Quick Links to Denver Posts

 Four Days in Denver: First impressions of Denver
Denver and the Busker: I meet with a busker in Starbucks and he tells me some pretty cool stuff about Denver.
Denver and the Architect: A French Architect with a love for the city of Denver.
Denver and The Gnome Hunter: I meet a gnome hunter and we hunt for gnomes. Seriously.
Denver and The Saint: I meet a man at St. Mark's Coffeehouse. Epic.
Denver and The Contemporary Artist: Pigeons at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver
Denver and The Transplant: A hike in a beautiful place with a wonderful lady.
Denver and The Twofer: I go with two people to their favorite places, together.
Denver and The Up and Coming: The arts district, RINO, with a ceramic artist.
Denver and The Yoga Class: Yoga at Sacred i and cupcakes!
Denver and The Last Day: I see amazing places on my last day in Denver.
Denver and The Search: My favorite places in Denver. Yes, TWO.

The Search in Denver

If you have been reading the blog at all, you will know that Denver was not a planned stop and that I was really surprised by how much I liked it. The people I met in Denver were really interesting and friendly. The population is diverse, and the city is a hub for creative sustainable enterprise. Denver has the feel of the city, but it is really a very manageable size, kind of like a big town.

I really enjoyed my time in Denver, and if it weren't for so many of my friends living in the Northwest, I would most assuredly move there.

I noticed many things about Denver. I will list them below.

• There are about 300 Marijuana dispensaries in the city of Denver
• There are about 35 Independent Bookstores in the city of Denver
• Dreadlocks and braids are big in Denver. I even saw men in suits with such hairstyles
• A lot of people smoke in Denver. It seemed I could not go anywhere without running into smokers
• Bike commuting in Denver is pretty easy. There is not a lot of traffic and drivers seem very patient with bike commuters
• I only got lost 12 times in Denver
• Denver is also a county
• The food scene in Denver is practically non-existent, but there is a want for one by its citizens

So, on to my favorite Denver Place. I actually have a tie in Denver. Two places above all others made me happier than any other in the city.

1. The Public Library. Denver's public library is a wonder to behold. I am a fan of libraries in general, but the main branch of the Denver library system is practically a work of art, not to mention it is obviously set up and run by people who love books and understand why people use libraries. From the sculpture of the horse on the chair in front of the library to the amazing architectural wonders on the fifth floor, The Denver Public Library was constructed for its citizens. Unfortunately, the library has had to cut back its hours of service due to funding issues. If you are looking for a place to put your money, the library is a good investment. The health of a neighborhood/city is directly related to the presence of libraries within it.

     2.  Little Man Ice Cream. Not only does this place serve great ice cream, with a new weekly menu in addition to its regular menu, this place is in business to make a real difference. For every scoop of ice cream sold, the company donates a scoop of rice to people in need across the globe. Little Man also contributes to its local community and its employees. Little Man's philosophy: All business exists to make a difference. If you ever get to Denver, go to Little Man. The ice cream is superior, the service is friendly, and the company is one you can believe in. They also sell Lactaid at the counter. I love that.

I loved my time in Denver. The city is on the precipice. There is a real community feeling there, and from what I understand, there is great stuff to do all year round. The surrounding landscape is stunning, and the weather and people are for the most part, quite sunny.

Denver and The Last Day

On my very last day in Denver, I met with Elaine, a woman who showed me a side of the city I had not yet seen in the 24 days previous. A friend of mine from high school introduced us at the last minute. I am so happy I got to spend a bit of time with her in Denver before my four day train ride to Austin. As great as I think Denver is, this little tour made me believe it is even greater.

The whole thing started at 8 am at Common Grounds Cafe in LoDo, or the historic lower downtown district of Denver. I met Elaine there and drank a delicious house-made Chai as she told me why she loves Common Grounds.

"This is my favorite place because it is so vibrant in the mornings. When the rest of us are barely waking up, this place is humming. It's easy to meet people here. Part of it is that I work in the suburbs, and I love coming down here. The energy in the city in the morning is so different from any other time of day. Everybody is starting fresh. It's just great. It is good energy. The woman who owns this is very welcoming and inclusive. In here it's cowboys, people in suits, workmen, artists, it is very diverse."


Elaine brings people to Common Grounds for meetings and meets the students that she teaches at CU at the cafe all the time. She says a lot of it has to do with the welcoming and creative nature of the owner.

"She treats everyone like family. It's great. This is where everybody meets. If you have a business meeting early in the morning or something, this is where to do it. They serve beer at night. On Veteran's day she dressed in her father's flight suit, and she had medals, pictures of him wearing his medals, and she told everyone that her hero was coming in that day. She was so excited about having her father come in and see her coffee shop. It was a big deal. She had it all decorated for him. She gave Veterans free drinks. It didn't matter what it was that they wanted. She treats people like people, not customers."


After we finish at Common Grounds, Elaine offers to walk me around LoDo and show me the sights. Elaine has a background in historic preservation and sustainability and she has worked on or been privy to many building projects in LoDo.

Elaine takes me to Larimer Square, and we walk up and down the street, under the strings of lights. We walk through The Market at Larimer Square, look at some of the original buildings that have been restored, and then she takes me to a place that I would have to call a game changer.

The Tattered Cover

As we walk, the old floor boards creak and moan beneath our foot steps, the smell of creativity, books and coffee fill the air. The Tattered Cover, a bookstore on the corner of 16th and Wynkoop is not Elaine's favorite place, but it is one of the best places I have seen in Denver. We walk up and down the stairs, looking at the shelves and tables full of books. In every corner and open space, comfy looking chairs and coffee tables invite browsers to sit down and read if the need arises. This is a bookstore; one to rival Portland's own Powell's Books, even. It's welcoming and clearly pays tribute to authors and the craft of writing. Though I must leave soon to pack, I want to stay all day in this wonderful place and see what bubbles up.


As Elaine and I walk toward my bus stop and her car, we talk about the potential for Denver. She sees great things on the horizon, and has a keen understanding of where the city has come from in order to say so. Though she grew up in Nashville, her father grew up in Denver.

"My father grew up on Zuni,(street), and he told me that the sounds of Denver used to be so different. You would wake up and you would hear roosters all day long and church bells pealing. It was how he would know where he was in the city, from listening for these sounds. Now, roosters are outlawed and the churches have turned off their bells because they annoy people. Now you hear indecipherable music and sirens. It's really different."


I ask her about why she moved to the city, and if she is planning to stay. She tells me that she moved to Denver for a job, not planning on staying, but ended up falling in love with the city and the potential that it holds. She adds that it is not uncommon for people to find themselves living in Denver.


"A lot of people come here, or to Boulder for school and never really think they are going to stay, but they end up staying."


I have to say, my experience of Denver has been similar. I came to the city due to temperature issues in Phoenix. I found a city which is investing in its future and in its people. The people Denver draws to it are interesting and more diverse than in other U.S. cities of similar size. I have been surprised over and over again at how much I like it here, and have to say, if I weren't on a mission for science, I might just cool my heels a bit here myself, and see what bubbles up.

Denver and The Yoga Class

While I have been in Denver, I have, for the most part, been doing yoga on my own every day. That is why I was so excited when Aimee, a woman my dear friend Gina connected me with, wanted to go to a double dose of yoga class and then get cupcakes. Basically, an outing consisting of two of my favorite things in the whole wide world.

I arrive a bit early to Sacred I Yoga, which is located on a charming tree-lined street, and decide to sit down in front of the bakery next door and rest a bit. As I sit and enjoy some water, I notice that there are quite a few women going into the yoga studio with their children, which leads me to wonder if this isn't going to be a mother and child type situation. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Aimee arrives shortly thereafter, we introduce ourselves, and go in. It turns out that I am in for an Anusara class, and there is a sub, Roger, for the teacher who is usually there. He welcomes me, I fill out a form and tell him about the project, and then, I go in to the studio. It is an exceptionally small but extremely warm space. I grab a mat and put it down next to Aimee's. After a bit of settling in, Roger comes in.

Roger takes us through the practice talking about the solstice, the importance of being aware of what we are putting ahead of ourselves for the next year, and being thankful for the place to which our past endeavors have led us. There is something in this practice for everyone, including a few moves I could not do without falling over a few times. Roger is also kind enough to tell everyone in the middle of a downward dog about my project. It  makes me happy in a nerd-girl kinda way, and as I further explain my project, I am thankful that we are not in the middle of a pose I would fall over in.

After the Anusara class, a woman named Meg who was in the Anusara class teaches a yin class. It is exactly what I need after riding a three-speed bike all over town and intermittently carrying a sixty pound pack on my back. All in all, the studio is really great, though small, with a nice feeling of community.

After, Aimee and I sit outside and eat our cupcakes, which are delicious. Aimee tells me why Sacred I Yoga is her favorite place.

"I love it because it's the first yoga place that I have found in Denver that's a real community, and it's not yoga for exercise, it's yoga because it's what you should be doing for yourself every day. All of the teachers there are inspiring and supportive and really good at knowing what your body should be doing, so they're good coaches, which is hard to find in a yoga teacher. They really know the anatomy, and I think a lot of that is because it is so Anusara-based. They know how to talk you through the details of every single pose. I have learned so much about yoga even though I started practicing in the mid-nineties."


Aimee has kids and travels for work. Before the class started, she had been talking with a friend of hers in the yoga studio about how little sleep they both get. I ask her how long it took her to find the studio, and how much she is able to practice.


"I went to my first yoga class in Denver eight years ago. I had a Ballly's membership at the time, so I went to the Bally's yoga. It was hard because it just wasn't set up to be conducive to a meditative yoga practice. There was a really good teacher there, he was an older man, maybe, I would guess seventy-something? I went to different places with friends, I have probably been to three or four. But I went with my friend Jane, the one I was talking to, to Sacred I. I haven't found any place like it and I am nervous to tell you about it honestly because the great part about it is that it is a small studio. It's so collaborative. I don't want it to get too big."

It is funny how we all want to keep good things to ourselves, even yoga studios. I ask Aimee if she wrestled with not bringing me to the studio, and in fact bringing me to another place that she might not mind sharing, and she replies that in a way, it was fate.


"The reason why I even brought you here was because literally the day that Gina sent me the email, I came here and Leigh (The owner), was walking in saying that she had had a rough day and that she needed to come the place she loved the most, and it just hit me. This is the place I love the most."


It is nice to sit with Aimee in the shade of the trees and talk about yoga and be incredibly human and selfish about it. We share a hatred of yoga Groupons which flood the studios we love, yet we want our yoga studios to stay in business in order to be there for us like ports in the storm. After we finish our cupcakes, we part ways. Just before we do, I ask her if there is anything else about Sacred I that she wants me to write. Her reply?


"Don't go there."

Denver and The Up and Coming

I contacted ceramic artist Jonathan Kaplan, founder and owner of Plinth gallery, to see if he would meet with me and show me his favorite Denver place. He agreed, and told me to bring a bike, as we would be riding around Denver's River North, or, RiNo District and seeing the sights. Jonathan's ceramics-centered Plinth Gallery, (get it? ceramics-centered?), is located in the RiNo District on Brighton Boulevard, surrounded by auto shops and other industrial-type businesses. I walked over to Denver Bcycle, also in the RiNo district, in order to grab a bike for the adventure.

As I ride my bike to Plinth it feels like the adventure has already begun, though it is only blocks away. Due to the presence of an almost impenetrable railroad track, I have to ride 10 blocks up and through some difficult terrain in order to make it to Plinth. I arrive a bit early and wait outside. Several minutes later, Jonathan comes out with a travel mug of coffee in his hand and muddy crocs on his feet, talking about some great views of the city he wants to show me on our tour. I wonder briefly why he isn't drinking his coffee out of a ceramic mug, but ultimately decide it's unimportant.  He tells me he will be right back, and goes back into his gallery. I stand outside and breathe in the amazing fumes from Brighton Boulevard.  Jonathan appears behind me on his bike about ten minutes later, still holding his travel mug. Mystery solved.

With the sun shining down on us and the mid-morning traffic in full swing, we ride down Brighton and behind some buildings. Jonathan wants to show me all of the development that is happening in the district. We ride through alleys, up and down side streets, he shows me up-and-comers and established businesses of all types; art studios, galleries, architects and development firms. The buildings are for the most part renovated old warehouses. They are bold and bright and call attention in this industrial urban landscape.

Junky and beautiful all at once.

More alleys. Jonathan has a love of alleys and I can't blame him. Alleys are a whole other world in cities where really great things can happen. I have done some of my best work in alleys, and my brother, David, has found some of the best junk in them. Alleys are the definition of one man's trash. Jonathan is clearly passionate about the direction the district is going in, and excited to see how it adds to Denver's draw as a city with potential. As I look around, I start to see the RiNo District in the same light. It's kind of falling apart, a bit neglected, but a large group of people in this city see it as a Denver treasure, and that is pretty cool. Especially when you see all of the creative work that is going on in this broken-down area of the city.

We ride by an old warehouse with beautiful early twentieth century limos sitting inside, then we go by a yard with ginormous tires in it. Evidently the man who owns the yard fixes these tires and sells them back to people who need them. At one point, I mention to Jonathan that I had earned a BFA in craft at OCAC. He asks if I am planning on getting an MFA, and I tell him that I have an MBA. As expected, he recoils in disgust. It is much easier to approve of people who are going to travel the path you have traveled. Either way, the damage is done. I was once a business major. There is really nothing I can do about that now.

Down by the River.

We end up at the river. Jonathan tells me that when the river is high, it is really quite powerful. The view of the ball park and the mountains beyond it is really quite stunning. We talk about my project, where I am going in the US, and he suggests some places to go where I might find exciting art scenes and interesting people. It has been a very nice ride through an area that I would not have noticed if I was driving through it, but having Jonathan take me through RiNo was a great opportunity to see why the City of Denver is really one to watch. The people there are creating a large area of town which is nurturing and supporting Arts of all kinds. Even a former business major can see the value in that.

Denver and The Twofer

While in Denver, I have had the great pleasure of staying with a couple, Patrice and Ed. Patrice is the mother of a friend of mine from Portland. It was a wonderful thing to discover that while I am living in their home, I am completely comfortable and feel a bit like I have known them both for years. Ed and Patrice work opposite schedules, and every morning, there is a note from Ed to Patrice, and every night, a note from Patrice to Ed. I never read them, but if I did I would tell you they are full of code so I wouldn't have been able to understand them anyway. They have been dating for quite a few years, and have decided to get married on the anniversary of their first date later this year, 11-11-11.

Ed and Patrice were gracious enough to offer to show me their Denver favorite places. Their favorite places are such because of their shared experiences in those places. First, we went to Denver International Airport, (DIA). When Ed first told me that the airport was his favorite place, I was a bit puzzled, mostly because I kinda despise airports. But when he told me why, I understood completely.

Several days ago, about mid-afternoon, the three of us climb into Ed's car and he drives us out to the airport so he can show me the exact spot where he first kissed Patrice.

Ed: We are on the top of Denver International Airport on the west side of the parking structure. I had picked up Patrice, and I guess it was kinda like our second date. Previous to this, we had spent hours and hours and hours on the phone. We really got to know each other. I was actually a little concerned because we're so alike. (Patrice chuckles at this, as she thinks they are nothing alike.)
Patrice: We came out to the car, put my luggage in the car, it was this car as a matter of fact, and we were sitting here, where we are sitting now, and he reached over and kissed me! 
Ed: Now wait a minute, you kissed me. (Ed says this playfully.)
Patrice: No, you kissed me!
Ed: You know what, I just saw the look in her eyes. It was almost like begging. Being the accommodating person that I was, what could I do? 
She asked me out on our first date.

Patrice: We've already been over that, I did not.
Ed: What do you mean you did not?
Patrice: I did not! I put it out to the entire group who wanted to go Sufi dancing and you were the only taker.
Ed: She's looking directly at me, she's talking so low that nobody else could hear...
Patrice: Yes they could, that isn't true! And then Ed's the one who called and said, "since your house is on the way, why don't I pick you up so we go together?" So who turned it into a date? You did. (She says this to Ed, poking him in the nose to emphasize her correctness.)
Ed: Well, that would be true. 
Patrice: And then who was the one who said, "let's stop and get coffee and pie afterwards"? You did.
Ed: So we went walking on the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder, looking for a place to have coffee on a Friday night.


The Pearl Street Mall is a quaint little outdoor mall in Boulder with plenty of shops and eateries, evidently none of them serve pie or coffee.

Patrice: No coffee. Plenty of liquor, but no coffee.
Ed: All the places were just loud, and we wanted to be able to talk. So we walked and walked, arm in arm.

Patrice: Then we drove back down to right by my house to have coffee. 
Ed: It was that night that I invited Patrice not to touch her door handle in the car.
Patrice: He always opens the door for me so I can't touch the door handle. He always comes around, lets me in, and comes around and lets me out. He's a gentleman. I think I was actually staring at you like "this". As Patrice says this, she leans her elbow on the median between the front seats in the car, rests her chin on her fist, and looks at Ed.
Ed: Thank you! The truth comes out!
Patrice: This is not begging. This is just staring at you.
Ed: (mimicking Patrice) Pleeeeeeeaaaasssee......kiiiiiiiisss meeeeeee.....
Patrice and Ed both laugh.

Thinking about the spot, I have to admit it is kind of romantic. Not as romantic as the airport used to be, when you could meet and be met at the gates of arriving and departing planes, but romantic nonetheless. The way Ed and Patrice finish each other's sentences, you can just see them in forty years, sitting in their rockers and helping each other remember who kissed who first.

We take off from the parking structure at DIA and head back into town. There is tons of traffic due to a Rockies game, so Ed has to take a circuitous route in order to show me exactly how Patrice first saw her favorite place in Denver many years ago.

Patrice: This is my favorite place. It was Christmas time, I wasn't feeling well, and they light up the civic center down here with all kinds of Christmas lights, so Ed was driving me down to see the Christmas lights and cheer me. We drive around and come through, and as we come through, I see Big Blue. I think they had a Santa Hat on him. So as we come around that corner and I see this great big blue bear with a Santa Hat on, I just started laughing and clapping. I  felt like a little kid. He still does this to me every time and that was almost six years ago. Every time we come down here and see him, he just makes me giggle. I love how his paws are up against the windows and he is peering in the building. I just love Big Blue, he makes me laugh.


Though Patrice calls him "Big Blue", the artwork's actual name is "I See What You Mean", and originally, its color was supposed to be sandstone, according to artist Lawrence Argent, the creator of the piece. But, a print out of the design mistakenly came back blue, and he thought it more interesting, so he stuck with it. Since its installation in 2005, it has become a bit of a cultural icon for the city of Denver.

Due to the slowness of the traffic, we get to linger a bit and talk about how cool a big blue bear in the middle of Denver is, and why as a piece of public art, it really works in that it invites interaction.

After we leave Big Blue, we swing by Little Man Ice Cream and Ed buys us all ice cream. As we are all eating, I ask them if they have ever thought about that their favorite places have to do with their experiences together.

Patrice: Both of our favorite places have to do with the other person. It's because we have so much fun together. Even in San Francisco, when I see things I have seen with him, I might have seen them a thousand other times, but those places remind me of him. 

Ed: We always have just a great time together. Whatever it is we are doing, we are having fun.

They talk a bit about the possibility of moving, as Patrice grew up in Denver and would like a bit of a change before she comes back to Denver to settle down. Wherever they move, there is one thing they agree on.

Ed: We're together for the rest of our lives.
Patrice: We're getting married in Puerto Rico. 11-11-11. That is the anniversary of our first date. We both happen to be people who celebrate places that are special, and so we both celebrate the places that have been special to us as a couple. 


They talk about all the things they like to do together, and why sharing their experiences are so special to them both. I

Patrice: One of our favorite things to do is to walk the 16th street mall. Any season. If we go to the movies, we go to the movie by the mall and then walk the mall afterward. Our grocery trips we do together. Because we think that's fun. We can laugh and be silly and I am sure all the rest of the people around think we're nuts, but.....

There are many painted pianos all over
the 16th Street Mall.

Ed: Or they're entertained. 


As someone who has only had one or two successful relationships, it is nice to be around Ed and Patrice. The way they celebrate their relationship and each other on a daily basis is inspiring to be around. From little notes on the table to reliving how they first started dating, they both make efforts to create an environment of magic around their relationship. These two can make even a parking garage romantic.  That in itself is something to aspire to.

Denver and The Transplant

While I have not spoken to a ton of mothers for this project, the few I have talked to have left quite an impression. The places mothers take me are always integral to the families which they love and support. They have each in their own way been a walking definition of unconditional love. I am lucky to have gotten a glimpse of this, as I did not see it much in my own life. It has inspired me to be more generous with everything I have to give. Paula, a woman I met through my soon-to-be sister-in-law, is one such inspiring lady.

Paula moved to the Denver area with her family roughly two and a half months ago from Florida. She has decided to pick me up at 7 in the morning in order to take me hiking in her favorite Denver place. She arrives just a bit late, which is just fine with me, as it gives me more time to collect myself after a long night of writing. She pulls up and I hop into her car. She immediately starts to tell me about how much she loves Colorado and how happy she is to be here.

"My favorite place to be is outdoors, definitely.  My husband Rich and I both love the outdoors.We both love biking and hiking and we will probably do some snow shoeing this winter. Brainerd Lake, where we are going today, is a place that my brother-in-law took us. It's outside of Boulder. It is just gorgeous."


As we drive out of Denver and head toward Boulder, Paula tells me the story of how she and her family came to live in the Denver area.


"We moved out to Colorado from Florida to be able to enjoy the outdoors. We could have waited until we retired, but we thought that if we waited that long, who knows what would happen? We wanted to do it where it would be less disruptive to the kids, so that meant before high school and before middle school. Our window was shrinking because of the real estate market. We decided to just take a chance and do it. Sometimes you just have to take a risk when it is important."

As we drive toward the hills Paula talks about the choices she has made in order to get her family, including her father, settled in to their new home. Her sons are both doing quite well, and the eldest, who is in high school, is starting to develop his own life. While Paula sees it as healthy and natural, it is also visibly hard on her. As she fights back the tears, she tells me that she and her son have always been very close and that his growth away from her is a bit alarming. The best I can do is awkwardly pat her shoulder and tell her I am sorry, but I have not ever had to watch my heart grow away from my body like she has, and I fear I am of little use to her.

As we drive up into the hills, the skyline of once far away mountains starts to take on detail and vivid color. It is a beautiful day, though a bit chilly. The wind is blowing through the trees and the clouds in the sky are few and far between. We drive in to park the car and start walking in on the trail. We are quiet for the most part, except for my intermittent gasps at the incredible views of the lakes, mountains and streams we are passing. We decide to sit down about an hour in to our hike and have a snack and talk about our shared love of hiking. It started for Paula when she was quite young.


"I have always loved hiking. The first time I remember going on a hike was with my sister, Donna, and her first husband, Jim, in Nebraska. We went to some bluffs. I just fell in love with it. I must have been in middle school. I have been hiking and camping ever since."


Since Paula and her family have arrived in Denver, they have been taking full advantage of the outdoors. While she has only been in Denver about a month and a half longer than me, it is clear she and her family have not wasted any time enjoying all of the outdoor opportunities living in Colorado offers.


"I have been here for two and a half months, and we go hiking or biking every weekend. We have been to Rocksborough Park, which is closer to where we live, and it's really nice because there are all these open areas in Colorado that they have preserved which have lots of trails, bike paths and running paths, so you feel like you could go anywhere and do just about anything outdoors." 

We finish our snack and hike up towards Blue Lake. It is quite rocky, but fantastically beautiful. There are still patches of snow on the ground, and the air is cool and clean. It feels like I just might be getting my high elevation lungs in, but we walk slowly so as not to miss any of the beauty all around us. I am also making sure to get as many pictures as possible. I hike a lot in Oregon, but Colorado's landscape is drastically different. The Oregon woods are often very dense, but up here, there are many clearings with beautiful clear lakes and quiet meadows. They appear suddenly around bends and below us as we crest ridges on our hike.

As we hike up, we keep an eye on the sky, which is clouding over, and we both notice the air getting chilly. We decide to turn around and go back as it is getting to be mid-afternoon and the sky looks like it could do anything. As we reach a bend in the trail, two girls who had passed us earlier catch up to us and ask us how we liked Blue Lake and tell us how incredible it was. So, though we had already come down, we hike back up again. We are feeling like we have to see Blue Lake, now that it seems to be the centerpiece of this already amazingly beautiful hike.

Back up we go, and when we get to the point where we had turned around before, we are stunned to find that we were probably 200 feet short of the end of the trail and Blue Lake, which turns out to be everything those girls said it was. It is so beautiful, in fact, that I am tempted to burst into "The Hills are Alive......." but I don't. I just stand there, looking around, feeling incredibly lucky.


After a bit, we decide to walk back down the trail to the car. My legs are sore and I am tired and moving slowly. Paula is slipping a bit here and there on the loose rocks on the trail. At this point, the sky is grey and it is getting quite cold. As we climb down over some large flat rocks to get to the lower lakes, it starts to snow a bit. It feels like magic falling on our heads, and though we are beat, the snow revives us.


As we drive back, I am finding it hard to believe that it is my last week in Denver. This hike has been such an incredible experience, and meeting Paula has been such a rare gift, that I am feeling almost like I don't want to leave. It is hard to imagine that I was not planning on coming here, that I would have missed all of this if I had gone to Phoenix instead.

This meeting is a bit different than many of my others, as Paula is to be distant family soon. I am happy to know that she will be someone I can keep in touch with and maybe even hike with for the rest of my life. I have been so happy to meet so many great people in Denver, but while there is excitement and challenge in the meetings, there is also sadness in the farewells. I know that this is nothing close to the pain that Paula must feel as she watches her son grow into a man, but I think that in some way it must be related.

Our connections to each other and our desire for connections played out in thousands of different ways over the course of our lives tell a story we might not be aware of.  Now that I am coming and going on a monthly basis, the character of my arrivals and my departures is starting to take shape in my mind, and I can't help but wonder if I will always be the one awkwardly patting the person feeling the pain, or if I will be the one feeling it.

Denver and The Contemporary Artist

This story, the story going to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver, (MCAD) to meet my dear old friend Jessica at her favorite place, starts with me, not surprisingly, getting lost. I have the address of the museum and decide to just look for the street sign as I am riding my Denver Bcycle down 15th street downtown. Unfortunately, I become distracted and somehow miss not only the street sign, but the giant flashing red bleeding heart sculpture in front of the building. Yes, I am just that good at getting lost. Due to my ability to excel at confusion, I have developed the habit of allowing plenty of time to get lost and find my way to any place I go, which ends up coming in handy in this situation.

When I finally see the giant bleeding heart, a sculpture entitled, fittingly enough, "Toxic Schizophrenia", I have just a few minutes to make it up to the roof to watch the pigeons fly. You might be wondering just what I am talking about when I mention pigeons in a contemporary art museum of all places.

When I arrive, Jess is busy loaning out a pigeon to a patron. He seems very excited to be taking the bird to release it elsewhere. It is exciting to overhear as I am also set to release a pigeon at a location-to-be-determined-later. It is part of the project, Thinking About Flying. Jon Rubin, the artist who also created The Waffle Shop and Conflict Kitchen is behind the project. Thinking About Flying is meant to expand the artwork and the museum beyond the building's walls and include all areas the birds are released from, namely participant's homes. It is meant to make the participant a part of the artwork. I am a fan of this type of work. If it has the ability to include people who might not otherwise view or participate in art, I am all for it.

Before the much anticipated pigeon exchange takes place, Jessica and I take a seat on the roof of MCAD and she tells me about why it is her Denver favorite place.


"I really do love this building and I love coming to this building to work. I have always loved coming out on the roof top because this is the part of downtown I used to hang out in when I was growing up in Denver. It was all industrial, but now it's changed. The building has changed even since I've been here. Over the summer every window was blocked out and it was very dark inside. Now, there is all this light coming in; it has transformed. I like walking through the building, but I spend most of my time up here. I like the air, and the pigeons have added to that." 

We talk about the pigeons and how they add to her enjoyment of the building. Jessica goes into detail about her involvement with them, and it is obvious that she has become attached.


"They have been here since July. They arrived here as young birds, between a month and three months old. There have been three of us that have been collaboratively raising them and getting advice from the artist and professional pigeon-eers. They stayed in the coop for two weeks and they didn't fly. So we would hold them so that they would get used to humans. We would hang out with them, feed them, clean the cage; the things you do when you are taking care of pigeons. During that time we named them all and got to know them. After that, we started to open the cage and let them fly. At first, they didn't really know how to fly. They had never flown outside of a coop, so it was an amazing thing to watch, to watch them figure out how to fly, how to land, and then, take off. Now they fly as more of a flock. Maybe some of them will fly just two together, but they fly all around the building. It is great to see."


I ask Jessica about coming back to Denver after having left and lived in other places, and if she thinks she will eventually settle here.


"I grew up in Denver, lived in Portland for 14 years, and in Knoxville for 3 years. Now I have a bunch of residencies scheduled in different places. I am not so sure that Denver will be my place. When I left Denver, I wanted to leave, but it's changed in the 17 years since I left, and there is a lot more interesting stuff going on here now. The one thing that hasn't changed though is the brutal sun."


Having come from Portland, where there was about one month of summer this year, and San Francisco, where I was wearing two jackets and a neck warmer at all times, this sun comment seems a bit strange. But, we are the product of our experiences, and if Jessica is sick of the sun, so be it. We start talking about the project and the pigeons, and while it is difficult for me to get the "flying rats" metaphor out of my mind, Jessica talks about he project and what the artist is focusing on with it.

"With this project he is interested in breaking down the division between the museum and the outside. You come in, you take a piece of the project home with you, and you're connected to the museum in that way. The title is about the imaginary aspect: one is that we don't really know how homing pigeons find their way home. They guess that it's a mix between a map and a compass, but it has never been proven as to what is actually happening to help them find their way home. There is that imaginary thing. When people take the pigeon home, they just open up the box and they watch the pigeon fly away. They are imagining or thinking about it flying back, and we at the museum are thinking of it arriving. So it's about that imaginary space. That is the part that I like best about the project."


As she explains this process to me, I start to think about my project and how many people are imagining me flying back, and I imagine myself returning home. There have been times during this trip that my sadness and loneliness about being away has almost been debilitating, and I wonder to myself if that isn't the reason I get lost so much. Before my mind wanders too far down that path, Jessica tells me that one of the pigeons actually flew back to the place it was hatched, though it had never flown there before. It is amazing to think of all the things the creatures of this planet are capable of, while some of us have trouble spotting a gigantic bleeding heart.

Later, as I walk along the river with my pigeon carrier, I wonder how long it will take the pigeon to get back, and my mind starts to wonder the same thing about me. There are no guarantees, but I do know that the longer I am away, the stronger the pull toward home becomes. It is nice to feel that pull and know why it's there, and know that eventually, I will be home.

Denver and The Saint

Doug is the third person I am to meet in Denver through the couchsurfer.org website. I have been impressed with the caliber of people I have met there, to the point where I am thinking there is no other way to go. I have arrived at Doug's favorite Denver place, St. Mark's coffeehouse, a bit early to get some work done and have some tea and breakfast. It is a very large and well appointed space. The tables in the cafe are occupied for the most part by people working on laptops. The cafe is in a building which has had some work done to upgrade and insulate it, but the work has been done in such a way that its original charm has been retained. As I walk in and look around, I already know that I like this place.

Doug is happy.

I sit down at a table across from the counter and enjoy my green tea and breakfast bagel. The large garage door at the front of the cafe is open, letting in the Denver cool morning air. As I work at the table, I occasionally look up and around at what is going on in the mellow atmosphere of the cafe. It seems like most of the people around me are doing the same. At just about 11 am, A very tall man wearing khaki shorts, a bright orange Hawaiian shirt and a huge grin on his face walks in. I think I recognize him from his picture on couchsurfer, but I am not sure, so I walk up to him and ask if he is indeed Doug. He replies in the affirmative and tells me he will join me at my table after he gets his coffee. Doug is one of those people who smiles at you from his insides, and seems very excited to be doing what he is doing. I get the feeling, as we spend time talking at St. Marks, that this is generally the way he is composed. I ask him about St. Marks and its meaning to him, and he brightens.

"I went back to college in my early thirties to get a degree in Fine Art. I was going to the CU campus downtown. St. Mark's used to be down there on 14th and Market, right across from the campus, so that was my regular hangout. Sometimes twice a day I would go to St. Mark's and have two big lattes.  I think I fell in love with St. Mark's back then because it was a place where people hung out. There would be people sitting around, having intellectual conversations, and at the next table would be two mothers talking about children. It was just such an eclectic crowd. I thought that was pretty cool. Now that it is in a different location, I still come here a lot. It's so big city to me. Sometimes I walk in and it's like, "hi Doug! how ya doin'?", and other times they are just rude as hell to me. I like that. I get tired of the fake smile, memorization of your drink as a corporate strategy thing. They keep it real here. We all have good days and bad days and being honest about that is nice."


Doug and I slip into a conversation about art and architecture. We seem to be of like mind on most things art related, and have the same affinity for the quirky but charming environment that the owners of St. Mark's have created.

"I like buildings that are re-used over and over again, for hundreds of years, maybe, just re-using them for different things. That's one of the reasons I like St. Mark's. In their old place and this place, it is kinda funky, unpolished, the best form of a cafe. The owner makes these tables and he made those chairs (pointing to huge metal chairs in the middle of the cafe). He set up a bunch of indoor lights on an end table outside. They light the whole top of the building. It is really great what he has done here. It is cool too because they have a beer side and a coffee side, and as the evening goes on, it becomes almost impossible to find a table. This is a sizable space, and the last space was even bigger. The owners also show old movies one night a week. In the summer time, it is out in the parking lot. In the winter, it is down in the basement. It really builds a community around the cafe. It's not just their business, it's their life too. Both of them work here every day. They keep the business going because of their excellent reputation." 


As we sit and talk the cafe fills up with college students, business men, and young mothers. Doug tells me how he ended up in Denver. Like a lot of us, he was looking to get out of the place he was in, and just ready to try something new. Moving to Denver turned out to be exactly what he needed.

"I moved here in '81 from Reno. I was transferred with a company that moved their operations here. I had never been to Denver and all of a sudden I lived here. I didn't even have a chance to check it out before I came. I was only 21 at the time and I desperately wanted out of Reno.  I made a lot of friends here right away. I joined an organization called The Group, which is a gay outdoor group. We did skiiing, biking, and all that sort of stuff, but we also played bridge and poker and other things like that.  That is also one of the great things about St. Marks. It is a very eclectic group. Gays, straights, all types of people work here and patronize the cafe."


Though it is technically a city, Mark tells me that Denver has a very small town feel, and that is why he loves St. Mark's. It has been a pivotal part of his Denver experience, and one that has enhanced the city greatly for him and many of his friends.


"I have known St. Mark's the whole time I have been here. I will come in here and run into people that I have not seen for 10 years. I will also run into people that I see on a regular basis. People are always wandering by because there are all sorts of things that are up and down 17th."


I ask Doug about the city itself and how it compares to other places he has lived. Judging from his general appearance and demeanor, he seems settled. He tells me that his quality of life in Denver is better than he thinks it could be in any other place in the U.S. for various reasons.

"I am a gardener/landscaper, that is how I earn most of my money. I have a set number of clients whose yards I visit every week or so and just maintain them. They give me free reign to make them pretty. Once in a while I take on new projects where I will re-design somebody's yard, or re-do their entire yard. I have no employees, so I always make them small projects. I do my art, and I also do pet sitting which keeps money coming in during the winter months. I actually had a show at St. Mark's recently and I also had two shows at their old location. Denver is a very relaxed city and an easy place to live. Denver is also a very easy place to live financially. I lived in California for one year, and it is shockingly expensive there. It is so great here because I can own a home for less than I can rent an apartment in most places. I have fantasies about living in Europe, but I will stay in Denver for the rest of my life."


As we are chatting, two of Doug's close friends come in and they join us. We all talk about Denver, the amazing chocolate chip scones at St. Mark's and the delicious ice cream at Little Man. They tell me what I should do and not do in Las Vegas, and what parts of the city I should I avoid at all costs. Much like Detroit, Las Vegas is a city to be taken very seriously.

After they leave, Doug and I talk more and before I know it, it is time for me to walk over to my next meeting in Denver. I feel very much like I have made a friend in Doug. He and his friends are the epitome the life Doug described; warm, friendly and welcoming. In the following days, whenever I bring up St. Mark's, the people I am talking to respond with oooohs and aaahhs the way they might respond to the mention of a beloved old friend. The cafe is definitely a business that has made a lasting impression on many of the people who have grown up in and moved to Denver. As I walk down 17th toward downtown, I make a mental note to return, if only for another taste of their amazing chocolate chip scones. As I dream into my return a part of me also hopes that I might run into someone I know. I know it is a long shot, but in a magical place like St. Mark's, anything is possible.

Denver and The Gnome Hunter

I met Brent through a gentleman I met during my last project, 20 Dates in 20 Weekends. While I am not at liberty to discuss which gentleman it was, let's just say he is probably the last person anyone would expect to still be in contact with me, yet, here we are. And don't guess. Because I am not going to tell.

I couldn't stop laughing.

Brent wanted me to meet him at The Denver Museum of Nature and Science. I arrived a bit early, as I always try to do, and had some time to look around. As I walked around the front of the building, I noticed concrete paw prints leading up to an installation of cast bronze wolves, running in a pack. Very majestic, and quite well done. I was taken a back however by a sign warning me about hot wolf sculptures.

As an artist, you are always thinking about intention. I wondered if this was a comment on the wolves being on the endangered species list, if Sarah Palin had visited recently and mistakenly tried to shoot one or if some poor child had, on a hot summers day, tried to ride one and ended up with third degree burns. We will never know. I kinda hope it had something to do with Sarah Palin, though.

Brent showed up right on time, and we started talking about the museum being his favorite place, and his reasons were so out of the blue that I had to stop walking to pick my jaw up off of the paw print-decorated sidewalk.

Thinker Gnome.

"The museum is one of my favorite places because one of the artists, named Kent Pendleton, back in the 70's I think, hid gnomes on all of his backgrounds. They are always well-camouflaged. You can go on a little treasure hunt for all the little gnomes on the art work. I remember ever since I was a little kid always looking for the gnomes. I've never found all of them, so we're gonna hunt today and try to find all of them."


It is hard to describe my feelings of giddy anticipation, awe and utter disbelief that are flowing through my nervous system as we enter the museum. Never in a million years would I have expected to be going GNOME HUNTING. Never in a million years did I expect the museum to have a sheet entitled "Museum Seek and Find" to use with the museum map in order to find the hidden gnomes. As the middle-aged, heavy set woman directs us to the gnome hunting sheets, my pulse quickens. This would be one for the record books. My mind races about exactly how I am going to word my Facebook status update regarding gnome hunting, and Brent goes on about the artist who ingeniously hid these gnomes on the murals behind some of the dioramas in the museum.


 "He is the first reason I ever became interested in Art, seeing his backgrounds and looking for his little gnomes. I come at least once a year. I brought my cousins here when they were little, then I came with my sister's kids. I have never actually come just to find the gnomes, so I thought it would be nice today. Another reason it is one of my favorite places is that the view of downtown from here is incredible."

Brent leads me to a three-story wall of windows and shows me the beautiful view of Denver. It is a perfect day to see the city and the mountains behind it. He tells me that he grew up in a very small town outside of the city, and that he felt a bit scared of Denver growing up.

"I lived in a small town growing up, so coming here was just a bit scary. Growing up in the mountains, the city was this amazing place, like, "oh...let's go to Denver!" This museum holds the strongest emotional memory from being a little kid. That is why I like looking at Denver from here. It looks so beautiful."

Brent and I begin the hunt. We find them riding on dinosaurs, peaking out from behind trees, and lazing about on the grass under fallen tree limbs.  They are as whimsical, colorful and maniacal as I was hoping.
We even found a three-dimensional gnome in a diorama under a small flowering bush, waving to the viewer! Oh, how I love whimsy!

As Brent and I walk around the building, he tells me that the place hasn't changed at all, and that it still brings back great memories for him.

Cowboy Gnome.

"So much changes; your family, your friends, they all change. I probably have four or five good friends that I still talk to from when I was a little kid. My family has little cousins, nieces....we always come to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. It is a constant, something that is always the same. Everything else is changing. Not in a bad way, it's just different. No matter what you do, things will be different. Coming here is a comfort. Looking for the gnomes...walking around...it gives me a sense of wonder and a sense of being young again.  I love Denver. It is definitely one of my favorite cities that I have ever been to. I have a family factor, but I can't imagine myself living too many other places."

Peek-a-boo Gnome.

Sleepy Gnome.

Tripping Gnome.

 Gnomes abound. And, there was one more character there, who you might just recognize......

Do, or do not. there is no try.

Is it just me, or does he kinda look a bit like a young gnome?

 As for me, I am becoming more and more impressed with the caliber of person in Denver. Juggling Metallaphone players? French Architects? GNOME HUNTERS?!?!?!  Come on, Denver, is this a set up? It is difficult to believe that these people exist, much less exist in the same town, breathing the same incredibly thin air and viewing the same incredibly stunning sky, yet, here they are. In every city I have been to, I have tried to figure out one element of the city which initially puzzled me. In Portland, it was the large number of Minnesotans that filled the city streets. In San Francisco, it was the anger factor. I was going to focus on the large number of dread-locked business people in Denver, then I switched to the overwhelming number of people who smoke. I believe however that this element is creeping up to challenge those two mysterious aspects of Denver. I think a couple more meetings should help me figure it out, but I have to ask, how is it that I have met so many genuinely interesting and quirky people here in such a short time? Is it the thin air? The wide-spread availability of marijuana? Only time will tell, and I will keep you posted as I dig deeper. Like hunting for Gnomes in the tall grass, I will discover the mysteries of this new and incredible city.

Denver and the Architect

In the short time that I have been here, I have been impressed with Denver for many reasons:

1. The weather. Perfectly sunny and warm most days.
2. The sidewalks. Many are made of red sandstone which have cracked and broken to reveal beautiful hues of red, brown and orange.
3. The art. I have been to the Denver Art Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art and several galleries since I arrived, and I must say, the art scene in Denver is experiencing a growth phase which is really exciting.
4. The sky. There is a dimensionality to the sky here which is very often quite breath-taking.
5. The people. I have met incredibly interesting and quirky people in Denver. 

Enter Frederic, a French Architect who decided to show me around the Capitol District in Denver. Denver is the centennial state. It was formed on the 100th anniversary of the year the U.S. was formed. In recognition, the Capitol was designed and built based on the Capitol in Washington D.C.

I did not take this picture, but I do love it. 

Much to my surprise, Frederic takes me down Colfax to begin our tour. To say that Colfax is an interesting street would be overly kind. In addition to being the longest commercial street in the U.S., Colfax is also a street that one might say has the character of a hooker the morning after a very long hard night. In a thick French accent, Frederic tells me why he loves the area.

"I'm European, so I'm not used to driving everywhere. I don't like suburban life, I like city life. That's why I picked the Capitol building, it's very central, and a very interesting neighborhood surrounds it. It is very diverse; both extremely poor and fairly rich people live here. I like the architecture, all of the nice houses, and some of the big monuments of Denver are here, like the Cathedral. People say Colfax is the longest commercial street in the country. That is why I think it is a very interesting part of the city, because when you are on Colfax you see alcoholics, you see drug addicts, all kinds of fringe people, and then you walk 200 yards and it is completely different. I take the number 15 bus that goes down Colfax just for fun, just to see the people."

Molly Brown Museum.

 Ah, yes. The 15. I have had the pleasure of riding that bus many times since staying outside of Denver in Aurora. Coming into the city every day to do research has been a widely varied and exciting experience due to Route 15. I have seen and heard things on the 15 and the 15L which have made me question if the air in Denver is indeed too thin for reasonable and logical behavior. As Frederick talks about taking visitors on the 15 for kicks, we walk down Colfax a few blocks, turn the corner, and are greeted by amazing and beautiful mansions.

Note the awful apartment
complex next to the mansion.

 "This used to be the place where wealthy people lived in the early twentieth century. They lived here because of the proximity to the capitol. If you see pictures of Denver in the early twentieth century, you will see mansion after mansion. There are some mansions left, but most of them have been turned into apartments or torn down. This is a nice example of the kind of architecture they did in the late 1800s. The lady who owned this house was married to a guy who made a fortune in gold mining. (Molly Brown) It is a museum now.   In the 1930s they built smaller buildings. They would either tear down the mansion or separate the garden into two pieces and sell half of it."


As we walk down the tree-lined streets, among the mansions and apartment complexes which tower over them, I wonder what type of work Frederic does as an architect. The city is a hodge-podge of different styles and eras of architecture. I won't even go into the monstrosity that everyone here lovingly refers to as "the cash register building". As Frederic tells me more about himself, I have to ask if he gets any work that excites him.

"I am looking for a job now. I lost the one I had months ago. It's really bad now in my field. I do small projects for friends, renovations, additions, but it's not very exciting. When I was in New York I was doing something very interesting, I was an exhibition designer for the American Museum of Natural History, designing scientific exhibitions for them. The pay was very bad, but the job was extremely interesting. I worked with scientific curators, and they would decide to make an exhibition on a topic, and then ask me and the design team to design an exhibition on the topic."

Frederic and I talk about the possibility of having to move to get a job, and where he would consider living in order to get one. He gives me his view of cities, how important it is that they be intentionally created for the people living there, and why he decided to move to Denver in the first place.

"I moved to Denver for a job, but I also like it, I had been here before. I lived in New York City and I lived in Paris, I wanted to live in a smaller place than those huge cities. On the other hand, being an architect, I have to be in a city, not in a small town, because then there won't be anything interesting to do. I thought Denver was a good balance between the two. All the apartment complexes makes for a dense and active place that supports life, bars and restaurants. I like living in dense areas because it is exciting. It brings stress to be surrounded by hundreds of thousands of people and constant noise, but it also brings some kind of excitement. There's a lot of places to go...bookshops, bars, cafes, lots of social life. I take part in that. I am a small cog in the movements, but I am part of it. I also picked Denver because of the weather and the mountains. As a city, Denver is okay, it's not really beautiful. Compared to New York or San Francisco, it's not as nice."

Typical colorful establishment on Colfax.

Frederic asks me where I from, and when I tell him Oak Park, he launches into a true-love speech about The City of Chicago and Frank Lloyd Wright's houses in Oak Park. I feel comfortable enough with him to ask why all the literature about Frank Lloyd Wright talks about rooms bathed in light, and every one of his houses I have visited (and I have been in quite a few) were actually quite dark. He tells me that the Oak Park houses were early in Wright's career when he was influenced by the architects he was working for, and if I wanted to see a good example of his later work, I should go to Phoenix, which I happily report I am planning on doing. On hearing this, his face darkens suddenly and he shakes his head disappointedly.

"I think what happened in Phoenix was sad. Frank Lloyd Wright's ideas worked so well in that landscape, and they absolutely didn't follow his example. They could have done something great and they've done something really mediocre."


This is the most negative I have seen Frederic during our walk around the neighborhood. I mean, the guy was giddy talking about Colfax Street and the number 15 bus, and now, the topic of Phoenix brings on a melancholia that scares me into wondering if I should go to Phoenix at all. Of course, I didn't choose my itinerary based on places I would like to go. At least I will be able to amuse myself by making fun of all the people who want me to meet them at their local Starbucks as their Phoenix favorite place. As I am silently planning my strategy for how to navigate the city of Phoenix, Frederic's mood shifts dramatically, and he tells me why he loves Chicago more than any other American city. Unfortunately, I am not going to Chicago.

"Chicago is a beautiful city. It is one of the rare American cities where you feel like people really appreciate architecture for itself, as opposed to New York, where they have nice buildings, but they don't care about them so much. They will tear them down and build something else. In Chicago people know what's nice, they have been living in it for all their lives, and they appreciate it. They still build very high quality contemporary buildings in Chicago."


From here, he launches into a architectural diatribe about what makes cities great and what makes them work. I have to confess, I am actually moved by his passionate expression.

The City and The Cash Register Building.

"A city is much more than an addition of different houses. There is a fabric that needs to be taken into account. It's not easy. It takes some experience. People think only of their own house, they are not thinking about the whole environment of the city. It's human, you can't keep people from thinking that way, but a city is more than an accumulation of individual people, and that needs to be thought out.
There has to be a certain amount of direction to it. There has to be a central group of people who decide how its going to be. They did that in Chicago and in Europe, but generally, that conflicts with the perceived individual freedom of people." 


This idea, that there is a fabric which must be considered in order to successfully create a functional environment for people to live in is not new, nor is it revolutionary. It is an ideal which started with the earliest architects in the oldest civilizations. Over time, this ideal shifted, and as the burdens of time, (people used to spend generations building cities) money, and cultural aesthetics weighed more heavily on civilizations, building became less about functional environments and more about adequate environments. In some cases, it is a difference of a hair's breadth, but as this difference grows along a trajectory geometrically and exponentially, we end up in the 20th century with strip malls and convenience stores.

We can look to what has come before and celebrate it with architectural "ode"s, but how do we choose the rest of our environment, or rather, who is choosing it for us? I don't have an answer for this, just more questions, none of which help me understand why anyone would want to tear down a nice old mansion and build a parking garage, or why the people of Phoenix decided not to follow Frank Lloyd Wright's lead.  All any of us can do is try and choose our environments which are within our means. Maybe that is why it is so difficult to create a fabric in the first place. We are all working with thread is of vastly different qualities and textures. With thread like that, the fabric is bound to be uneven.