One evening in February, I got a group text with only one phone number saved in my phone. It was from my homegirl, Morgan, who is notorious for grouping random individuals for events, outings, or trips together. In this case, it was the latter. “Hi Ladies, Southwest has a sale happening right now. Let’s get tickets to Colorado.” Colorado had been a destination that was at the top of my mind for a while. While I didn’t know the other ladies in the group, I felt this was an opportunity for me to go ahead and knock Colorado off my “Places to explore” list. We confirmed we wanted to explore nature, relax, and be adventurous! Everyone began throwing travel dates out, and we all purchased our flight to Colorado within 24hrs. I was excited to go ahead and lock the plans in. The only downside was that our flights were EARLY MORNING. Departure times are 4 and 5 AM early. It’s not my cup of tea, but with the motivation of a whole group being on the same flight, maybe it wouldn’t be too bad.
The Trip ALMOST made it out the group chat. After all, we purchased flights within 24 hrs. Three weeks out from the trip date, the other two ladies dropped. The priorities of life began to creep in, and they backed out. I was shocked because once I spend a dime on a trip, there is no going back for me. So now it was just Morgan and I. We pieced together a few last-minute logistics, and honestly, we didn’t do much else until a few days before we left.
COLORADO HERE WE COME!
“Hey girl, can I come stay at your house so we can ride to the airport together?” “Of course you can.” I announced through speaker phone. I had wrapped up work, packed my bags, and shimmied down to my cousin’s neighborhood pool up the street. My vacation had started! Later that evening, Morgan pulled up to my house at 12AM. I was already in my pajamas watching A Different World on TV and smoking hookah. Morgan had to finish some work for a client so while she worked on a deadline, I went to bed only to immediately be woken up. “Hey, it’s 4:15 AM,” Morgan said, standing at my bedroom door. I jumped up and immediately began getting ready. I had planned to LEAVE at 4:30 AM. We both got in formation and were on our way by 4:50 AM.
We pulled up to a parking service a few miles from the airport. You park on their property and then they have continuous shuttles that take you to the airport and pick you up. The shuttle driver grabbed our bags, and we found two seats on the crowded shuttle bus. An older black couple across from us were in good spirits. We sparked a small convo with the couple and the lady ask, “You headed to the islands?” Morgan and I, in unison, said, “Colorado”. The lady slightly squinted her face in confusion, “Colorado?”. We all let out a laugh because it is not often you meet black women who say they are going to Colorado for vacation. The thought of two black girls going to Colorado at that moment made me excited. I love exploring the unknown and unusual.
We made it on the plane just in time. Coffee and breakfast sandwiches in hand, we found two seats at the very back off the plane. There was a lady seated in between us who was from Colorado. She had lived in Gwinett County, a large suburb of Atlanta for 20 years and felt pretty removed from Colorado. She was going to visit family. I asked her what food Colorado is famous for. “Rocky Mountain Oysters!” She said. Morgan and I both released a “OOOHHHHHHHH” of excitement. “Do you know what they are?” The lady ask. We both paused and said no. “Bison Testicals.” The Colorado native shared with a smirk. After hearing that, I wouldn’t press myself to explore the food too much. I was sure the cuisine was going to be traditional of the pasty culture, tasteless, odd, and maybe cooked improperly.
Touch Down in God’s Country
Once we arrived in Colorado at 8AM, I began to Google hot warm springs. This is something I saw that Colorado was known for from previous TikTok videos and research. A website with beautiful images of what appeared to be an outdoor hot spring with an amazing view! The location was called Rasberry Hot Springs. The site Explicitly says that you MUST have 4 Wheel Drive as a requirement, NOT a suggestion. So we decided that if we could upgrade our rental, we would book a slot at Raspberry Springs.
We caught a shuttle to the rental location at the Colorado airport called SIXT. I had never heard of the rental company since I never rent cars but the inside was very clean and modern. The agent was super nice and gave us the history of the company. It turns out it’s a German-based company, and they have large fleets of BMWs. I immediately spotted an SUV that would be a good fit for climbing the mountains of Colorado while giving a luxury experience. We were able to upgrade our economy car to a BMW X6.
I immediately booked a reservation for Raspberry Springs. We decided to enjoy the time at the Spring and then head to a spa near our Airbnb to end the day.
Getting to Raspberry Springs was crazy, and we honestly had a moment where we were wondering if we had been scammed as money was paid when we made the reservation. Once it appeared that we were close to the Spring, we started riding on a dirt road that became one lane, curvy, and very rugged.
Eventually, we came across an older white man with a long grey beard. He looked like the typical mountain man. He shared that we were on the right path and that Rasperry springs was a real place with a beautiful scenary. He also bad mouthed the owner that also had us wondering if this was a good idea. But in true adventure fashion, we pushed forward. Morgan was starting to freak out focusing on the road and I tried to encourage her that we were almost there.
When we finally arrived 2020 minutes later, we were met with nothing but some dogs behind a gate, a low-hanging sign that read Rasberry Springs and a beautiful mountain view. There were no humans in sight,though. At this point, I really started to panic internally. I called the number on the website, and no one answered. After about 5 minutes, another mountain man appeared and shared he was our host. He apologized for the delayed communication and let us know he would refund a portion of our reservation because we decided we only wanted to stay an hour and it had been a crazy experience getting there.
Once we got settled, the experience was peaceful. I turned on my portable speaker and felt all the tension in my body release as I sank into the warm water. The Spring looked out into the vast terrain of Colorado. On the left end you saw mountains with snow on it and it to the right was another large mountain that was green with trees. Inbetween there were some red-looking smaller plateaus or mountains. It was surreal because who knew you could see so many terranes in one view?
The owner came down and refunded a portion of cash. He shared that he was born at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta and was a retired music producer turned Airbnb and Hot Springs owner! He told us that we purchased 5 acres on the mountain and purchased an excavator. He built the Spring and a house that he rented out on Airbnb. He shared that his neighbors were “Fucking Haters” because he was making money. This was funny because I felt like I was in a real-life movie scene. Honestly, I could tell that his neighbors were “Haters”. I also think they were people used to isolation and traffic up the mountain concerned them that their community was attacking commercial traffic. Also, it would ALOT to make that space commercial because it was sooooo desolate.
Eventually we left and headed to the spa that was about an hour away. I got a massage and Morgan spent time in the soaking tubs. They had hot spring soaking tubs and cold plunge tubs along with salt pools and saunas. The space had a free spirit vibe but was relaxing with a touch of “hippy”. I noticed a few black women checking in for appointments, but most of the guests at the spa were Caucasian. There was one group made up of middle-aged white men and women with locs that were pretty rude. A tall white man with a blonde brown loc bun rushed to the desk, stepping in front of Morgan, who was trying to choose a package. Morgan took a step back and stared at the man. The front desk agent told him that she was helping morgan and would be right with him.
Aside from that awkward encounter, my masseuse was AMAZING! It was honestly the best massage I’ve had to date in life!
Across the street from the spa, community members gyrating in the park to drums and tambourines. If you have wanted Mixed Ish then you remember when Rainbow talks about her time on the compound as a child. That is exactly what it looked like across the street. I was amazed and amused. There was a section where people were throwing fire and tossing lit cones. My friend Morgan even jumped in and started gyrating with the Patchouli-scented crowd. I will say, it was cool to see a different way of living and expression. I personally only saw things like this on TV and few times in Savannah at Forsyth Park where SCAD students would dance around with hoola hoops and enjoy college liberation until they had to return to their wealthy way of living after college.
Once we got to our Airbnb, it was so dark I felt like I could touch the stars in the sky. We brought our things inside, showered and went to sleep.
The next morning we got last-minute reservations to go White Water Rafting on the Arkansas River. I called and reserved our spots, and then we immediately got in the car to drive an hour to the group location. While driving the road felt more like what I imagined Colorado to look like. Previously we had been on highways, outside of the mountain side adventure to Raspberry Springs. We saw llama farms, beautiful fields, and open skies. The roads were very curvy, and I felt so much gratitude as I looked at the scenery while driving the X6.
We finally arrived and were rushed to put our wet suites and booties on. We all got loaded onto a bus where vital safety information was shared. As the tour guide shared the information, I felt slightly nervous. The precautions were pretty serious. Images of me getting sucked up by the river flashed before my eyes. the bus had signatures of past rarafters that had fallen out of the raft and survived. I guess that was comforting….. That they survived and were able to write a funny message on the bus.
Morgan and I were placed with a family of 4. The mother was pretty anxious as her girls were kinda young, and we would come across some big rafts. We had a crash course of how to row and sit on the side of the raft. (Yes, you sit on the side of the raft NOT INSIDE). Things were pretty smooth at first, but 5 minutes in, we were hit with our first big tsunami. As the cold water hit, it felt like you couldn’t breathe. It felt like you were being taken under the water and the guide is yelling Row 2, Row One, Stop. Once you came to, the adrenaline was racing. I felt good. This continued for the remainder of the excursion. We all became more and more comfortable. At the end, the guide shared that it was safe to jump into the river if you wanted to. You had to hold onto the raft though. Morgan jumped in and had a ball. I eventually jumped in on the opposite side of the raft. I was being sucked beneath the raft. I started to panic but began to calm myself down as I tried to lay on my back (we were instructed to keep our feet up at all times in the water). It didn’t seem like I was going to be able to get comfortable, so I pulled myself up and asked to be pulled up immediately! We all laughed about it and before you knew it, it was over.
Of course, after rafting we returned home and relaxed before heading to our evening spa reservation. The spa was great and after we went to a restaurant called the rabbit hole, I found online. It was hard to find the space because the entrance looks like a subway stop in the middle of the sidewalk. I remember getting off the subway in Harlem, NY, and coming up from an entrance on the sidewalk. This is exactly what the entrance of this restaurant looked like. It took us a minute to realize where it was. We were excited as we walked down the stairs into the cave-like restaurant that had whimsical Alice in Wonderland murals on the wall. All our food was delicious.
Since we had an early flight going home, we spent the night in Denver our last day. Morgan had a grad school friend that lived there and shared that she hated it in few words. To be honest, I didn’t like Denever compared to the rest of Colorado. If you want a city experience, go to LA, NY, hell, even NOLA. Denver was under whelming and ugly compared to the rest of the trip.
Overall, the trip was amazing though. I will definitely visit Colorado again and enjoy nature!
Links to Colorado Trip Adventures
- We grabbed “Sale” tickets with Southwest to Colorado a few months in advance
- Booked an Airbnb in Woodland Park
- Visited a Private Hot Springs called Raspberry Springs
- Spent two days soaking at Sun Water Spa
- White Water Rafting on the Arkansas River at Cañon City with Royal Gorge Rafting
- Ate at the Rabbit Hole – Alice in Wonderland Theme and tricky to locate entrance
- Purchased FRESH Gourmet Chocolate at Cacao Chemistry
