Leaf-Peeper Madness

It was a pretty frustrating weekend for many people who drove up from Denver to the mountains to see the leaves changing. The most popular destination was Guanella Pass, whose north entrance is located in Georgetown, located about 45 minutes west of Denver. The traffic there was so bad that state police had to turn cars away at the entrance to the town, explaining that it was overwhelmed. In my opinion, a lot of this problem was caused by the local news media. Both the newspapers and television newscasts seemed to focus on Guanella Pass as THE place to see the best colors, and that this past weekend the trees would be at their peak. And so basically, the entire state drove up there Saturday and Sunday, with obvious results. Another hotspot was Kenosha Pass, which is located southwest of Denver on Highway 285. I saw a photograph of it from last weekend, and it looked like there was a line of traffic that stretched for miles. Not at all a relaxing day in the mountains, I would suspect.

What many people, perhaps newcomers, do not seem to realize is that the Colorado mountains make up a huge area of the state, and there are many places to see the leaves change color without having to sit in traffic the entire time. Mount Blue Sky (formerly Mount Evans) is just a short drive from Denver, and there are a number of different roads people can take to see those golden aspens. From Evergreen you can drive up a twisting Witter Gulch Road and hardly see another car on the road, even on a weekend. But you will see plenty of aspens. The road ends at Highway 103. You can then take a left and head up toward the top of Mount Blue Sky or take a right back down to Evergreen and see great stands of colorful trees either way. And that's exactly what I did this past Saturday, where I took the two photographs seen on this blog. Of course, if you happen to be retired, you can drive up to the mountains on a weekday and go wherever the hell you want, which is the method I choose to use. Works for me.

The Final Day Of Baseball's Regular Season

Yesterday was the final day of baseball's regular season, and my South Side heroes, the Chicago White Sox, finished the season in style, beating the Washington Nationals 8-0, with Shane Smith and several relievers pitching a one-hitter. The Sox finished with a 60-102 record, which is nothing to brag about, but far better than last year, when they set the record for the worst team in the history of baseball, losing 121 games. Happily, there were a number of promising rookies on the team this year, which could mean the Sox might return to the playoffs sooner than many expect. Meanwhile, my adopted hometown team, the Colorado Rockies, finished the season losing to the San Francisco Giants 4-0, with a 43-119 record, three losses shy of taking the title of worst team in history from the White Sox. I was secretly hoping the Rockies might do just that, taking that badge of shame from the Sox, but it was not to be. In any case, considering that Rockies management consists of pals and sons of the owner, with little baseball expertise, the Rockies future does not look quite as rosy. As for the White Sox's North Side rivals, the Chicago Cubs, they are in the playoffs, finishing with a record of 92-70, and will be playing against the San Diego Padres in the National League Wildcard Series at Wrigley Field starting tomorrow afternoon. And will the Cubs go deep into the playoffs this year? Possibly. But still, on the other hand, they are the Cubs, after all.

A Tale Of Two Cities, Colorado Style

Central City, located in the mountains 38 miles west of Denver, is an historic gold mining town founded in 1859, and along with the adjacent city of Black Hawk, they form the Central City/Black Hawk Historic District. They both started out as boom towns, but gold mining rapidly decreased in the area between 1900 and 1920, and by the 1950s the combined population of both towns was only a few hundred. And they were still sleepy mountain hamlets when I moved to Denver back in 1981. However, gambling was introduced in both towns in the early 1990s to revive their economies, and while Black Hawk has thrived, Central City still continues to languish. The big reason for this is that Black Hawk allowed huge casinos to be built within its city limits, turning it into a mini–Las Vegas, while Central City limited building heights to 53 feet, "so as not to overshadow the town's historic buildings." The result is that these days, Black Hawk earns seven times the gambling revenue of Central City. On the plus side, Central City, seen in the photograph above, still retains its 19th Century charm, with an intact Victorian downtown and many beautiful 19th Century homes. Sadly, the town has now lifted height restrictions for vacant property, which of course could destroy the town's character. So far, no new casinos have been built, which to me is a very good thing. Black Hawk's character was destroyed years ago, and so I say keep building those huge casinos there and leave Central City the hell alone.

Free Day At The Denver Botanic Gardens!

Both yesterday and today the Fall Plant and Bulb Sale is taking place at the Denver Botanic Gardens. I know nothing about plants or gardening and have no idea what you are supposed to do with either bulbs or plants in the fall. But what I do know is that admission is free when the Denver Botanic Gardens has a plant sale. And free, as regular blog readers know, is my favorite price point. Therefore, I ordered tickets online, downloaded them to my phone (which I still find annoying, I might add), and my sister Susan and I spent part of yesterday afternoon looking at the gardens. Which I must admit are very beautiful. Both Susan and I really enjoyed our visit there.

However, I can never get it out of my head that the Denver Botanic Gardens and adjoining Cheesman Park were once a cemetery. As development in Denver began to move east of downtown, it was determined that Denver City Cemetery, which opened in 1858, should be turned into a park as an amenity for the new residents. And so, the city hired someone to move the bodies to Riverside Cemetery, located north of the city, and in 1907 Cheeseman Park, and eventually the Denver Botanic Gardens, came into existence. The problem was that the city decided to pay the contractor they hired by the coffin. And so, he decided to cut up the bodies and divide the remains among a lot more coffins. When this was discovered, he was fired, and the remaining bodies were left where they were. Which is why every so often gardeners at the Denver Botanic Gardens unearth human bones, and also the reason there are numerous reports of ghosts wandering the grounds at night. Which is why I have avoided the Denver Botanic Gardens Blossoms of Lights event that takes place after dark during the holiday season. Those spirits must still be pretty pissed. Why take the chance?

Enjoy Meandering The Streets Of Breckenridge, But Mind The Meters

Breckenridge is a great place to visit, and I just love walking up and down Main Street, which is filled with 19th Century homes and commercial buildings, such as the one in the photograph on the left. And there are flowers and trees everywhere in that town. But make sure you pay for parking. They are pretty vigilant up there. When my sister Susan and I drove up for Oktoberfest, I paid for parking at the payment station and again at a different station when we decided to have lunch at the Gold Pan Saloon. When we returned to the car, the parking guy was scrutinizing the receipts on the dash, which showed we paid but was not in his system, due to the fact that I paid on a different block. All was well, since I printed out the receipts and put them on the dash, but I was pretty impressed with how closely they monitored the parking. When we drove down Main Street in Breckenridge just a few days ago on our way to Boreas Pass Road to check out the colors, I saw the same guy, ever vigilant, going from car to car. Talk about dedication. The moral of the story: always leave the receipt on the dash, even if it is optional. Never, and I mean NEVER, trust technology.

In any case, the Gold Pan Saloon, seen in the photograph on the right, started at that site as a tented structure called Long's Saloon back in 1861, with the permanent building erected in1879. In fact, this bar and restaurant has the longest continuous liquor license west of the Mississippi, which is saying something. The place was fairly empty when we arrived, but soon filled up with both visitors and locals. And was everyone there celebrating Oktoberfest, dressed in traditional Bavarian costumes? No - they were watching the Denver Broncos play the San Diego Chargers on the television. And of course, the Broncos lost to the Chargers at the very last second. Makes you want to head back to your remote cabin in the mountains and never return, doesn't it? At least until the following Sunday, when the Broncos play again. That's Colorado for you.

The Aspens Are At Peak Color On Boreas Pass

I drove up to Breckenridge from Denver yesterday afternoon, and from there to Boreas Pass Road to take some photographs of the aspens. The mountains had their first significant snowfall of the season on Tuesday, and I suspected that the trees, now at their peak color, would be fading at that altitude pretty soon. A few years ago, I made the mistake of driving up there at the beginning of October and didn't find a single leaf in sight. Boreas Pass is my favorite spot to take photographs in the fall because, in addition to so many colorful aspens, there are numerous places you can actually pull off the road and get out of the car, instead of having to take those photos on the fly out your car window. 

The most popular spot for "leaf peeping" in the central Colorado mountains is Guanella Pass, which is accessed from Georgetown, Colorado on its northern end. Unfortunately, tens of thousands of visitors take this route when the aspens hit their peak color, and traffic is a nightmare. Slow-moving traffic and illegal parking plagued the road last fall. It is a two-lane road, with nowhere to park except along the shoulders, which makes navigating your car through that mess very difficult. That does not make for a pleasant afternoon.

But I must say I was surprised by the number of cars on Boreas Pass yesterday, considering it was a weekday afternoon. I guess great minds think alike. God knows what it will be like this weekend. In any case, there were still plenty of places to pull over and not obstruct traffic, and so it made for a very pleasant day. To be honest, most of the photographs I take on Boreas Pass probably look the same as the ones I took last year. Roddy, my old photography professor, says that he doesn't like aspen photographs because they do indeed all look the same to him. But still, they are pretty, and it just feels great to wander among those trees on a sunny fall day. And best of all, down in Breckenridge, the trees have not yet turned, and so in a week or so I can head back up there and take even more fall photographs. Perfect!

Reading About Robert J.R. Follett In The Summit Daily

When I was in Breckenridge the Sunday before last, I picked up the weekend edition of the Summit Daily, a free newspaper covering all the news in Summit County, Colorado. It was only yesterday that I finally went through it and saw an obituary for Robert J.R. Follett. He retired as Chairman of the Board of Follett Corporation, a textbook wholesaler and operator of college bookstores, in 1994, and with his wife Nancy moved from Oak Park, Illinois to Keystone, which is located in Summit County.  I am pretty sure he and his wife were at the grand opening of the Follett-run University of Denver Bookstore, where I worked for a year after it was outsourced by DU, back in 2012. Since they lived relatively close to Denver, I suspect they came to the opening to represent the family. The article in the Summit Daily stated that Follett was most involved with Follett Publishing Company, publishing 1,000 textbooks during his tenure. This publishing division was sold by the company back in 1983. I remember the Vice Chancellor of Finance for DU gave a grand speech that day about what great things Follett would do to serve the students, when in actuality it was just a way to guarantee a revenue stream for 7 years and brag to the Board of Trustees that they were able eliminate 20 or so full-time positions. After retirement, Follett founded and became the first president of the Keystone Citizens League, served on a number of boards and commissions in Summit County, and donated to various local charities, evidently a civic-minded citizen who left Follett Corporation before the textbook went the way of the dodo bird. And by the way, Charles M. Barnes, who founded the company in Wheaton, Illinois back in 1873 and sold it to C.W. Follett in 1923, moved to New York where he partnered with G. Clifford Noble to start Barnes and Noble. Follett and Barnes and Noble, of course, are the only remaining major operators of college bookstores. Pretty interesting, no?

The First Full Day Of Fall

Today is the first full day of fall, and appropriately enough, it feels like it here in the Denver area. Fall arrived at 12:19 P.M. yesterday afternoon, and almost immediately, the temperature dropped, the winds picked up, the rains began, and the weather forecasters were predicting 3 to 8 inches of snow above elevations of 9,000 feet. Just for fun, I drove up to the Evergreen area yesterday and noticed that the elk were hanging out at their favorite wintertime spot, the Evergreen Golf Course, as seen in the photograph above. It started raining as I was taking that photo, and I couldn't help but notice that neither the elk nor the golfers seemed to care. No wonder they get along so well together.

Attending The Colorado Rockies Final Home Game Of the Season

I attended the final Colorado Rockies home game of the season with my friend Mark and sister Susan - seen in the photograph on the left - yesterday afternoon at Coors Field, and the Rockies actually won, beating the Los Angeles Angels 3-1. Of course, the Angels are not exactly world-beaters, currently 16 games under .500, but a win is a win. And the Rockies played pretty good baseball. Kyle Freeland worked 6 innings and allowed just 1 run on 5 hits. Now if he could just do that every game...

Since this was the final game at home, the Rockies players and coaches took their traditional walk around the ballpark to thank fans for their support, and I was impressed with the number of players who actually took the time to greet the fans up close, such as Victor Vodnik, who earned his 10th save of the season in the 9th inning and can be seen greeting fans in the seating area under the mechanical scoreboard, which shows, to my dismay, that my South Side heroes, the Chicago White Sox, lost to the San Diego Padres 3 to 2. Just wait until next year, guys!

I was especially impressed to see Mickey Moniak, who has had a very good season this year, reaching up to shake hands with every fan in the outfield, as seen in the photograph on the left. Moniak has hit 24 home runs so far this year, with a .272 average. His fellow outfielder, Jorden Beck, was also out there greeting the fans, and as we were leaving the stadium, I saw infielder Ryan Ritter still out in right field signing autographs. It is nice that there are still players in baseball that take the time to mix with the fans, who, when you get right down to it, are the ones who are actually paying their salaries. See you next season, guys!

Denver Oktoberfest Is Here!

I went down to the Ballpark neighborhood here in Denver early yesterday afternoon to check out the 55th annual Denver Oktoberfest. And yes! This is the 4th Oktoberfest I have attended over the past week, if you happen to be counting. But according to Westword, a popular weekly newspaper, this is one of the biggest and best attended Oktoberfests in the nation. It used to take place in Denver's Larimer Square, which I remember very fondly, but later moved to the Ballpark neighborhood. At first this seemed like a bit of a downgrade, but as the neighborhood became hipper, it became more popular, especially with all the younger residents now living in the area.

The big crowds show up on Friday and Saturday nights, but attending in the afternoon, in addition to a much calmer atmosphere, it is also much easier to find a close-in parking spot. In addition to stein hoisting, live music, keg bowling, and costume contests, there are plenty of food booths selling traditional German foods such as Das Turkey Legs, Bada Bing Burgers, and Diablo Dogs. And there is, of course, German beer. If you want a commemorative Denver Oktoberfest stein, it will set you back $40. Thank you, but no thanks. I looked the festival up online and saw that if you buy a VIP ticket, which costs $200 (with taxes and fees) for a single Saturday, you can get one of those steins with unlimited beer and wine, 2 Jägermeister shots, and unlimited German lunch, dinner, and snacks. But is that really a positive? My head already hurts just thinking about it. In any case, the photograph on the right shows two lederhosen clad festival goers at a wine booth, with, since this is the Ballpark neighborhood, Denver's Coors Field in the background.

At the festival, I watched a costume contest, "epic" keg bowling, and competitive stein hoisting, as seen in the photograph on the left. And to be perfectly honest, I was a bit underwhelmed with all three events. Perhaps it is more exciting if you have a couple of beers, but I didn't want to stay and find out. In any case, Denver Oktoberfest continues today and next weekend as well. And as an added bonus, next week the stein hoisting finals will be taking place! Be sure to buy those VIP tickets today!

The September Mutt Of The Month

I took the photograph above of this month's Mutt of the Month outside the Eugene Field Branch of the Denver Public Library, which was built back in 1970. The original Eugene Field Library was located in the former home of Eugene Field, most famous for writing the children's poem "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod," which he and his family lived in when he moved to Denver in 1881 to become editor of the Denver Tribune. The house was built around 1875 and located on West Colfax Avenue in Denver. When it was threatened with demolition in 1930, none other than the "unsinkable" Molly Brown of Titanic fame paid to have the house moved to nearby Washington Park, where it served as a branch library for four decades. I took the time to greet the dog and explain all this to it, and it listened with rapt attention, as you can tell from the photo. No doubt a history buff at heart. I am sure it will check that house out the next time it goes for a walk with its owner in Wash Park. What a remarkable dog.

Discussing Baseball With Stuart As The Season Winds Down

I had lunch with my friend Stuart yesterday afternoon on the patio of Qudoba Mexican Eats on South Colorado Boulevard here in Denver. Nothing like dining outdoors with a view of the traffic going past the Native Roots Marijuana Dispensary across the street. The talk naturally turned to baseball, focusing on the state of our respective teams as the season winds down. The day before, Stuart's team, the Chicago Cubs, clinched a playoff spot for the first time in 5 years. Stuart, who grew up on the North Side of Chicago, was understandably happy about that, and having the third best record in the National League, he feels the Cubs should be able to play deep into the playoffs. But on the other hand, they are the Cubs, after all. I myself am originally from the South Side of Chicago, and my South Side heroes, the Chicago White Sox, have not done quite as well this year. They currently have the worst record in the American League. However, the White Sox are rebuilding with a number of promising rookies and since the All-Star break have given signs that they might soon once again be a contender. As for our adopted hometown team, the Colorado Rockies, they just set the National League record for losses and are 1-9 over their last 10 games. And with an owner who prefers to run the team with friends and relatives who know nothing about baseball, the future does not look too bright. And by the way, tearing ourselves away from the rarified atmosphere of Qudoba, we adjourned to the Starbucks near the University of Denver, where I took the above photograph. The conversation there centered on DU, a whole different kettle of fish. The bottom line: Stuart, a DU alum, is not sending them a donation anytime soon.

Baby Goat Night At New Terrain Brewing Company

Last night was Baby Goat Night at New Terrain Brewing Company in Golden, Colorado, and the place was packed. I knew it would be, since a line of cars were parked on the street beginning a mile away from the place. I dropped my sister Susan and our friend from the 10th floor of our condo building, also named Susan, at the entrance to New Terrain, and went off to look for a parking spot. I finally found one on the street near the Utah border and walked back to the beer garden, where there was a long line to enter the compound where 10 or so baby goats were mixing with the crowd.

This was a very family friendly event. In fact, I have never seen so many young children at New Terrain in my life. And virtually all of the people in line to pet, hug, or even lift up a baby goat were parents and their children, who were loving every minute of it.  The problem for me was that there were so many people and goats in the compound, moving all over the place, that it was hard to get a decent photograph. However, I was able to take the photograph on the right of a woman evidently giving a goat a face massage. And why the hell not?

I wound up going back to that compound three times to try and get photographs that were actually in focus. Fortunately, one of the people supervising the event had a bag of food, and several of the goats made a beeline for her, patiently waiting for some goodies, as seen in the photograph on the left. And by the way, as far as I could tell, even though this was being held at a beer garden, I did not see any of the goats being given any beer, although after the event was over, I imagine they might all need a pint or two.

It was a cool evening, and it started to rain as we drove up to New Terrain from Denver, but fortunately, it stopped as we arrived. And the weather did not seem to bother the crowd at all. As for us, we were able to snag a table inside, where we each had a beer and some dinner from a food truck. My sister wanted to know if it would be possible to keep a goat in my condo. And I guess, technically, the HOA probably does not specifically forbid having a goat in its rules and regulations, but I will have to doublecheck with the building manager before I start throwing straw on the concrete balcony. Does a new adventure await? Perfect!

Meandering Through Boulder On A Monday Afternoon

I drove up to Boulder this past Monday afternoon to just walk around and enjoy the ambiance of that remarkable city. Before parking on West Pearl Street, I drove through the Mapleton Hill neighborhood, one of Boulder's oldest and filled with 19th century homes. Some of them have views such as the one in the photograph on the left that I took on Mountain View Road. And this is all just a few short blocks from the Pearl Street Mall, which is the heart and soul of Boulder.

The Pearl Street Mall was a pretty mellow place that afternoon, but there were still people on the restaurant patios and in the bookstores, with others just hanging out on benches enjoying the day. No matter when you are there, Boulder seems to have a special energy about it that makes you feel like this is the place to be. I think the presence of the University of Colorado, with its 30,000 students, has a lot to do with it. There was a line out the door at Trident Booksellers and Cafe when I walked past, and there are always people checking out the Boulder Bookstore a few blocks away on the mall. You have to love a city that loves books.

Just past the mall on East Pearl Street, two people were sitting outside a coffee shop along with a dog that was more than happy to pose for a photograph, and just beyond there were a fair number of people on the patio of the Mountain Sun Pub and Brewery, as seen in the photograph on the left. The Mountain Sun has been around since 1993, and since then the owner has added three additional brew pubs, including the Vine Street Pub and Brewery on East 17th Street in Denver. I remember going there once for dinner with my friend Stuart, and after we each ordered a beer, found out that they only took cash. We desperately scrapped together the money for those beers to avoid having to work in the kitchen and left to find a restaurant that took credit cards. When the Vine Street Pub reopened after the pandemic, they finally began accepting credit cards, and I assume that is the case for the Mountain Sun Pub and the other locations. Thank God for that. As usual, it was a fun and relaxing day up in Boulder, and definitely worth the 45-minute drive from Denver. If you can't afford to live there, visiting for a few hours is the next best thing.

More Oktoberfests Than You Can Shake A Stick At

This past weekend, in addition to attending the Breckenridge Oktoberfest, I attended Oktoberfest celebrations in Denver's Highlands and Platte Park neighborhoods, too. It seems Oktoberfests here in Colorado are multiplying like rabbits. The celebration in the Highlands, one of Denver's oldest neighborhoods, only started last year, and I remember I was not impressed with it. It was far smaller than their annual street festival and lacked both vendors and activities. This year, however, the festival has grown exponentially, and unlike last year, was very well attended, as seen in the photograph on the left. I think the main way people learn about these festivals are the signs promoting it on the street, and so I suppose it took a year for word to spread through the community about it. I myself definitely plan to attend next year, too.

A street sign is how I found out about the Oktoberfest celebration in Denver's Platte Park neighborhood, just to the west of the University of Denver area, where my condo is located. I had lunch last week in that neighborhood at Park Burger on Pearl Street with my friend Peter, who I shared an office with when I worked as the bookkeeper for the Tattered Cover Bookstore, now taken over by Barnes and Noble. When I was leaving the restaurant, I noticed a sign advertising an Oktoberfest celebration that Saturday, and decided to check it out, too. It only occupied a single block, but it was packed with people, as seen in the photograph on the right, and had a surprising number of booths featuring microbreweries. I think the Platte Park Brewing Company, located on that block, had a lot to do with organizing the event, which probably explains all those breweries. It made it almost seem like a beer festival, which, of course, is what Oktoberfest is really all about.

Breckenridge Oktoberfest!

This past weekend was Oktoberfest up in Breckenridge, Colorado, and I must say, it was quite a fun event. I drove up there from Denver Sunday afternoon and found the festival packed, with many men wearing lederhosen and women wearing dirndl dresses. Which I admire, considering it was pretty damn cold up there this past weekend. The original Oktoberfest took place to celebrate the marriage of King Ludwig (Mad Ludwig) of Bavaria. It was held in October and was such a success that they decided to make it a yearly event, but in September, to avoid the cold weather. Perhaps Breckenridge should consider having Oktoberfest in August, instead.

The festivities took place on Main Street, which was closed to traffic for the weekend, replaced by food booths, beer stands, tables and chairs, and several music stages, which were playing traditional German music. As opposed to most other Oktoberfests, which seem to have the same kind of rock music you hear at festivals throughout the summer. The stage in the photograph on the right was set up in the town square between Main Street and the Blue River, where families with kids were hanging out enjoying the ambiance. But not going in the water. It is called the Blue River because if you do go in, you immediately turn blue, perhaps for life.

Breckenridge was founded in 1859, and its main street is filled with Victorian era homes and commercial buildings, now filled with restaurants, bars, and shops. Much of the charm of Breckenridge Oktoberfest is strolling past all those historic buildings and the beautiful landscaping as you peruse the booths and listen to the Oompah music. Chicago Magazine has named Breckenridge one of their "Eight Great Fall Escapes," and I have to agree with them on that. And since it is a mere 90 minutes from my condo in Denver, I decided to head there instead of some of their other suggestions, such as Rome or the Athens Riviera.

And I was not surprised to see that one of the booths at the Breckenridge Oktoberfest featured that favorite of all German foods, Das Turkey Leg, as seen in the photograph on the right. Regular blog readers know that I often wonder if they start selling those turkey legs at festivals in the spring, such as Cinco de Mayo (where they are called Los Turkey Legs), freeze the leftovers, and keep thawing and refreezing them to serve at all the other festivals throughout the summer, finishing with the Denver Oktoberfest, which starts next weekend. Can't wait! Save me a turkey leg!

Watching Tottenham Play West Ham With Mark And Susan

I went to Esters Pub here in Denver yesterday morning with my friend Mark and sister Susan - seen in the photograph above - to watch Tottenham play West Ham with the Colorado Spurs, a Tottenham Hotspurs supporters club. As usual, the room set aside for the group was packed to the rafters, and so we sat in the main dining area. What surprised me was that the main room filled up with Tottenham fans, too. Who would have thought there would be such a large fanbase here in Denver for an English Premier League soccer club? Tottenham is off to a good start this year, while West Ham is struggling, and so the Spurs had no trouble beating West Ham United by a score of 3-0, which now puts them in 2nd place. Of course, it is a long season, and only time will tell if Tottenham continues its winning ways. But at least for yesterday, the fans left Esters happy. As for me, the only two Tottenham players I knew by name, Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min, have left the club for other teams, meaning I will have to try and remember the names of two other players instead, which is hard when you are an old guy. Bummer.

Herds of Elk In Evergreen: A Sure Sign A Change Of Season Is Underway

I drove through Evergreen, Colorado the other day, and noticed a large herd of elk, some of them captured in the photograph above, hanging out in a residential neighborhood not too far from downtown. To me, this is a sure sign that a change of season is underway, at least in the mountains. During the summer, you seldom see elk in Evergreen. At 7,200 feet, it is cooler than Denver, but not by that much. The elk tend to wander up Mount Blue Sky (formerly Mount Evans), which tops out at an altitude of 14,266 feet, until they find a temperature that feels just right. When it begins to get nippy up there, they head back down to Evergreen and make themselves at home on people's lawns, in the parks, or their favorite spot of all, the Evergreen Golf Course, doing their best to make life difficult for golfers. And not surprisingly, the television weather forecasters are predicting snow on Colorado's higher peaks this very weekend. Elk are definitely not dumb. And also seem to have a sense of humor.

The Chicago White Sox Are Playing Good Baseball. Seriously!

My South Side heroes, the Chicago White Sox, are actually playing good baseball these days. They are 9-2 since August 31st, and yesterday they beat the Tampa Bay Rays by a score of 5-1, taking the series. And as you can see from the photograph on the left, White Sox television sportscasters Steve Stone (on the left) and John Schriffen (on the right), were all smiles up in the broadcast booth yesterday. The team has a strong roster of rookies this year, and after a slow start, they have begun to have a major impact on the team. And in my opinion, it hasn't hurt that Pope Leo XIV let it be known that he is a White Sox fan, either. We will take any advantage we can get.

It was sunny and 74 degrees when the game started at Rate Field yesterday, a perfect day for afternoon baseball. I watched a few innings on MLB.com, and I must say, I was very impressed with the progress the team is making. Granted, they are currently 57-90 and not going to the playoffs, but the way they are playing now, I would not be surprised if next year they do. I think it helps that the White Sox have hired baseball executives that actually know something about baseball and can draft and trade for players who will benefit the team in the coming years. As opposed to my adopted hometown team, the Colorado Rockies, who are currently 40-107, 1-9 over their last 10 games, and still need to win 2 more games to avoid breaking the White Sox's record for worst team in the history of baseball, set last year. The Rockies owner unfortunately prefers to hire friends and relatives to run the team instead of someone who actually knows baseball, despite having three 100 loss seasons in a row. As long as people keep showing up to enjoy the ballpark and cheer on the opposing teams, things will probably never change. Until they do.

The September Issue Of Chicago Magazine

I went through the September issue of Chicago Magazine the other day and found it quite interesting. The cover story is about Pope Leo XIV's childhood home in Dolton, Illinois, a suburb south of Chicago. It has evidently become a pilgrimage site, with visitors ranging from bicyclists from Chicago's Beverly neighborhood to middle-aged men from Texas. Dolton, a troubled town recovering from a financial scandal that left it broke, wound up purchasing the house, hoping it will attract pilgrims and tourists to the village. There was also an article about Rahm Emanuel, the former Chicago mayor and Chief of Staff for Barach Obama (called the Rahmosaurus by the article's author), who plans to seek the Democratic nomination for president. Then there was an ad for a new play at the Goodman Theater called Ashland Avenue, which brought back childhood memories of the corner of 95th and Ashland in the South Side Brainerd neighborhood of Chicago. That was where the Beverly Theater and the local Walgreens we used to frequent were located. There was also an article about the Uptown Theater, built in 1925 and modeled after "an idealized Spanish Renaissance castle," which is the subject of a new book that pleads for its restoration. Throw in a piece about a "Wicker Park Wonder," a Romanesque Revival home on the market for $2.5 million and an article featuring "Eight Great Fall Escapes," which in addition to the Athens Riviera, Rome, Italy, and Santa Cruz, California also recommends none other than Breckenridge, Colorado (a mere 90 minutes from my Denver condo and so easier to get to), it was a pretty fascinating issue. Pick up a copy today at your local newsstand, if there are any actually left.

Free Day At The DAM!

It was a free day at the Denver Art Museum (The DAM) yesterday, and so my sister Susan and I decided to head down there to see what was new. The DAM now consists of three separate buildings, the Hamilton Building, seen on the left in the photograph on the left, the Martin Building, connected by a pedestrian bridge to the Hamilton, and a new addition, the Kirkland Galleries, which features "the work of Vance Kirkland, international decorative arts, and fine art by Colorado artists," located a few blocks away. Since it was a Tuesday afternoon, the museum was relatively uncrowded, despite free admission to all three areas, which made for a more leisurely viewing of the artwork.

One of the exhibits I wanted to see was "What We've Been Up To: Landscape," a collection of photographs from the museum's collections that have never been shown to the public and seen in the photograph on the right. The purpose of the exhibit is "to serve as an autobiography of the people, societies, and natural forces that shape the world over time." I did like some of the photographs, especially the one titled Buena Vista, featuring a phone booth in front of a house trailer, with wide-open spaces in the background. There was also a very nice winter scene of a drift fence and farm in New Hampshire, and a great photograph by William Henry Jackson titled "Milburn, Utah, from near Hilltop 1891-1892," featuring a train in the foreground and mountains in the background. But many of the photographs were very abstract, some were tight closeups of various aspects of nature, and a number of them showed landscapes marred by development, none of which I was crazy about. Definitely a mixed bag.

Just for fun, we popped into the Modern and Contemporary Art Gallery, seen in the photograph on the left. There were new contemporary works on display, but none that I particularly liked, and many bordering on the ridiculous, such as Michael Joo's Salt Transfer Cycle, featuring a video of a naked man crawling through salt flats. The museum chooses to display this instead of Modigliani's Portrait de Femme, which I think is one of the best paintings the DAM's collection. I once sent a written inquiry to the DAM asking why this painting was not on display and was told it was on loan to another museum. Yesterday I asked one of the museum employees in the gallery the same question, who looked it up and said it was in storage, and had not been on display at the DAM since 2009. Does that not seem strange to you? He said he would ask the curator about it, but I have given up hope of the museum ever displaying it again. No doubt the probably youthful curator feels it is just not weird enough.

The First Day Of Classes At DU

Yesterday was the first day of classes at the University of Denver. And just for fun, I decided to check out what it was like these days at the DU Bookstore, where I worked for almost 30 years before the university outsourced the store in 2012. The first day of classes of the fall quarter was always the busiest day of the year for us. We would spend weeks preparing for it, have 19 cashiers available to work during the day, 6 people at the information desk, and schedule enough people on registers to keep the wait in line down to a minimum. Of course, the last fall "rush" for the DU Bookstore before being outsourced was in 2011. Granted, that was 14 years ago, but I was still shocked to enter the bookstore and see two cashiers and one customer at the registers, as seen in the photograph above. Did I catch them at a slow moment? Although I myself don't ever remember a slow moment on the first day of fall classes. It is indeed a different world from what I knew. I wonder if they even call it "Rush Week" anymore? From the looks of it, they must just call it Monday.

Watching The Rockies Play The Padres With Mark And Susan

I went to Coor's Field in Lower Downtown Denver yesterday afternoon with my friend Mark and sister Susan to watch the Colorado Rockies play the San Diego Padres. Although the announced crowd was 27,555, it did not look to me like there were that many in attendance, and most of the people there seemed to be Padres fans. Which makes sense, since the Denver Broncos were playing their first game of the season over at Empower Field, and virtually everyone in the state has been obsessing about the start of the football season for months now. 

In any case, it was a nice day for baseball, sunny and 79 degrees. Mark and Susan (seen in the photograph on the right) and I enjoyed spending the afternoon at the ballpark, although the Rockies did not exactly distinguish themselves on the field, giving up 4 home runs and losing by a score of 8-1. The Rockies currently have a win-loss record of 40-103, with 19 games still to play. Which means there is a remote possibility that they can break last year's record setting number of losses by my South Side heroes, the Chicago White Sox. Needless to say, the Rockies are currently still the worst team in baseball this year.

It has gotten so bad for the Rockies this year that it looks like fans are beginning to bring emotional support dogs to the park, judging by the woman with the Yorkie in the photograph on the left. In my opinion, if fans are now allowed to bring emotional support dogs to the ballpark, every game will seem like Bark in the Park Day.  And by the way, that message painted over the dugout is all about celebrating 30 years at Coors Field. The ballpark opened back in 1995, and they actually went to the playoffs that year. How times have changed.

The 25th Annual Colorado Dragon Boat Festival

This weekend marks the 25th annual Colorado Dragon Boat Festival, which takes place at Denver's Sloan's Lake Park each year. I only had an hour and a half to visit the festival this year, but as I recall, once you've watched two of those dragon boat races, you would be good for another year. I arrived as the first set of races were ending and took the photograph on the left of one of those boats returning to the dock, with a drummer in the front encouraging the rowers to row on, and someone at the back to help guide the craft. And then they announced on the loudspeaker that there would be a short break to tabulate the times and announce each boat's position in the standings. However, I have to assume dragon boat tradition requires using an abacus to make these calculations, which were still going on after an hour or so. I stayed as long as I could, but eventually had to leave, with no actual photos of the races or the celebration of the winners at the finish line. Oh well - there is always next year.

One of the most interesting parts of the festival are the boats themselves, which all have a different dragon face on the bow, one of which can be seen in the photograph on the right. Walking around the area, I was amazed at how many different teams there were, and how many people were needed to power each boat. In addition to the races themselves, there were food booths in areas marked "Taste of Asia East" and "Taste of Asia West," as well as an "Asian Marketplace," a "Performing Arts Stage," and a "Band Stage." And the place was packed with people. I was fortunate to find a parking spot just 5 blocks away from the lake.

I took the photograph on the left of a booth in the "Taste of Asia East" area, believe it or not. But in addition to traditional Asian delicacies such as Italian Sausage Sandwiches, Diablo Dogs, Giant Bratwursts, and Bada-Bing Burgers, I was happy to see that they were also selling Giant Turkey Legs. I have a theory that they start serving those giant turkey legs at the Denver Chalk Art Festival in the spring, freeze the leftovers, and then defrost them for each successive festival, finishing up with Oktoberfest at the end of September. Yum! And now I find that you can even get them at the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival. Great news! And happily, the festival continues today until 5:00 P.M. Be sure not to forget to pick up that turkey leg on the way in.

The 16th Street Mall Renovation Is Almost Complete!

Denver's 16th Street Mall renovation is almost complete. I walked the entire length of it the other day and I must say, the city has done a good job with it. The center island down the middle of 16th Street has been eliminated, and the sidewalks on each side have been widened to allow more room for outdoor patios, seating, art installations, children's play areas, and landscaping. The free busses that go up and down the center corridor of this otherwise pedestrian only street are finally back in service, and I was happy to see a fair number of people in the restaurants and patios on a weekday afternoon.

The only downside is that there are still a lot of vacancies up and down 16th Street, which has now officially eliminated "mall" from its official designation. The 16th Street Mall really suffered during the pandemic, what with work from home eliminating most of the office workers in the area, and, of course, the mandatory closing of shops and restaurants. When things did reopen, office workers continued to work from home, resulting in high downtown office vacancy rates, which currently sits at 36.8%. And once the pandemic ended in 2022, the mall renovation began, making the area virtually impassable. It took 3 years to complete, and many businesses on 16th could just not survive. 

And will all those empty storefronts and restaurants soon be filled with new tenants? The city has plans to make that happen, and after the renovation of the final three blocks, there will be a grand reopening celebration on Saturday, October 4th. Of course, much will depend on the state of the economy, the possible conversion of downtown office buildings into residences, and the always radical idea of actually making people return to the office, which will be strongly resisted due to the fact that those office workers might actually have to work. We will just have to wait and see what happens. Meanwhile, perhaps I should start looking for one of those work from home positions. Sounds like a good deal to me.