Boulder, Colorado Adventures

August 1 - 31, 2021:

We get situated into our Airbnb which is tight quarters but way better than expected.  It is fully equipped with about everything needed for the month, in a quiet neighborhood and best of all within walking distance of downtown Boulder attractions. 

We immediately head for the Pearl Street Mall where we walk from end to end, it’s a Sunday evening, very crowded and vibrant and have dinner. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boulder,_Colorado

https://www.bouldercoloradousa.com

On our daily walks to downtown Boulder we passed the Highland Club 
with this strange creature on the fence  

 A young guy on the street sees my Tucson tee shirt and says “ Tucson has the best crystals, give me a dollar and you can take my picture”.  We just kept on walking, I have to stop wearing these the shirts with place names on them, too many comments and questions ?  The apartment is about a mile from the Pearl Street Mall area and we seem to walk it at least once a day, often twice a day, as it’s easier than trying to drive and park and we need the exercise. 

 

The beautiful Boulder Court House

The art deco Boulder Theater

A common theme in Boulder

A beautiful building above the "Into the wind" kite store

The Hotel Boulderado is a classic Hotel of America

The Pearl Street Mall is also classic

On Wednesdays in August, Boulder holds a free “Music on the Bricks” concert on Pearl Street with various types of music from about 6 - 9 PM with a beer and wine vendors.  It was a reggae music band, Selasee and the Fafa Family, on our first Wednesday who were wildly popular, it was very crowded with lots of wild dancing.

This was taken early before the party really started

We  have found a great bookstore, the Boulder Bookstore, one of the very best we have been in, and bought several books.  We have also visited the impressive Boulder public library several times where Twinkles immediately got a library card.

The Chautaugua National Historic Landmark area is a major attraction in Boulder.  It consists of an historical auditorium, dining hall, lodge, rental cottages and general store that was built in 1898.  We went for breakfast at the dinning hall and as expected it was very special. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_Chautauqua 

The Chautaugua complex borders a very popular hiking trailhead with several trails going up into the “Flatiron” peaks overlooking the City of Boulder.  The Boulder area is a hiking mecca with 500 trails listed on my "All Trails" hiking app.  This is also a mecca for road and mountain biking and trail running.  Boulder residents are well above average when it comes to physical fitness, possibly to obsession ?  

 

On the trail which looks really flat, but it's not

But, the view is definitely beautiful

The Chautaugua Auditorium which once was slated for demolition

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_Chautauqua

We made a drive north on Boulder Canyon Road to our friend Judy Moire’s house near Nederland, Colorado.  Boulder Canyon is another must do drive going steeply uphill with many tight curves through a steep sided canyon with pullouts for hiking or fishing.  We stopped at the Boulder Falls pullout for the short hike to the beautiful falls.  Nederland, CO is also a must see, free spirited mountain town, in this area, don't miss it. 

A short walk from the road leads to the Boulder Falls

The view when looking back is equally nice

Bill and Barbara Totherow, former winter residents of Desert Trail RV Park in Tucson were visiting Judy also and she took us a hike near her house through an interesting area recovering from the forest fire of 2016, with lots of new forest growth and areas now covered in wildflowers.

Hiking through the new growth of the forest

The following day they all came to Boulder for the Saturday Farmers Market.  This market is well attended with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables and we are loving the tomatoes, corn and peaches.  I believe we went there every Saturday.

On a Sunday morning, we take the bus from downtown Boulder to Denver, the bus is easy to do, is cheap and a comfortable 40 minute ride to Denvers Union Station.   It is then an easy walk from Union Station to the 16th street mall area.  Early Sunday morning in Denver was not so great, most of the stores were closed and many homeless types were milling around, not so pleasant.  The area architecture is impressive but the 16th street Mall is looking kind of rough and trashy.  At about 11 AM shops, bars and restaurants start opening and it improves and many people are streaming in for a home baseball game.

Love this mural in a dining area in Union Station

Union Station is a beauty !

The nearby Ice House, it really was an ice house, but now a grill and ?

The Paramount Theater

Beautiful old commercial building

I liked the blend of the old and the new here

We make another drive to Judy Moire’s house where Judy and a friend take us to Brainard Lake National Recreation Area for a hike to Lake Isabelle.  The skies have been very hazy for the past several days due to a huge California wildfire, as a result the views are not as impressive as usual, but still great.  This is a high elevation test for us, well over 10,000 foot elevation and we have no issues.

https://www.uncovercolorado.com/activities/brainard-lake-recreation-area/

Our stopping point at Lake Isabelle

At waters edge looking up at the snow covered peaks

That's what a clear mountain stream looks like !

Rocky Mountain National Park is a day trip from Boulder and we go for a day, entering at the Estes Park entrance.  We had lucked out in getting into Rocky Mountain NP as they have instituted a reservation system this year to control the crowds.  25% of each days entrance pass allowance is left open to enable tourists a chance to call the evening prior and get an entrance pass.  We were, or I should say that Twinkles was quick and organized enough to call at exactly 5 PM and snag a daily pass for us. 

The skies were somewhat clearer and is turned out to be a nice day.  We traveled about half of the Trail Ridge Road stopping at many viewpoints along the way and took several short hikes.  This was another high altitude test, we made it again.

 

A view from one of the roadside pulloffs

The view from a trail to an above timberland rocky vista

Looking down at a snow fringed alpine pond in mid August

A barren wind swept high alpine setting

An uphill one mile hike lead to these interesting  exposed rocks 

As usual, everyone must climb to the top for photos

The trail signs indicated that winds can reach 150 MPH here

A view looking back towards the road

Our highest point at 12,005 feet

We stop and walk the beautiful Sprague Lake loop trail 

Another great Boulder bookstore was found, the Trident Booksellers and Cafe, where the Orchard Creek Band was playing. They have a very comfortable patio area on the rear of the bookstore where they hold concerts and special events.  Orchard Creek is a bluegrass band, they were entertaining and had an attentive group of listeners. 

On another day we heard this rock touring band play at the Trident Booksellers who were way better than expected.

 We also found live music at Vision Quest Brewery where we saw a musician, Pat Fiddles, play covers and original tunes.  He was good with the stage banter, so, so with the musicianship, but fun.  He was followed by a large contingent of “School of Rock” students with their parents and friends.  It was really special, these teenage kids had professional grade equipment and really knew how to play. It was odd to see these young kids playing mostly 1960-1980’s rock standards, quite a few with long hair, who really could knew how to rock it up.

 

Another adventure was a road trip to BlackHawk and Central City, Colorado taking the very scenic route 119 north.  This highway has much construction at present, but the delays were minimal.  It is part of the Peak to Peak Scenic Byway constructed in 1918 which goes for 55 miles from BalckHawk to Estes Park, Colorado..  We first came to Black Hawk, Colorado which looks weird, to put it nicely, with the narrow canyon practically filled with large modern looking towering casinos and parking garages.  The northern area of the original downtown was sparred and still contains several original buildings that better fit the western gold mining image.  We park and go into a few Casinos, mostly to look around, do our usual bare minimum wagering with Sue winning some while I lose.  It’s a Monday, if that matters, but business seemed slow.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Hawk,_Colorado

The modern building were a turn off for me

I much preferred this !

We then drive about a mile away to Central City, Colorado which also has considerable gambling action but has done it differently.  They have retained the old turn of the century frontier look of the downtown, even though many of the buildings are converted into small casinos.  The downtown is far more comfortable, interesting and attractive that Black Hawk.  It also appears that business is slow here and many buildings are vacant or still not open for business.  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_City,_Colorado

The old stables

The Opera House

A typical street view

They have cornered the market !

Nice roof line architecture

On the return trip heading south on route 119 we stop at one of the many roadside pullouts to access the impressive walking trail that runs along the North Clear Creek and highway.

Looking down the Clear Creek

They have built very substantial bridges over the creek

We take several walks along the Boulder Creek which has a linear bike and walking path for several miles along the creek.  It's a great spot to also sit and relax or soak your feet in the cool mountain water.  There are also many campers to put it nicely, more like homeless squatters, who have set up tents along the creek for temporary homes.  The city patrol it and seem to try to keep it under control by giving those who are staying too long or trashing it up eviction notices.

 

The Boulder Creek is a playground

We find Boulder to be a stressful place to drive in due to the high numbers of walkers, bikers, runners and a the general aggressive fast driving style of the locals.  It’s also a college town, people from all over, which adds to the craziness.  In addition, the vegetation on street corners makes it hard to see when pulling out onto a street. 

That being said, we also find Boulder to be a liberal, athletic, environmental, healthy, outdoors oriented city with much scenic beauty, art and culture.     

I manage to convince Twinkles to take a ride up Boulder Canyon Road to the Gold Hill Road which then winds uphill higher and higher to the historic town of Gold Hill.  Gold Hill is one of, if not the the oldest gold mining town in Colorado, very rustic, historic and interesting.  As we pass the Gold Hill Inn, I tell Sue that we have been there, our Nederland friends Judy and Hughes Moire took us there for dinner years ago.  She thought I was crazy at first, until we looked it up on the internet and the dinner menu and the description fit perfectly.  I stopped at the nearby general store to buy something just to see the inside, it was so cool, I would love to just hang out there for a while.  They even have live music at times on the back porch.

The Gold Hill Inn

Another adventure was to the BOCA Cider Tap House on the outskirts of Boulder to see a music event. We had some trouble finding it as the address put into our GPS takes us up a steep mountain road and advises us to make a left turn at a cliff face.  We turn around, retrace our route and using the iPhone find the cider house a couple of miles away in an industrial park.  The cider house was clean, orderly, but not much seating and a bit weird.  There were about a dozen ciders to pick from on their menu, we ordered a 4 cider sampler, two were okay, the others too sweet or sour.  The music was not nearly as good or interesting as it sounded on their website, but since it was free, it was okay.

 

Another trip was to Golden, CO to the Colorado Railroad Museum.  They have a very nice museum building with historical displays and a huge impressive model rail train layout.  The best was outside where they have a large collection of locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, snow plows and track maintenance of way equipment.  They also have a fully equipped shop building and turntable.  On weekends they also have a train ride around the perimeter of the museum property.

The Delay Junction

Coors Brewery freight car

Huge rotary snowplow

A famous Santa Fe Super Chief passenger car  

Locomotive 346 in the rail shop

The turntable

Galloping Goose rail car and Steam Locomotive 191

Beautiful rail poster

A book I would like to own

I love these happy inspirational stories

Afterwards we drive to downtown Golden for lunch and to explore, it’s clean and vibrant with many attractive stores, restaurants and bars.  Unfortunately, the Coors Brewery is not doing tours at this time due to the covid-19 situation.

The welcome arch in Golden, Colorado

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden,_Colorado

We do a hike on (I think) the Ditch Trail, just outside of Boulder.  It is basically flat, but scenic with good views.  All is good until when we are about 3/4 of the way back when Sue realizes that her phone is missing.  She had used it a mile or so earlier on the trail at a rest stop and not put it back in her pack.  So she tears off backtracking down the trail to the spot without her pack, without water and its getting very hot.  I decide after a minute that I better follow, but instead I bushwhack across the meadow towards the spot on the trail where we had stopped, which becomes a very difficult uphill climb.  I get to the spot about the same time as her and the phone is there sitting on a rock, that’s a big relief !  As a result we did the trail about 1 1/2 times total. 

Good views of the distant mountains

The light and the trail views were so nice

On Sunday we drive up Flagstaff Road which is a steep, curvy uphill climb with lots of small parking lots to access trails.  This appears to be a favorite bike trail for the athletic types who are constantly pushing the limits of their endurance.  They fly down these hills in excess of the speed limits, you really need to watch out for them.

The sky was too hazy for landscape photos, but this tree growing
out of the rock was interesting

We do another Boulder Creek trail walk to Settlers Park with its “Red Rocks”, a favorite spot of the Indians and where the earliest anglo gold miners decided this looked to be a good place for gold and to set up camp.  This area is currently under development to improve the trails and dedicate it to the original indigenous people.

 

Chief Niwot tried but it was impossible to keep the invaders out 

The trail should be great when completed, but will it bring too many people ?

Gold was eventually found nearby

 We have been eating out way to frequently here, so many restaurants, and home cooking is again sounding good.  This month at Boulder has gone very fast, it's been great, but it's now time to get back to the home base. 

One of our favorites was this Empanadas restaurant

   On Tuesday August 31st at 6:40 we are struggling with Alice (the cat), dragging her from under the bed and forcing her into a cat carrier during which I get a nice scratch.  We are then away with Sue heading straight for home in the Jeep with one overnight stop.  I will be heading slower in the van in the same general direction with a few stops along the way, I’m in no particular hurry.

I've got a few more stops to make on my return to Tucson, so stay tuned.