Animo: July 2011

Sunday, July 24, 2011

All Good Things Come To An End, Lo Bueno Tiene Un Final

Cabinets display Chinese Chippendale silver epergne
made in London in 1861 by silversmiths to the British
Royal Family. European antiques and artwork decorate
Palace Arms, many date to the early 1800's. Artifacts
include dueling pistols that belonged to Napoleon. Two
papier mache golden eagles on the walls are said to have
been carried atop parade standards during Napoleon's
march from the Arc De Triomphe to Notre Dame to declare
himself Emperor of France.

Ideally, you need two days to show visitors the highlights of Denver (on the run). We were short on time so it was not possible to do all my favorite things. We did drive by the impressive Invesco Field at Mile High.
Also, we drove past the Colorado State Capital which is part of the Denver skyline at 5,280 ft above sea level and features the gold bell-shaped dome. I have taken many people for the tour of the Molly Brown House filled with antiques and history featuring the flamboyant Molly Brown, famous survivor of the Titanic. The Denver Botanic Gardens are incredible and you need one half day and the other half for Denver Art Museum. We couldn't manage those three things. We did drive down the small historic area on Larimer Street, the first downtown area of Denver. You can spend a complete day on Larimer and enjoy the trendy shops and wonderful outdoor restaurants. The Brown Palace has been operational since opening in 1892 and continues to charm travelers from around the world. The skybridge is an excellent place to inspect the outside of The Brown built of Colorado red granite and red sandstone. Sea sand was brought from the coast for the mortar. Twenty six different Colorado animals are carved into sandstone medallions between the arched windows. The Brown Palace, Trinity Methodist Church and Navarre, across Tremont Street were the only neighborhood occupants in the early days of The Brown. Ship Tavern opened in 1934, shorly after the repeal of prohibition. The Tavern still displays the detailed ship models, replicas of actual ships from America's clipper period. There is much more to mention about The Brown Palace and they offer guided tours on Wednesday and Saturday at 3:p.m. lasting about 75 minutes. Reservations are required. Saturdays are a good day to walk beautiful downtown Denver and enjoy the pedestrian 16th Street and Larimer Street.

In the lobby your eyes sweep upwards past
six tiers of cast iron balconies to the stained
glass skylight. The 2,800 square- foot skyllight
is the original and is an excellent example of
"daylighting" an interior space. The cast iron
panels surrounding the balconies are of one
design, but for reasons unknown, two panels
were installed upside down, so instead of
"dancing on their feet", you see "ladies standing
on their head."

Navarre on Tremont, across from The Brown

To walk through The Brown is a journey into the history of
the West. The Brown Palace, completed in 1892, is a remarkable
piece of Victorian Architecture based upon the Italian Renaissance
Style. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has
been designated a Denver Landmark.

The stone used inside the lobby is Mexican Onyx.
The pillars are solid onyx and weigh more than 1,500
pounds each. On the second floor there is an onyx
room known as the grand salon.

We had hotel rooms near Park Meadow Shopping Center for an early departure to the airport. Miguel, Lety and Poncho spent several hours in the Disney Land of Shopping. We enjoyed a farewell dinner of California Pizza and everyone turned in early, tired but happy with a busy week in the mountains.

Larimer Street, small historic area restored
with wonderful shops and restaurants.

Some repacking was required for the shopping.

HASTA LA PROXIMA, UNTIL NEXT TIME

Fascinating Contrast

You can't do it all in seven days but we tried. There were several things on our list we just couldn't find time to do. The last blog of their trip is separate because I want to show The Brown Palace. This blog of their trip is partly for all the people that ask," what can you do with visitors in the mountains." I guess people think that it is about sitting on the deck with the view and you can do that too. The mountains offer a fascinating contrast for things to do but I would say that the lifestyle is about friends and family doing these things together.

The famous front porch of historic Grand Lake
Lodge that opened in 1920 and
has welcomed visitors all over the world.

The river runs beside the historic Rapids Lodge and Restaurant.
The Rapids opened in 1915, built by Laps Ish who came to Colorado
in a covered wagon at 3 months old, one of eleven children. He had
a fascinating life and carried mail to Grand Lake on snow shoes or
skis using an 8 ft. snow pole.

I love these little mountain touches,
At the Rapids

Grand Lake Lodge, overlooking Grand Lake.
is a rustic two story log and stone structure
located at the edge of Rocky Mountain National
Park. Cabins are available also.

We showed Lety and Miguel the
Catholic Church in Granby which
features a copper roof and custom designed
stained glass. Who would think to find
this beautiful church in a mountain town?

Lety, Miguel and Poncho spent a day at Mountain Shadow
Lake, where they took a picnic and rode bikes and hiked.

Lety and Miguel are great tennis players and we managed
to play tennis three times, here we are with part of
our Grand Lake tennis group, a neat group of people.

Rocky Mountain National Park

Because of record snowfall this past winter, there is a
lot of snow in the park. Lety had never seen snow before.

One of the many beautiful views after entering Rocky
Mountain National Park. This view looks back to one of the meadows
where we entered the park from Grand Lake, a photo opportunity.
Notice all the water because of the heavy snows of last Winter.
This is a good place to park in the late afternoon to watch elk.

A campground inside the park. Look closely to see the
herd of female elk in the background. The elk are social
animals and are almost always in herds.

A herd of elk in a meadow. Elk are related to deer but much larger, weighing 450 to 900 pounds.
Note the large antlers, which can reach four feet above their head. In the Fall we go into the park
to listen for the bugle of the bull elk that begins
deep and resonant and becomes a high pitched
squeal and ends with grunts.

How many of us know what the Continental Divide is?

Moose are not herd animals. This a mom and her baby (spot of brown in grass)
Moose are at home in the water (like this one). Their front legs are longer than
their back legs, it is not uncommon to see a moose kneeling to get closer to lunch.
Moose don't see well and can get agressive and charge without notice.

See the snow poles along the side of the road, used to guide the
snow removal equipment.

July in the park

The entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park is one mile North of Grand Lake on US Hwy 34. It is always good to stop in at Kawuneeche Visitor Center and check programs and activities. We have seen some prime wildlife films, with bighorn sheep, elk, black bear, pronghorn antelope, coyote, mountain lion, moose and red fox and their life in the park. Ranger guided walks are offered and maps with information on the park. From the Grand Lake entrance to the park, it is 20 miles up Trail Ridge road to Alpine Visitor Center. The building is on the edge of a ridge and has an amazing view of the valley below. The biggest attraction to the park could be the road itself. Trail Ridge Road is the highest, continuous paved road in America. The park has more than 60 peaks over 12,000 ft. in 416 square miles. It is one of the country's top wildlife watching destinations with more than 3,000 elk, 800 bighorn sheep with numerous mule deer and moose. We also saw bighorn sheep moving easily down rocky, rugged mountain terrain. The rams had impressive large curled horns and the ewes much smaller. Too bad, I was not able to get photos. You can spend days in the park and not see everything. If you go all the way through the park to the other side, you will exit at Estes Park. Estes Park is another beautiful, historic place to visit. It is one of many places that make an easy day trip.

The park offers several types of fees:
$20. per vehicle for 7 days, $10. individual bicycles and motorcycles for 7 days, $40. annual pass for unlimited entry to this park, $50. annual to Rocky Mountain National and Arapahoe National Parks,$80 annual pass, America The beautiful that inclusdes all Federal and National Parks in the U.S., BUT seniors get a lifetime pass so we have unlimited entry of any U.S. national park or recreational land that requires a fee. Seniors, ask for a pass the next time you drive up to the entrance of a national park or recreation area. It just takes minutes with proper I.D..

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Running The River

Everyone on commercial rafting trips wears a coast guard-
approved life vest with all buckles buckled. This is not a
fashion contest, you will get wet.

This past winter it snowed and snowed and snowed in the mountains. Winter Park ski area received 400 inches of the white stuff. The melting snow has come roaring down the mountainside, providing cascades of river water perfect for rafting. River rafting is a perfect way to see the scenery from a breathtaking vantage point. Most trips are stretches of exciting whitewater followed by a calm water float. Pancho took a video of the trip for face book. They chose the scale 3 and 4 from the 1-6 offered. Class 5 is expert and 6 is almost impossible. Phil and I did not go as we have done this before. The rafting is in route to Silverthorne, so we enjoyed a picnic along the way. Silverthorne is a scenic mountain town with factory outlet shopping. Lety, Miguel and Poncho all three enjoyed the shopping and found great bargains. It was an early evening for this tired group with rafting and shopping in the same day.

Poncho coming back down the mountain on the Zephyr Express chairlift
Winter Park Resort

On a separate day, we spent the day in Winter Park Resort where an adventure pass is offered in various forms. You can buy a half or full day pass for use of Colorado's longest Alpine slide, Zephyr Express scenic chairlift, a Maze, climbing wall, bungee, and miniature golf. Lety and Miguel bought a ticket for the Zephyr only and Poncho went with them to the summit of Winter Park Mountain, elevation 10,700 ft. at the top. Poncho came back down to ride the alpine slide all afternoon to his fascination. Lety and Miguel stayed at the top and hiked. They are in great condition with swimming, hiking, biking and tennis. The Zephyr has bike carriers and offer different bike paths down. Many people choose to walk down. The surrounding is beautiful with outdoor restaurants and lots of flowers.

Lety was a little nervous at the
beginning of river rafting but they
all loved it!

Cooper Creek Square has something for everyone, wine tasting,
art and resort wear, great music in the square and delicious
ethnic dining selections.

Downtown Winter Park is beautiful,
located on U.s. Highway 40

Winter Park is a main tourist attraction with music, art and
restaurants but the big attraction is skiing in Winter.

Winter Park offers luxury accommmodations from ski in/ski out homes to cozy condos. There are many beautiful mountain lodges with pools and hot tubs.

July 4th Is A Long Day

All the locals participate and people
come in from campgrounds and motels
for all you can eat pancakes and sausage
with milk, juice and coffee.

Gordon Scheer and Phil serve at the
Rotary 4th of July weekend Pancake
breakfast.

I often mention that Grand Lake is a sample of 'Small Town America'
I still tear up with the Air Force 'Fly Over', a very moving moment.

Poncho and Miguel are amazed with
the platform of fireworks, looks
like cannons.

Jill keeps her boat handy all Summer at the
Scheer cottage boathouse and loves to give
a boat tour around Grand Lake. There is history,
gossip and ghost stories about the many houses
on the lake if you take one of the paid tours from the
beach. It was a little cloudy but not cold as it can
sometimes be on the 4th.

This year the 4th of July was a four day week end starting on Friday, the 1st. We drove from the Denver airport up the mountain in bumper to bumper traffic most of the time, taking at least one hour more than normal. Grand Lake is a popular area to celebrate the 4th with a spectacular fireworks display from a platform in the middle of the lake. This is well known and people stakeout their seating along the lake by early morning. Scott's parents have owned a cottage with boat house on the lake for many years and Gordon Scheer was gracious to invite us with our guest from Guadalajara. We enjoyed a typical 4th of July dinner on the Scheer's deck with Gordon (our host), his daughter and her husband from Salt Lake, Jill and Scott and ourselves. Many people go out on the lake to watch the fireworks. Everyone packed into Jill's boat and Pancho took 35 minutes of video of the fireworks. It looks like the fireworks are directly above and a unique experience. The problem is the traffic leaving Grand Lake. We arrived back home after midnight.

Photos do not convery the real beauty of the colors

4th July dinner on Scheer's deck. Scott and Jill on the left end
Chris standing behind her dad, Gordon. You know the others.
We didn't get everyone in the photo. Yes, most of us have
sweaters or vest on.

The 4th Of July In The Mountains

Phil and Lety after the parade

Waiting for the parade to start. They
made their matching shirts for July 4th.

Granby is 14 miles from us on highway 40 with access to 34 that goes to Grand Lake and Rocky Mountain National Park. Granby was created along the rail line (1905) because of the connection with the stagecoach route to Grand Lake. Granby is a ranching community with two golf courses, mountain biking, 39 miles of shoreline on Lake Granby and famous for fishing by boat or on shore. Fishermen find lake, rainbow, brown, brook, cutthroat trout and kokanee salmon. The Fraser River joins the Colorado River at Granby. The river parallels U.S. highway 40 with many picnic areas and campgrounds. The Colorado River is classified as Gold Medal Water, meaning it contains some of the best trout in the state. Granby has many other great areas for trout fishing, even ponds stocked just for kids.