Aurora Wasteland

I am on my way to Apsen Seating in Denver and eventually to Summit County to test a new monoski. Unfortunately I have to burn a day so I am staying at the fabulous Sleep Inn in Aurora. Set amongst the rolling prairie of Colorado with the Rockies in the background, like a giant saw blade in the otherwise non-descript monotony of the prairie. Sounds charming, eh? Um...not so much.

Aurora, to most people, is one giant suburb of Denver. Technically another city, you would never notice while driving that you have left Aurora and entered Denver. The city is a fine example of American suburbia, complete with ranks upon ranks of houses that look exactly alike (mine is the brown cape on the left, can't miss it!), with the occasional cul-de-sac. Every few blocks you come across a gas station and some combination of small Chinese restaurant, an Applebees, and assorted non-sense stores no one ever shops at. Scattered amongst this sprawling and depressing suburbia are gated communities with names that make you feel like the residents within wished they were anywhere else but where they live. Names include Aurora Hights, Highlands, Hills, and Knolls, Del Mar, Havana Heights, Heritage at Eagle Bend, and Tollgate Run at Kingsborough. Even with these "communities" I get the sense that there is little community here at all, and hardly any character.

Tonight I find myself in one section of Aurora that is just hotels, and only the typical chain hotels, complete with the chain restaurants you expect to find at every freeway exit in America. I can't imagine anyone actually wanting to live or work here, and probably only do because there is not much other choice they have.

There is no personality here, no character, nothing interesting in the least. This is not a part of American culture that I am proud of. We have managed to manufacture our culture into a series of generic boxes that one can find along every freeway in the US. The only reason people visit these boxes are so that they can get somewhere else that is more exciting. Hopefully tomorrow will get more interesting.

Disclaimer: If anyone who is reading this is from Aurora or knows someone here, I am sure you/they are a great person. I am judging the area just from what I have seen as I drive through it. I know it is shallow but I am going to write it anyway.

NOTE: Since writing the above post, I have learned that Aurora does, in fact have a downtown area with a main street. The negative aspects described above really just apply to parts of the periphery of Aurora, among many other parts of the country.