Been to pueblo, rifle, denver and colorado springs. Drove each time and aside from flippin out at the paper thin ass oxygen, I'd say the area I personally loved the most was the pueblo area. Know peeps in pueblo, so hotel was null. But pueblo is at the southern foothills of the Rockys and close to new mexico(relatively speaking) so red rock is common.

But, that said, pueblo I liked, as it was not really a transplant city from what I could tell, and like any city in colorado, the views of the mountain range left me awe struck, just not as breathless, lol!. The mex-food at one restaurant (name eludes me) was the best blend I've ever ate. The place was built in the likeness of an adobe home and was in old town pueblo. One bar I went to at nite was one that was built in an old mechanics garage downtown, still having its bay doors and all, and some of the fixtures were made from car parts (rotors, springs, calipers etc) cheap drinks (smaller town, remember that) and the people were friendly. Needless to say, I got hammered! Being one of the few black people, and definately not a native, I got a lot of love!

On the drive out of pueblo, I stopped at an old but still operational gas station on the New Mexico border, and seen my first true Native American (outside of my grandmother who was half cherokee). she was sitting outside the station in an old metal swing seat thingy, just chilling. When I noticed her on my way into the station to pay for my gas, I was stunned...stared at her amazed at how much she reminded me of my own grandmother, and her being Native american. I smiled, she smiled puffing on a pipe(which shocked me again) and I walked in.

The gas station was so old school, they had the rotary pumps(not digital) and the sliding credit card thing that the clerk gave me a carbon copy reciept.

Either way, New Mexico is equally beautiful, as I chose to avoid Kansas on my way back to atlanta ( Kansas is a fuckin vortex, I swear!! You'll see the same fuckin cow, on the same fuckin hill, under the same fuckin tree for like 12 hours before Kansas let's you leave!! Lol!). But the rock formations made me stop so many times I wanted to extend my trip just to stay in New Mex for a few days. old Route 66 is still there in albuquerque, New Mexico.