Denver - June 7 and 8, 2008 (38)

Denver - June 7 and 8

After nearly a week of constant touring and "doing stuff" we woke up to a beautiful sunny day and decided what we really needed to do was not much. So we went for a walk around the 'hood.

And a very nice 'hood it is! Lots of flowers and interesting little homes. Elaine's area is older and chalk full of smallish brick houses. As happens in older areas, at least we have personally experienced this, is that new people with lots of money and a desire for bigger homes move in and either tear down the original homes or add on - making newer, bigger places. This changes the character of the neighbourhood over time. This is happening in Elaine's area. The good news is that it's just starting so she's still got some time. Also, although she doesn't believe us, it's good for her resale value, as property values will increase. In any event, she can enjoy it now - it truly is a lovely part of Denver.

Following are some of the shots I took on our walk. Since I don't know the plant names, I'll leave that for you to figure out - I can tell you the colours - purple, yellow, pink, blue, red, etc. :) Helpful, I know!




We went into the local recreation centre and encountered this killer vending machine!









In the evening, we all got gussied up again to go to another concert - Three Mo Divas. http://www.3modivas.com/ at the Denver Centre http://www.denvercenter.org/home.cfm#



The Denver Centre is quite a neat complex - worth a visit even if not attending an event. Unfortunately - it was too dark for pix, so you'll have to check the www.



It was very nice to meet Elaine's friends, Sandy and Doug - we had a great time over dinner and then at the show. Good times!



So - that's about it for our Denver trip - on June 8 we got up, poked around having breakfast, packing, trying to erase traces of our occupation of Elaine's basement, then got in her little Subaru one last time as she drove us to the airport.

All in all - a nice week away from home.

Denver - June 5 and 6, 2008 (37)

Denver Vacation - June 5 and 6

June 5

The day was overcast, as I recall. We were not terribly ambitious - and no pix were taken - other than one of Joe and me. As we had tickets for a concert that evening, we decided to scope out the venue so we knew where we had to go. It turned out to be in a relatively new shopping area of the box store type.

Naturally, once we got there we had to check out some of the retail establishments. I usually find stuff at JCPenny, but this time it was pretty much a bust. We did spend a lot of time at Bass Pro Shops. We don't have 'em here in Canada, so we took some time to check it out. This place has EVERYTHING you can imagine for hunting, fishing and any other red-neck activity you can think of - everything you need for killin' it, cookin' it and lookin' good while you're doing it! My Dad would love it! OK - enough of the free commercial. Here's the link for all you red necks! Bass Pro Shop.

In the evening, we gussied up to go see - wait for it - THE RIPPINGTONS! Never heard of them? Well you've probably heard their music, but just didn't know their name. They were playing at the Soiled Dove. I'm not sure what the Soiled Dove reference is for in this case, but there is some interesting history to the term - check it out.

Back to the concert - it was EXCELLENT!!! All three of us enjoyed it immensely.

Here we are - gussied.


June 6

Another great day - sunny again. We set off for ...

Fort Collins

The City of Fort Collins, a Home Rule Municipality situated on the Cache la Poudre River along the Colorado Front Range, is the county seat and most populous city of Larimer County, Colorado, United States. Fort Collins is located 57 miles (92 km) north of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. With roughly 125,000 residents, it is the fifth most populous city in Colorado, Fort Collins is a large college town, home to Colorado State University. It was named Money magazine's Best Place to Live 2006. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Collins]

Downtown in the old part of town. This was arguably my favourite of the nearby centres.

Town square.

Again.
Again - Ben and Jerry's!

OK - when you get to be "a certain age" - you can do goofy things. So consider us goofs.

While we were in Fort Collins we went to Elaine's favorite store ever - Perennial Gardener. It was pretty neat. I found a pottery piece that I couldn't resist.

[Cheese and Quackers pix to be added.]

Loveland

So from Fort Collins, we started back toward Denver, but stopped at Loveland. Elaine wanted us to see Loveland's Benson Sculpture Garden.

Heralded as one of the finest outdoor juried exhibitions of three-dimensional artwork in the United States, Sculpture in the Park features the work of more than 200 sculptors from around the world. The event is majestically staged against the backdrop of the Rocky Mountains and attracts thousands of art lovers and collectors from across the country to Loveland's Benson Sculpture Garden. [http://www.sculptureinthepark.org/index.html]

Fittingly, it is called "Sculpture in the Park" as there are over 200 sculptures on permanent display there. I think Joe took at least one pix of each one of them. I've decided to spare us all the tediousness of looking at ALL of them, so present only a small sample here. Go to the website to see ALL of them if you're interested.

The Chase.
This is Elaine's favorite. It's called The Potato Man.

Azygos. (I'm not making this up - I Googled it - turns out it's an anatomical term.)

Fiesta.

Circle of Peace - with some audience participation.

Monument in Right Feet Major. Look closely - both are right feet.



Survival looking at Shepard Boy.



Gumdrops.

Windswept.

Horizon Interrupted.

Red and Blue Pony. Well - obviously....

Breathing Easy.

Jazzy (I made that up - couldn't find it on the site map.)

Best Friends.

Sophie.

I was glad we were there late in the day. It was pretty hot even at that time, but if we'd been there a few hours earlier, it would have been much too hot for me. I suggest if you want to go in the summer that you go either early in the morning or in the evening once it starts to cool off.

Red winged blackbird (it's real...).

Denver skyline from the freeway on the way back.

Denver - June 4, 2008 (36)

Denver Vacation - June 4, 2008

Elaine wanted to take us to a nature conservancy she knew of near Colorado Springs, south of Denver. It took us awhile to find it, but we finally did. Unfortunately the visitor centre was closed, but we were able to wander along the pathway and take a few pix. Lots of birds were around so the bird people were happy.

Aiken Canyon Preserve

A Foothills Ecosystem Hosts an Abundance of Species

http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/colorado/preserves/art517.html



Prairie lizard (I think).

Garden of the Gods

We drove back toward Colorado Springs where we visited Garden of the Gods. This is an amazing geological place.


Garden of the Gods is a public park located in Colorado Springs. The outstanding geologic features of the park are the ancient sedimentary beds of red and white sandstones, conglomerates and limestone that were deposited horizontally, but have now been tilted vertically and faulted by the immense mountain building forces caused by the uplift of the Pikes Peak massif. Evidence of past ages; ancient seas, eroded remains of ancestral mountain ranges, alluvial fans, sandy beaches and great sand dune fields can be read in the rocks. A spectacular shear fault can be observed where the Tower of Babel (Lyons Sandstone) contacts the Fountain Formation.[1] The name Colorado is said to come from the color of the sandstone. There are many fossils to be seen: marine forms, plant fossils, and some dinosaur fossils.

[from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden_of_the_Gods]


http://www.gardenofthegods.com/




All the rock features have names, and if I have a few minutes later on, I'll circle back and figure out what they are - in the meantime, get out your magnifying glass to read them from the sign in the pix.

Yeah - I know - the "wildlife."

Cathedral Valley


From Garden of the Gods, we hit the Garden of the Gods Trading Post, which has got to be one of the biggest "gift shops" on the planet! This place just went on and on and on. It had all sorts of stuff - from really nice to really tacky! If you want a "gift," this is the place to find it!

http://www.co-trading-post.com/

Another fine day in Colorado!