Walking (and Biking) Denver

After three days in the car and two nights in so/so hotels, I can't tell you how good it was to reach familiar friends and enjoy the comforts of their home. The car was parked and thanked for a safe delivery and not used again until departure day. From here on we would enjoy walking, biking and being chauffeured by our gracious and intrepid hosts, the Sherpa Girls. Their home is in Platt Park, an older suburb south of downtown Denver. The neighborhood borrows its name from its park in the center. Most of the houses appear to have been built in the 1910's or 20's, but there are others from later times, including more than a few recently constructed McMansions built on the site of tear downs. There are several lively blocks of stores, restaurants, coffee parlors and services all within easy walking distance.

Before we begin our walk, the plant geek in me is compelled to say something about gardening in Denver. The city is often pictured with the Rocky Mountains in the background, and yes you can see them easily from the city. However, Denver actually sits on the Great Plains and at a very high altitude. The city falls into USDA zone 5 and is considered semi-arid. The cold winter weather and lack of abundant water make gardening a challenge, but this is the birthplace of xeriscaping and there are many avid gardeners in this unexpectedly green city.

One of the best trends I saw in the neighborhood is the abandonment of water intensive lawns in favor of street-to-stoop gardens full of water-wise plants.

The most numerous urban tree species appears to be the Plains Cottonwood (Populus deltoides ssp. monilifera). These trees were growing all around the neighborhood and throughout Denver and are the dominant deciduous tree. They are much more common than Colorado Blue Spruce (Picea pungens), the state tree. I really liked the the bark on these tall trees, it is deeply furrowed and very coarse - I could not stop touching them. Unfortunately they are weak-wooded, have a lot of other things that can go wrong with them and therefore do not live terribly long. At least one person came up with a creative use for their dead Cottonwood.

The next neighborhood over surrounds Washington Park which is one of the largest parks in Denver. This park has stuck fairly close to its original design and remains very poplar and well used. There are two lakes, lots of sporting opportunities and many biking, jogging and walking paths. Just before our trip I read that Colorado is the most fit (or least unfit) state in the nation with only 18% of its population being overweight. The evidence of this status was quite apparent from all the activity in the park. The other thing Washington Park is noted for are its formal Victorian gardens, which are lovingly maintained and heavily irrigated. Apparently it is OK to keep the city's beds well-watered.

Denver has several hundred miles of bike trails and they are used both for recreation and transportation. Near the Sherpa Girls house is a trail that follows the South Platte River. North on the trail will take you downtown, and south will take you into the far suburbs. We only went as far as Hudson Gardens and its trail-side cafe. The gardens themselves were nice with a large railroad garden, water gardens, native gardens and others. Hudson Gardens seemed particularly designed to hosting concerts and other special events, check out the view from from the "event tent" in the third picture. The red bike with the small wheels in the second picture is a recumbent bike, which although takes some getting used to, is very kind to middle aged bodies.

If you prefer more modern forms of transportation, Denver has a light rail network, and I really liked the foliage behind this station's entrance.

Next post: Downtown Denver

Heading to Points West

We just got back from our summer vacation, and this year's was more substantial than we normally enjoy. We decided to take a road trip to see our friends in Denver. This was our second visit to Colorado, and we debated flying which is the most expedient means of getting there, but my wife hates to fly and needs heavy medication just to endure it. The flight home from Colorado 5 years ago was a grueling nightmare for her, and the Ativan wore out during a chaotic layover in Philly. I looked into taking Amtrak, but the price to sit and sleep in one of their chairs for three days put it out of the question (not to mention the cost of a sleeper). We settled on driving knowing that, my car gets awesome mileage, we would have a chance to see some of the country, I had plenty of time off from work, and adding all the costs up it was the least expensive option even with the hotel prices.

Two weeks ago today, we left, and I promised my wife breakfast in Charlottesville if we could get out of the house by 6 a.m. I am an early riser and also wanted to leave Hampton Roads before the traffic got thick, particularly in the tunnels (few epic road trips begin in Norfolk without first going under the water through a tunnel, I considered it sort of a baptism for the trip).

We got to Charlottesville and finished breakfast just in time for Mincer's to open where my wife shopped for a UVA T-shirt and some school decals for her new car. While she was busy I took my son across the street to further his indoctrination into the glories of Virginia history by visiting the Rotunda and the Lawn. It seemed fitting that the beginning of our trip west would include standing in the shadows of some of Mr. Jefferson's best work.

Although these buildings are very significant both historically and architecturally, one of my favorite buildings on campus is Brooks Hall, mainly because of its animals. It was built in the late 1800's in a Gothic/Victorian style that fits in with the rest of the architecture like a Christmas tree in July. In fact is was almost torn down in the 1970's because of its misfit status.

The first day we made it to Louisville which is somewhat familiar ground, but once we crossed the Ohio River, I would be in terra incognito until we got to Denver.

The next day we began our trip into the Mid-West, and what little of southern Indiana I saw was incredibly beautiful. I do not know why this was surprising to me, I had no expectations as to what it should look like. I was also surprised at how rural Illinois was where we crossed - beautiful, but flat and full of corn. By mid-day we had made it to St. Louis.

I know you can never judge a city or state by what you can see from the Interstate, but Missouri does not show its best face from I-70. Would it hurt to have a few less billboards, or are they deliberately trying to hid the lovely countryside so more people will not want to move there?

By the second evening we made it to Topeka. I have heard tales of driving across Kansas, and I must say that the first third of the state was beautiful, maybe even stunning. I really loved the openness, the grasses in the wind, the hills and occasional rock outcroppings. It reminded me of driving through the Pea Island Wildlife Refuge on the Outer Banks of North Carolina - only the ocean never came into view. Hours after the land had flattened and the diversity disappeared, my opinion changed. I hope God has a special place in his heart for the people who live in western Kansas (and eastern Colorado), I couldn't do it.

There was not a noticeable difference crossing from Kansas into Colorado except the speed limit and our expectations were raised as we were nearing our destination of Denver.