by Paul Thompson and Shamala Kandiah Thompson
On Tuesday we decided it was time to get to know Denver, Colorado’s largest city and the state capital. Our Denver experience so far had been brief or busy – overnight stays for both of us on the way to and from the mountains and a conference for Paul. We’d managed some short runs on those occasions (Paul along the Cherry Creek Trail) but this time, with Paul’s parents in tow, we were going to be regular tourists in the ‘Mile High City‘.
We parked in one of the lots that serves the Coors Field stadium, home of the Colorado Rockies. Built in 1995 it was the first new baseball-only National League Park since L.A.’s Dodger Stadium was built in 1962. The purple seats in the 20th row of the upper deck mark the one mile elevation point.
Denver is unlike most American cities: it has a pedestrianized high street – the 16th Street Mall – though a free bus does ply up and down the 1.25 mile long drag. Walking up it we came across cows and pianos and interesting seating.
On our last trip to Denver we caught the Californa Zephyr, Amtrak’s daily service that takes over 2 days to wind its way from Chicago to San Francisco, from the classic old Union Station. We hopped on the 2.5 hour leg from Denver to Granby to experience one of the world’s great rail journeys through spectacular Rocky Mountain scenery. Today the station is undergoing a long overdue face lift.
We walked by the Colorado Conference Centre in downtown Denver which hosts some 400 events a year. Look who’s keen to see what’ going on in there today.
Our tour of Denver would not have been complete without finding the mile high marker on the steps of the State Capital building. I guess many of Denver’s residents are members of the mile high club.
Live Boulder Run Bolder 