Travelling Worm

A bookworm's travelogue

Category: Colorado

  • Bears and banks in downtown Denver

    This is the blog of Mark Wordsworm, the travelling worm. I’m a 25-year-old bookmark (I haven’t aged at all since I first wrote this introduction) and I proudly boast my own Hallmark serial number, 95 HBM 80-1. You’ll probably want to read all about me and my Travelling Companion (the TC).

    Today’s travel notes

    Me and the TC find ourselves in Denver, Colorado, city of fast-changing weather and friendly folks.

    The book I’m in

    Record of a Spaceborn Few, book 3 in the Wayfarers series by Becky Chambers. I’ve just extracted myself from this book, but I feel as if I’m still cosily tucked between its leaves. Figuratively speaking, that is, since the TC read the book on her Kindle. Becky Chambers draws the reader a warm picture of life among family, friends, and colleagues, where the individuals concerned are sapient beings of various types and in various situations. Highly recommended.

    The photos

    Me hitching a ride on one of the cows that hang out on Denver’s 16th Street Mall:

    The 16th Street Mall is a pedestrian walkway that runs for about a mile through downtown Denver. It was designed by an architect named I.M. Pei. This shot of the mall shows one of the shuttle buses that offer free rides from one end of the mall to the other:

    The road is paved in a pattern of red, white and gray granite slabs. If you hover high above them, evidently the pattern reminds you of the skin of a diamondback rattlesnake. Hovering is not a talent of your faithful worm, so I missed this resemblance.

    An innovative design for a table, on the 16th Street Mall in Denver. Even when there’s no-one sitting at the bench, it looks like a happy place to be:

    Another cow on the mall. When I got up close, this one whispered to me the name of my home town. Nice beast!

    Just off the mall is the Colorado Convention Center, with this cute little bear peering through the window:

    The blue bear, created by Lawrence Argent, is 40 feet high. Not so small, really, when you compare it to my own height. You should, however, take into account that I’m practically-speaking two-dimensional. Height has a different meaning in my dimensions. Here’s a pic of me getting reasonably close to the bear. For safety’s sake I stayed under the cover of a tree:

    A couple of banks on 17th Street caught my attention. This is the door of the Denver National Bank:

    The imposing building of the Colorado National Bank:

    Union Station adds colour and structure to a bright blue sky:

    Inside Union Station:

    A beauteous butterfly at the door to the station. Your faithful worm would have liked to meet the caterpillar that formed this creature:

     

    That’s all for today, folks.

  • High in the Rockies

    This is the blog of Mark Wordsworm, the travelling worm. I’m a 25-year-old bookmark (I haven’t aged at all since I first wrote this introduction) and I proudly boast my own Hallmark serial number, 95 HBM 80-1. You’ll probably want to read all about me and my Travelling Companion (the TC).

    Today’s travel notes

    Me and the TC, and the “TC once removed”, are in Boulder, Colorado. Yesterday we took a day trip into the Rocky Mountain National Park. It’s an easy drive from Boulder. Once in the national park, we wound upwards along Trail Ridge Road, passing the highest point at over 12,000 feet (3,700 metres), then descending slightly to the Alpine Visitor’s Center.

    Word of the day

    Lustrum is the word of the day. It means a five-year period. The term originates in ancient Rome from the name of the closing ceremony after each census of the Roman people, which took place every five years.

    The book I’m in

    Lustrum, by Robert Harris. I’m embedded in book two of the Cicero trilogy. Roman intrigue is a cutthroat affair.

    Travel tip

    Take lots of water with you, and moisturise copiously. In summer the air is hot and dry. This worm’s skin felt like paper each time I stepped outside.

    Recommended restaurant

    The Kitchen in Boulder has good food, graciously served, in an attractive and restful environment.

    The photos

    Me and a few alpine aspens and pines, on the way to the Alpine Visitor’s Center in Rocky Mountain National Park:

    Yes, that’s snow. In summer. (The TC would have inserted double exclamation points at the end of the last two sentences. I refrain, but you, dear reader, may imagine them there if that brings the scene alive for you.)

    Here’s another shot of the same scene, this time not graced with my noble form, but with the background in focus:

    At close on 12,000 feet (3,600 metres), the Alpine Visitor’s Center on Trail Ridge Road is the highest of all visitors centres in the US national parks system. This shot shows the range of snow-capped peaks visible when you stand with the visitors’ centre behind you, looking to the left:

    Beware the effects of the high altitude. (The previous sentence provides another opportunity for an exclamation mark, if the whim takes you.) The TC and the “TC once removed” were both affected by dizziness and fatigue.

    This photo shows the view from the same spot, looking towards the right:

    That’s all for today, folks.