We love Colorado!

This is blog part 2 about our Colorado vacation. In addition to our whitewater rafting adventure, we also did a lot of site seeing in Denver and Boulder. In Denver, we went to the Museum of Nature and Science, the Zoo, and the Denver Museum of Art.

The Zoo and the Museum of Nature and Science sit in a big beautiful park just minutes from downtown Denver. The Museum of Nature and Science is freaking massive. You could spend the entire day there and still not see everything. We only stayed a few hours, but saw a lot of really cool stuff. We went to a very thorough exhibit about pirate life, with hundreds of artifacts recovered from the Whydah, a pirate ship that sunk off the coast of Cape Cod in 1717. (We thought of you, Sarah. You would have loved it!) We also saw a show in the planetarium about black holes. It was very informative, and I loved that it made no apologies for saying with certainty that the universe began with a Big Bang. The planetarium is also really nice, with comfy reclining seats and a giant half sphere ceiling that the show was projected onto. On the roof of the museum is an atrium and veranda, with great views of the city and the Rocky Mountains beyond.

The planetarium at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science

View of the Denver skyline, with the Rocky Mountains in the background

The Denver Zoo was nice, and the exhibits seemed to recreate the animals' natural habitat pretty well. However, this means lots of ground cover, and as it was 90+ degrees that day, most of the animals were hiding out in the shade, so we couldn't see them. We did see lots of cool birds, though. There was a really nice aviary with all kinds of birds flying around. (As we walked in, Jason told me to channel my inner Carrie.)
 

View of the aviary (glass pyramid) from the museum roof

A macaw and his blue buddy inside the aviary

This guy had an outdoor exhibit. I don't know what he is, but isn't he a looker!
(He reminds me of Kevin from the movie Up.)

We also caught the penguin feeding. They're just so cute.

And there were peacocks just roaming the park! How cool is that? 

The Denver Art Museum was our last stop, and though we were totally exhausted by that time, we really enjoyed it. It was fairly limited in the typical genres you see in every museum, but had a lot of western art, something you don't see everywhere. However, I really adore impressionism and totally fell in love with this painting by Camille Pissaro. And lucky me, it just happened to be one of the few prints they were selling in the gift shop. I think it will be perfect for our sunny family room.

Autumn Poplars, Camille Pissarro, 1894

Denver was great, but the highlight of our trip was Boulder. It is truly one of the coolest, most scenic cities I have ever visited. We went to Boulder on the first night of our vacation to see a play. The Colorado Shakespeare Festival happens each summer, and is apparently one of the best Shakespeare troupes in the country. We saw Romeo & Juliet at an outdoor theater on the campus of the UC Boulder. The venue was awesome, set in a courtyard between the beautiful campus buildings. The building all have a sort of Mediterranean look to them too, very appropriate for a play set in fair Verona. The performance was great, the sets were really well done, and we had a wonderful time. Photography was prohibited the night of the show, but we went back a couple days later and snuck some pictures of the theater and of the beautiful campus.

The set of Romeo & Juliet

The Mary Rippon outdoor theater, at UC Boulder

There is so much green space on campus, and views of the Rockies are everywhere.

The UC Boulder library

The campus has courtyards and archways everywhere

More Rocky views

There is water everywhere on campus, too. Ponds, creeks, waterfalls.
I swear, it is the most beautiful campus I have ever seen.

After the show, we were hungry, so we went looking for a place to eat. That is how we discovered the city's true personality. Boulder is known as the most liberal and progressive city in Colorado. It was a major hippie center in the 60s and it still retains a lot of that mindset today. I should also tell you that medicinal marijuana is legal in Colorado, and glaucoma seems to be very prevalent among Boulder residents. When we were there on Sunday night, people were smoking pot openly on the street. Crazy! The downtown at night felt very much like Athens, with music streaming out of the many bars and lots of friendly (drunk) people hanging out on the streets. We went into one bar to grab a bite to eat, and when I came out of the restroom, a woman was sitting in my seat, hitting on Jason! She was crazy drunk, like, she could barely stand up, and she apologized profusely, so I let it slide. But I definitely stayed close to him the rest of the night, and tried to send out the "Hands off, ladies, this one's taken" vibe. Vultures!

Anyway, later that week we went back in the daytime and encountered more interesting characters. There were several musicians playing for tips, a young homeless man challenging passersby to a chess match, and a guy selling the opportunity to kick him in the ass for a dollar. Boulder is also a very socially and environmentally responsible town. There is a bike sharing program in the city, where you can rent a bike on the street and return it when you're done. There are recycle bins everywhere, and the trash cans are labeled "landfill", just to remind you of the consequences. In less than an hour of strolling around downtown, we encountered three different people trying to recruit members for their cause (Greenpeace, Children's International, etc.)

Boulder B-cycle bike sharing station

Downtown Boulder-
The main street is pedestrian only, with people sitting at outdoor cafes and bars, kids play areas every block or so, lots of flowers and trees and many interesting characters.

There are also several sculptures sprinkled around the downtown area,
like this pretty girl on a bench swing.

One of the many musicians, in front of a big bronze moose.

As you can see, we had a fantastic time on our Colorado vacation, and we can't wait to go back. A very special thanks to all of our friends and family who gave me graduation money. Our trip was extra awesome because of your generosity. Bye for now!

Love, Carly