We have been to Cheyenne, Wyoming before and once again, we loved being there. We got to the Cheyenne KOA on September 29th and made sure that on the very next day we headed to the Cheyenne Farmer’s Market. Our most exciting find there was the gluten-free booth. We bought a beautiful loaf of white bread and it was delicious. It was a pretty big market with lots of produce. After checking out all the booths and spending some money on yummy food, we tackled the Downtown Historic Walking Tour. Cheyenne is filled with history from the old frontier days. All over the city are 6 foot high plaster boots painted by local artists and depicting the history of Wyoming and Cheyenne. After a fun morning of exploring the legends and history of the West, we treated ourselves to a great Thai lunch at Anong’s.
We started to see snow on the grass along the highway and lots of fog as we left Cheyenne. We took it a little easy as I eased into the altitude in this area. I become symptomatic at only 5,000 feet above sea level so we walk slowly and stop often. We drove along the Highway of Legends and started to see the Rocky Mountains.
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We passed a sign about the Ludlow Massacre. I researched it and found that the Colorado National Guard attacked 1200 striking coal miners and their families on April 2, 1914. Woody Guthrie wrote and sang about the 20 people killed in this massacre, 11 of them children. It may seem like we are traveling in a vacuum removed from the trials and tribulations of daily news events. I try not to bring up current events in what we want to be our pleasant travel blog. But that is not to say that we are not experiencing the sad and tragic events of the day as we drive through this beautiful country. I have to wonder what Woody would sing today – earthquakes and mega hurricanes; peaceful protestors stormed by white supremacists (today – in 2017!) Conflict and hate spewing from places that should be encouraging unity. Woody brought it all together for me as I listened to his song “I Ain’t Got No Home.” It explains a lot!
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Our first stop in Colorado this trip was to Chatfield State Park in Aurora. Colorful Colorado, the Centennial State, has so much beauty to offer. This lovely state park on what used to be the enormous acreage of Chatfield Farms displayed the colorful beauty of yellow cottonwoods and Gambel oaks, contrasted by green junipers and firs; the frenetic activity of black and white magpies, cottontails and ground squirrels. We even saw some cacti, yucca and prickly pear cactus, blue penstemon and yellow mullein, reminding us that we were heading towards the Southwest. Kestrel, prairie falcons and red-tailed hawks competed for the skies with flocks of Canadian geese. Nature swirling all around us.
Our first foray on this trip was visiting another capital city, Denver. After reading about all the many things we should do in Denver, we picked the free one-hour tour of the State Capitol Building. My altitude problems were diminishing by this time and I had no problem walking 4.5 miles around this Mile High City.
We are really glad we toured this stunning capitol building. Impressive on the outside – modeled after our beautiful US capitol in D.C. But it was even more breathtaking on the inside. The Red Marble, quarried from a Colorado mine, fills the halls. The Grand Staircase features that marble highlighted dramatically by gold balustrades and trims.
State Capitol Building in Denver
Looking up towards to dome you see stained glass windows with likenesses of Colorado legislators. On one level are U.S. presidential portraits. We walked past the State Legislature, which was trying to figure out which organizations can legally be doled the taxes from the marijuana industry.
We climbed up a few floors to stand outside of the gold-leafed dome to view the city of Denver’s sky line. There is even a small museum on one of the dome floors.
Denver skyline from the State Capitol Dome
Looking up inside the dome
Inside the dome
We had an excellent guide whose knowledge of Denver, Colorado, its dignitaries, and the surrounding mountains was impressive. Her enthusiasm for her job showed in the details she shared with us. We especially enjoyed learning more about Margaret Brown (the Unsinkable Molly) whose home is nearby in Denver and Emily Griffith whose founding of the School of Opportunity taught job skills to the immigrants populating the city as a result of the gold rush. And then there was Francis Jacobs, who helped found the Community Chest, which eventually became the United Way, and who also was the impetus for the establishment of the Jewish Hospital, today a renowned heart hospital.
The tour was free and certainly one of the best tours we’ve been on. The building itself is magnificent. If you visit Denver don’t just admire the State Capitol’s golden dome, or climb to the step that marks a mile up from sea level. Go inside – see the beauty of the mix of Greek and Roman architecture, the use of all Colorado-found materials and listen to the rich history that streams from this building as state employees go about the business of governance.
Interesting trivia: Originally the dome was covered in copper. But citizens were in an uproar. Gold brought people to Denver and gold should be on the dome. The enormous expense of this was assumed by generous donations from the families of gold prospectors. And the continued expense of re-covering the dome with gold every 6 or 8 years is still borne by those mine owners.
After this great tour, we walked the famous 16th Street Mall. A mile-long pedestrian thoroughfare filled with shops and restaurants. Denver proved to be a great place to visit.
On Wednesday, October 4th, we took a picnic lunch on our walk around Chatfield State Park. This is an outstanding park, one which we would highly recommend for anyone traveling through this area. Lovely sites. Landscaping everywhere. Great facilities, including laundry rooms. No doubt we will return here when we pass by again.
The beauty of this area kept us exploring and the next day we went to the Denver Botanic Gardens – Chatfield Farms. The Gardens were preparing for Fall and Halloween fun and we saw skeletons and pumpkins as we took the long nature trail around the grounds. At the lavender gardens, there must have been thousands of butterflies! Another beautiful day!
Walkway at Denver Botanic Gardens
Fall Decorations!
Butterflies everywhere!