Downtown Denver... old buildings and some graffiti...

As I said before, once I left downtown I wanted to come back there again... So I did! Next week we drove there again and walked here without any plan. Sometimes it feels really good just to wander around...

First we parked the car and looked around... The building, a classic example of Denver’s small scale nineteenth-century commercial blocks, is located mid-block on the northwest side of Curtis Street between 20th and 21st Streets in downtown Denver. Designed by Adolf Holmberg and constructed in 1890 for S.A. Grimm, a butcher shop owner, the Grimm Block is a three-story, rectangular brick building with a four bay, ground level storefront and two entrances to the second and third floor residential area. It is one of two structures of its type which has not been demolished or altered.

 

Denver, LoDo district

Downtown of Denver... Isn't it a nice place to take a walk? In fact the answer is not that simple... I don't see any reasons to avoid downtown. But I know many people who don't like one way roads here, hate traffic and don't understand parallel parking (if you are lucky enough to find a spot). But this is a reward too - old town where you can find some pieces of history!
This time we went to walk in LoDo and wanted to see a couple of old buildings. So we started with the Wazee Exchange building. Nothing fancy, pure function. Typical 19 century facade, plain brick walls, some old (i mean it!) ads still visible on the walls. Offices and warehouses - very typical usage for such a building at the time.

 

First flower is blooming ;)

Yeah! The first flower is blooming! I was walking around and just found it all along the edge of the road. Small and nice looking...

 

Finally, I got a spider!

I got this comment yesterday - "Not my favorite insect, but the close-ups are remarkable!" It was about Japanese Beetle (A few minutes of beetle's life...) and I totally agree - not my favorite insect too. But... what is my (your, theirs etc) favorite insect? Do you even have one?

 

A few minutes of beetle's life...

Not just any beetle... but Japanese Beetle. Native to Japan, where they are well controlled by natural enemies, these species are invasive and destructive in the US. When these beetles were first detected in the United States in 1916, they had no natural enemies and were able to grow unchecked. Even though these insects are beautiful like glimmering green and copper jewels, the damage they cause is not.

 

First leaves

It was just a couple days ago when the fresh snow covered everything. And now the sun worked on it and melted most of it. And the buds are really ready to open up and... more and more fresh leaves are starting unwrapping from the buds and turn green....

 

Green, green and green - St.-Patrick's Day parade in Denver, 2010

Saint-Patrick's Day is quite popular all around the World. And the traditional parade is a part of this celebration. By the way, the first time the Parade happened in the USA (not in Ireland) in 1762, believe it or not...

 

Flowers in May

There was a lot of snow during the last couple of days in Denver. And even those who love the snow are tired of heavy wet cover, of shoveling for hours, of white color surrounding us... Let's jump back in time and look at colorful May flowers...

 

Snow storm in March

The snow was so slow and unimpressive yesterday (look here - Snow is falling down...)... There were just lazy snowflakes and we didn't expect much of it overnight. But... in the morning we were surprised with the snow storm blowing and howling from all directions...

 

Snow is falling down...

Right... the snow is falling from the sky... slow and, I'd say, lazy... but it looks so nice when the snow slowly covers the earth... the lawns... the trees... all surfaces...

 

Squaw Pass Road flowers

It was a nice August day in the mountains... I was exploring Squaw Pass road, driving up and down, stopping here and there and looking for flowers... Aren't they beautiful? What do you think?

 

Waiting for snow...

We have had really nice weather lately. Sunny and warm... like 65 degrees warm... And more and more buds are opening and the first leaves are bursting free.

 

Fall colors in Boulder

Boulder is a good place to visit at any time of the year. But Fall time is a special time. Everything looks even better and brighter...

 

Bud's day ;)

Tssss... don't tell anyone, but Spring is here! It is just waiting around the corner and just about to come in...

 

Sunny day... Sunflower day...

I don't know about you, but I always liked sunflowers. Even though we rarely had an opportunity to see them far north, in the area where I spent my childhood.

We, mostly, were enjoying not sunflowers themselves, but sunflower seeds ;) But still, walking in the countryside, we've seen them here and there and always stopped to look at the flower we can call "exotic" ;)

 

Cripple Creek, Jail Museum

As you can see, the population of Cripple Creek grew from 15 people to more than 50,000 just in a few months. And a lot of them were adventure seekers, gold diggers or just people that were ready for everything if they could feel the smell of money. And... also... they drunk! So, work, pub, gambling, ill-repute house and "next stop is jail" ;)

 

Cripple Creek, Old Homestead

Cripple Creek has a long history and endless stories can be told all night long revealing the truth and fiction about this place... Let's listen to a couple of them, before jumping to our today's subject, if you don't mind...

 

Town of Cripple Creek

Cripple Creek is such a nice small town and we are already made a first round of walk there - Winter day in Cripple Creek.

As it said before, Cripple Creek is a great place to feel the spirit of an old mining town. And you can start even before reaching the town.