Golden: BBB – Buffalo Bill, Beer and Bikes

                                 

Golden, population around 21,000, located only about 25 km away from Denver, was our next destination on Friday. The Wild West is still alive in this city, founded in 1859. Golden is a former mining town nestled at  the foothills of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Originally named “Golden City,” it became the capital of the Colorado Territory in 1862. In 1876, Denver snagged the title of state capital.

Golden stands for a couple of things, one is Buffalo Bill. At the Buffalo Bill Museum & Grave on Lookout Mountain not only the views (above) are gorgeous, but it's an interesting museum about the great character William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody and his Wild West show. He died in 1917 and was buried in Lookout Mountain Park. He had asked to be buried on the mountain overlooking the Great Plains where he had spent much of his life. Lots of bikers use the mountain route as their training grounds!

Next stop: The Colorado Railroad Museum, the State's largest collection of locomotives, cars, photos and historic railroad memorabilia.

 

On to the Golden History Museum & Park (with historic buildings)  - free and instructive! - located at beautiful Clear Creek, just the place to visit at this time of the year!

 

Golden is also home to the Colorado School of Mines, one of the nation's top universities for engineering. Many students were here for "home-coming" this weekend and it was packed in downtown!

Beer ,,, Coors was founded in Golden, CO. It is the largest single-site brewing facility in the world. The Coors Brewing Company was founded by the German emigrant Adolph Coors and his partner Jacob Schueler in 1873. 2005 it merged with Canada's Molson to create Molson Coors, the 5th largest beer brewing company in the world.

But,,, fortunately, there is more than Coors in town, e.g. the fantastic Cannonball Creek Brewery, whose seven IPAs were just paradise in heaven! Had a tasting there, and it was outstanding!

 

In the evening, after check-in at the Table Mountain Inn (photo above) and a visit to the Arts Center (left), we ended up at the Golden City Brewing (further above), with a nice beergarden and okay-beer, crowded with students and bikers,,, 

 

A warm welcome to Denver

We were warmly welcomed at our friends' condo in Cherry Creek North and spent time with them on our first day in Denver ,,, with the exception of a stroll through the neighborhood, to Enstrom Candies and to the Hermitage bookstore (below). This is one of the best curated and nicest bookstores we know!

Denver, The Mile High City, was founded as a mining camp on the South Platte River in 1858 and became the official state capital in 1876, when Colorado became part of the Union. With a population of around 730,000 today, it became one of the "boom towns" of the U.S. and is growing constantly. Its location near the Rocky Mountains, on high rolling plains, with the "Front Range of the Rocky Mountains" as a picturesque background, makes it even more attractive.

 

 

Thursday morning - first stop: Denver Botanic Gardens. Since we had never been there before, we wanted to check it out. Only about 20 min. away from where we were staying, we walked over in the morning. The weather improved in the cause of the day and it became sunny and warmer in the afternoon.

 

An example of the great Bonsai collection in the Botanic Gardens (left) and the "Orangerie" above, below an art installation of famous Spanish artist Jaume Plensa.

On to downtown by public bus. First, to the History Center in the Golden Triangle Creative District of Denver, especially to check out an exhibition about 150 years of Colorado.

 

Super-interesting: An exhibition about The Sand Creek Massacre ,,,

,,, and, another one about Ed Dwight, a bronze sculptur (below, examples of his Jazz series)

We spent two hours in the History Center, then passed by the Art Museum (below), the State Capitol and the famous Public Library.

16th Street Mall, newly renovated, is considered the main axle of downtown Denver with a free shuttle service:

Larimer Square, another main gathering point and entertainment/dining spot:

Approaching Union Station, we stopped at Rockmount Ranch Wear (below), a family-operated store since 1946 and famous as the inventor of the Western snap shirts.

Union Station - the main railroad station - below (always fun to be there!):

We met a dear friend of us in the evening and went on a brewery tour in the up & coming industrial neighborhood "RiNo Art District", renowned for its murals and for its breweries. We had a pleasant evening with excellent beers, first of all, IPAs, and great conversation.