Colorado

You Know, ’Rado: Striking Gold in the Centennial State

Colorado
Words & Captions: Ben Shanks Kindlon | Photo: Ari Lightsey

Ain’t it different? When I first stepped in the game Man tried leech on my name Now they wanna act all distant

The sounds of London rappers Headie One, AJ Tracey and Stormzy reverberate through Grant Giller’s Honda Pilot as we drive from Ouray to Silverton on Colorado’s Million Dollar Highway. Hip-hop comes as a welcome respite from the European house music with which Grant unironically starts, fuels and ends most days. Admittedly, his tunes are charmingly hilarious and somewhat fitting considering we’re in an area known as the “Switzerland of America,” complete with picturesque 13,000-foot peaks sprawling for miles in almost every direction from this stretch of the San Juan Skyway. But regardless of how well the music matches the mountains, a temporary letup from 120 beats per minute is nice—something each of us will need every now and again during our 14-day fantastic voyage through the Centennial State...

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