Denver is known as the “Mile High” city because of its elevation of 5,690ft above sea level. In fact, Colorado as a state has an average height of over 6,000ft above sea level. This can cause a very varied weather pattern, for example during our stay we experienced a lot of wind (no, not that kind of wind!) and temperatures sometimes as low as 7º (for the first time in 8 months we were in a colder climate than Britain!). As our time progressed in the capital of Colorado, the weather started to get a lot warmer between the figures of 25-30º. See what I mean about being varied? Denver can change its weather not only on a daily basis but also hourly. The mile high city also boasts of its ‘300 days of sunshine’, although what they like to miss out in this claim is how even if its sunny for just 10minutes in a day, it’ll count towards their yearly total. Thursday was one of these days where the sun made an appearance and so we took the opportunity to bask in the UV rays and utilise the outside pool our new apartment offers (we used Air B&B again and found this apartment in the uptown area). We’re staying with Mike and Ned, two medical students about to embark on three more years of studying. With unlimited Netflix at our fingertips, we took full advantage of the video streaming website and hung out with our new roommates for the evening.

We booked to go on the Denver Mountain Parks tour on Friday. After a slight panic the night before about whether we were getting our free pick-up from a nearby hotel, we awoke to a sunny Denver and boarded the large coach that greeted us. This bus could easily accommodate around 40 people. Would we struggle to find a seat? Would we have to wait for the next bus? Nope. There were only 7 other people on this trip and they were all, let’s say, slightly older than Nathan and I. We headed out of the mile high city through Lakewood towards the Red Rocks. En route, the bus driver (who also doubled as our tour guide), gave lots of facts and figures on the local area. I tried to jot down a few whilst Nathan was fast asleep next to me; he was successfully fitting in with the demographic of the others on the coach. One fact Mr. Bus Driver told us was how there are approximately 367 mountains with a height of over 13,000ft in the rocky range in Colorado. The Rocky Mountain National Park also holds the record for the highest paved roads in the Northern continent at over 12,000ft. We then arrived at our first stop of the trip, the Red Rocks Park, where winding roads took us 6,400ft above sea level up to the famous Red Rocks Amphitheatre. The amphitheatre is situated in a large rock formation 10 miles west of Denver and opened in 1941. It is a popular concert location for musicians with The Beatles being one of the first rock-and-roll bands to play there in 1964. Mumford and Sons, Jimi Hendrix and U2 have also performed there and Ellie Goulding was going to be stopping there as part of her American tour later that night. This of course meant unsuccessful attempts of trying to spot her and examining any tour buses we saw. Later on that day she did upload a video to Instagram of her jumping up each individual step of the amphitheatre (and those steps are considerably far apart). The amphitheatre was absolutely beautiful; positioned in between two massive boulders, one called Creation rock and the other Ship rock. They accompanied either side of the tiered 9,500 seated capacity whilst behind the stage was the aptly named Stage rock. The view from the top of the amphitheatre was incredible. The space is also used by a lot of people working out and keeping fit due to the sheer size of it. Whilst me and Nathan slowly walked down the steps towards the stage, there were plenty of health-conscious Americans choosing to run horizontal lengths of the theatre or pelt up the steps and back down before I could even begin my ascent back to the top (which was very painful after months of little exercise). It was time to head back to the coach and for our next destination. Due to the upcoming Ellie Goulding gig, certain roads had been closed and blocked off meaning the bus driver had to change the route slightly. It did mean we got to drive past a Bison grazing field and manage to see a handful of bison in the far, far distance. But that’s fine, I can now say I’ve seen a buffalo.

We had a quick stop off on the freeway to view the Colorado Rocky Mountains and the continental divide in the distance and as a strong group of 9, we left the bus in force equipped with cameras in hand and binoculars around neck. If you were a passer-by who didn’t see the mountain range, we would’ve looked like a bunch of tourists who’d never seen a motorway before. We all raced to get back on the crowded bus (lol jk) and headed toward Lookout Mountain. We were informed that this next stop was going to be at an elevation of 7,500ft. We were treated to beautiful views from Lookout mountain and could see for miles; the local town of Lakewood, the city skyline of Denver and the nearby town of Golden were all visible. I said in my last blog how Denver and the surrounding areas faced a boom in wealth and population in the late 1800s due to the discovery of gold in the area. This was (maybe not so ironically) discovered in Golden, a small town engulfed by mountain ranges and flat plains. Lookout mountain also houses the famous Buffalo Bill Museum and grave. William “Buffalo Bill” Cody was born in 1846 and started working at age 11 after his father died. When gold was discovered in the Colorado territory, Cody went to the gold fields but was propositioned by an agent for the Pony Express, a postal service delivering mail and newspapers. He accepted the offer to work with them and was given a job as a rider. He acquired his nickname “Buffalo Bill” when he had a job supplying buffalo meat to Kansas Pacific Railroad workers after the American Civil war and it is speculated that Cody killed over 4200 American bison in eighteen months. The bus driver then informed us of a buffalo shooting competition William Cody competed in against William Comstock. This was to decide whom would have the exclusive right to use the name “Buffalo Bill”. Conveniently, in terms of going to see this museum and grave, William Cody beat Comstock killing 68 bison to his 48 in just 8 hours. Ultimately, Buffalo Bill became famous for his Wild West shows of which he took on tour across Great Britain and Europe. These tours ran between 1883 and 1906 and were immensely popular across the globe making Cody world famous and an American icon. It is also thought to have helped influence many 20th century portrayals of “the West” in film and literature. The museum was packed full of old artefacts and possessions belonging to Buffalo Bill. They ranged from portrait paintings of him to his clothing, rifles and medals. Once we’d had a wander around the museum, we headed to his grave situated atop Lookout mountain. He died in January 1917 from kidney failure but wasn’t buried until June 1917 due to controversy surrounding where he should be buried (his wife claimed he wanted to be buried on Lookout mountain whilst others thought his grave should be in Cody, Wyoming which is the town he founded) but also due to the extreme weather conditions on Lookout mountain during the first half of the year. His funeral was held in June 1917 once the snow and ice thawed with thousands travelling up to the mountain to pay their respects.

The next day saw another hot day in Denver meaning relaxing by the pool and heading out to grab some lunch. The city centre was a lot busier today (it was Saturday) with street performers playing the piano or painting as well as a whole road closed off for kid’s slides and a bouncy castle. Instead of having endless hours of fun on the inflatables, Nathan and I partook in a mature spot of drinking beer. The main reason for this was because of the pub we’d seen. When we were in LA one of the guys at the MoonPad (ha, remember that cruddy hostel?!!) suggested we checked out a bar called the ‘Yard House’. We never did because, to be honest, we forgot and so when we saw the establishment within walking distance from where we ate lunch, we thought we’d test my indecisiveness and let me choose from over 125 different beers. Brilliant. I knew that I couldn’t go for one we can get anywhere else (no Bud for me) and decided upon one brewed locally in Denver (unfortunately not Coors which is brewed in the rocky mountains). The beer I opted for in the end was definitely a grower.. I mean I started to like it after maybe the sixth sip.

After a day of laundry, food and relaxing, it neared 6pm which meant we had to go catch our long ass journey from Denver to Washington, DC. This epic voyage would take 1 day, 14 hours and 45 minutes and would ensure we saw pretty much every midwest state as we ventured to the east coast. The route consisted of Colorado to Kansas to Missouri to Illinois to Indiana to Ohio to Pennsylvania to Maryland and finally to Washington, DC. Phew. Our bus pulled up for our 7:10pm departure from Denver. It looked old. Brilliant, we’d be spending 32hours on this bus before our first and only transfer and we’re going to be stuck on an old and dirty coach like the one to San Francisco. I was wrong. This bus had everything you could ever want; plugs, wifi, leather reclining seats, a persistent cougher at the back who sounded like they were dying and a guy snoring so loudly that maximum volume on your headphones still doesn’t drown it out. With all of these features on board, who wouldn’t want to spend a day and a half on it?! This journey was going to be full of fun.

The Greyhound bus service showcases the weird, bizzare, wacky, strange etc etc. Every journey we’ve undertaken with this company since being in America has had at least two or three oddballs either in the station or on the bus with us. Now I’m not trying to be mean or make myself seem like a better person but it’s just an observation we’ve made since travelling on buses here. The coach trips in New Zealand were overall mostly pleasant, quiet and full of travellers. I know America is a whole lot bigger than the Kiwi islands but the mixture of people who use the service just baffles me everytime. I can’t quite believe the amount of people who have had awful body odour and left a cloud of stink either on the bus or in the queue to get on. A handful of fellow passengers are friendly and interested in getting to know you/telling you their life story. Some look like drug addicts and if the driver has to state “no smoking or illegal drug use in the restroom” every time we begin driving again then surely that says something about the majority of people who use this mode of transportation. One guy kept going to the toilet for over ten minutes at a time and would always take a pen, notepad and plastic bag of other accessories in with him. Suspicious? My favourite couple of people who have boarded this bus though has got to be the short-lived duo who got on at Indianapolis. One girl sat at the back of the bus behind me whilst a man went to sit in front of Nathan. Said girl behind me then exclaimed to said guy, “Come sit back here. I don’t bite.”. He hesitantly sat at the back with her. Within a few minutes I noticed them getting well acquainted with one another. Oh, they must’ve known each other prior to getting this bus. An hour later she kisses him goodbye as she leaves the coach, he moves seats to near the front of the bus and someone else takes their place and asks “have they left?”, the reply he gets is from another guy who happened to be sat next to this frisky couple the whole time (the back row is three-seated) “I hope so. They were all over each other and they’d only just met.”. Yep, I heard that correctly. This lip locking pair had accelerated their fresh relationship at full speed and wasted no time. Does this mean that the Greyhound is also a match-making service? If so, I’m going to pretend I’m already in a relationship.

After the longest bus journey of my life (we saw two sunsets and two sunrises), Nathan and I arrived in Washington, DC on time at 11:55am. We stank (yeah, what I said earlier about smelly people on the bus… that was now us, oops!) and desperately wanted a bed to lay down in. We jumped in a taxi, got to our hostel (which has won awards for being the best and cleanest hostel in America) and were told our beds wouldn’t be ready until 3pm. This didn’t stop us from showering and feeling human again though. We decided to head out and do the tourist activities on offer in the capital city of America. After a 15 minute walk, we arrived at one of the most famous houses in the world; The White House. It was as grand and beautiful as you’d expect it to be and the security was insane. There were loads of police officers cycling around or patrolling in their ‘secret service’ cars (don’t understand what’s so ‘secret’ about it), a lot of areas were fenced off and they even had cameras in the lamp posts! Obama was be inside!! We took the essential pictures avoiding the various protests occurring nearby and headed past the Eisenhower executive office block building toward the rear end of the White House. The Washington monument was our next landmark and it was in its final stages of restoration work following damage from an earthquake in 2011. We then headed toward the World War II memorial, past the reflection pool and arrived at the Lincoln memorial. These three monuments were extremely thought-provoking and really helped to show how these historical markers have helped to shape America and the world today. The newly built Martin Luther King, Jr memorial was next on the agenda and it was incredible. A lot of thought and planning had gone in to this monument. Based on Dr King’s iconic ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, the quote “Out of a mountain of despair, a stone of hope” is brought to life as the main entrance requires you to pass through the “mountain of despair” (two 30 feet high pieces of granite) and walk toward the “Stone of Hope” where Martin Luther King, Jr stands.

We awoke the next morning to a soggy Washington. Thunder echoed the streets and rain fell heavily on us as we made our way to one of the 19 free museums in the city. Our first one was the National Museum of Natural History. It had everything: birds of DC, ocean exhibition, mammals, human evolution, mummies, insect displays and an even an imax! Tickets for 3D showings were on offer at $5 each and unfortunately we’d missed the final showing of ‘Titans of the Ice Age’ so we decided to see ‘Island of Lemurs: Madagascar 3D’. It was awesome, informative and made me want to visit Madagascar and hug a lemur (which means ‘wandering spirit’). What made it even better was that it was narrated by none other than Morgan Freeman. We then headed to the  National Air and Space museum and caught the next showing of the Dark Universe in the Einstein planetarium dome. This was incredible and narrated by Neil Degrasse Tyson. I still find it all too difficult to comprehend though… dark matter?! A whole other universe you may never see?! I’ll stick to words I think. We then explored some of the museum in the remaining time we had before it closed and got to see the ‘World’s First Power-Driven Heavier-Than-Air Machine’ (i.e. aeroplane) built and flown by the Wright brothers in 1903! We also saw the actual Red Bull stratosphere capsule Felix Baumgartner used to reach the edge of space and then jump from. We then headed back to the hosr hostel via the White House and managed to see a convoy of the secret service police force and some blacked out vehicles with a very important person inside. Unfortunately it wasn’t the president and the police officers guarding the road couldn’t disclose who it was but still it was exciting to see! I’ve really enjoyed our short time in Washington. It’s a lovely city with a lot of character and history. The architecture is some of the oldest and most beautiful I’ve seen so far in the US and the city as a whole has a nice atmosphere. We meet up with Heidi and Josie tomorrow in Philadelphia to spend the final week and a half of travelling together. Oh and the only dislike to report so far is that America likes to shove heaps of animal faeces on certain patches of grass and you only notice once you’ve walked through a good amount of it. On that note…