Cowboy's Day Off

If you love public art displays, especially ones with a western feel, Golden is the spot to visit.  Many corners in downtown Golden feature art displays.  One of the most dramatic is Cowboy's Day Off, which can be found on the northwest corner of 11th Street and Washington Avenue.

Created by artist Michael Hamby, this piece depicts a cowboy pulling a fish out of the water.  This particular sculpture has occasionally had need of repairs.  Apparently, people think it's a good idea to swing from the cowboy's fishing rod.  People are dumb sometimes.

Colorado Freedom Memorial

We had a beautiful, sunny and warm day today in Denver.  Of course, snow is on the way tomorrow.  So, I felt the need to get out a bit, especially since I've been couped up in the house for the last few weeks.  I managed to twist my ankle recently and so I haven't been able to be out and about.  But, now that I'm walking a bit more normal again, it was time to explore.  So, I decided to head over to Aurora to take a look at a site I'd never seen before, The Colorado Freedom Memorial.

The Memorial's glass panels display the named of over 6,000 Coloradans killed in battle or missing in action.  It is the first memorial in the United States dedicated to all wars and all branches of service.  Many of the names contained are for individuals who were buried overseas.  The memorial provides a place for families to honor those who were laid to rest far from their Colorado homes. 

The memorial was dedicated on Memorial Day weekend 2013, so it is still a very new addition to the Denver area.  The memorial is easy to find, half a block north of 6th Avenue on Telluride Street.  Stop by sometime and honor those Coloradans who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Howdy Folks!

Lookout Mountain, overlooking the city of Golden, Colorado, is the final resting place of famous wild west showman Buffalo Bill Cody.  As a result, Cody has become a symbol of Golden and the town loves to celebrate him.  This includes the city's annual Buffalo Bill Days celebration and an iconic statue of Cody in the heart of downtown Golden.

The statue, titled Howdy Folks, was created by artist Jeffery Burnham Rudolph.  It depicts Cody walking down the street carrying a child on his shoulders.  Of the many sculptures that can be found in downtown Golden, it is probably the most iconic.  You can find the statue in the median on Washington Avenue between 10th Street and the Clear Creek Bridge.  It's right across from the Golden Visitors & Information Center.

A Night at the Symphony

Every year my family and I try to go to Door's Open Denver.  This is an event run by the Denver Architecture Foundation where various buildings around town open their doors for the day so people can come in an experience the architecture and history of the structures.  During this event few years ago, I was able to step inside the Boettcher Concert Hall, home of the Colorado Symphony, for the first time.  It was a great experience to see the concert hall, but not quite the same as experiencing a concert there.  I felt kind of pathetic touring the building but realizing that I had spent over twenty years in Denver without taking in a concert there.  Well, over the last few months I have been able to change that.

This past Friday, Valentine's Day, my wife and I took in A Symphonic Valentine at the Boettcher.  The concert featured selections by Mozart, Strauss, Tchaikovsky, and more.  Several of the selections featured vocals from soprano Laquita Mitchell.  This was actually my second concert at the Boettcher in the last few months.  Last fall I went with my kids to see a screening of The Goonies with the score performed live by the Colorado Symphony.

Even without experiencing the music, the Boettcher is quite an impressive hall.  Built in 1978, it was the first symphony hall constructed in the round.  From most spots in the hall, you end up feeling quite close to the musicians.  The Boettcher is just one of no less than eight theaters that make up Denver's Center for the Performing Arts.

A Symphonic Valentine was a great concert, but the best part was just getting to spend the night out with my wife on Valentine's Day.  We don't get to do that as much as we would like

Return of the Cutthroat

Here in Colorado, kids who are in the fourth grade get to spend a good portion of the school year focusing on Colorado history.  For my kids, it was their favorite year of elementary school.  One of the things they did during that year was learning all of our state symbols, including our state fish the Greenback Cutthroat Trout. Amongst the many sculptures in downtown Golden, Colorado is this piece known as Return of the Cutthroat.  These fish can be found along the banks of Clear Creek in Parafet Park.  They sit near a kids' slide, so it's not unusual to see little ones riding on their backs bucking bronco style.

Adolph Coors Statue

Golden, Colorado is, of course, home of the Coors Brewing Company.  There's no missing the company's facility as you come into the town; the largest brewing facility in the world.  The company has been a fixture of Golden since it was founded by Adolph Coors in 1873.

Downtown Golden features several statues depicting cowboys, horses, and various other old west imagery.  However, a special spot is also reserved for the likeness of Coors.  He stands on the corner of Washington Avenue and 12th Street, looking towards his brewery a few blocks northeast.

Low Poly Heart

Here's another sculpture spotted on my recent visit to Community Park in Broomfield.  Like Frontier: Catch (which was featured in a previous post), this piece is a part of Broomfield's Art for a While program. So, it's only on display for a year, and is available for purchase.  For the time being, you can view this piece on the west side of the Mamie Dowd Eisenhower Library in Community Park in Broomfield.

Welcome Arch

Golden is one of my favorite places here in the Denver area.  It was Colorado's first capital and still feels a bit like an old west town.  That is if old west towns had a lot of T-shirt shops.  Golden is also home of the Coors Brewing Company and is known for celebrating old west icon Buffalo Bill Cody, whose grave sits on Lookout Mountain, overlooking the town.

True to its old west spirit, downtown Golden features this iconic structure, known as the Welcome Arch, which greets visitors as they drive down Washington Avenue with the phrase "Howdy Folks!"  Dedicated in 1949, the Welcome Arch has gone through various changes over the years but remains an iconic symbol of the town.  It was listed on the State Register of Historic Places in 2000.

The arch is located on Washington, Avenue...between 11th and 12th Streets.

Triceratops Trail

Dinosaurs are a big deal here in Colorado.  There are several species of dinosaur whose remains were first discovered here in the Rocky Mountain State.  Among those is the triceratops.  The first specimen was discovered near Denver in 1887.  So, there are many sites for dinosaur enthusiasts to discover here in the Denver area, including Triceratops Trail in Golden.

This simple little trail is just 1.5 miles long, out and back.  It's nestled in a little stretch of land between US 6 and a golf course east of downtown Golden.  The trail winds around some large sandstone walls that feature several bits of evidence left by the previous inhabitants of this region.

The most exciting features are bulges in the rock that show the footprints of a triceratops.  Now, these are bulges because you're actually seeing the bottom side of where the creature stepped.  So, it's the opposite of what you would usually imagine when thinking about a "footprint."  Imprints left by ancient palm fronds can also be spotted in the rocks.  The site is similar to the nearby Dinosaur Ridge.  Triceratops Trail joined Dinosaur Ridge as a National Natural Landmark in 2011.  However, at Dinosaur Ridge you either need to pay for the shuttle up the ridge or endure a strenuous uphill walk.  Triceratops Trail is an "easy" hike by all standards.

Since we got some springlike temperatures for the first weekend of February, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to check out this spot that I had never visited before.  Snow is coming tomorrow, they say.