PICTURES - Union Train Station of my youth visit in 1962 - Capitol is iron dome covered with copper then gold - up in the dome with a group of school kids - the Colorado House Chamber in Capitol - - City Hall and Rockies from the Dome.
Lucky me - I am in Denver for a week to attend three library conventions. I know - it sounds so exciting. The ALA - AASL - ALISE are having their conventions back to back to save money on travel for the participants. One does not expect to have the greatest weather in Denver in January - but mother nature has rolled out the red carpet here. Yesterday - broke a 59-year record for high temperature. It was 72 degrees and bright sunny. Along with Tuesdays 71 - today is supposed to go over 70 too. After three straight days of 70s - it is supposed to drop down into the 40s and 30s for the rest of the week - but we are very happy so far.
Let me try to get this straight - ALA is the American Library Association - AASL is the American Association of School Librarians - and ALISE is the Association of Library and Information Science Educators. Lulu is active in all three groups and someone has nominated her to be president of AASL. She will be doing a little campaigning here this week - the election is April. As a school teacher I found conventions to be boring - but Lulu looks forward to these winter and summer meetings to see her friends and just "talk library." I get to do what I always do - carry her bags - and fetch breakfast. After that - my time is my own.
Denver is a pretty place. It is at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains - but most of the city is on the High Plains. It is very flat and a great place for all the bikes and motor scooters I see zooming around town. All over town they tout being one of the sunniest cities in the world with over 300 days of sunshine. Since we have been here it has been 3 out of 3. Also - it is a dry area - with relative humidity in the teens.
Downtown is modern with lots of neat places to eat - drink and shop. They have the neatest system on hybrid buses. They are quiet and non-smelly - and the best part is they are free. One comes every 90 seconds - you just hop on and go.
In the center of town is the Colorado State Capitol - a beautiful granite building with a big golden dome. Inside - it is the most ornate capitol I have seen so far. There is lots of local granite and some of the prettiest pink marble. The brass ornamentation is pretty - almost overdone. I was surprised at how open everything was. After going through the metal detector at the door - you could roam free. As a matter of fact - this is the only place where I ever walked right up into dome. At the top - all the doors and windows were open for some breathtaking views. Yesterday - I could easily see the airport - 30 miles away. The view of the snow-covered front range of the Rockies is beautiful - like a giant wall of snow and granite.
Lulu is very busy with meetings - but we plan to get up into the Rockies the last couple of days. Pikes Peak - world famous for its road all the way to the 14,000 foot summit - can be seen from town. Unfortunately - the cog railroad only runs on weekends in the winter - so Lulu will miss out on that. We plan to visit some small towns up in the mountains on Monday.
Elevation - yes Denver is called the Mile High City. There is a marker on the capitol steps showing 5280 feet above sea level. Most of the snowy areas are west of here where the towns are above 9000 feet. It is much colder up there and the snow sticks around all winter.
There is a town called Blackhawk at 8500 feet that is full of old fashioned buildings and casinos. Leave it to Lulu to find a virtually free bus ride to that town. We will be traveling with the daily slot machine pullers - it must run in the family.
In 1962 - a 14 year old boy scout traveled all the way from Tamaqua to Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. His train stopped in Denver where he toured a young more wild west type of town. The Union Station brought flashbacks of that wonderful trip. Other highlights of that trip included a night's stay at the YMCA in Colorado Springs and a bus ride to the top of Pikes Peak.
More pictures will follow - I have to get outside and enjoy some of this 70 degree weather. Who knows - by Friday we may be under two feet of snow. Oh well - in this dry almost desert air - it melts quickly.
Just 5 days ago - I was on the Gulf Coast of Florida watching the whooping cranes arrive in sub-freezing weather. Today - I am walking around Denver in shorts sleeves and balmy room temperature air. Al Gore was right.
1 comment:
There are some AASL meetings here, but they are part of ALA. AASL will be running their own convention in Charlotte in the fall. This is just ALISE and ALA. I know - like you could care!
Lulu
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