Altitude

Yesterday (Tuesday) we went up to Boulder to take care of some business.

We stopped at BMOCA (Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art), a small but interesting little museum housed in a historic building in downtown Boulder.

this interesting installation seemed to pour off the wall
and puddle on the floor

looking closely we realized that it was made entirely
of cut out paper maps and charts

We walked along Boulder Creek, across the street from the BMOCA.   The water is still very high and energetic.   Part of the bike trail that goes under the bridge is closed because it continues to be under water.

 On the way back we took a little detour west, into the mountains.    We've been driving route 93 back and forth between Golden and Boulder for more than a month and the roads heading into the mountains have been calling us.   Most days, we've been to busy, had things to do either in Boulder or Golden but we always wonder..... where does that road go....oh look, it disappears into that canyon......White Ranch Park, I wonder what that is.....Lookout Mountain, what does it look out over.....where does that train track go, why does it look like its circular?

So, yesterday we turned off 93 and headed up a couple of those roads to see where they would lead us.     First we took the turn toward the White Ranch Park.    Golden Gate Canyon Road was beautiful as it gently rose into the foothills (what most people outside Colorado might call mountains!).  We parked and took a little hike into the picnic area to sit quietly and listen and just be.   We saw beautiful Mountain Bluebirds, Pygmy Nuthatches and Meadowlarks.    I took a few pictures, wondered why they were so fuzzy and then realized that I still had my little point and shoot on "close-up".....grrr.

bad picture of a beautiful
mountain bluebird

which path do we take?

buildings in downtown Denver far in the distance

White Ranch Park is a Jefferson County (the county we're staying in) that is home to abundant wildlife.  It's meadows, forests, pristine canyons and buttes are crisscrossed by 20 miles of multi use trails.

We retraced out steps down the canyon, back onto 93 heading south, towards home.    Just one more road into the mountains before we call it a day.   Lookout Mountain was our destination this time.   It was right on the way after all.    I don't know why I do this to myself.   Why do I route us up the side of mountains where I can't possibly look out the window.    I want to go for the view, then I can't bring myself to look at it!   The road was one sharp switchback after another and we shared the road with insane people pedaling their bikes up directly in front of us.  And motorcycles, crotch rockets as they say.   I'm sure they are attracted to those switchbacks, to roaring around them, leaning precariously as they zoom by.   The cyclists (motorized and manual) must surely be having a thrilling ride.   I vowed I'd enjoy the scenery on the way back down.

We pulled into a viewing area pretty much at the top of the road, next to all the cell and tv towers.     The panorama was breathtaking, as long as I stayed a decent distance from the edge.

I did not enjoy the views going down any more than I did going up.....but I know I'll continue to take us on these kinds of roads in the future.   Go figure.

view of the straighter sections of road

looking west at the continental divide

Dave looks down at the city of Golden.
The big bldgs. between north and south table top mesas house
the Coors Brewery on Clear Creek

The beautiful Strawberry moon
lit our way home