SUN., SEPT 11, 2022 thru TUE., SEPT 20, 2022
We arrived at Chatfield State Park on Sunday, Sept. 11th, in Littleton CO… just outside Denver. Gorgeous state park with spacious campsites (197 of them). There are hiking and biking trails and a dam with a 1,500 surface-acre reservoir. We took a drive around the state park on Monday to check things out.
On Tuesday, Sept. 13th, our pod of 4 visited the 23-acre Denver Botanic Gardens. It features North America’s largest collection of plants from cold temperature climates around the world, as well as 7 diverse gardens. It also has the first conservatory in America that was made entirely of concrete and plexiglass. The conservatory was awarded “landmark status” in 1973. Lovely gardens in the middle of an exclusive residential neighborhood. We could see some of the high-end houses beyond the garden walls.
A couple of stand out features included:
- A Dale Chihuly sculpture created in 2014 to reference the “dense, spiky yucca plants and the vibrant colors of Colorado sunsets.” The sculpture is on display in front of the Waring House, built in 1926 and donated to the museum. It’s now used for admin offices.
- A beautiful solarium with an interesting back story: 7 other solariums, similar to this one, were commissioned by Euro Disney in the late 1990s but then the order was cancelled. This solarium remained in its packing crate for 20 years before it was donated to the Gardens.
- While we were visiting, workers were putting Christmas lights on over 100 trees. It takes them 3 months to get all the Christmas lights up and then 2 months to take them all down… so basically a 5 month project. Wow.
For those who have never seen a Hummingbird Moth, here’s a short video that Gary took at the Denver Botanic Gardens. We’ve seen them in New Mexico and now Colorado… although I do think you can find them up North as well. We just never saw one before coming West.
Tuesday afternoon after spending time in the Gardens, our pod headed to LoDo… the Lower Downtown historic district. We visited Union Station… first built in 1881, the lobby was enlarged in 1914. A historic gem! Then we visited the oldest hotel in Denver… the Oxford built in 1891 with its 1935 Art Deco “Cruise Room” martini bar. The hotel and bar are still open today! Lastly we visited the 4-generation Rockmount Ranch Wear shop. The owner, who was the oldest CEO in the world until his death at 107, was also the inventor of the snap button western shirt, which is the longest running shirt design in America! They have their walls covered with famous people wearing their shirts… Elvis, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton and Ronald Reagan to name a few. The 1909 historic building, home to the shop, is a treasure with original wooden floors and tin ceilings.
So fun walking this downtown historic area of Denver with its mix of old and new buildings! Then we called it a day to try and get home before rush hour. Narrow roads and limited parking make driving in this downtown area of Denver a challenge!
On Wednesday, Sept. 14th, our pod took the train into Denver. Really great experience and a novelty since we don’t often ride public transportation! We were headed to the American Museum of Western Art, which is in a magnificent Victorian-era building called Navarre. The Navarre was originally known as “The Brinker Collegiate Institute” and was a women’s college. The owner died and the building passed hands in a card game in 1889. It was renamed “The Navarre” by the new gambling owners in honor of French King Henry IV of Navarre, a devotee of decadence and high living and became a bordello. To go from a women’s college at that time, to a bordello is just wrong!! No photos were allowed in the museum but a wonderful display of 300 paintings by 180 artists from one man’s collection (Anschutz) spanning works from the early 1800s to present day.
After several hours exploring there we headed across the street to the Brown Palace, 2nd oldest hotel in Denver, to see the iconic building. Tea is served every afternoon in the lobby with tiny cakes, sandwiches, scones and Devonshire clotted cream. Rather than tea, we enjoyed an adult beverage at “Ship Tavern,” the hotel lobby bar.
Afterwards we walked across the street to visit the Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church. At the time of construction it was one of the tallest stone towers in the U.S. It has a spectacular 4,275 pipe organ that dates back to 1888 and has been lovingly cared for over the years. This is essentially the same organ as was installed in 1888 with minor updates. It is magnificent and massive! The day we visited the organist was practicing… a rare treat. The music filled the space. Absolutely beautiful. We were told to walk in quietly and not make a sound… apparently the organist is a bit temperamental.
Then it was time to take the train to Buckhorn Exchange, which is Denver’s oldest restaurant and the first liquor license. It was founded in 1893 by Henry H. “Shorty Scout” Zietz, a colorful figure of the Old West. In 1875, at age 10, wide-eyed Zietz met Col. William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody and by age 12 was a full-fledged member of his hard-riding, straight-shooting band of scouts. During those years, the great Indian leader, Chief Sitting Bull, dubbed Zietz “Shorty Scout,” in reference to his diminutive stature. The restaurant is a salute to the Wild West. They serve Buffalo, elk, quail, alligator and other unusual offerings and have over 500 animals on display with over 120 antique firearms. A one-of-kind experience that we were able to enjoy with the dearest of friends who treated us to dinner for an early Anniversary gift. Cheryl has been here numerous times on business and wanted us to experience it as well! A spectacular day that we’ll remember for a very long time!
The organist practicing at the historic Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church. He treated us to a beautiful performance on this Roosevelt organ with 4,275 pipes. What a treat to be able to hear the organist playing this amazing piece of musical art.
On Thursday, Sept. 15th, Gary & I got our Covid boosters and flu shots. We were thwarted when our first appointment canceled out. We persevered and tried two more places and finally had success. Luckily my side effects were minimal… a couple of sore arms. Gary had a very sore arm for a day and was super tired but then bounced back.
On Saturday, Sept. 17th, three of our pod members went bike riding in Chatfield State Park. Joe missed out on this outing. He was dealing with a truck maintenance issue. We biked about 6 miles. A fun ride, and we got to see a 4 1/2 mile long hop scotch “board” that was painted on the bike path. The organizers were hoping to break the world record for the longest hop scotch the following day. It was open to the public, and they had an official “hopper.” We never did hear if they broke the world record. Amazing what we come across in our travels! Saturday evening we all enjoyed a beautiful sunset and a “real” campfire… rather than the propane variety!
On Sunday we enjoyed a relaxing day at the campground visiting with a childhood friend of Joe’s, whose name is also Joe, and his partner Sarah. Great conversation and interesting stories as they are both in the music industry. Plus we got to learn more about Colorado Springs (Sarah’s home town) and Denver (Joe’s adopted home town after leaving Massachusetts).
Red Rocks Park & Amphitheater was the pod’s destination on Monday, Sept. 19th! Located 15 miles outside Denver in the Rocky Mountain foothills, it was the largest project of Roosevelt’s Depression-era CCC. It took 5 years to complete and opened in 1941. It is awesome! They’ve done a terrific job of blending all the buildings into the surroundings. The name “Red Rocks” comes from the towering 400-foot red sandstone formations. Three of which are located near the amphitheater and are called Creation Rock, Ship Rock and Formation Rock. They were setting up for an evening performance. Otherwise we could have walked on to the stage. Some stats: 2.5 miles of seating holds 9,525 concert goers. Elevation is 6,450 feet above sea level. There are 393 steps from the road to the top of the amphitheater. We climbed every one! We cheated a bit on the way down and took the ramp for the last section. It appears the lower section is ADA accessible. Sooo glad we had the opportunity to see this amazing National Historic Landmark!
The amphitheater is obviously a favorite place for locals to exercise. We saw folks walking the 2.5 miles of seating and/or hopping up the steps, one woman doing yoga, and one energetic guy straddling horizontally two sets of risers and walking/climbing backwards up them. O.M.G. There was even a model engaged in a photo shoot.
There’s lots of information on John Denver here. He adopted this area as his own, and Rocky Mountain High is the state song. The Visitors Center features countless famous musicians and singers who have performed here. The Amphitheater is considered the best in the U.S. and has won countless awards. You could see the Beatles at Red Rocks in 1964 for $6.60.
Joe’s friend, also a “Joe,” told us to not miss Dinosaur Ridge. Monday afternoon after our Red Rocks Amphitheater adventure we drove the 10 minutes to get to Dinosaur Ridge. We were all tired after walking up almost 400 steps at Red Rocks so opted for the 45 minute bus ride (with photo ops) at Dinosaur Ridge rather than walking the 1+ mile uphill to see the dinosaur fossils and tracks. Can you blame us? Dinosaur Ridge is the #1 Dinosaur “Tracksite” in the nation. There are more than 300 dinosaur tracks (i.e. footprints) at this site that date back over 100 million years ago. Wow. Our guide was very informative although we got lost on all the names of the different types of dinosaurs. Impressive collection of tracks of these amazing creatures! The staff “colored” the tracks with charcoal in some cases so they are more visible.
Did I mention it was hot?!
On Tuesday, Sept. 20th, the pod headed into Denver for a tour of the State Capitol. We took the train in and had a chance to walk part of the 16th Street Mall. A pedestrian walkway lined with shops, restaurants and historic buildings. The State Capitol was completed in 1901 by the same architect who did the Texas Capitol in Austin that we also visited. Both are beautiful buildings. There are murals in the lobby that were painted in the late 1930s by a Colorado artist. They depict the usage of water throughout Colorado history. 90% of Colorado’s water comes from the mountains.
Our favorite of this tour was being able to walk up to the 4th floor and access the outside of the dome. Gorgeous views! Or at least three of the pod members enjoyed this! Cheryl is afraid of heights so opted to stay inside. Once again we were walking up oodles of stairs. The dome is covered in copper sheets which are gilded in 99.9% pure gold leaf about the thickness of a strand of hair. The dome gets re-gilded every 30 years.
Also on the 4th floor is the Capitol’s museum space called Mr. Brown’s Attic, named after Henry Cordes Brown who donated 10 acres of his property in the late 1800s for the purpose of the construction of the state capitol building. He also founded the Brown Palace Hotel, the 2nd oldest hotel in Denver.
After touring the Capitol we then walked across City Park to the historic courthouse building where the Mayor’s office is located. From there it was time for a gelato break and then heading home.
In the evening we had a lovely dinner at Chez Hannaford to celebrate Gary’s and my 42nd Anniversary. Cheryl cooked us an amazing dinner and Joe put together a playlist of 42 love songs for our listening pleasure. Joe even donned Mickey ears in honor of our honeymoon being partially spent in Disneyworld in Florida. Just a perfect day spent with beloved friends! Tomorrow we leave Denver and head to Rifle Gap State Park in Rifle, CO for 4 nights. We’ve had a fabulous time in this great city.
