Boulder, Colorado 2025
In October of 2024, my longtime friend and former roommate made a life-changing decision-
After living in Pittsburgh since graduating college about four years ago, Jake moved out west to live with his girlfriend Bella in Boulder, Colorado. Now, after a few months of getting settled into his new environment, a few friends and I finally booked our flights to visit.
Vacation Begins at PNC Park
But our vacation didn’t start in the TSA line at the airport- instead, it began the night before at the Big Ass Stadium Tour hosted by Post Malone inside PNC Park.
I bought the concert ticket months ago- semi-reluctantly, since country music isn’t my music of choice. Nevertheless, I enjoy Post Malone’s earlier songs, and five of my close friends were already committed, so why not?
It's the day of the concert, and as we step off the “T” in North Shore, we see a line stretching down the block. We manage to slip into a smaller line and finally find our seats in the upper section. I look to my left and say to my friends “Don’t we have to be at the airport in, like, 8 hours?” Perfectly timed, the opener, Sierra Ferrell fills the stadium with her melodic songs.
As nighttime falls and the beautiful PNC Park skyline begins illuminating, Post Malone finally walks out. With plenty of hit songs to choose from, both old and new, his performance has something for everyone to enjoy.
Before we know it, 10pm rolls around. We board our plane for Denver at 7am, just a few hours away. Dragging my feet, we hear Post Malone performing “Circles” as we head back to the train.
Getting There
(Not yet) bright and early at 4:30am, we park the car in the economy lot at the Pittsburgh airport and start marching. The TSA line is (thankfully) short, and we have plenty of time to hang out until we board the plane.
Fast forward five hours (then minus three for the time zones) and we’re at the Moonlight diner, a short 10 min drive from the Denver airport. We dined here on our last trip to Colorado, and it’s a perfect meeting point for our fifth fellow traveler, a loyal United Airlines flyer.
It’s Friday afternoon, and with our Boulder hosts still working, we do what we know best- shop up and down the Pearl street stores, the main drag of Boulder.
We walk through a Tibetan-inspired crystal shop, a few clothing stores, and Trident Booksellers and Cafe, one of my favorite places in Boulder. Here I pick up a book for $11, and I’m successfully held off from making any more purchases… until Avanti rooftop bar, that is.
We enjoy a few drinks here until Bella meets up with us. We catch up, talk about our schemes for the next few days, then head back to her apartment.
Parks, Drones, and a Late Night Stroll
At long last we cross the porch and step through the apartment door to see Jake. We hang out and catch up for a while, but Jake wants to take us on a walk around the neighborhood.
Football, frisbee, and drone in hand, we head to the park to unwind a bit.
It feels good to finally stretch our legs, go barefoot in the grass, and toss the football and frisbee around. The drone footage was awesome- you could see rain showers off in the distant plains behind us and the looming Flatiron rock formations in front of us.
Sufficiently tired from a day of travel and activity, the sunset brings a time of winding down for us… or so I thought!
Just when I think we’re staying in for the night, our group riles itself awake to the classic “Let’s go to the bar, let’s go to the bar!” chant, giving us the energy to walk a half hour to Dark Horse.
It’s a big bar with a unique Western vibe, equipped with multiple rooms, pool tables, an outside porch and plenty of patrons.
Mentally, I’m running on fumes- we’re going on 20 hours awake at this point. Finally we head back to Jake and Bella’s apartment, eager to close out this day and prepare for the rest of our time in Boulder.
Loving Life
Jake loves cooking for others- Saturday morning he makes everyone pancakes, sausage and bacon, giving us a great start to the day. Stomachs full, Bella leads us to the local Farmer’s Market.
We casually stroll around, looking at all the different bakeries, farm stands, and various vendors, all passionate about providing organic, locally grown foods to the community. The weather is perfect, and I grab a cold refreshing kombucha drink from Mor Kombucha. For those who didn’t get a drink, we cool off in the nearby Boulder creek, the icy cold water sending shivers up my spine.
But we didn’t come out to Boulder just to meander around town- we want to do something. Surprisingly, I had plenty of space in my bags for extracurricular activities- soon enough we’re on our way to go play disc golf. A 20 minute drive to the top of a mountain, then discs are flying at Wondervu Disc Golf Course.
None of us are that great, but we enjoy the leisurely hike and the views the course has to offer. A few of our discs get stuck in trees, and one almost blew away in the wind, but we’re able to go 9 holes (and then a few extra) without losing anything.
Tonight we stay in and keep it low-key- tomorrow morning, we’re going whitewater rafting.
Rocky Mountain Whitewater Rafting
I’ve only gone white water rafting once before in Ohiopyle, PA, about two hours southeast of Pittsburgh. I had somewhat of an idea of what to expect, but this wasn’t the case for the rest of the group.
This being most people’s first time, we decide the easy, Class III rapids would be a good starting point. My first and only other time being over a decade ago, I’m not complaining.
We drive 20 minutes to Golden, CO (where Coors brews their beer), then dive into the mountains another 20 minutes to reach the small but quaint town of Idaho Springs.
Only a few minutes away, I spy the Clear Creek rushing past us on the left, and a big sign reading “Idaho Springs, Where the Gold Rush Began” on the right.
The main street is blocked off, and its vibe as a bustling small town with unique shops and restaurants becomes evident. But we drive past all of this, ending up in the Rocky Mountain Whitewater Rafting parking lot around 9:30 am.
We check in, and before i forget, I buy a sticker to add to my sticker board at home. Our new fearless leader, John Murphy, starts giving us the rundown of what to expect. With everyone on the same page, we head inside to suit up with a wetsuit, helmet, and booties (water shoes designed for white water rafting). A few don a splash jacket, but sensing it’ll be a nice sunny day, I decline.
Fully equipped with the rafts loaded up, we crowd onto the van and arrive at our launch point just a mile down the road. I have a GoPro mounted on my helmet, ready to record anything and everything we’re about to encounter. John has me sit in the front of the raft to capture footage, and after a few extra paddling instructions, we’re finally floating down Clear Creek.
Disaster Strikes
The water was close to freezing, being the runoff from glaciers high up in the Rocky Mountains, but everything else was going well- our paddling was good, the views were great, and nobody had fallen out of the raft. Capturing a bunch of footage, I was imagining all the cool shots I can include in the Boulder Colorado, 2025 video.
Towards the end of our ride, John asks if we want to take a pit stop and do a little swimming. None of us really knows what this entails, and we’re well aware of the water temperature by now, but we’re not ones to say “No” to a good time.
We pull off to the side of the creek where the water runs a little slower. John walks us back a dirt trail about 30 yards upstream, and we realize what he has in mind.
Before we know it, John jumps into the rushing water, and just like a water slide, the water pops him up and he starts body surfing the creek.
One by one, like ducklings following their mother, we follow suit. The GoPro still mounted to my helmet, I excitedly record everyone hopping in one by one.
The last person jumps in and suddenly it's my turn. I jump out into the center of the rapids, feet facing downriver. For a few seconds I’m completely submerged, but the rushing water quickly pops me back up out of the water. When I’m close enough to the shoreline, I start scrambling up the rocks out of the water. Adrenaline rushing, Jake sees me come up out of the water and says “Gage, no GoPro?”
Immediately my hand slaps the empty space on my helmet where my GoPro sat just a few seconds ago! Frantically I begin scanning the shoreline, but given the intensity of the rapids and the non-buoyant camera, I’m left with what feels like a hole in my heart. RIP.
Reluctantly I hop back onto the raft, and 10 minutes later we’re driving back to conclude a (mostly) successful whitewater rafting trip. I try loosening my grip on materiality, clinging to the idea that “everything happens for a reason” and “don’t count your chickens before they hatch!”
The Calm After the Storm
As we walk back to the cars, Rocky Mountain Whitewater Rafting gives us coupons for Tommyknocker Brewery & Pub where we order food and get $7 off a (much-needed) drink. I get a Mountain Spritzer, which surprises me, as it’s the best mead I’ve ever tasted.
Bellies full, we walk down the main drag of Idaho Springs. It’s surprisingly busy, and each shop has their own flavor of goods from antique goods, recycled clothes, crystal shops and more.
The drive home puts most of us to sleep, and we lay around for a while at the apartment to regain some energy. But we’re not ready to call it a day just yet, so we head around the corner to Upslope Brewery for a quick drink. Soon enough though I’m looking forward to Jake’s homemade burgers and chips for dinner.
Finding Love
Just as it feels like we’re finally settling into life in Boulder, we wake up to the last day of our trip. As it comes to a close, I start closing the loop on a few thoughts I’ve had on this short adventure.
While Boulder and much of Colorado has a higher cost of living, it’s not without reason…
People actually care about their quality of life and their environment- an obvious example being the vast areas of wilderness reserved as state and national parks. Over the course of our trip, I only remember seeing fit, health-conscious, and easy-going people. You might even say there’s a higher level of awareness among the people here, compared to other places. It’s a shared environment full of exciting adventure and camaraderie, and I began marveling at this beautiful community of life-conscious people.
But then I remembered the outside world is simply a reflection of your inner world. I realized that my admiration towards others was, in part, beauty and self-love I was refusing to see in myself.
For a long time I’ve sacrificed small pieces of myself, consciously or unconsciously. My fear of backlash was greater than my need to stick up for myself. I would avoid confrontation and difficult conversations, hoping issues would get figured out by themself with the smallest amount of emotional ambiguity.
But now I’m tired of living that way.
To access and heal this forgotten self-love, I needed to prioritize myself and set boundaries that allow me to operate and live at my highest potential. You can’t pour from an empty pitcher!
Setting Boundaries
Just as the people of Colorado set boundaries for the local environments they care about, I needed to set my boundaries to look out and care for myself. I needed to create space and draw clear lines that allow me to be the authentic version of me. Anything short of that is doing myself a disservice.
I discovered that living authentically is living free from fear from rejection. Once I had this awareness, I started patching all the energetic holes and emotional gaps leaking out of my aura. I decided to give myself permission to live at my fullest capacity for life.
Put simply, I let go of the fact that some people might not like the authentic me- but that’s their problem, not mine!
Although it’s our final day in Boulder, I internalize the beauty around me and remember that my life is just as beautiful as the people and environment I’m immersed in.
Calling this energy back to me was mildly overwhelming, because as we started up the Gregory Canyon, to Range View, to Flagstaff Loop trail, the views just got better and better!
Nature is an incredible neutralizer of physical, mental, and emotional kinks that bind us from time to time. There’s no better way to loosen your grip on life’s perceived stresses and demands than grounding yourself in a relaxed walk through nature.
The 4 mile loop gave us sufficient time to unwind and fully immerse ourselves in the wilderness, as well as make us tired enough to feel like our time in Colorado was well spent. No regrets left, we retreat from the mountains in time to clean up for our nice dinner at Cork.
Seated on the back patio, I'm pleasantly surprised to find a raw meat appetizer- beef carpaccio! As I place my order, our server spends the next two minutes talking about how good the raw dish is! I’m delighted to hear, but the rest of my group is caught off guard by the seemingly appetizing raw-food dish. Nevertheless, it came out looking and tasting great.
There was one last place we wanted to visit while we were out here in Boulder, Colorado. At long last, after we finish dinner, we end up at the Sundown Saloon, aka “The Downer”.
Unlike last trip, we managed to grab a table, a pitcher of PBR, and avoid physical confrontations with our fellow bar-goers!
It’s a Wrap!
Tuesday morning we wish our gracious hosts Jake and Bella farewell and good luck as we head to the Denver airport.
Without a doubt, Boulder, Colorado is an amazing place to live. I’m happy to have visited Jake and Bella here, and I’m more than grateful to have them both as my close friends!
