TRINIDAD, CO - Labeling his trip a “a fun day in a really funky town,” Steve enjoyed much of Thursday conversing with town locals, walking the streets and taking numerous pictures in Trinidad, Colorado.

However, his plans to meet the police chief were thwarted by an unresponsive, disinterested police staff.

Steve arrived in Trinidad at 8:30 am, and visited the police station shortly after. The officer at the front desk said the police chief was unavailable for the morning because of a meeting, but recommended writing a brief note telling him he would revisit at 11:45 am. Steve jotted his interest in taking him to lunch, or just briefly saying “hi” in person.

“Well, I did just that. I went back the second time and I wouldn’t say they were mean or anything, they just couldn't comprehend what I was doing. And the guy told me the police chief was out on an investigation. I could tell from his tone that they were definitely trying to get rid of me.”

Undaunted by the local police chief’s apathy in meeting him, Steve remained busy creating fun in seemingly ordinary circumstances. He drove to the top of a cliff that has a Hollywood-style sign with the town name. He took pictures near Trinidad Lake, visited the local museum (which was closed) and read a newspaper outside in the downtown district.

Yet his interactions with common, local people were most memorable to him.

“The girl at the café was really friendly with me, and it turns out she knows C.” said Steve. “Then there was the woman at the artsy shop who I talked to for awhile and the friendly bartender in the Mexican bar. A lot of people thought I was a tourist because of my camera.”

Trinidad, situated just north of Raton Pass and the Colorado/New Mexico border, is a small town of 10,000 residents in southern Colorado. It is best known as the final city on Interstate 25 before entering New Mexico, and has been spoken of as the “sex-change capitol of the world.”

“It’s a really beautiful town. I’ve driven through it a few times and I just wanted to have an adventure down here. Sure I didn’t meet the police chief, but you know what, he missed out. I was going to take him out to lunch and I even had a t-shirt for him! He lost out.”