Blanche & Lucy visit Places of Interest around Denver

We are discovering there are so many places of interest in the area that we've  moved to.  In fact we know we will never be able to see them all this summer so we are making a list of those we want to see next year already.....  Here are a few that we have visited recently - come enjoy with us....

We took my grand-daughter Tyler with us to visit the Molly Brown House in downtown Denver because she loves History (Cheryl is delighted as she does too). So she took most of the photos on this visit.  If you've seen the Titanic you may remember a very colorful character named Molly Brown as well as an old movie staring Debbie Reynolds named the 'Invincible Molly Brown'.

Well the Debbie Reynold's movie is very fictional and more for entertainment - but the Titanic movie was closer to the reality of who Molly Brown was....  Yet her real story will amaze you...The Brown house is opened 6 days a week & closed on Monday so it's easy enough to find the time to see her home and life.  The tour was reasonably priced... $8 for adults and only $6 for Tyler. The architecture was beautiful her story is amazing.

We could take photos in the 'play room' where kids could touch all the toys and tools and clothes of the era when Molly Brown and her children lived.

What a fun tour! The guides dress up in period clothing and give you so much information about Margaret Brown (Molly is a Hollywood name!) and her family as well as life back then in Denver. These are some of her dresses.

 I learned so much about Margaret Brown,  and the political initiatives she started; it was very educational and definitely worthwhile. I don't want to spoil all the fun tidbits you learn during the tour because you should go and hear about them first hand.

 

We highly recommend this tour - http://www.mollybrown.org/  unfortunately we were not allowed to photograph any of the interiors of the house so you'll have to visit the website or come visit the house to see more.

Another pleasant surprise was our visit to the 'Mother Cabrini Shrine' in Golden, Co. We were on our way to the Buffalo Bill Museum in Golden when we saw a sign for the Shrine and decided to take a left and go up and visit this first - what a great find. Tyler was along with us that day and she loved seeing all the statues and stories of Sister Cabrini's life. She was cannonized: Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, (Italian: Francesca Saveria Cabrini), also called Mother Cabrini. She was an Italian Religious Sister, who founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart, a Catholic religious institute which was a major support to the Italian immigrants to the United States. She was the first citizen of the United States to be canonized by the Catholic Church.
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There are 376 steps that you will climb to the top of the mountain to view the shrine and along the way is this beautiful 'Way of the Cross' with the images in beautiful mosaic.  And at the bottom of each station is the explanation of that particular station - which was great for Tyler to understand.

Once we reached the top of those 376 steps this is one of the views we saw. Here is the history of the shrine link - where you will read more of her life http://www.mothercabrinishrine.org/history

At the top of the mountain there is lots to see - another station of the cross around the perimeter, a fenced in area with a Sacred Heart that Sr. Cabrini made with area stones in the 1800s, and there is this beautiful enormous statue of the Sacred Heart and inside the base where Tyler and Cheryl are standing is her tomb and information about her. 

Tyler enjoyed the climb and tour and most of all her rest on this stone at the top of the mountain....

From the shrine we drove onto Lookout Mountain where the Buffalo Bill Museum & Grave was - great views along the way.

Come this way to see the grave.....

From the top of Lookout Mountain we could all of Golden below and for miles beyond.

Tyler is at an age where she is fascinated with mortality and so asked Cheryl lots of questions about whether Buffalo Bill and his wife were really buried under these rocks and the length of their lives.

The Grave site was very well maintained and fenced off and protected.

For having been here since 1917, all is very well kept.

After visiting the grave we visited Buffalo Bill's Museum.

This was Tyler's 2nd visit to the grave and museum and she enjoyed it just as much this time as the first.

One of her hero's Annie Oakley is what she pretended to be here.

This is one of the original posters of the 'Cowgirls of the West' from Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show that toured the world.

Here she is - Annie Oakley.

And a real Buffalo that has been stuffed for our 'enjoyment'.

Cheryl loved all the questions that Tyler had about all the things on exhibit.

There were clothes in the Children's area where the kids could dress up like  the cowgirls and cowboys did in the western days.

And here kids could try to rope a calf to see how difficult it really was.

Here Tyler made the American Flag design with tiles that they used to show the different designs that the were done in the western days with beads.

There was a beautiful Photography Exhibit in one of the rooms that I loved.

They were Black & White photographs that were hand tinted of Native Americans shot in the early 1900s.

There were many more than these - but I wanted to show you a sampling.

And inside this teepe were real animal skins of smaller animals - like skunks, fox, badgers, squirrels, and even a wolf.  This was Tyler's 2nd trip to the museum and she said she wants to go again - its a wonderful trip into history for all - here is the link - http://www.buffalobill.org/

After viewing the museum, we drove down in to the little western town of Golden to view the sights there. My grand-son Ethan came on this trip too.  Here in the center of town is a beautiful statue of Buffalo Bill.

Blanche and Lucy (in the carriage) along with Cheryl & Tyler and Ethan look over the bridge down to Clear Creek where they are watching folks 'Tubing' down the river - a water roller coaster ride that looked like fun.

This 8month old 'puppy' came to say hello to the kids...

This bridge in Golden reminded me of the Zakim Bridge in downtown Boston with it's beautiful graphic design.

All around Golden are these beautiful bronze sculptures that encourage the kids to get close up and touch and view the details.  This one is a little Pioneer girl that is in the garden at the Clear Creek History Park.  

And this one of adult & children musicians and singers is along a 2 or 3 mile walkway that winds through downtown along side Clear Creek. 

Also right in the middle of downtown is the Clear Creek History Park - a collection of pioneer homes, and buildings - old church, school, barn a few homes and even animals.

The buildings were not open on this day sadly, but Tyler and Cheryl peeked into all the windows to see the interior of this school and the other buildings.

They even had an old 'Out House' behind the school which Tyler found.

And being city kids - Tyler and Ethan enjoyed watching and feeding the chickens the corn and seeds provided by the park.

Cheryl & Lucy taking a rest along the creek pathway.

Another beautiful sculpture along the creek pathway of a Native American girl with a beautiful detailed shall and necklace.

Ethan loved this sculpture of a butterfly.

And at the end of the day the kids loved the slide at the playground in downtown Golden the most. We are so glad we live right next door to Golden - its a wonderful little western town with tons of history, museums, festivals and fun - we are coming back this weekend for the big Annual Art Festival here.. check it out on this link - http://visitgolden.com/