Colorado - first impressions

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Today I went shopping for winter clothing and supplies for my massage course. Denver seemed really relaxed, and it was totally empty due to the Superbowl taking place today. At 5.20pm I got on a Greyhound bus and have just spent 5 hours getting to the town of Alamosa. From what I can see, bus stations here attract exactly the same sort of substandard population of weirdos as the bus stations back at home. Add that to the fact that when you get out of prison here you get a free fare on a Greyhound bus to get home and it makes for an interesting crowd jostling in line when the bus pulls in. Someone even asked me if they could eat the rest of my salad that I was eating. I gladly handed it over because it was a really bad salad from 7-11 anyway, and he proceeded to eat it with his hands. And he was one of the respectable looking ones.

On the way here the bus slowed right down as the snow was quite thick on the road, and now I'm here in Alamosa there is a crisp layer of snow over everything. It's still really shocking to me! I just checked into the Super8 motel and decided to try and find some food. The only option round here without venturing out in a car at this time of night seems to be the 24 McDonalds Drive Thru next door, so I went over there and checked out the menu. The door was locked so I had the ridiculous task of ordering at a Drive Thru on foot. Note to self - don't. I loitered around the speaker for a while but nothing happened, then knocked on the kiosk window and got no answer. Then I went back to the speaker feeling very stupid indeed, and a car had pulled up so for some reason I went behind it as if in a queue. Then another car pulled in behind me so I was looking really very odd, maybe like a nutter who pretended to drive a car that didn't really exist. In the end I lost my nerve and slunk off back to the Super 8. I have just raided the breakfast bar in the lobby and stolen some bran flakes and a sachet of hot chocolate so have necked that and have managed to stem the flow of idle hunger.

Tomorrow I am going to the little town of Crestone to start my course at Crestone Healing Arts Centre. It's about one hour's drive from Alamosa. Hopefully I don't hate my coursemates and ideally none of them will be weirdos. Seeing as we have to live together communally on site for 3 months it will be interesting to see what they are like, and whether I sleepwalk or sleep-hallucinate and scare the living daylights out of them. Oh the joys of a nocturnal behaviourial affliction. Here's what a local website says about Crestone:

"Flush up against the flanks of the gothic and mystical Sangre de Cristo peaks, far from the everyday life of most of the rest of the world, lies the abundantly spiritual community of Crestone. Likened by many to Sedona, Arizona, visitors flock to Crestone for its sacred energy and high concentration of diverse spiritual centers, including a large Buddhist community. Add to that the raw and magical beauty of the area, its well-known festivals and events and active arts community - and you've got a recipe for a visit to remember."

So that's about it! I better go to bed now as it is way past my bedtime...