But is sure is interesting. There are lots of things happening all the time. It has an incredible night life, and that probably includes the night life in the plaza around the corner, as well as the big time stuff like opera and theatre. And you don't have to go far to hit a fast food place, and every other thing you need. What I thought was kind of weird is how the 'subdevelopments' or 'suburbia' is set up. Seems every street you come to has this wall that is to simulate a gate and a name plate announcing the subdivision. They all seemed to be something like Hopedale Crossing or some equally vanilla name that you know describes nothing. Sorry Denver, but it was just, heck, I don't have a word to describe it!
And yes, my lovely cousin Linda and her equally lovely hubby Tim live in one of these. With little cul-de-sacs on the street that aren't really cul-de-sacs. BUT, in defense of their neighborhood it was surprising quiet, even though when you looked out of the second floor window you saw many other little neighborhoods filled with houses. I kept hearing that old folk tune: "little boxes made of ticky tack and they all live in boxes - - - -" you get my drift. Just not any place I could live. But Linda, bless her heart, has carved a virtual wonderland on her little plot of the world, and her front yard is filled with flowers, and her back yard is a beautiful assortment of trees, flowers, bushes, and vegetables! You go out there and you can actually forget that you are in that sprawling metropolis of Denver!
You see, I thought of Denver like everyone else does, MOUNTAINS! Ha!
But again, Linda came to the rescue and took me to great places,showed me sights in Denver, and on top of that, gave me a comfy bed to sleep in (we won't talk about the tarantula) and fed me great food and spoiled me rotten!! I just love them!
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| The front steps to the Molly Brown House steps from the Denver Capital Building |
Molly was never called Molly in her lifetime, she was Margaret or Mrs Brown. She left her home as a young woman and went west to seek her fortune and marry a rich guy. Really. she ended up in Leadville, which was a booming mine town. There she met Mr Brown, who at the time was poor. She married him anyway. It was after that he struck it rich in mining, and they moved to Denver, where they bought this house, which had already been built, at a ridiculous cost, but they bought it at a bargain price, which Mr Brown, I am told, loved to find. Molly only wanted to be part of Denver Society and at that time, was right int he middle of the height of society.
She was a big woman, standing quite tall, and never hid it, she also spoke her mind, and fought for women's rights. A regular modern woman. Regretfully, moving to Denver was great for her, but not for the marriage, as Mr Brown needed to be with his mines, and so they separated.
Molly was never scheduled to be on the Titanic that voyage. She was in Europe, and decided on the last minute to take that way back to the states. And yes, it is true, she did row the lifeboat herself, and she did make the officer in the boat turn around and pick up survivors. The house has a copy of a list of possessions lost by Mrs Brown on that ill fated voyage including a $20,000 diamond necklace. That would be equal to a million now? Who knows. Whatever the value, she never recovered from the white Star line, they never paid anyone for the loss, they considered it an 'act of God.'
We went to Molly's house because the rumors are that it is haunted. Well, I didn't see anything, however, we were told that the trustees that run the house refuse to let any of the tour guides talk about the hauntings
By the way, Molly in later life was an advocate for the juvenile justice system, and the house was a sort of half way house for them.
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| Linda smells the roses |
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| Some of the nifty architectural points |
Continuing on our quest for the paranormal in Denver, Linda and I visited the Fitzsimmons Medical Center, which is built on the grounds of the old army/air force base that closed in 1996. Most of the old buildings are gone, expect for one large building and several of the enlisted homes. Interesting, and so overbuilt that I have no idea how a sick person would find where they need to go, but spooky? Not a chance. Strike this one from the list of haunted places of Colorado.
So next we go to the oldest cemetery in Denver, Fairmont Cemetery, built in 1890, if built is the right word. First inhabited? That's better. Many interesting tombs, heck, some are bigger than some houses I have lived in. We did find one tomb that was so overgrown with vines, it struck our fancy, if that can be the right word. It was all solid door, and no light going in, where several other tombs were 'light and airy.' this one was just morbid. Linda, courageous woman she is, was poking through the vines and found that the rear stained glass window was broken. So what do we do? We try to look in. I even stuck my camera lens through the hole and tried to take a picture, but there was nothing that the lens could focus on, so I guess The count wasn't laying out there in the open. Nor did a hand some out and grab at us. Again, strike out in the spooks department. But if you study architecture and statuary, this is an incredible display of both. Seems like each dead person was trying to outdo the next dead person with the stuff they put on their graves. I never could understand that, figured it was better to do that while alive, but hey, to each his own.
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| The spooky tomb |
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| Linda investigates |
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| She's pretty creepy to sit over you through eternity |
Our next stop on the Denver tour was historic, we went to Buffalo Bill's Tomb up on Lookout Mountain. We were trying to figure out what town it was in, but everything just says Lookout Mountain, so, maybe it is it's own town?
There is also a museum there, filled with memorabilia from Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, and all sorts of nifty stuff. Including actual costumes, and even bills showing that the Wild West show spent anywhere from $2000.00 to $11,000 in one day! That sure is a chunk of change for the late 1800's and early 1900's!
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| An original poster |
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| One of Bill's original costumes |
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| Sioux war bonnet |
Given costs like that, eventually Bill needed to borrow money, and then couldn't pay it back and the show was foreclosed on. A big auction was held and everything was sold, including his favorite horses. One of his friends actually bought his favorite horse at auction, and presented it back to Bill, which was a real crowd pleaser.
I could go on and on abut what is in this museum, there are so many interesting things, however, I will just touch on a few that got a second look from me. One is an incredible hand made bridle of silver and shells, presented to Bill by some royalty while in England. Two other things are a handle made from his horse Duke's leg bone, and a paperweight made from the hoof of his horse Prince. Although I have no idea how duke died, while in Europe, a virus went through the show and killed something like 200 horses, Prince being one of them. When you think about the vast number of animals alone that he traveled with, you can see the huge scope of this production. Heck, I think he brought the entire west with him!
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| Elaborate handmade Bridle given to Bill |
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| Items from the parts of his dead horses |
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| A neat bit with guns as the side pieces |
One photograph I found very interesting showed Cody with two of his buddies, Wild Bill Hickcock and Texas Jack.
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| That's Wild Bill Hickcock on the left, Texas Jack in the middle and Buffalo Bill Cody on the right. Now aren't these guys just the epitome of wild west scoundrels? |
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| How cool is this? |
Bill died in 1917 while visiting his sister in Denver. There were several people who stated that he had visited Lookout Mountain and stated that he wanted to be buried there. However, there was much controversy after his death with Oakly, Kansas claiming him as his birth town, and Cody, Wyoming, the town he built claiming him, that it took something like 6 months before he was actually interred on Lookout, with over 20,000 people coming to pay their respects to the old showman.
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| View from Lookout Mountain. The haze is from the Arizona wildfires |
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| A photo of Bill's burial, June 3, 1917 |
Even after his death, the controversy didn't die, and Cody offered a bounty for his body, making Colorado send out a tank and park it on his grave to keep it from being disturbed. If you go up that mountain, you will wonder how they got the tank up there! After his wife died and was buried next to him, they poured a boatload of concrete over the graves, making the movement of him kind of out of the question. Problem solved.
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| Bill's tomb |
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| The plaque on his tomb. |
Remember, there are also fun things at the museum, as well as a pretty great gift shop. We indulged in both.
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| Linda RIDES! |
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| I play the Cowboy |
On the way down, we stopped at the Buetcher Mansion which is on Lookout Mountain, and took a quick tour of this wonderful Craftsman style home that is not host to wedding and private parties.
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| View from Lookout Mountain |
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| Buetcher Mansion |
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| Lobby of the Mansion |
Then onward and downward, we went to Red Rocks. If anyone has never heard of Red Rocks, it is a formation of red sand stone cliffs that has formed a natural amphitheatre.
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| Natural route through the rocks |
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| Amphitheatre |
Back in the early 1900's it was discovered that the acoustics of the place were incredible, and singers and musicians started coming there to perform. It now has an concert venue built into the hillside and a stage set up in front of the original rocks where everyone from classical to rock, to country to folk perform. There is also a display of music memorabilia and photos back from the beginning and a complete history of the place.
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| James Taylor was here |
It is gorgeous, and awesome to look at. The rocks themselves are awe inspiring. They are a rare formation, this group that pushed up between the Rockies and the foothills and are unlike the rocks in either of those two.
If you ever get to hear a concert there, you will remember it. I myself have a copy of a copy of a concert given by the Moody Blues at Red Rocks, and even without the music, the venue takes your breathe away, especially since they light up the cliffs at night.
This might be a good time to address an important thing for anyone visiting the Denver area, or for mountains in general. As you go higher in altitude, the body adapts to the lesser amounts of oxygen, and what will happen is that dehydration will be more rapid than in lesser altitudes. It is important to keep hydrated, and everyone carries water or sports drinks with them. Dehydration can cause you to have shortness of breathe, and I have to admit that at times I felt a little of this. Yawning was what i did all the time, my body adapting to the change in pressure. However, if you do not rest and take lots of fuids, altitude sickness can cause your brain to swell, coma or even death. so, take heed!
Later that night, Linda and Tim took my breathe away one more time, by taking me to this famous restaurant, The Fort. This has been there for a very long time, and specializes in meats like elk and buffalo, and I sure wanted a buffalo steak. I died and went to gastronomical heaven at this place. First, the sight is near the Red Rocks Amphitheatre, and surrounded by beautiful red sandstone. The atmosphere is both jovial and beautiful with great displays.
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| Tim, right where we want him |
I had their William Bent Buffalo Tenderloin Fillet. It was served with seasoned veggies and potatoes or rice. Tim had their Game Plate, which had an elk chop, a buffalo fillet and a grilled teriyaki quail. Linda, being a vegetarian, has their Southwest Vegetarian Pasta.
Oh, this meal was to be savored. Yes, I sampled Tim's quail and elk. It was very yummy, but my buffalo was to die for! I know, you hear it all the time that you can cut something with a fork, but this meat was so tender, and without one tiny bit of fat on it. It was flavorful, and just beyond heavenly! they also serve things like duck, ribs, salmon and lamb, not to mention all sorts of local beef, but have the buffalo if you go.
We joked about cleaning our plates, Linda, who never cleans hers was sopping up the rest of the sauce on her plate! Stomach heaven!
We saved room for dessert, because hey, why not? We shared a light and fluffy cheesecake, a white chocolate mousse with rosewater gelatin, and a mixed fruit with item. Yes, we were wondering if licking the plates and glasses would have been frowned upon.
The service was great! The waitress was another transplanted Connecticut woman, and they had extra helpers that made sure plates were removed, waters filled, and you were fussed over even more. Plus everyone there was in a great mood, laughing, being jovial with customers and patrons alike, and we needed little incentive to be part of it too.
While you ate, there was a wonderful musical accompaniment by Native American flute player, Eric "Many Winds" Herrera. His haunting flute inspired us enough to get a copy of his CD, signed of course, to remember the night by.
The final part of your Fort experience comes with you Mountain Man's Toast:
Here's to the childs what's come afore
"An here's to the pilgrims what comes arter
May yer trails be free of Grizz
Yer packs fill with plews
And fat buffler in your pot!
WAUGH!
I found out plews are pelts, and Waugh! is interpreted as right on!
Just a word of warning, The Fort is a bit pricey, but for the special place and the unbelievable food they serve, it is certainally worth the outlay. www.thefort.com.
A walk around the outside afterwards finds Eric playing to the wind, a wonderful sunset, and the settling in that happens after good food with good friends. A magical night to remember.
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| Eric "Many Winds" Herrera |
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| Linda and Tim - contented |
It was a wonderful end to my time in Denver, because the next morning I was heading North along the hogback of the mountains toward Wyoming.
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