Late Summer In Golden

It has been hot as hell here in Colorado, as has been the case for most of the West, and so even on a weekday afternoon people are still tubing down Clear Creek in Golden, not to mention wading in it, too. I suspect many are students at the Colorado School of Mines, which is back in session, keeping the town pretty lively after the end of tourist season. I took the photograph on the left as I was crossing the Washington Street Bridge over the creek, heading into downtown Golden.

In addition to tubing down the river, there were people walking along Clear Creek trail, enjoying the day. There were not too many people in the Golden Historical Park, however, where I took the photograph on the right. This wagon made my sister Susan reminisce about the time she and our mother Mary lived with our grandparents on East 85th place on the South Side of Chicago during World War II, when my father was in the army and overseas. Susan told me how there would be people going down the alley behind the apartment building in horse-drawn wagons just like this one, selling all kinds of different things to people in the neighborhood. Talk about a different era. Now THAT was a long time ago.

On the way back to the car, we passed the Golden City Brewery, which advertises itself as Golden's second largest brewery. It is located in the backyard of the house in the photograph on the left, which was built in 1879 for a member of the Colorado Territorial legislature, which met just down the street in a room over a bar before Colorado became a state. The bar is still there, although the territorial capitol was soon moved to Denver through political shenanigans, thus leaving Golden a charming and historic small town. It all turned out for the best, in my opinion. Especially if you are lucky enough to live here.