Reporting from Aurora, CO
LAT 39.44 N LON 104.49 W
Altitude 5403 FEET
We began the day in Alliance, NE, a small town with a great hotel. Wonderful service and a huge breakfast—omelettes, ham, biscuits and gravy, and all the other stuff you would expect. We then made our way to “Carhenge”—an art installation in the middle of a field, consisting of old cars. The main exhibit is Stonehenge, except using automobiles as plinths. A truly spectacular sight.
An interior panorama.
And oh, how they dawnced, the little children of Carhenge… (with apologies to Spinal Tap)
Then, just a short distance away, we found Dobby’s Frontier Town. A set of old west buildings from around the area, collected and equipped with items appropriate to the place—a barn, a jail, a saloon, a post office, a bank… It was a large setup, and it’s clear the few volunteers involved are very busy.
The bars are from a bank robbery by the Sundance Kid.
Fun downstairs and upstairs.
We then took a drive across the prairie and into Wyoming.
This is Wyle E. Coyote territory. I was expecting to see broken ACME equipment strewn around.
We reached Cheyenne, WY, the State Capitol. It was smaller than the last few capitols, but very impressive regardless. While others use a lot of marble, this building uses wood, which gave it a warmer feel. We learned the wood was shipped from Ohio, back in the 1880’s! Wyoming was the first state to vote for women’s suffrage, 50 years before the US did so.
There are a series of vaults in the basement, originally put in place to store the state’s money and documents. As part of a massive restoration project, layers of paint were removed to reveal oil paintings on each one. They are now used for office supplies.
We stopped in at a local burger place for lunch. Excellent!
An hour later, we were in another state—Colorado, specifically Ft. Collins, to see more giant things.
An ice cream stand.
We wrapped up the day in Denver and more giants.
A bear checking out the convention center.
Chair avec horse.
Badly made chair.
Since we had a late lunch, we finished things up with ice cream from Nugg’s, a local stand.
OK, enough for today. We’re worn out. Tomorrow, more of Denver, including brunch with our niece. #gowestboomers