Leadville Train Trek on June 3, 2010

We drove up to Leadville (about 100 miles from Denver) in order to ride the Leadville, Colorado & Southern railroad.  It is privately owned and operated by a family in Leadville. At one time, there was passenger service (ended in 1937) and freight service (ended in 1970's).  There is a large molybdenum mine called Climax, that produces about 75% of the world's molydenum today - you may remember Leadville from the "Unsinkable Molly Brown."   I remember the references to molybdenum in that movie, long before I ever dreamed I would go to Leadville!

A view of part of the town of Leadville - with the two tallest mountains in Colorado in the background, Mt. Elbert and Massive, both over 14,000 feet in elevation!

The view from the train ...

A view of the valley - you can see the highway in the middle right.  Leadville is 24 miles south of I 70.

Another view of the valley

More Wash Park neighborhood pictures

Here are some more pix I took around the neighborhood -

Another view of the rose bush with the beautiful pink roses.

This is a great color combination! 

The poppies are a vibrant orange!

Not sure what flower this is - but the color was vibrant and beautiful.  I couldn't resist!

Tiny little cluster of pastels up against the foundation of a wall on Exposition Avenue.

Beautiful clematis growing on a fence.

A close up of the clematis.

Wash Park neighborhood Pocket Gardens

Front yards, side yards ... all filled with lush pockets of color!  I've been out wandering around the neighborhood where my friends live, snapping things that appeal ... hope they appeal to you too!

Spiky, 3 ft tall lupines

I love the look of these irises by the fence - this patch was beginning to finish, but there was still some great color to be seen.  The irises are very lush around Denver at this time of year.  The ones in Jana's yard are already gone, as are her lilacs.  But I've seen both irises and lilacs all around Denver.

This cascade of roses was a beautiful site! Very full and fragrant!

Butterfly Pavilion, Westminster, CO

This place is permanently on my MUST DO list for Denver, since the first time I went there in 2000!  (8 times total - so far!)  I just love to walk around and wait for the butterflies to show me their splendor.  I always say "thank you" when they let me look!

As always, it was beautiful there! 

I will identify these tropical butterflies when I have had some time to do a little research!  Too busy today!

More pictures from the Garden

Here are a few more pictures that I have edited from our visit to Denver Botanic Gardens

This was a lovely Alpine hillside, full of bright, ground-hugging flowers!

Some of those beautiful ground-hugging plants were these lovely IcePlants

The irises are still going gang-busters!

I spotted these Bleeding Hearts when I sat down to take a short rest in the shade.

Icons of Art in Denver

On Monday we explored downtown, and took photos of Public Art.  I actually was able to stand up next to two ICONS that I had previously only seen out the window of a moving car!

"I See What You Mean" - it's a 40 foot, 10,000 pound blue bear peering in the window of the Denver Convention Center...

I really felt petite next to this bear!

The other public art installation I have always wanted to see up close is called "The Dancers" and it is located on the lawn of the Denver Center for the Performing arts!

Denver Botanic Gardens 6/1/2010

We visited the Denver Botanic Gardens yesterday - I've edited a few pictures so far.

The irises were in their splendor at the gardens.

This iris is such a unique color -  I have more pix to load later of the beautiful irises, I just haven't had time to edit them yet.

These lupines were large and lovely!  About 3 feet tall! I saw more of them on High Street when I took a walk before dinner last night.  Will load more pix soon!

I love waterlilies - DBG didn't have many.  There is a major construction project going on near their water lily pond, so the plant haven't been installed there.  But I found these in a small pond near the Sensory Garden.

There is a display of 20 Henry Moore sculptures in the garden this year.  This one was placed so beautifully to frame a waterfall fountain.  Jana and I were taking a rest on a bench in the shade when I took this photo.

I'm not sure what flower this is - but the coloration is gorgeous!

The morning glories were in their glory!