Trip Date: May 7, 2019
Kristen had a conference to attend in Denver, so I was finally invited to go to one of these with her. I had been to Denver as a child to pick up my dad’s mom Edith in about 1970. Edith was born in Arvada, about 7 miles Northwest of Denver, about a third of the way to Boulder. Even though I didn’t remember anything about the trip, I was excited to go back to Denver and check it out. It had such a good reputation for adventure and clean air, the college vibe, educated liberal people, the Broncos, the Rockies; everything I had heard about Denver matched my style.
We decided to get into town on a Sunday, a couple days ahead of K’s first day of the conference. The flight was quite bumpy and rocky, which usually would have caused me to vomit profusely and be ill for the next 2 days, but not so much this time. Even K thought it was a rough ride, which is unusual for her; it didn’t really bother me that much, which was a huge relief. Not to be outdone by the turbulence in the air, it seemed our Lyft driver had relieved himself of much of his senses before picking us up. He was a nice enough guy and talked the entire way into town without ever taking a breath (or a breath mint), which is a considerable distance, the airport being way the hell out of town. But he was making very little sense and not at all reducing our stress level, and although entertaining, was not very informative or helpful. I am sure we just hadn’t gotten hooked into the Denver vibe yet.
Relieved as hell to be out of the car and all moving objects for that matter, we arrived at our downtown hotel. The check-in was smooth enough so we took a shot at having a drink at the bar and relaxing a minute before heading up to the room. We didn’t see a bartender at first, or 2nd or 3rd. People seemed to be helping themselves which would have been fine, but someone returned just as we were giving up. The guy was exasperated and let us know all about the staffing problems at the hotel and how the regular bartender didn’t show up and so he had to fill in, but the homeless lady needed to be helped off the street and into the elevator and no one was helping her so he had to go outside to do that too. Needless to say, crappy drink was not nearly enough, so we cut our losses and headed upstairs.
The evening was cold as hell, but we were excited to get a feel for town, so we followed the general flow of people along the street in front of our hotel, the Crown Plaza, and ended up on the 16th street Mall, the main tourist thoroughfare which is closed to cars and lined with restaurants, bars, shopping, and entertainment. We weren’t exactly sure where we were headed, which I got in trouble for, despite not ever being here before, but nonetheless, we ended up in a super cool sports bar called the Thirsty Lion Gastropub, and thus began one of the best runs of good food we have ever had. The Denver Avalanche was in the hockey playoffs (Playoffs???!@#$##@@!) and they were playing the Sharks (of all teams), and the game was on TV, so there was a good fun crowd in the place. The volume wasn’t too loud, just a good energy. The waiter was cool, but not pretentious or typically uninterested as you find in many tourist areas. We ordered a cauliflower appetizer for some reason and it was outstanding. Even Kristen liked it as it was covered in some golden brown glaze. The rest of the food was not especially delicious or distinct but good.
The Thirsty Lion is right next to Denver Union Station and out front was some real nice landscaping, fountains, seating, and general hang-out places. We hung on a bench until the cold required movement to warm up the blood. A brisk walk back allowed us to identify coffee, bakeries, restaurants, and bars for future endeavors. It was a great first night, except for getting nagged at about not knowing about a place to eat ahead of time in a town I had never been to despite ending up at a great place where we ate great food and had a good time…that part.
The next morning was cold and gray, not snowing or sleeting, but certainly threatening. We had this entire day to explore as K’s conference didn’t start until Tuesday. We headed Southeast out of the downtown grid and then South through the Westside neighborhood, an average neighborhood of very level topography and old single story brick houses. We passed Lincoln Park, Emily Griffith Technical College, and the Colorado High School Charter. These schools seemed to be closed, as there weren’t many people around and seemingly all of the businesses around them were closed. By now, hunger was growing.
I again was scolded for not stopping to eat at a skanky restaurant we saw when we first headed out, thinking we could do better, and not being so hungry at the outset, but obviously the dynamics had shifted. Leaving the kind of school, business area and heading more to the rail yards and industrial blight, I figured I was due for another tongue lashing, when low and behold, a vision for our growling stomachs, the Buckhorn Exchange. We had no idea this place existed, and from the looks of the neighborhood, had no expectation we would find a restaurant anywhere near us. We were so elated, until we approached the door. They stopped serving lunch at 2:00 and it was 1:50. My hand dropped off the handle and we stared at each other in disbelief. Oh, the humanity!
I think we both figured “why not ask” at about the same instant, so we open the light onto the dark interior and were warmly greeted by a smiling face. “Of course”, she said when asked if they were still serving, and without hesitation led us inside to a nice table. This place was right out of 1890. Red velvet everywhere, red wall paper to the 20 foot ceilings, more animal heads than any 4 places combined, beautiful dark wood paneling, old photos in every nook and cranny. What a great spot. Our meal was great and the drinks better. I had a mixed plate of boar, elk, and buffalo with beans and cole slaw. There were a few tables with people eating and ordering and no one seemed to care or even be aware that the sign said they were closing.
I had a strong sense of my dad’s mom, Edith. I didn’t know much about her family, parents, siblings, other Graff’s in the hood, but I was looking for her in every picture on the wall, and I looked closely at dozens of them. Everyone inside was real friendly. I kept getting in the way of the waitress, especially on the stairs to the upstairs bar and bathroom, and she always said something friendly and nice. It was a real neighborhood place where you could easily become a regular. We were so relieved to eat and replenish, and get out of the cold for a spell, but it was time to continue our journey, so out we went.
I am not sure where I wanted to go or even in what general direction, but we were in an industrial area with the rail yard on one side, so maybe just not wanting to return the way we came, we tried to navigate W 8th avenue, a multi-lane overpass over the rail yard. We made a brazen dash after a lengthy wait for the traffic to clear, but after passing by just a few structures, realized we were heading further into no man’s land. Nothing but zombies and pit bulls ahead. Heading back to W 8th with slightly more conviction to get back into a more scenic neighborhood, I was a tad less patient waiting for traffic and elevated our Frogger points significantly. We even got honked at! Rude Coloradoans.
The walk back through Westside Neighborhood was real nice; flat as a pancake and single story brick houses everywhere, small lots, but everyone had a garden of some sort, even if it was just a few tulips. We crossed over W Colfax Avenue onto the campus of the Community College of Denver. This triangle between Colfax, Auraria, and Speer turned out to be a really cool combination of 3 college campuses called Auraria Campus that includes University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver), Community College of Denver (CCD), and Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver). It also is the home of the Tivoli Tap House, so we stopped in for refreshments. It was super cool being on a college campus that was surrounded by parks and the river, and museums, and churches and nestled in the heart of the city.
Now we could see that we were just across from the Pepsi Center, home to the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association, the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League, and the Colorado Mammoth of the National Lacrosse League. We got over to the arena and saw the ticket office doors open so we went inside. The 2 security guards took their jobs very seriously and we were abruptly halted and frisked and our packs unloaded. Even though we were the only 2 people in the place, this was serious business. I went up to the window and found Nugget playoff tickets for $75, almost the very last row in the joint, but at midcourt, so we went for it. Impulse, yes, but we were stoked.
Back across Auraria and down 14th street, we stumbled into Euclid Hall Bar & Kitchen. What a cool spot. Part trendy upscale renovated old brick building, part local, part college hangout, and pre and post game spot, it fit the bill exactly. We had a great cocktail and rested our leggies for a few minutes. It would drizzle and then snow on and off, so a warm comfy spot to relax and recount all our adventures of the day was a perfect call. The game was at 7:30 so we would be heading back this way in a few hours so we asked for a dinner recommendation and headed back to the hotel to change and gear up for the big night ahead.
Walking down 14th street to Glenarm, we passed bars and restaurants galore, so many places we said we should try. It was so much fun seeing so many cool places and people out and about. We had a quick rest, cleanup, and were back on the road to Tamayo’s, the only food on the whole trip that was disappointing, and I mean terrible. How can you screw up Mexican food? Anyway, what it lacked in food it doubled down on terrible service. Luckily, as we left the place, we damn near tripped over a bike guy who didn’t have to work too hard to convince us to get out of the rain and into his covered cart to get curried across the busy streets to the Pepsi Center. I am glad I couldn’t see a thing, but from the jarring and swerving and bumpy ride we had in the few blocks distance, I assume the bike driver was absolutely hammered. Somehow, across all those Blvd’s, and busy streets, and downtown traffic, and lights and pedestrians get to the game, we never slowed down, let alone stopped. We could have levitated across for all I know.
Be that as it may be, he dropped us off right next to an open doorway and ticket taker and we were inside in seconds. It was a great game and Denver beat Portland in game #1, so it was super exciting. We were looking for a ride home after the game, but after we got across all the major streets near the arena and onto 14th, we just ended up walking back. We could have walked 10 miles that day, but what a spectacular day it was.
Tuesday was the first day of K’s meetings, so I was on my own. I decided to head out East, but soon, and again, and not for the last time, I got disoriented. This weird rectangle including downtown Denver from E. Colfax on the South, Speer on the West, the South Platte River on the North and extending East out into the Curtis Park neighborhood is set on a weird 45 degree layout, so the streets are going NE/SW, and NW/SE. It isn’t on a true North-South grid. But the neighborhoods surrounding this central area, Whittier and Skyland to the East, Capitol Hill, City Park, and Alamo Placita to the South, are on a true North-South grid, and of course where those areas merge, it is a ziggy zaggy maze to transition from one to another. Without a compass nor clear sky, I never got my bearings the entire time I was there, but it made for interesting exploring.
After turning left and right so many times, I wouldn’t have been too surprised to return to the scene of the crime. I asked an old timer how to get to the zoo and he motioned back from whence I came. Although he was right, I assumed he was nuts, so I resolutely continued in the wrong direction. But how right it was. I ended up in front of the Great Divide Brewery but was outraged to find the doors locked at 10:00 am. Fortunately, across the street was The Lobby. Their specialty is “bottomless mimosas”, and there were several tables of young people taking full advantage. These 2 guys next to me were smashed and babbling on and on and over and over about what great dudes they were and why so and so doesn’t like him and who’s their best friend. The entertainment value was extreme, and the breakfast burrito was excellent.
I crossed the street again and tugged at the Great Divide door and was especially outraged that it still was not open. There are dozens and dozens of breweries in Denver, but never one when and where you need them. Outraged I headed on Eastward, or so I thought. My internal compass was not synced up with Denver, so it was I actually continued North towards the Fire Points District. Again, I stopped a street urchin to ask for directions and we had a good laugh at my confusion. Traversing the last few blocks on the SE axis, I was clear of the Curtis Park neighborhood and back in the comfort of a true North-South grid.
My burrito and beer breakfast began to wear off and I was soon questioning the distances, feeling as though I must be there by now. It was cold and drizzly off and on, but never enough to cause me to seek shelter or add on my rain cover. I got pointed down 25th street and passed the Agape Christian Church just as the pastor was heading up the stairs. He stopped and we had a real nice chat and a few laughs. Super nice fellow. He told me the 2 buildings across the street were built at the turn of the century, important not only because of their age and condition, but because of all the infill construction projects going on at the time that were replacing many of the old timers. Interesting also, because that turn of the century building is tagged as “Chic Luxury Escape with Patio and Parking” on Googly; enough to make a cool historical building with all those stories spontaneously combust.
The pastor pointed me on down 25th street, past Kingdom of Glory Christian Center, Bethel Church of God in Christ, the anti-Bethel Church of God in Christ. I was beginning to feel like I was supposed to be receiving a message. It may have been that everywhere you go, there are people that have, and there are people that don’t. I had apparently just left the neighborhood of the have less’s, or what was left of it, as the “transition” was well under way. Now, on E 23rd avenue, I seemed to be stopping every few minutes to take pictures of massive three story brick mansions that took up a sizable portion of the entire square block, helpers’ quarters in the back, of course.
At long last, I had reached City Park, with the zoo, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Golf course, playgrounds, and 2 lakes. Unfortunately, I missed the Denver Museum of Miniature Dolls, but there’s always next time. I hate zoos and most everything they stand for, but the parks they are typically situated in are beautiful and make for great walking. This was no exception. I walked around the entire park, my Easternmost point, then began the trek back to the hotel. Just in the nick of time, Vine Street Pub and Brewery appeared, and I stopped for much needed beverages and rest.
After an awesome respite, I headed South up the hill to Cheesman Park. There is a very cool covered granite/marble Pavilion up top which has spectacular views of the Rockies, but unfortunately for me, the cloud cover was thick and low, in fact, we never saw the Rockies the entire time we were in Denver. In any event, it was a beautiful park up on the hill, located next to the Botanic Gardens, which I didn’t have time for. It was getting on in the day and I had a few miles to get back, so off I went past walkers, bikers, dogs, joggers, moms, tourists, and locals all out enjoying the day.
I came down through Capitol Hill on Humboldt Street (of course) and onto 14th Avenue. Me and St. John’s shared a moment as I didn’t have time or a place to stop, so I got a tad damp. Fortunately, or not, there were many street people out and about near the Capitol so my wet pants did not stand out. I literally had to carefully step over and around 5 needles on the street/sidewalk near 13th and Tremont/Delaware/Colfax. Maybe it was the confusion of the intersection that caused the drug use, because it seemed like they could have laid that area out a little better.
After I cleaned up and changed my shorts, K was excited to share a Mexican place they had gone to for lunch, so back we went to the 16th street mall and Otra Vez Cantina for a great dinner and mucho bueno margaritas. The temps were definitely rising so we strolled a loop or 2 looking for more places to eat and drink so as not to be caught unprepared. We had heard good things about Henry’s and we seemed to be coming near the end of our trip already, so we forced ourselves inside for an snack and libation and more people watching before heading back to watch the Warriors.
Sleep was good. The next morning, Wednesday, K headed to the 2nd day of her conference and I headed South on Spear, along the Cherry Creek trail and out towards the Sunken Gardens, which, still being winter and all, wasn’t too impressive. I opted for a beverage at the Punch Bowl Social which must be a hoppin good time with bowling alleys, darts, pool, board games, 2 huge bars, and plenty of comfy seating. It looked like a great place to hang out, and on this rather early mid-week morning, was a great place to rest and plan. Just down Broadway was an excellent pastrami sandwich at Historians Ale House and a couple beverages to help get me on down the road.
I was off to Washington Park (or Wash Park as I believe the locals call it) and the beautiful neighborhoods that surround it. The architecture was still dominated by beautiful turn of the century single story brick homes, but the Wash Park area was dotted with more modern, larger, and upscale multi-million dollar homes. The walking was still flat as a pancake; it gave me a big kick being able to cover so much ground with so little effort. Not that Carmichael is hilly by any means, I guess I just found Denver so interesting and inviting. I couldn’t get enough of it. I rounded the far end of the park and Grasmere Lake and started my journey back to downtown.
I circled back around the 4 towers of the Park Lane Condos which quite frankly, are quite the eyesore. Such a disappointment, but we’s got a lot of people that need housing. On S. Humboldt Street this day, I stumbled into the Cherry Creek Golf Course, which altered my course and drove me right to the Ogden Street South Pub; an excellent layup indeed. This place grabbed a hold of me and I could have disappeared here for a long time, but I couldn’t get involved with the local happenings so out I went, past Hungarian Freedom Park, past Governor’s Park, past the Molly Brown House Museum, St. John’s again, the Fillmore Auditorium, the Cathedral Basil of the Immaculate Conception, and Temple Emanuel. From this little hill on the Eastern shoulder of the downtown area, the views were fantastic.
When I got back to the hotel, K was ready to go so a quick spritz here and there, and underbeneath, and I was ready to roll again. We didn’t go far as K had heard of a Yard House nearby which was perfect to watch the games on the TV and watch the business people stream out of the offices at quittin time. We had a good meal and then headed for the Rocky Mountain Chocolate store, before heading back to the room. I had logged quite a few miles again, so I was happy to get horizontal early and often.
Thursday was the last day of the conference so my last day of freedom in Denver. I usually like to have a car and drive around to get a feel for the greater area I am at, wherever I am at, but this trip, without a car had really worked out fine. The walking was awesome. I did feel like I wanted to explore a little bit out of town though so I walked down to the Union Station and talked to a tourist helper guy there. He suggested I take the light rail to Golden, about a half hour West towards the Rockies. With this as my afternoon plan, I ventured out to explore Commons Park along the South Platte River.
I crossed over Highland Bridge and back on 15th street to Confluence Park and the Denver Millennium Bridge. I scouted the ticket kiosks for the light rail, and then headed to Whole Foods on Wewatta Street. I had to be guided to the entrance of the sandwich bar, but we had a good laugh along the way and she told me about the upper deck to eat on. When I ordered my sandwich and beer, I saw all the “No beverages beyond this point” signs, so I had to come up with a diversionary tactic on the fly. Casually getting my beer and sandwich, I calmly gathered many napkins and a utensil or 2 for good measure. At just the right time in the lag of security, I blended in with the hordes and made my way to the deck, proudly enjoying my adult beverage while enjoying the sun, the view, and the audacity of it all.
I got lost in the train station walking all the way from this end to that end underground, only to have to go even further beyond where I started to get onto the train. It was very cool. Just a simple stupid light rail like anybody else has in all their towns, but it was cool to get out of the town for even a little bit. The tracks ran right past Mile High Stadium, much as the Seattle system has a stop for Century Link. Past the stadium, the tracks headed West along Dry Gulch and end on the outskirts of Golden, interestingly enough at the Criminal Courthouse, not that only homeless and criminals ride light rail, just sayin’.
The shuttle system worked great, just a short walk up the ramp to the parking lot. There were only a couple kids on the bus and the driver seemed to know them. He dropped one girl off closer to where she was going rather than at a normal stop, then he asked if we wanted to see the Elk herd on the golf course. I was the only one that responded, so off we went to another unscheduled stop. He said he would come back and get me if I wanted to get off and take some pictures, but I wasn’t feeling the confidence that would actually happen, so I just enjoyed the view from my seat. He dropped the other couple kids off at the stop on the Colorado School of Mines campus.
The last stop at the visitor center was at the bottom of the hill along Clear Creek. I breezed through the visitor’s center to find a latrine and despite the gaggle of old ladies in there, not a one asked if I had any questions or needed anything. Undeterred, I made my way across the bridge to a bar. The Golden Hotel had a sweet deck overlooking the creek and the Bridgewater Grill served exactly what I needed. In the shadow of the Coors Brewery, I resisted the offer of a Coors from the waitress and instead opted for a local hand crafted brew, which I am sure is owned and operated by Coors Brewing Company. Nonetheless, the lunch was great and the beverages better, fuel for a quick exploration of Golden.
I needed the fuel to traipse up the steep hill to the campus, but it was worth the effort. The campus and the views of the town and surrounding canyons were great. College campuses always have such a great vibe. Back down the hill, I was real disappointed in the town itself. It was almost entirely a tourist trap, with hardly a lick of authentic old west town. I did however stumble into The Golden Rock Shop on 12th Street. Talk about good vibes. It was a combination, rock, gem, mineral, spiritual recovery store. The lady in there was epic; she had me buying stuff in no time, spending a mere 3 times my anticipated budget. No mind, it was all well worth it. Loaded up with my quarry, I caught the next shuttle to the light rail station, and was headed back to the big city with ease and comfort. No buggy or buckboard for this buckaroo.
K was happy to be done with her conference and I had had a pretty easy day so we decided to go to a nice place for dinner, that being Maggiano’s Little Italy. I had never heard of it before and therefore, didn’t know it was one of a few dozen locations they had, but I am glad I didn’t know. Everything was great about this place. It was nice, but not pretentious or stuffy. It had a huge bar with lots of fun people, but the dining room was far away and very nice. The gal seated us in the back of the room on an elevated booth so we had a great view of the room and the people. Delicious cocktails came quickly and often and our waitress talked to us and answered our questions but didn’t tell us her problems or troubles with the job.
The food was outrageous and we lingered for a long time, even ordering a coffee at the last minute to extend our stay. It reminded me so much of any number of great Italian restaurants in the City and maybe all those memories helped make it such a great experience, but everything was just perfect there. Almost next door was an ice cream with my name on it and across the way was a Cinnabon that Kristen needed. Although the cashier girl was nice and helpful, the crack whore that scraped the bun-like substance into the bag was clearly suffering from withdraws and needed to be elsewhere. We held our composure in the place but laughed ourselves silly all the way home.
Each day the weather had improved a little until this day was bright and warm and calm. Since this was our last full day in Denver, I wanted to share a few places with K so we headed back down 16th street mall to Cook’s Pastries and deli to load up on exploring food and coffee. K looked in a few shops and I bought a cool head cap at the outdoor store. We went all the way down 16th street to Union Station and looked around in there. Then we headed to Commons Park, the Confluence and across Highland Bridge. We went all the way down to the REI store and explored all it had to offer, managing to buy a pair of used pants along the way.
Famished, and knowing we would not make it back without sustenance, we stopped at Habit Doughnut Dispensary for a much needed reset. Back into Denver proper, we zigzagged and criss-crossed, having a hard time deciding on our last meal in town. Ultimately, we settled on Sam’s #3, known for colossal burgers and massive quantities of greasy comfort foods. I settled for the Monster Burger, which did not disappoint. It had a cool, diner vibe, very laid back and comfortable. It was a great last gastrointestinal treat in Denver.
Denver Trip with Kristen Photo Gallery
