Wieners On Wynkoop!

This past Saturday I went down to Denver's Union Station, located on Wynkoop Street, for "Wieners on Wynkoop," which took place in front of the Terminal Bar patio. This event was to feature dachshund races, a costume contest, live music, as well as other activities, and was sponsored by the German Culture Foundation and Mile High Dachshunds Rescue. All the festivities were to take place between 12:00 and 4:00. I was especially interested in the dachshund races, which were to consist of groups of four dogs competing in individual heats, with the winners racing in a final heat for the championship. I understand that bet365 and BETMGM are really big into dachshund racing these days, and I figured that if I could observe the winners of the individual heats, I could determine which wiener would win the championship and make a fortune by betting on both apps. But alas, the races had ended by the time I arrived, and only the costume contest was still going on, as seen in the photograph on the left.

Since I arrived in the middle of the contest, I did not understand which dog won what, only that the crowd on the patio applauded enthusiastically after each award. And by the way, the Terminal Bar, in addition to having a regular bar and dining area, also serves drinks out of what used to be the train station's old ticket window, and after purchasing a drink there, people can sit at tables, desks, chairs or couches throughout the station's Great Hall. Which is very popular with Denver's hipster community. This bar is named after the original Terminal Bar, which was located just down the block on 17th Street, and operated from the 1930s to the late 1970s. It catered to workers coming off shifts at Union Station and the Terminal Annex Post Office and was known for its rough reputation. Jack Kerouac used to drink there when he lived in Denver and at one time allegedly had a room on the second floor. The building is now home to Jax Fish House and Oyster Bar, as seen in the photograph on the right, which shows people standing at the door waiting to get in and, no doubt, order some sushi (i.e. raw fish). Yum! By the way, Jack Kerouac liked Denver so much he bought a ranch house in suburban Lakewood and invited his whole family to come out from New York City and join him there. All of whom soon went back to New York after getting a look at Lakewood. Shortly after that Kerouac sold the house and moved to San Francisco. A wise move indeed.

Attending The 3rd Annual Fall Arts Invitational At Cheesman Park

My sister Susan and I attended the Fall Arts Invitational at Denver's Cheesman Park yesterday afternoon, and we both thoroughly enjoyed it. Cheesman Park has a major annual art show during the summer, which has been named one of the top 100 shows of the decade, while the fall show is sponsored by a company called Colorado Art Weekend, which hosts a dozen of these shows throughout Colorado, and so I was not expecting this fall show to be as impressive as it was. And yet there were over 120 Colorado and nationally touring artists displaying their work. 

Cheesman Park is very beautiful, a wonderful place to host an art show. It was originally a cemetery, and the process of converting it from a cemetery to a park did not go well. The city hired an undertaker to provide a fresh box for each body and move them to Riverside Cemetery, just to the north of Denver, for $1.90 each. However, he began to chop up the bodies and put them into 3 smaller boxes to make more money. When this was discovered, the city fired him and decided to let the remaining bodies stay where they were. And not surprisingly, the spirits were not pleased. There are numerous tales of ghostly sightings after dark in this park. You can find an interesting account of the park's history at https://www.legendsofamerica.com/co-cheesemanpark/. In any case, it was a pleasant day and not too hot, and neither Susan nor I felt or saw a single ghost. Although I would strongly advise against strolling around the grounds on Halloween. Better safe than sorry.

There was a large variety of art at the festival, which included paintings, jewelry, ceramics, sculpture, and many other art forms, including photography. Most of the photography booths featured Colorado and western landscapes, although I did see one booth with photographs of Chicago and several with European scenes. There were also several photographers featuring wildlife photographs, including Matthew Ross, whose work I thought was especially good. You can check out his photographs at https://www.mrossphotography.com/. All in all, a very nice way to spend a pleasant fall afternoon.

First Friday! Still Going Strong!

This past Friday my sister Susan and I, long with our friend Susan L, who lives in our building, drove down to the Santa Fe Art District on Santa Fe Drive here in Denver to attend the First Friday Art Walk. It has been quite a while, perhaps as long as 3 years, since I last attended this event. However, Susan L. had me beat - it has been 15 years since she last attended First Friday, back when she was living in the area. In any case, we parked just to the north of the district, and the first thing we saw was some sort of acrobatics show going on, as seen in the photograph on the left, which I definitely don't remember from the last time I was there. It was kind of interesting in a boring kind of way, but we soon moved on to the Santa Fe Art District proper, which was jampacked with people. Navigating through the crowds on the narrow sidewalks was quite the challenge. 

The first gallery we stopped at was the Center for Visual Art, which is run by Metropolitan State University. I always stop at this gallery because it has a fairly large exhibition space and is the first gallery you pass when coming from the north. It features works by local and international artists, as well as MSU students. The art on display is almost always what we art fanciers call "just plain weird." The current exhibit is called "Sequesterings," and features works made from unwanted materials, making a statement about our throwaway culture. And as usual, the art was very weird indeed, a sample of which can be seen in the photograph on the right. What they are I cannot tell you. Neither my sister nor Susan L. were taken with the work, and so we hurried on to the next venue.

That next venue was SYNC Gallery, which was hosting an exhibition called "Being on Earth," featuring the work of Clare Scott and Monica Hokeilen. Scott works in pastels and her paintings feature landscapes and figures that express the "wonder, beauty, and common humanity" here on earth. And they are quite good. Hokeilen's oil paintings feature the wildlife found in the Rocky Mountain region and are also very good. The photograph on the left shows Susan L, on the left, talking to Monica Hokeilen, on the right, about one of her paintings. Clare Scott is standing right behind Susan, looking on. The next gallery we visited was the Niza Knoll Gallery, which was hosting an exhibition called "The Mix, One," featuring their in-house artists, one of whom was photographer Jerry Scezney, whose photographs are very good indeed. From there we visited a number of other galleries, but we all agreed that the best part of the evening was the peoplewatching. I must say I have never seen such a wide variety of people anywhere else in Denver. But then again, I don't get out much in the evenings these days, which might explain a lot.

The October Mutts Of The Month

I took the photograph above of this month's Mutts of the Month at the 2026 Colorado English Motoring Conclave at Oak Park in Arvada, Colorado, just to the northwest of Denver. The conclave took place this past September 20th and had over 500 British cars and bikes on display. Not only was it fun to look at all the cars, but everyone there was very friendly, including their dogs, of which there were many, including those two in the photo. They were both rushing to greet me, but the owner pulled them back and they all headed in the opposite direction. I guess they preferred to remain anonymous. But at least I got the photo.

Discussing The Baseball Playoffs With Stuart Over Lunch And Coffee

I had lunch yesterday afternoon at QDOBA Mexican Eats with my friend Stuart, seen in the photograph on the left, followed up with coffee at Starbucks. And the talk naturally turned to the National and American League Wild Card Series, in which both the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Cubs were playing. Stuart, as regular blog readers know, is originally from the North Side of Chicago and a Cubs fan, while I am from the South Side Brainerd neighborhood and a White Sox fan. And the National League Wild Card series did not work out so well for the Cubs. They lost 8-0 to the San Diego Padres in the first game and 4-1 in the second, managing only one run during the series. Of course, both teams were pretty equally matched, and so it was expected to be a tossup who won, but what was surprising was how poorly the Cubs played. Stuart simply said that the Cubs "stunk up the field," and left it at that. But I think in their hearts, all Cubs fans knew that such an end to the season was inevitable. And so, as they say at the end of almost every baseball season, "wait until next year, Cubs fans."

On the other hand, my South Side heroes, the Chicago White Sox, beat the Houston Astros 6-3 in the first game and 7-3 in the second, and will face the Cleveland Guardians in the American League Division Series starting tomorrow afternoon. The Guardians won the AL Central Division title over the White Sox by a single game, and so both teams are also evenly matched. Either could win the series and move on to the American League Championship Series, which determines who goes to the World Series. If the White Sox get to play in the Championship Series, their season will have been a tremendous success after coming off two consecutive 100 loss seasons. Even if they lose to Cleveland in the Division Series, they still will have had a great season after setting the Major League record of 121 losses just two years ago. And so, thanks again Pope Leo! And by the way, the photograph on the right is of the last game of the regular season between the White Sox and my adopted hometown team, the Colorado Rockies, which the White Sox won. I was not able to watch the White Sox play in the Division Series since it was on Peacock, which I do not get at home. In the good old days, the games would have been on regular television, and everyone could have watched it. But no longer. As humorist and travel writer Bill Bryson says, "life keeps getting shi**ier." But enough complaining. Go White Sox!

University Of Denver Homecoming Is Approaching: Alumni, Bring Your Checkbooks!

I took a walk around the University of Denver campus the other day, and it is looking very pretty. Homecoming will be taking place October 19th through the 24th this year, less than 3 weeks away, and the university really tries to make the campus look it's best when all the alumni return to campus. With the decrease in students which DU has experienced due to enrollment declines, fewer international students, and long-term demographic trends, resulting in a $30 million budget deficit last year, DU will be needing those alumni and their donations more than ever. Be prepared for a major sales pitch, people! The building in the background of the photo on the left, by the way, is Mary Reed Hall, where the Vice Chancellor of Business and Finance had his office when I worked at the DU Bookstore as the Finance Manager, before the store was outsourced. The store's management team would meet with him there every quarter to discuss the store's financial results. He retired from DU a number of years ago and these days is probably damn glad he did. 

I went to the Homecoming Pregame Party the year before last and enjoyed it very much. I didn't recognize anyone I knew, either from when I worked at the bookstore or when I was taking classes to earn my MBA, but still enjoyed the atmosphere. Everyone was in good spirits, having a great time and looking forward to the hockey game that Saturday night. DU does not have a football team, and so the big game everyone attends is the hockey match, this year against Boston College. The university eliminated football after the 1960 season for financial reasons. The clothing buyer at the bookstore had a T-shirt made that said, "University of Denver Football, Undefeated Since 1961," which became a top seller. I wish I had bought one when I had the chance. I am hoping to attend this year's Homecoming Pregame Pary with my friend Stuart, who is also a DU alum, but am not planning to make a donation to the school. I feel that working there for almost 30 years and then being outsourced is enough of a donation, despite their financial struggles. On the other hand, I will strongly encourage my friend Stuart to give a big-time donation to dear old DU, despite his mixed feelings about the school. Just open up that checkbook, Stuart! It's tax deductible, after all.

The Union Station Farmers Market - A Venue For Denver's Hipsters?

On the way to Oktoberfest in Denver's Ballpark neighborhood this past Saturday, I walked through the Union Station Farmers Market, which takes place in front of Denver's Union Station every Saturday and Sunday between May 31st and October 26th. It has been a while since I have perused this market and have forgotten how much fun it is. To be honest, I have seen very little produce at this market. It is more about clothing, gifts, crafts, gizmos, and everything else that appeals to the urban hipsters that frequent Denver's Lower Downtown (LoDo) neighborhood. And I suspect produce is not at the top of the list. No doubt dinner will be at either one of the local hotspots that populate the area or a DoorDash delivery to their upscale apartment. And by the way, Union Station was built in 1881 and was once a major transportation hub. It underwent a renovation back in 2014 that turned it into a shopping, dining, and cultural destination, appealing to those same hipsters shopping at the Farmer's Market out front. But it still remains the main transportation hub for buses, light rail trains, and Amtrak service to Chicago and San Francisco, two cities also very appealing to hipsters, although I suspect you won't find them on Amtrak's California Zephyr anytime soon. I imagine an overnight, high-speed trip in their BMW or Porsche to either of those cities is more their style. Anyway, that's the way I would do it.