Buffalo Bill Days - Best of the West Parade

My family and I have always loved parades. To me, there's just such a great sense of community that comes with watching all sorts of folks march down the main street to celebrate a holiday or a local festival of some sort. Last weekend was Buffalo Bill Days in Golden. One of the highlights of this celebration each year is the Best of the West Parade, which flows right down Washington Avenue, right underneath the city's famous welcome arch. After a couple of years without the parade (cuz, you know...COVID), it was great to have it back.

The origins of this annual celebration began back in the 1960's, but its genesis has to do with trail rides to Buffalo Bill's grave that began in the 1940's. Buffalo Bill's final resting place sits atop Lookout Mountain, which towers over the city of Golden. One year, the riders went up the mountain, but when they came back down they continued through town. Shazam, the first Buffalo Bill Days Parade!

Nowadays the festival features the parade as well as events like a golf tournament, car show, muttin bustin, and more. It's a fantastic celebration of our Colorado western heritage, in one of my favorite Denver area spots! So what's not to love?

Tubing on Clear Creek

When you visit a beach community, it is not uncommon to see folks walking through the streets in their swimsuits, carrying inflatable floating devices. That's not a common sight in Colorado, however. That is, unless you happen to be heading through Golden on a hot summer day. That's when the folks come out in droves to do some tubing down Clear Creek.

Clear Creek is a tributary of the South Platte River that runs down from the mountains through various mountain communities, including Georgetown and Idaho Springs, before going through Clear Creek Canyon and reaching Golden. From there the creek continues on to Denver. Basically, the water that flows down the creek was once upon a time the mountain snow from the previous winter. Therefore, the creek is usually quite cool and refreshing.

Tubers often start in the vicinity of 6th Avenue and travel down the creek through downtown Golden. There are various places to pull over, so to speak, and then walk back up the Clear Creek Trail and go again. The creek flows into the property of Coors, so you have to stop before you get to the brewery.

Even if you decide to just kick off your shoes and dip your feet in the water, this section of Clear Creek is pleasant place to spend part of a warm day.

Newsboy

Way back in February (seems like a lifetime ago) I strolled around downtown Golden snapping pictures of the many sculptures along the city's main street, Washington Avenue. I've shared many of those in past posts, but there are a few I need to catch up on. 

This sculpture is titled Newsboy. Amazingly it depicts, you guessed it, a newsboy hawking papers on the street corner. This piece is by artist James Muir. You'll find it just adjacent to the Golden Visitor's center, near the bridge over Clear Creek.

Winter Wind on the Mesa

Here's another sculpture you can experience in downtown Golden.  Winter Wind on the Mesa, by artist Marie Barbera, was placed on the Clear Creek Trail in 2004.  It honors the Native American people who called the region home, primarily the Arapahoe, Ute and Cheyenne.  You'll find this piece on just east of the Washington Street bridge on the Clear Creek Trail.

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.

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.

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.

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.