You know that feeling at 2AM when you’re wide awake, honesty flooding in, and you realize your best memories rarely happen at the destination?
They sneak up on you in the in-between places: the gas stations, the trailheads, the tiny diners where you and your best friend split fries and talk about everything except what’s really on your mind.
That’s what this drive is about. It’s not just where you’re going. It’s the little stops along the way that make the whole trip matter.
1. Denver Botanic Gardens
Sometimes you need a reset before the adventure even starts. The Denver Botanic Gardens has that effect, like a cold shower for your brain. You walk in, inhale, and remember there’s more color in the world than whatever shade your last existential crisis was…