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March 30, 2013

My 1st 5k with a stroller, Denver’s Central Park, and my race shopping spree

Posted by jennavandenberg under Colorado, Doing stuff with a baby, Running | Tags: |
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First race with babyI can finally run again!!! My daughter turned six months today, which means I can officially run with her in a jogging stroller without worrying about giving her shaken baby syndrome. Likewise, I can resume going to the gym as childcare is available for those exactly half a year old (and not a day sooner, as I discovered when I tried to sign her up yesterday).

Aubrey and I celebrated her half birthday by participating in the Hippity Hop Easter Trot 5k. As you can probably guess from the name of the race, this was a family friendly event. There were tons of kids running around on a search for Easter eggs prior to the race. The race itself featured a small army of oversized jogging strollers.

It wasn’t the most competitive run I’ve ever participated in. I spend the first mile cautiously jogging along, worrying simultaneously that my kid was too hot and that I’d accidently run into someone’s heel. Luckily Aubrey babbled happily for the 3.1 miles and I was fully enjoying my runners high by the end of the race, despite an embarrassing finish time that I’m not going to admit to on this blog.

The race was well organized. To me this means that there was a loudspeaker with music at the start/finish, ample parking (on the street), mile markers were obvious, results (via timing chip) were posted immediately, and there was good food at the finish. Yay breakfast burritos! It was not the most gorgeous run I’ve done in my life, but Denver’s Central Park was a nice enough venue.

Central Park, Denver

Central Park is in Stapleton, the area of Denver with a lot of new fancy sub-division houses (oh, that area). It is northeast of downtown, off of Martin Luther King Blvd and Central Park Blvd. Take the Quebec exit south off of I-70 and head east on MLK for a couple of miles. The park has a huge play area for kids including a big climbing rock that my brother would have loved when he was five. There are lots of good sledding hills too.

Subdivision heaven

Playground

Upon returning home I went on a shopping spree. My website of choice was my beloved www.runningintheusa.com. I am excited for the next few months!

April 6th: Jackalope 5K race in Laramie, WY. I emailed the race director who quickly responded in the affirmative that I could indeed run with a jogging stroller. Get ready Aubrey!

April 20th: 4-H Fun Run in Holdredge, NE. This is still a maybe, dependent on their stroller rules because I doubt I can convince anyone to travel to Holdredge with me. My affection for small town races is n0t shared by many.

May 27th: BoulderBOULDER 10K in Boulder, CO. I need to find a babysitter for this one because the huge race (50,000 participants, 90+ waves) doesn’t allow strollers. Family members: this would be an excellent weekend to visit.

June 17th: San Francisco Half Marathon. A fabulous coincidence: Aubrey’s Las Vegas dwelling father is originally from Oakland, and he’s anxious for her to meet his family that still lives there. He is a HUGE Oakland A’s fan, whereas I live and die for the Mariners. Naturally we made sure that Aubrey’s first trip to The Bay would be when the M’s are in town. (Bonus: this is also father’s day weekend) Last week I discovered that the SF Marathon would be held that same weekend. YAY!!! My best friend Denise is coming up for the weekend to and we’re doing the first half of the marathon. (She’d be in shape for the full…but I will most definitely NOT be).

June 29th: Ellsworth Wisconsin Cheese Curd run (10K? 8M?) This is another happy coincidence. My family will be celebrating my grandma’s 90th birthday the EXACT SAME weekend as the cheese curd festival. And man, do I love my cheese curds.

Fresh cheese curds

Sometime in August or September: A FULL MARATHON. I’m not sure where I’ll be living/working so I can’t commit to a specific one yet. Stay tuned

 

February 24, 2013

The Tropics in Denver: Two Free Locations

Posted by jennavandenberg under Colorado, Travel, USA | Tags: , , , |
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I was expecting Denver to be a lot prettier in the winter. It’s gorgeous here in the spring and fall, with tree leaves respectively budding white and pink and changing red and orange. But in the winter everything is just dead. I think I was expecting to live in a Thomas Kinkade winter scene: pine trees heavy with snow, kids skating on frozen ponds, white-capped mountains in the background… Nope. The weather here has a severe bi-polar personality disorder, which means it will be snowy and gorgeous for five minutes and then everything will melt and it will be fifty degrees the next day. Trees and parks will remain dead-looking until April.

Denver winter

Luckily there are antidotes to this excessive brownness. You can either

  • Head up to the mountains where it’s so cold that you eyeballs freeze, but the snow doesn’t melt. OR…
  • Find something tropic in Denver. And no, I’m not taking about fruity drinks with umbrellas. I hate Margaritaville. Thank goodness there isn’t one in Denver. I’m talking about the greenhouse at Denver Botanic Gardens and the indoor rainforest at Denver Zoo.The only picture I took at the zoo
  • Since only part of the zoo and gardens are tropical, I recommend not paying for your admission to these attractions, particularly if you go during the winter. Free 2013 zoo days this winter have already passed, but if you are into planning waaaay ahead, the zoo will be free again on November 4th, 15th, and 21st  The Botanic Gardens will again be free March 27th, April 22nd, July 9th, August 27th, and October 7th.

At the zoo last month I skipped the elephants, zebras and cheetahs and met my friends somewhere around Bird World and Lorikeet Adventure, where it was nice and warm. The Emerald Forest and Primate Panorama also feature inside viewing areas.

On the other side of the park is Tropical Discovery, an indoor rainforest. There are no dead looking brown trees here. Everything looks very lush….except the “temple ruin in the heart of the jungle.” It looks rather cheesy. But while in my fake rainforest, I enjoyed gazing at the fish and turtles, and my baby girl craned her neck to look at an exciting light coming through the water.

The zoo is located inside downtown Denver’s City Park (also very brown and dead looking this month). Being free day, the parking lot and garage was very crowded, and the line of cars piled up to get into the park was long. However the zoo itself didn’t feel very crowded. Maybe that’s because everyone was checking out the elephants and cooler outdoor animals.

Adult admission to the zoo is $12 during the winter and $15 in the summer. Winter hours are 10-4, summer hours are 9-5. Check out the zoo’s website here for more information.

Last week when my parents came to visit I suggested that we visit Denver’s Botanic Gardens, which shocked them because I hate botany. Botany 101/plant identification was the only class I failed in college, and I failed it twice. The first time with a 10%. And I was actually TRYING to pass. I’m sorry, it is just impossible to tell if a leaf is separated (in which you should turn to page 652 in your dichotomous key) or merely serrated (page 152 – an get ready for another equally impossible task). But my farmer father was an ag major, my mom loves gardening, it was free, and I had a baby to entertain me so off to the Botanic Gardens we went.

A flowerIt wasn’t so bad – mostly because I skipped the pools, outside gardens, and ornamental grasses. They didn’t look too interesting from afar (dead, brown, etc.). The greenhouse was kinda nice though. I stepped inside the garden, stepped back out, stripped my daughter of her pink fuzzy snowsuit, and re-entered. It was VERY hot and humid in there. The greenhouse is several stories (there is an elevator) of lush greenness. In addition to various plants that I don’t know the Latin names of (I left my dichotomous key at home, dang it!), the greenhouse has a water feature complete with ducks. I especially liked watching little kids run around with petri dishes, collecting various stuff. I don’t know if they were supposed to be doing this, but they looked very cute and earnest. I’m sure they’ll make good botany students in the future.

I conveniently got hungry an hour after our arrival at the gardens. (My dad said he could have spent NINE HOURS there. Oh, the horror.) If you, like me, don’t want to dine at a place called Offshoots at the Gardens, Three Lions, a soccer (football?) pub around the corner has great bar food. Denver Botanic Gardens are open from 9 -5, and if you don’t go on a free day, it’ll cost you $12.50 (more than the zoo? That’s absurd!) The gardens are downtown at 1007 York Street. Check them out here.  

Less than five weeks ‘til spring!

Spring!

 

August 15, 2012

Problems with moving from Las Vegas to Denver

Posted by jennavandenberg under Colorado, Nevada | Tags: |
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Although I love living in Denver, a recent trip back to Sin City has forced me to admit that there are a cultural adjustments I haven’t even started to make yet. Here are a few:

The food:

Everywhere I go in Denver I am surrounded by people who don’t eat meat, cheese, milk, wheat, gluten products, butter, or anything else good. People apparently live off of produce from their gardens and endless trips to City O’ City (the “BBQ” there is dry rubbed tofu. Can someone from Kansas City come beat up the chef please?). To each his own and all that, but I love baking! It sucks to bring a batch of cookies to an event and have them go untouched. This would NEVER happen in Las Vegas. My friend just threw me a baby shower in Vegas and people gobbled up her cupcakes, artichoke dip, mozzarella/arugula/tomato skewers, cream cheese filled strawberries, and ice cream punch that looked like a baby bath.

There is no way that menu would fly in Denver. If she would have been limited to locally grown swiss chard “shakes” and mushroom “burgers,” she would have quit on the spot.

I should love that I live in the healthiest state in the union, and sometimes I do. The peer pressure here makes me eat better, which is technically a good thing, but sometimes I miss my Las Vegas friends who un-ironically ask me if I’m trying to lose weight because I only ordered one hamburger at the McDonald’s Drive-Thur (true story). The other problem is that I’m surrounded by skinny people and I therefore look fat in comparison. (Granted I’m nearly 8 months pregnant now, but this problem existed 8 months ago and will again be a problem in a few short weeks). In Vegas I had a backside that I loved. In Denver, I just have a fat ass.

The marijuana:

Seriously, I was driving ON THE FREEWAY and I got a whiff of weed. I can’t go on a run around the block without fearing a contact high. Do medical dispensaries really need to be on every corner? It’s not like nobody smokes in Vegas, but Denver is really excessive. I guess Coloradans have to make up for their lack of butter and meat somehow.

The music:

Everyone here is into really cool and edgy music. I like Taylor Swift and top 40 hits. This is a problem.

Proximity to lots of cool places:

If you are into weekend road trips, Las Vegas is a great place to live. You are less than six hours away from L.A., San Diego, Phoenix, Lake Tahoe, some of Utah’s best national parks (Bryce and Zion), and the Grand Canyon. Denver has a lot of great mountain towns to explore, and heading up north to South Dakota is pretty cool. However, a drive east will bring you twelve hours of nothing but corn and soybean fields.

The slightly trashy element:

People in Denver aren’t trashy. Gals in my workout class have color coordinated Lucy workout gear. Moms shopping in the Highlands near my house all are pushing their toddlers in top-of-the-line jogging strollers. I haven’t seen anyone grocery shopping in their pajama pants. Everyone wears Tom’s shoes in the summer and cute no-heel boots in the winter.

People in Las Vegas probably don’t even know about Tom’s shoes. (Can you buy them at Wal-Mart?) Trashy clothes are not only on the Strip, but everywhere in Las Vegas. I miss raising my eyebrows at people’s outfits, spending entertaining hours simply people watching, and talking trash about the trashy things people wear. Also, I’m sad that I can never wear pajama pants to the store here (not like I ever did it in Vegas, but it was good to know it was a viable option. Also, I can’t afford Lucy workout gear or Tom’s shoes.

Luckily Denver more than makes up for its shortcomings. With four sports teams, a different running club to train with every day of the week, tons of cute mountain towns, a (relatively) well-funded education system, and a vibrant downtown (with museums! The most popular museum in Vegas is the Mob Museum), I’m totally in love with Denver. However, sometimes I miss my trashy, gluttonous, pop music loving self that I could comfortably be in Las Vegas.

 

June 27, 2012

Summertime at Copper Mountain, Colorado

Posted by jennavandenberg under Colorado, Travel | Tags: , |
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As someone who is still mildly afraid of driving in the snow, summer is the perfect time to check out the cute ski towns that pepper the mountains west of Denver. Plus, it’s currently 104 degrees in the city and my pregnant self doesn’t have air conditioning. To the mountains!

About an hour and a half west of Denver on I-70, just past the town of Frisco, is Copper Mountain Resort.  If you get a condo in Center Village, you’ll be able to easily walk all over town and to all the main summer attractions. The Copper Creek Golf Course (970-968-3333) is closer to the East Village, but it’s still just a quick ten minute jaunt away from the middle of town.

 The mountain resort is pretty quiet during the week in the summertime, without half of Denver’s REI clad-snowboard toting population up here, but there is still a lot to do. Hiking and mountain biking trails crisscross used-to-be ski trails all up and down the mountain. If you don’t feel like pedaling up at 9,000 feet, you can load your bike (rentals available at Gravitee and Peak Sports) onto a chair lift (for $10) and coast down. Before heading down, check out the BBQ joint at Solitude Station at the top of the American Eagle lift. Instead of biking or hiking, I took advantage of the paved running trail (Rec Path to Vail Pass. Pick it up just west of the Union Creek Parking Lot, west of Center Village) along the gorgeous West Ten Mile Creek. I did NOT run all the way to Vail, though that would have been cool. Maybe next year.

Back inside Center Village, there is an outdoor climbing wall, bumper boats on and zip lining across the tiny West Lake, a go-kart track, and a bungy trampoline. If you are into more serious activities (horseback riding, ATV tours, fly fishing, etc.), Copper Guest Services can hook you up (970-968-2318). Although the shopping and restaurant scene isn’t much to blog about, places are open year round. If you are really after fine dining and perusing art galleries, head west until you get to Vail. Back at Copper Mountain, there is a littlegrocery store, with to-be-expected high prices. Bring food from home or stop at Frisco on your way up to save a little money.      

If you want a little more action and excitement, head up to Copper on the weekends. Fri-Sat-Sun events going on all throughout the summer. This coming weekend (June 29th – July 1st, 2012) is a big one: It’s Copper Mountain’s 3 Ring Weekend, with free music, kids’ activities, a carnival, and the annual Copper Half Marathon and Trail 10K. Fireworks are also advertised, but that may be a no-go since all of Colorado seems to be currently burning down. Check out their summer schedule here.

Lodging can be booked through Copper Mountain’s website, which provides links to their own properties as well as condos to rent. We stayed in one of the Union Creek Townhomes, which was lovely. It had a garage parking, hot tub, kitchen stocked with staples and cooking gadgets, a porch that overlooked the creek, and comfy beds.

 

May 30, 2012

Things to do in Golden…besides the Coors Brewery Tour

Posted by jennavandenberg under Colorado, Travel | Tags: , , , , , , , |
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Not that I have anything against free beer tours with complimentary beverages along the way, but Golden has a lot more to offer than beer. Besides, I haven’t been on a Coors Tour, so I can’t write about it yet. Stay tuned.

Golden is one of those cute little small towns alongside a creek with a historic downtown and a backyard full of mountains. Plus, if you ever get bored, it’s only a 20 minute drive to downtown Denver. I’m thrilled to be moving to this spot of geographic perfection in August, so more Golden posts may be popping up here in the next few months.

But for now I’m still a Golden tourist, and any day in Golden has to either start or end with a hike. The most obvious choice is up North Table Mountain. This is an easy hike. (Easy means that I saw families with small children and grandmas on the trail. My five-months-pregnant self actually got a little bored and had to start running to work up a sweat.) It is just a few miles north of town on highway 93. You can’t miss the trailhead sign or parking lot on the left side of the road as you are heading north out of town. As the “Table” part of name suggests, this mountain is actually a large plateau. It’s a steep gravelly hike to the top, and then there are several flat loops to walk or bike through when you get to the top. This fact coupled with the lack of trees makes for not the most interesting hike in the world, but if you follow North Mesa trail there are great overlooks of the town of Golden. Plus, if the wind is blowing right, you can smell the beer from atop the mountain.

After your walk, hike, trailrun or bike ride, cooling off is a must. This can either be done with a refreshing dip in Clear Creek or by enjoying a cool beverage.

Clear Creek runs through downtown, with the most populated spots just north of downtown on Washington street.

A paved trail meanders along Clear Creek for miles in both directions. Walk along the south side to check out the historical stops near the trail. There are several spots alongside the trail in which you can easily step down to the creek to cool off and play in the water. If you are lucky you might even see a kayaker navigating the shallow waters (usually about a half mile or so up the trail, west of town).

If splashing in a creek isn’t your idea of “refreshing,” there are several places in town where you can grab a drink. Buffalo Rose has an outside patio bar if you’re a beer and bikers kinda person. Come back at night for live music and/or karaoke. On the other side of the drinking spectrum, there is patio seating at Grappa from which many enjoy glasses (or bottles) of wine.

Downtown Golden isn’t exactly Chicago’s Miracle Mile, but there are cute shops along Washington Ave and its side streets. My favorites is Silver Horse, where I drooled over $600 cowboy boots and long strands of turquoise jewelry. Rewind is another popular place, with antiques and secondhand clothes and furniture, organized thematically in different rooms.

There are a few places to stay in Golden. The Golden Hotel is the most centrally located, right on Washington Ave alongside Clear Creek. A few blocks north is Table Mountain Inn, with an abode façade that looks like it was airlifted from Santa Fe. Down alongside Clear Creek is a secluded RV park, shaded by trees – that’s where I would stay (they only have three tent sites though).

This post is somewhat of a teaser, Golden has tons more hikes, shops, restaurants, and museums for me to explore. Plus that Coors Factory. I can’t wait to get to know my soon-to-be-new home.

 

May 27, 2012

The Boulder Creek Festival

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It was pretty crowded. Be prepared to be run over by multiple strollers and dancing hippies.

But fun! The Boulder Creek Festival has several performance tents, a farmers market, rides, a rock wall, craft and clothing booths, and at least three gyro stands. After buying your fill of jeweled earrings, tie-died onesies, and cloth purses, grab lunch and people watch down by the creek.

 

 

The best part was a guy in the creek making seemingly impossible rock formations.

The Boulder Creek Festival is held annually over Memorial Day weekend on Canyon between 15th and 9th. There is free (!) parking off Canyon Street, although you may have a bit of a trek from your car to the event. If you are reading this on the day I posted it and are going tomorrow, get there early to cheer on the Boulder Boulder 10 K runners, or at 4 to participate in the Rubber Ducky race down the creek.

 

May 20, 2012

Denver Public Library

Posted by jennavandenberg under Colorado, Good Books | Tags: , |
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I can’t believe I’m just know getting a library card. I basically lived in the library in Las Vegas, but for some unknown reason I hadn’t even stepped foot into a branch of the Denver Public Library until last weekend. Shockingly, Denver’s seven-story downtown library is just a tad nicer than the one in Las Vegas. The castle-themed children’s library downstairs is adorable, with a story time area in a nearby “turret” with huge windows and pillows for all the kiddos to sit on. I must say the Young Adult “Our Space” section needs some work though – it’s pretty boring.

Looking up from the lobby, a huge painting covered wagons and trains runs around the 2nd story (which is mostly fiction). I love the painting, and it matches the wood panel (but not in a ’70’s type way) theme of the rest of the library.

My favorite floor is the 5h, where the homeless people smell (sorry, that’s not very PC of me. But this is a downtown public library after all) gives way to an old book smell. Plus the 6th floor is where all the maps and painting of western scenes and landscapes are.

The library is located in Denver’s “Golden Triangle” at 10 W. Fourteenth Ave 80204. Plenty of metered parking is available. Library hours are M-T: 10-8, W-F: 10-6, Sat – Sun: 1-5. I love that the library is open on Sundays :)  You can get a library card even if you don’t have a state ID yet, as long as you bring in a bill or other proof of address. If you don’t have that yet, the librarians will even give you a card with limited check out capabilities to tide you over until you can bring in a bill or state ID.

So now that I am the proud owner of a Denver Public Library card, I can start working on my must-read list. Any suggestions would be most appreciated!

Historical and Non-Fiction

  • Crazy Horse and Custer: The parallel lives of two American Warrios by Stephen Ambrose
  • 1776 by David McCullough
  • Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith (does that count as historical? Haha)
  • Sugar Changed the World: A story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science by Marc Aronson (A YA book)
  • Freeman: A Liberated Slave in Search of Family, by Leonard Pitts Jr

Fiction

  • Drinking Coffee Elsewhere, by ZZ Parker
  • The Same Earth, by Kei Miller
  • Human Croquet, by Kate Atkinson
  • Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston – how have I never read this?

YA Lit

  • Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins. I read the first two Hunger Games tales a few years ago when they came out, but haven’t gotten around to the final installment yet
  • Where Things Come Back, by John Corey Whaley: The 2012 Printz Award winner
  • Jellicoe Road, by Melina Marchetta: A past Printz Award winner that I keep meaning to read
  • What Happened to Goodbye, Sarah Dessen’s latest. She is a YA genius and I love everything she writes.
  • Why we Broke Up, by David Handler.
  • The Fault in our Stars, John Green’s new one. Another YA genius.
  • Breaking Beautiful, by Jennifer Shaw Wolf
  • Sean Griswold’s Head, by Lindsey Leavitt

 

May 9, 2012

Denver Sports

Posted by jennavandenberg under Baseball, Colorado | Tags: , |
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I moved to Denver during the height of the Tim Tebow craze. And although I wasn’t a particular fan of Tebow or the Broncos or even football, I appreciated the blue and orange filled city. I loved the bars packed with enthusiastic fans and I hid smiles when my high school students would strike dramatic Tim-Tebow-on-one-knee poses when asked to do arduous tasks like write complete sentences.

I’ve missed sports. I’ve missed the way a city comes together during a playoff series. I took the Seahawks, Mariners, and SuperSonics for granted when I lived in Seattle. I didn’t even know that I’d found comfort in being part of a sea of blue and green clad people until I moved away.

Gambling being what it is in Vegas, no professional sports teams call the city home. Nevada residents have to cheer on L.A. teams if they have no other allegiances. Now that I’m in a decidedly un-sinful city (as long as you ignore the rampant marijuana use), I can be part of a fan base again. I can smile proudly when my students ask “miss, did you see the game last night?”

Although not a huge basketball fan, I found myself quite enjoying the Denver Nuggets a few months ago at the Pepsi Center. My basketball night involved parking by the capitol to avoid paying, taking the free 16th street mall ride up to the bars at LoDo, doing some drinking, and the finally picking up cheap scalper tickets sometime after the game started. Fun stuff. If you want to see the 2011-2012 Nuggets, you’d better hurry. They are working game-by-game to avoid elimination.

But all winter long, baseball was what I’d been waiting for. I’d been wanting to move to Denver even since watching Carlos Gonzalez hit for the cycle with a walk off home run a couple years ago. That 2010 game I’d seen was dubbed one of the most exiting major league game of the year, so I was afraid that my return to Coors Field would be anti-climatic.

Not so.

I’ve been to two game so far this year, both were great wins for the Colorado Rockies. The April 27th game I witnessed with my mom included an 11 run inning (for the Rockies), a grand slam (for the Rockies), six errors (for the Mets), AND a cycle (for the Mets). Most baseball fans are lucky to see one cycle in their lifetime. I’ve seen TWO in Denver. I think it’s a sign that this city is exactly where I need to be.

Next week my Seattle Mariners will be playing the Rockies in the Mile High City, and although I’ve decided to raise my daughter as a Rockies fan (she doesn’t have a name or a home yet, but I’ve got the important things figured out!), there is no way I can root against my Mariners. I’m excited to wear my blue and teal for the series, but I’ll be glad to bust out my newly acquired purple Dexter Fowler shirt for the rest of the season.

Parking around Coors Field is between $5 and $20. For a great slice of pizza before the game, bead to  the Wazee Supper Club on 15th and Wazee. Cheap seats start at $4, but for a view of the Rockies (the mountains, not the players), sit up high on the 1st base side.

 

April 29, 2012

Mt. Falcon: Morrison, CO

Posted by jennavandenberg under Colorado, Hiking | Tags: , |
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Naturally Denver has no shortage of hiking trails, and I’m excited to try them all out. Much to the horror or skiers and people worried about summertime droughts there wasn’t a lot of snow this year, so trails are clearing up earlier than usual.

My mom (who was in town for the weekend) and I started out the season easy yesterday with a quick morning hike up at Mt. Falcon. Forty minutes west of Denver, this is a great hike if you want to sleep in, hike, and be back in the city for lunch.

What I like most about Mt. Falcon were the options. This well maintained, not-too-rocky and not-too-steep trail is perfect for an easy hike, a trail run, and those who prefer to tackle trails on mountain bikes or horses. There are enough people around during the weekends that I would feel comfortable hiking solo here, but the trails are easy enough to take friends of varying fitness levels.

There are also plenty of trail options.

Make your decision before you head out though (or print out this map to take with you), because the only map I saw was the one near the parking lot. We opted for the three mile Parmalee/Meadow loop. I hope to head back in a couple weeks and try running the Castle Trail, so there may be an addendum to this post soon. The loop was a nice rolling trail with great views of the Front Range foothills (although where in Denver do you NOT have great views of the Front Range foothills?) towards the west and the Mile High skyline to the east. I hear this is a gorgeous place for sunrise pictures. (Again: addendum coming up!)

The GPS on my phone pretty much got me to Mt. Falcon, but directions are as follows:

  • Head west on I-70
  • Go south on 470 (just past 6th Ave)
  • Turn onto 285, again heading west

If you are following directions on a GPS, once you turn off highway 285 turn it off and just follow the signs. My GPS wanted me to turn down various private drives and dirt roads which was not necessary. The signs were plentiful and obvious.

 

April 11, 2012

History Colorado Center

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We’ve not exactly been experiencing a financial climate that encourages the opening of new city museums, but luckily the History Colorado Center was forced to move to a new building. Taking advantage of the move, the museum completely re-thought it’s vision, audience testing all of their exhibits and pulling out all the stop necessary to make the museum as fun as possible. I recently got a chance to explore this soon-to-open museum, and I can’t wait to come back on April 28th when it’s completed and ready for the public.

This will be one cool museum. A coal mining simulation, a 4D car-ride, games to play, and even a SouthPark reference help museum patrons better understand Colorado stories and history. On the main floor of History Colorado there is a huge map of the state, made interactive by two “time machines” that can be pushed around the floor. Depending on their locations, the machines fire up mini-movies (3-5 minutes) about the spot they’ve been situated on. I learned about Leadville’s ice palace, how the Olympics never happened in Denver, and about the first African American woman to practice medicine in Colorado.

The second floor has an exhibit on ‘Colorado for Locals,’ scheduled to be very strange - featuring situations like ‘what if the big blue bear and the big blue horse got in a fight?’ (the azure animals are well known pieces of public art here). The other exhibit opening upstairs has spaces for several different groups that showcase the concept of community in Colorado. These include Steamboat Springs (home to more Olympic athletes than anywhere in the nation), a Japanese internment camp, Lincoln Hills (the go-to African American mountain retreat), and the site of the Ludlow Massacre. Museum curators have successfully gotten away from the “plaques on the wall,” method of presenting information. In the Steamboat Springs exhibit you can participate in a simulated ski jump. Step into the Ludlow Massacre exhibit and you are surrounding by the sounds of battle before conflicting primary source quotes appear on the walls, still arguing about what happened here.

The History Colorado Center opens on April 28th. It will be open Monday – Saturday from 10am – 5pm, Sundays from noon until 5. Only a few exhibits (the ones mentioned above) will open in April. Over the next five years more wings will open. Next up will be an exhibit focused on people and their environment, particularly the importance of water in the region. The museum will also have a temporary exhibit space so traveling collections will be able to enjoy a stint at History Colorado. The museum will be charging $10 for adults, with discounts for seniors, students, children, and groups of 10 or more. The museum just behind Denver Art Museum at 1200 Broadway. You can park in the parking garage on 12th. There is also plenty of metered street parking.

 

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