrying shields! I noticed with a shudder that the riot was right next to the hostel I had stayed at. Lucky I moved to Nathan’s student house!

My final day in Colorado was a pleasant one and much more gentle than the previous days events. Nathan, Kayla and Melanie (Kayla’s cousin from Canada) took Ben (who seemed to be fine now) and I for a tour of the Rockies in a four-wheel drive. The weather was kind to us again and we were all treated to spectacular and beautiful mountain scenery. Climbing winding mountain roads and passing lakes was a great way to spend a day. We spotted some elk, deer and beavers. The altitude was a factor and Nathan explained to us to ‘take it easy guys.’ It was fantastic to hike in the snow and through the trees as well as seeing so much unspoiled wildlife. Yet another unforgettable memory.

That evening we reluctantly said our goodbyes when Nathan dropped us off at the Denver Greyhound bus station. He had been an excellent host and had made this leg of my trip a special one. Ben and I were catching the overnight greyhound to Rapid City, South Dakota to see Mike. I had called Mike to sheepishly explain that Ben was now joining us as he had met me much earlier than expected. Mike said ‘No problem, I guess I can find the extra space. It will be good to see ya both again!’ We were on our way to a new adventure.