To Denver and Back

An article by Rachel    1 Comment

Last week, Ross and I took a quick trip to Denver. He spent his mornings and some afternoons at a conference for law librarians, yes more excitement than one should ever have, and I spent my days seeing the sights of Denver. While I want to recap the experience, I want to avoid a long boring post with pictures that only I’ll enjoy. So here’s a look at the highlights.

Art

Museum of Contemporary Art Denver

Wow! This place impressed me. I’m not even sure why. The exhibit wasn’t huge. Nor were there big names attached to the pieces. The exhibit, Energy Effects, did show how everyday objects and science were pieces of art. The functional artist in me loved that.

Denver Botanic Garden

I love gardens. I love gardens that have full-time gardeners to groom them into perfection. The Denver Botanic Garden didn’t disappoint. On top of a being a well cared for garden, the garden is hosting a Henry Moore exhibit. Henry Moore is right. Sculptures do belong in the garden. I wonder what kind of art, I can add to my yard? I do wished that I had purchased the Henry Moore book that was on sale.

Denver Art Museum

When I made my to-do list for Denver, I thought the Denver Art Museum would be the highlight of my trip. The current exhibit is King Tut. I mean how can King Tut be disappointing? Well it was. While I admit I was tired, the exhibit just didn’t do it for me. It was crowded and a couple people brought small children. This just isn’t the right art experience for small children. To top it off, the face mask and the mummy didn’t made the trip from Egypt.

Entertainment

Fancy Tiger

Believe it or not, I went to only one quilt store. I want something unique. Fancy Tiger fit the bill. It’s downtown, and they stock modern fabric and lots of beautiful  yarn. If it wasn’t 100 outside, I would have bought sock yarn. Instead, I bought some Denise Schmidt fabric that just happened to be on sale. If all goes well, it will turn into a Christmas present.

Tattered Cover

Ross and I spent our most enjoyable evening at a pizzeria and Tattered Cover, an independent bookstore. The store sells new books and used books. And if books weren’t enough, the ambience is relaxing. I’m not sure what they put in the air to make it fun to wander and read book covers, but whatever it is it works. We walked out with one new book and two used books.

Confluence Park

When we made our travel plans, I pretty much insisted that we drive. I wanted to take my bike and explore Denver’s bike paths. I didn’t leave disappointed. On my first adventure, I rode to Confluence Park, the intersection point of Cherry Creek and the South Platte River. Wow! Imagine cyclists, joggers, kayakers, children all enjoying the great outdoors within the city limits. You can’t ignore REI right in the middle of all this. The clean rivers and well groomed paths made me jealous. I wish we had the same environment in Salt Lake City. The Jordan Parkway in Salt Lake is definitely a work in progress that could use a lot more TLC.

I think that pretty much sums up the trip. If you didn’t get enough pictures, jump on over to my Denver 2010 flickr set. Oh one last thing, my opinion of southern Wyoming did not change. Once again, I was reminded why I like living in a city.