Summer in Denver, Colorado

1 BR apartment on Franklin Street in Denver

Having sold their New Jersey house in late June, Jake and Stone headed out to Colorado. They planned to rent a furnished apt in Denver for three months while they looked for a new home. Things happened quicker than anticipated, and by late July they had bought a new residence: a townhome in the Denver suburb of Littleton, Colorado.

Their new home needed some updating -- mainly a remodeled kitchen -- so while the updating was being done, they spent the rest of the summer, through September, in their Denver 1BR on Franklin Street, nicely located near the Denver Botanic Gardens and City Park Golf Course.

What follows is a not the usual narrative daily blog of their adventures, but a sort of pictorial, random blog of this Denver summer, with minimum narration. (Jake can almost hear the communal sigh of relief from his usually word-weary readers.) So, avanti!

• Their apartment is but a five minute walk, straight up Franklin Street, to the 81 acre Cheesman Park.

Chessman Park path in twilight

The park's classic pavilion (1908) sits upon the park's highest
point and provides views of the city and the distant mountains. 

• The 2017 summer in Denver was unusually hot during the afternoons. To escape the city heat Jake and Stone took several rides into the the nearby Rocky Mountain foothills. Two of their favorite towns were Morrison, about a 20 minute drive, and Conifer, about 40 minutes. 

Trout fishing in Bear Creek, Morrison, CO.
Morrison is very close to Golden and the Red Rocks Amphitheater.

The temp dropping for 92 in Denver (5,280 feet) to 77
in Conifer (8,277 feet) called for a special lunch celebration.
So our couple made their first stop ever at a Sonic drive-in.

Do all Sonics have a view like this?

• The southwesterly drive from Denver to Buena Vista on US 285 provided Jake and Stone with a very scenic two hour trip. "BV," as many natives call their hometown, is a HQ for white-water rafting on the Arkansas River. However, our twosome declined such adventures and enjoyed instead a two-night stay of golf, hot springs, and river walks.

US 285 out of Denver toward Buena Vista, CO

Mount Princeton Hot Springs Pool near Buena Vista, CO

Along the Arkansas River, Buena Vista, CO

Sunrise on the Presidential Peaks, Buena Vista, CO

Par 3 at Collegiate Peaks GC, Buena Vista, CO

Tight Tee Shot at Collegiate Peaks GC

Cottonwood Creek at Collegiate GC flows into
the Arkansas River, less than two miles from the golf course.

• From their apt on Franklin Street, Jake could walk (with his clubs and hand cart) the 1.5 miles to Denver's City Park Golf Course. On his way, the sunrise often highlighted St. Ignatius.

St. Ignatius Church on York Street, Denver

A City View from City Park GC, Denver

A Mountain View from City Park GC, Denver

• Jake and Stone's Denver 1BR reminded them of their Manhattan 1BR apt in Gramercy Park where they lived for most of the '80s. Both buildings are over 100 years old and are redolent of a bygone era.  

The stairway of their 2nd floor Denver apt,
complete with "Lucky," a neighbor's black cat. 

• The little mountain town of Evergreen is a favorite day trip destination for Denverites. Trails, a lake, and a 9-hole golf course. Sadly, the latter was too busy on this summer's day for Jake to walk-on, but brunch with Stone at the Wildflower Cafe was more than sufficient consolation.

When Evergreen Lake freezes, it provides some of the
most scenic ice skating in the world. 

• Several days of Jake and Stone's "Summer in Denver" were spent in Maine. In mid July Jake's favorite niece got married at Hog Island Audubon Camp near Bremen Maine, and our couple flew back east for the big event. The two day wedding of Emily and Eva was unique beyond just its venue, wonderful in all the ways a wedding should be, and most memorable to everyone lucky enough to be there.

The Audubon camp seen from the mainland boat launch.

The happy brides.

Father and uncle of Emily.

The end of a wedding day.
The beginning of a life together.

• The Denver Botantic Gardens are the third most visited gardens in America. (The US Botantic Gardens in Washington, DC, and the Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania are numbers 1 and 2, respectively.)  The Denver gardens are next door to Cheesman Park, so Jake and Stone can walk there from their apt in about 20 minutes. As dedicated readers of this blog know (all half-dozen of them), our couple are avid botanic gardens visitors, so it is no surprise they became members of the Denver Gardens. 

Stone got this shot of a hummingbird having
a nectar breakfast at the gardens.

The Monet Pool at the Denver Botantic Gardens.

Dale Chihuly's "Colorado" glass sculpture at the gardens.

• After their furniture is delivered to their new home in mid-September, they will spend the ensuing two weeks moving into their new, permanent home in the community of Columbine Lakes in Littleton, Colorado.  (Click here for a Google panorama shot.)

Columbine Lakes as seen from the Columbine Bike Path

Other Places