A Golden Fall - Until It Wasn't

It has been cool, but sunny and pleasant here in Denver up until now, as we experience our first snow of the season, and lately my sister Susan and I have been doing a lot of driving around the area, admiring the fall foliage.  We visited Golden, to the west of Denver and up against the foothills, the other day where I took the photograph above of Cleer Creek, a very popular spot for tubers in the summer months, although not so much these days. There was not a single tuber in sight. Clear Creek is also the water source for Coors beer. And if anyone is worried, I am pretty sure the water goes through some sort of process to take the tuber taste out of the product, although I could be wrong on that point. In any case, what with all the students back at the Colorado School of Mines and the many weekend visitors, Golden, whose moto is "Where the West Lives," has been pretty lively lately. Definitely a fun place to hang out.

Election Day 2024!

Today is election day, the day we have been fearing for almost 4 years. Will Donald Trump return to the White House and begin rounding up 20 million illegal immigrants, jailing his political enemies, and dismissing civil service workers, replacing them with Trump loyalists, or will Kamala Harris manage to pull off the win, resulting in claims of massive vote fraud and armed MAGA mobs rioting in the streets? Can you imagine something like this happening before Donald Trump appeared on the political scene, claiming Barack Obama was born in Kenya?  How did it come to this, anyway? What a long strange trip it's been. You can quote me on that, by the way. In any case, I did my part and dropped off four or five thousand ballots at the drop off box across the street from my condo here in Denver, as seen in the photograph above. Hope it's enough.

Coffee With Stuart At Starbucks

I had coffee yesterday afternoon with my friend Stuart at the Starbucks near the University of Denver. Both Stuart and I are alumni of DU, and I worked at the DU Bookstore for almost 30 years before it was outsourced to Follett Higher Education Group. And as you can see in the photograph above, Stuart is proudly wearing his DU jacket. Since Tuesday is election day, our conversation centered around Trump and Harris, and what their chances are of being elected president. Stuart feels that Harris will win, and that the polls showing them in a dead heat are wrong. I myself hope he is right, but I am convinced it will be a nailbiter, and if Trump does win, it will be a scary 4 years. One hopes that when push comes to shove, common sense will prevail at the ballot box, but it appears that half the country lacks that particular trait. We shall see what happens tomorrow. Or later in the week. Or perhaps many weeks? Stay tuned.

Watching Leeds Beat Plymouth With The Leeds United Colorado Fan Club

I went to the DNVR Bar here in Denver with my friend Mark yesterday morning to watch a soccer match between Leeds United and Plymouth Argyle with the Leeds United Colorado Fan Club. There were between 40 and 50 fans in attendance, quite a respectable turnout, and Leeds did not disappoint, scoring 3 goals in the first half and beating Plymouth 3-0. The game took place at Elland Road Stadium in Leeds, and the victory was the 8th in a row that Leeds either won or tied. They are currently in second place in the Championship League, and if they keep up this pace, they will return to the Premier League next year, England's top soccer association. It was a fun game, and everyone was very enthusiastic. The Leeds United Colorado Fan Club has 187 members, and that makes me wonder why so many people in Colorado are Leeds fans? They can't all be ex-pats, can they? In any case, I took the photograph above of Mark at the DNVR Bar during half-time. Mark has lots of friends in Leeds, and has visited there a number of times, and so I know why he is a Leeds fan. As for the others? Beats me.

The Day Of The Dead Meets First Friday

I went to the First Friday Art Walk on Santa Fe Drive here in Denver yesterday evening for the first time in quite a while. My first stop was at the Museo De Las Americas, which was holding its annual Dia De Muertos. I was hoping to see the Community Procession, but unfortunately, it ended before I got there. I also wanted to see the Catrina Costume Contest, which features an adult, youth, and child category, but was far too early (it began at 8:00, long past my bedtime). Fortunately, I ran into the couple in the photograph on the left out on the street, who graciously let me take their photograph, and so I was at least able to capture a bit of the Dia de los Muertos atmosphere. 

I did take a photograph at the entrance of the Museo De Las Americas, featuring a Dia de los Muertos exhibit, as seen in the photograph on the right.  Since it was at the entrance, everyone entering and exiting the building was walking right past it, making getting a good photo of it pretty tricky. There was finally a break in the action after about an hour or two, and so I was able to snap the photograph on the right. 

And, of course, the rest of the galleries on Santa Fe Drive were exhibiting non-Day-of-the-Dead art, including quite a few photographs, including at Gallery 6, a new Colorado photographic art collective that opened since the last time I was at First Friday. I also noticed that Spark, one of the major galleries on Santa Fe Drive, which has been in business for 45 years, has been replaced by D'art Gallery Denver, as seen in the photograph on the left. Evidently, Spark is planning to open in a new location soon. And I must say, a lot of the art and photographs on display at D'art were pretty damn good. Not that I was actually tempted to buy anything. As a confirmed cheapskate, I know that nothing is that good.

All Saints' Day (AKA All Hallows' Day)

Today is All Saint's Day (aka All Hallows' Day), a day that, depending on the religion, celebrates all the saints of the church or is a general commemoration of the dead. In Mexico and among people of Mexican heritage, November 1st and 2nd are celebrated as Dia de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead), where family and friends gather to pay respects and remember friends and family who have died. In honor of this day, I decided to use the photograph above of Columbia Cemetery up in Boulder. Biennially in even numbered years, Historic Boulder Inc. presents Meet the Spirits there, where volunteers dressed in period costumes portray departed permanent residents of the cemetery. This year's event took place Sunday, October 6th, and the Legendary Ladies (a women's performance group), Buffalo Soldiers, and the Denver Hearse Association made appearances, while Psychic Horizons! did psychic readings. Not only that, but the Sweet Cow Moo Mobile was there as well. This event has been going on since 1986, and somehow, I have missed them all. And it will be two years before I get another chance to attend. I just wonder if the Sweet Cow Moo Mobile will be back in 2026.

Happy Halloween!

Today is Halloween, a holiday very popular not only with kids, but these days, with adults, too. Here in Denver the big thing seems to be haunted houses, where the object is to scare the living hell out of you. For a price, of course. Looking on the internet, there seems to be dozens of these places around town. And, in addition to a lot of guided ghost tours, this being Denver and all, there are also several "Boos and Brews Haunted Pub Crawls," too. To me, it all seems pretty tiring, not to mention cold out there (I am, after all, feeling damn old these days). In my opinion, it would be best to do all your trick or treating down in Florida, where I took the photograph above years ago of my sister Susan and mother Mary at an arts and crafts show at Riverside Park, in Vero Beach. And no, we did not buy those two ghosts seen in the photograph. They actually wanted money for them. Go figure.