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Updated 10/9/18
Denver is a huge, sprawling metropolitan area (minus points on the Deane rating scale), but it’s easy to see why folks in the career phase of their lives would want to live here. It’s got all the shopping and cultural amenities for good living PLUS the backdrop of the Rockies, and oodles of recreational opportunities within an easy distance. Unfortunately Denver also has a noticeable air pollution problem; the Rockies were often obscured by the haze of a persistent air inversion.
The golden plains of Strasburg. It almost sounds romantic!
Golden, CO, not as golden
Our campsite was a KOA about a half hour east of Denver in rural Strasburg, where we were awestruck by the glowing golden landscape against a dark sky. I’m not sure what crop produces this effect – hay? rapeseed? – but it has nothing to do with the namesake for nearby Golden, Colorado, which was NOT golden and is instead named after Thomas L. Golden who, a miner from Georgia who was one of the earliest prospectors here for, well, gold.
We took in the sights along I70, briefly stopping at Windy Saddle Park, so named for the almost constant winds that flow across the plains and hit the Rockies here, causing an updraft which birds exploit for soaring, and people for hang-/para-gliding. A ways on we visited picturesque Georgetown, a tiny town nestled in the valley below the Guanella Pass. A former silver mining hotspot, Georgetown was used in filming various movies including Every Which Way But Loose. We’d hoped to see bighorn sheep at Georgetown’s dedicated viewing area (see quirky travel guy link), but we’d missed the prime fall/winter bighorn-viewing season. Fortunately we were in the right season for taking the winding Guanella Pass Byway, a high mountain pass through the Rockies that is closed in winter, which afforded some fantastic views.
A view from or near Windy Saddle Park
Georgetown as viewed from the Guanella Pass Byway
When in Denver definitely check out the downtown Civic Center, notable for the state capitol building, a lot of modern architecture, and museums. At the Denver Art Museum (DAM) we caught Jeffrey Gibson’s Like a Hammer exhibit, and Stampede: Animals in Art, with all things animals including an irresistible red T. Rex titled “Made in China.” And of course, don’t miss nearby Boulder for brew pubs and touristy shopping opportunities. We tried to take in Boulder’s best views from the top of Flagstaff Mountain, but the clouds and rain had things tightly socked in the day we drove up Baseline Road to the summit.
In and Around the Denver Art Museum
In and Around the Denver Art Museum
Dog Barking at Two Women, Guggen Petter, 2008
This is made of rolled tubes of varnished newspaper. Obviously!
A really cool herd of buildings across from the DAM.
Cow Licking, Georgia O'Keeffe, 1921
D.P. II, Daniel Richter, 2007-8
A work from the Jeffrey Gibson exhibit
What the??? That's apparently one of us poking his head out of that hole and this picture is right side up, or so the other half claims.
Would we come back?
Would we come back?
Denver is a bit of a nexus, so we are likely to be back. Although the area around the Denver Art Museum is really nice, the city of Denver itself wouldn't be a particular draw for us. Things around Denver, however, are worth coming back for - skiing, as one easy example.
We also stayed at St. Vrain State Park, which is north of Denver. This was a nice park with one really disappointing feature: traffic noise. When the park was created, the speed limits were likely 55 or 65 mph. At today's 75 mph pace, the roar is incessant and it's difficult to hold a conversation, even inside our trailer.
Would we live here?
Would we live here?
We probably would not live in Denver, mostly due to their air pollution problem. Plus, except for the wildly expensive-looking area around the Denver Art Museum, the city didn't do much to grab us. However, several areas near Denver seemed like possibilities. We really liked Loveland and Boulder. There were a lot of other little towns around there that seemed nice. This area isn't particularly high on our list, even though Colorado as a state is a possible front-runner.
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