This morning I woke up on a couch.

Eric,
Thanks for letting me crash.
See you around.

I pulled my boots on and grabbed my jacket and slipped out the back door as quietly as can be. I turned myself North and began walking. Eric. I hope that was his name. The first intersection I came to proclaimed itself to be 5th and Marion. Hm. I’m farther from home than I thought. I turned West on 6th and popped into a Safeway for a large bottle of water. 99 cents. I walked out of the Safeway and up to 8th Ave then turned West down the hill toward Lincoln. I felt my cell phone dangling, as usual, from my hip pocket and knew that any time I felt like not walking anymore I could call one of my roommates and be home in half an hour. I walked past the Colorado Academy of Ballet, the Colorado Historical Society, and the State Capital. I walked the entire length of 16th Street Mall passing at least 5 Starbucks in about 2 miles. The “Free Mall Ride” busses passed me as the 5 or 6 blisters that would eventually form on my feet began to make themselves known. At the end of the mall I walked across the new bridge that looks like the sail of a great ship and spans the railroad tracks behind Union Station. I passed the REI Flagship store and remembered that the last time I rode my bike to that store I considered it a pretty decent ride. I walked across I-25 on the 15th Street bridge, finished my bottle of water, and deposited the empty bottle at what I was sure would be the last public trash can I would see in a while at 15th Street and 29th Ave. I turned left on 29th, right on Zuni, then left on some street whose name I can’t remember. Passed the Rec Center where I have a membership, and made a left on 32nd. I stopped for the light at 32nd and Federal. I think maybe that was the only time I stopped walking. It wasn’t until I reached 34th and Lowell that I thought seriously about calling one of my roommates. 6 ½ blocks later I walked into a 1952 ranch house and took off my boots.

I’ve lived near Denver my entire life. I think today is the first time I saw Denver as a real city. I can smell the filth of it on my fingers. Tomorrow my roommates and I will put this city to our backs and go for a hike in the mountains. I like this place.