Dennis Dixon is heading West!: August 2017 - Day 6 (west into Colorado)

Wednesday, August 9, 2017 - Kansas to Colorado - 389 miles altogether:

Up and on the road by 7:30 - crossed into Colorado an hour later:

This is also where the time zone changes from Central Time to Mountain Time. This Gift of an extra "Time Zone Hour" is wonderful - I imagine it is the way we are supposed to feel about God's Gift of an entire lifetime to us. But our lifetimes (80 years?) consists of 467,200 waking hours, which is 5.5 ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE GREATER than my single solitary "Time Zone Hour". I guess it is only manageable to just be grateful one hour at a time.

There was fog in Colorado; 63º F.

The unmowed median strip is ablaze with wildflowers:

I wonder what it would look like if all the median strips were left wild.

Eastern Colorado is as flat as Kansas:

When I got gas and coffee, I also got some postcards for "the folks back home". Writing them cut into my schedule, but that's ok.

Heading into Colorado Springs

Seven Falls is located in Colorado Springs along the Front Range, in a natural box canyon in South Cheyenne Cañon. It is owned by the Broadmoor Hotel and operated as a separate business (senior admission is $12.50). I'm ok with that because it costs money to manage all the people who want to see the beauty of the canyon and waterfalls:

I hiked up the steps to Eagle's Nest:

which has quite a view of the Seven Falls:

I then hiked the steps up the Falls, and went 1/2 mile beyond to see Midnight Falls:

Nice views coming back down:

Returning to the parking area, the bus went through the grounds of The Broadmoor - very nice:

Then north an hour to The Madden Museum of Art in the ground floor of an office building in Greenwood Village, CO.

Um, highlights include:

J.M.W. Turner - The Burning of the Houses of Parliament, c. 1835 watercolor vignette

Thomas Moran - Grand Canal, Venice, 1905

Thomas Moran - Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came, 1859

William Trost Richards - Seascape, 1887

William Trost Richards - Cliffs and Sea, 1896

They also had other paintings by Bierstadt, Bricher, Cropsey, Herzog. Very Impressive!

Then a quick 30 minutes north into Denver (street parking = $1) to the American Museum of Western Art (The Anschutz Collection):

They have a "no photos" policy, but much of their EXCEPTIONAL collection is available (somewhere) on-line - if you know what to look for! They do not display their works on-line, and they do not have a searchable database. My research includes books, museum brochures, pieces that have been on loan to other museums. Highlights include:

Albert Bierstadt - Wind River, Wyoming, 1870

Albert Bierstadt - Mountain Landscape, 1895

Thomas Hill - Yosemite, 1900

William Keith - Mount Hood from Hood River, 1881

Thomas Moran - Children of the Mountain, 1866

I was allowed to make notes, and there were at least 2 dozen other works that were wonderful. GREAT VISIT!!

I left Denver at 3:45, and instead of heading up 25, I wanted to go through the mountains. Hwy 72 through Coal Creek Canyon was SOOOO COOL. At one point I drove through Ward, Colorado - elevation 9253 feet!

Got to Estes Park a little after 6, in a pouring rainstorm! Thank you God for this wonderful waterfall-art-adventure day!

"First Music" was - Terry Tempest Williams The Hour of Land 3/9, 2016:

It is a collection of very nicely written stories of some of our National Parks - both personal stories, and historical/scientific background. I enjoyed it (well, at least the first-and-second-and-third-cds-of-9).

Additional Music for today was albums from my purple nano:

Richie Havens - On Stage, 1972 live double album

I ripped this album from my tapes once upon a time. It is not available on cd. It is interesting to think that, right now, I am the only person on Earth listening to Richie Havens singing Simon & Garfunkel's "Old Friends".

lyrics - "Teach Your Children":

You, who are on the road must have a code that you can live by.

Coldplay - Parachutes, 2000