Boulder Creek is the essence of Boulder-- it carries the energy from the canyon, it's why Boulder exists. The Flatirons are cool, whatever, but Boulder Creek is Boulder's source. Chief Niwot and his Arapahoe people kept a camp here, where the canyon spills out onto the prairie. In the mid-19th-century, game was declining, his people began to starve... and in 1864, they were camped under a peaceful white flag at Sand Creek, after being promised safety & land by the government... and US troops slaughtered them.

So, Niwot's curse: as-the-story-goes, his curse is something like: People who see the beauty of this place will want to stay here, and their staying will be the undoing of the place. True or not? You decide. Boulder has a lot of progressive land-use policies; it also has a lot of people who talk about how great it was twenty-thirty-etc. years ago. The one thing the curse is testimony to, though, is the vortex-power of this town... people are drawn here, they learn things, and then they must leave again. It is a transient-town, but people aren't supposed to live here anymore than they are supposed to live in Sedona, Arizona-- some geographic spots are meant for visiting, not dwelling in, and the people who make them into a permanent home either become part of the spot in a very strange way, or they become deranged.

Coffee: Yuppies, college students, revolutionaries, intellectuals, and hippies all love coffee, so you've got lots of choices. On the west end of Pearl St. (the classic pedestrian mall-downtown area), you've got Trident (books & coffee) and the Boulder Bookend (books & coffee). They are almost always full. On the east end, you've got newcomer Espresso Allison (between 15th and 16th), and the Boulder Co-Op (19th)... in South Boulder, there's Cafe Sole in the Table Mesa strip mall; North Boulder is home to Wonderland and some others up Broadway; I'm partial to Cafe Roma in the University district (the Hill-- 13th and College-- great croissants). Folsom Street Coffee on Folsom & Canyon and Cafe Bravo catty-corner from it are great if you don't want to run into people you know. And I've always wanted to make the Mediterranean deli on Pearl & 27th my hangout, since it's so un-hip. Two recommendations: (1) the Eldorado Corner Market, a gas station a few miles out of town-- they have Zapatista coffee, a great view of the Flatirons, and they're not in Boulder; (2) the cafe at Naropa, the local Buddhist University (2030 Arapahoe). They have killer chai they make themselves, and you can ask them for the sugar-free version, plus it's affordable-- sit out under the sycamores and eavesdrop on the Naropites.
Food: If you've got money, head for Sherpa's(825 Walnut), a Tibetan and Nepali restaurant run by actual Sherpas; try the saag. Or stop by the Dushanbe Teahouse, a beautiful building built by Boulder's sister-city in Tajikistan. Tom's Tavern on 11th and Pearl is an old burger-and-fries hangout, for when you need to feel like you're in Reality. On the Hill, Burnt Toast (1235 Pennsylvania) is a great restaurant with ambiance and fresh-baked bread; Dot's Diner on 13th & University is a slightly-healthier twist on diner fare (yummy breakfasts, early-bird special before 7:30). If you don't have money, you can still eat, since you're in the land of affluence-- try Cafe Prasad at the Boulder Co-op (19th and Pearl) and get beans and rice or salad greens. Food not Bombs feeds pretty regularly-- used to be Tu-Th-Sat at 330 at the bandshell, but you'll want to ask around... Good dumpsters have been Vitamin Cottage on 30th and Pearl, as well as Wild Oats (especially the one on 30th and Baseline). There's also a bountiful farmer's market on Saturday mornings in Canyon Park on 13th street (seasonal).
Nature: I could write several paragraphs on this, but I'm tired of writing about Boulder already; if you can't find the nature open your eyes; if you want more detailed info here's the map. Do go to Eldorado springs, do hike up Gregory Canyon, do look for trails that are off-the-map (as always!)
Other Things to Do: go shopping for books at Red Letter, the Boulder Bookstore, or the Beat Bookshop (all along Pearl Street), take yoga classes, take dance classes, take tai chi classes, take pilates classes, riot, ride bicycles, talk about how much you hate boulder, talk about how much you love boulder, see a show at the Boulder Theater, listen to KGNU (88.5) and Radio AM 1190, walk the streets looking for love.
Nearby: For information on Eldorado Springs, Denver, and other towns and forests nearby, see the Colorado guide.

local links
Visit this glossary if you need the definitions of Boulder terms like "Trustafarian."
The Boulder Weekly is a good guide to what's going on, as well as good journalism.
Listen to Boulder wherever you are on Radio 1190.

field notes: boulder, colorado / overheard at Cafe Roma / 3 aug 2005

It is high noon and I can see the foothills in the distance. There are lavender plants and bright red gardenias and ants and the empty plate where a croissant was and the empty glass where my english breakfast tea was. The rainbow-hip professors who were talking about the decline of America, and the rise of China and our inevitable decline of standards of living, have left (after having decided that they want to retire early and be wealthy) (I am of course in Boulder Colorado today)...

Now there is only one person who is speaking; the man smoking cigarettes at the table beside me. He speaks into the air in a kind of incantory way, sporadically, quiet & then the next burst happens -- & the intonation moves me to record these words -- do you see how they are a poem -- i know perhaps it is a violation to transcribe somebody's words but i felt compelled by the beauty of it.

because he don't let me pick on the regular people
he let me pick on the holiest
with that big old congregation
he's still asking them to sow good seed
with that many people
he's still asking them to sow good seed
his nose turned red
do you know what he said
his father passed away
do you know what i said
i said i sleep one night
and heaven spoke to me
and said now you know why you don't have a father
heaven said you know why you don't have a father
and his father passed away
when i challenge i challenge big people
holiest
he's still asking for people to sow good seed
when there's that many people in your congregation
his wife saw me
and i know exactly why she acted like that
i know exactly why she acted like that
i didn't think like that
i never thought like that
that thought never crossed my mind
heaven spoke to me in my dream
i don't want to be here but i had to be pushed into a crowd
i don't want to be here but i been pushed into the crowd
because something deep inside of me told me not to attack
deep inside of me
i don't want to throw my world away
because you mean that much to me
i don't want to throw my world away because you mean that much to me
that's why i want to spend time alone

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