Picasso In Golden

There’s little that makes me happier than a town with well done public art. Isn’t this mural spectacular? That horse looks like he could step right off the wall and gallop down the street.

It’s called “Picasso: Spirit of the West.”

It’s in Golden, Colorado. Look for it if you’re ever there. The utility box is distracting but this is still stunning. Commissioned by their Public Art Commission, it was created by local artist Christina Morrison last fall just before my visit.

Click here to take a virtual trip to Golden!

Wanted

As seen at the Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave. Can you read it? They clearly have their priorities straight.

Have a great day, friends!

Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave

My Denver adventure last year included a stop at the Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave. It’s on Lookout Mountain near Golden and just a few miles off I-70 west of Denver.

It’s not a large museum but they have packed in a lot of stuff and I learned some things. There was even a nice little exhibit about Annie Oakley who was from Ohio.

Buffalo Bill Cody was a character. A Pony Express rider by fifteen, he went on to do many, many things. He served the Union during the Civil War and was a civilian Army Scout during the Indian Wars. He was even awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. His work as a skilled Buffalo hunter gained him the nickname Buffalo Bill.

He quickly became a legendary figure of the American west.

So it should come as no surprise that he founded Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show in 1883, touring the country with his large company of performers and animals.

The man toured with hundreds of horses, men, women and actual live buffalos. Transporting the set, props and this crew was no small accomplishment. A 52 car train was used to haul it all.

The above image shows the 1883 cast of his show. You can buy this picture in the museum gift shop.

There are so many interesting things about this guy that I don’t even know where to begin.

The thing I like best about him is that he was a champion of women. Given that his life spanned from 1846 to 1917, this is remarkable. His ideas toward equal pay and women’s suffrage were quite shocking to many.

He was quoted saying “If a woman can do the same work that a man can do and do it just as well, she should have the same pay.”

Given that in 2020, women made .81 for every dollar earned by a man, Buffalo Bill was a man ahead of his time.

He also believed in the fair treatment of the American Indian and other ethnic and racial groups – another idea that was unpopular with our government and civilians alike. He had participated in more than a dozen fights against the Indians but believed they deserved fair treatment.

His Wild West show cross crossed the country for years and even went to Europe. The museum has a book that lists all the cities and dates the show performed. I learned they were in my own area many times, including small towns like Chillicothe, Circleville, Jackson, Hillsboro, Ironton and Marietta as well as Ohio’s larger cities.

Buffalo Bill died in 1917 while visiting his sister in Denver. His family said that he always wanted to be buried on Lookout Mountain. He died in January so he wasn’t actually buried until June when thousands of mourners came for an open casket viewing. Yes, rather gruesome, I know.

There was a contingency that believed he should be buried in Cody, Wyoming, the town that he founded. At one point the Cody chapter of the American Legion allegedly offered a reward for the return of his body to their town.

The museum is well done. There’s a gift shop on site as well. It smells of tourist trap but they do have some good stuff packed in there including a cafe where you can grab a meal or snack. From here you can follow a paved path up a hill to visit his grave.

They encourage photography, have clean restrooms, picnic tables and an observation deck to enjoy the view from Lookout Mountain which is 7,375 feet tall.

It’s well worth the $5 price of admission. Want to learn more about Buffalo Bill or plan a visit? Visit them online.

Golden, Colorado

Visit the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and you’ll find Golden, Colorado. It’s a former gold rush town with cute shops, nice restaurants and this fabulous arch.

They’re known for outdoor recreation and for the Coors Brewery which is the world’s largest single site brewery.

This is a statue of Adolph Coors who founded the company in 1873.

The day we were in this area, we paid our respects to Buffalo Bill, walked a trail along Clear Creek, ate some good Mexican food and shopped.

We also admired this view from downtown Golden.

We saw only a small bit of the town but I wouldn’t mind staying there someday. It’s quaint and it seems like there’s a lot to do in the area.

Looking through these pictures reminded me that we haven’t talked about Buffalo Bill, his museum or his grave. I’ll try to rectify that soon because it was a good experience.

Golden Santa

Golden Goods in Golden, Colorado is all ready for the holidays. I always marvel at what the right person can do with some paint and imagination. How they bring such charming scenes to life on a window is beyond me.

Tis the season for lots of decorations, handmade efforts and surprises around each turn. All the pretty things and the shiny lights are probably my favorite part of the holidays. This store window, however, is hard to beat. It looks like a Little Golden Book illustration brought to life!

Denver Adventure

Last week took me to Denver to meet a friend for adventure. This was a toned down version of the cancelled summer trip that was supposed to include a flight to Denver and road trip home.

The road trip got nixed but I still got to spend several days with my friend.

Honestly, nothing about this trip went as planned as Covid has wreaked havoc on everyone’s plans and my friend had an injury that slowed us down.

But I got to spend time with my friend, we ate well, shopped some and did a few other fun things along the way.

I’m normally on the go a lot when I travel. After all, you can sleep when you’re dead. But it was sort of nice having some time to stretch out on the couch with a book, watch a little tv and just take things slower.

More than anything, I felt bad for my friend that her vacation was ruined.

There is no shortage of things to do in Denver so we are already talking about a sequel trip sometime after Covid fears die down.

The good news is that we did enter this adventure with low expectations as we didn’t know what might be Covid closed or that we simply wouldn’t feel comfortable doing because of Covid concerns.

The picture above was taken along a stream near historic Golden, Colorado. She wasn’t up for a hiking trail but we did find a paved bike path with access to the stream so we could safely walk and still get close to nature.

It wasn’t the plan but it was a good compromise that still brought us joy and entertainment. Sometimes that’s what it takes when things don’t go our way- compromise. This is a good lesson for us all to remember as we head into what promises to be a challenging Covid season.

I fear that we all will need to compromise a lot before this winter is over.