Seek the Romance of Queen Denver's Court

by Arline Chandler

Born in the fever of the great "Pikes Peak or Bust Gold Rush" of 1859, Denver was sired by outlaws, desperados, and lawmen. The untamed settlement emerged from saloons, gambling halls, and mud-filled streets. By the turn of the 20th Century, wealth from the mountains turned a fist-fighting town into a "Queen City." Parks, fountains, statues, and Victorian mansions on tree-lined avenues brought respectability and romance to the most elegant trade and cultural center within a thousand-mile radius.

Located in the shadow of the Rocky Mountain Front Range and a distance from any moisture source, the Colorado capital's climate is mild, dry, and arid with annual rainfall comparable to Los Angeles. In summer, low humidity creates natural air conditioning. Between September and mid-October, nature's paintbrush swipes splashes of brilliant yellow on aspen groves across the city's Rocky Mountain backdrop.

Summer temperatures and more days of sunshine than Miami Beach are reasons enough for lovers to court The Mile High City. Today, the once rough and tumble town entertains over 8.8 million visitors a year. Cultural attractions, sports, museums, shopping, dining and nightlife provide leisure activities to suit varied tastes. Despite gunfighter Bat Masterson once guarding several of the boomtown bars, modern-day Denver ranks high on the nation's list of safest cities.

The cliché, "the best things in life are free" might have originated with Denver's options for no cost and reasonably-priced entertainment. Opened in 1919 in the heart of the city, Civic Center is the winter stage for municipal Christmas lights and a summer stage for People's Fair, Taste of Colorado and other races and gatherings.

The formal sculpture gardens and park are anchored by the State Capitol and the City-County Building, both open for free tours. A spot on the west steps of the State Capitol exactly 5,280 feet above sea level proves that Denver is really a mile high.

Surrounded by the Colorado History Museum, the Denver Public Library, and the Denver Art Museum, Civic Center is a floral summer showcase.

Romantics with kids in tow can explore the Denver Art Museum galleries the first Saturday of each month. Art objects such as Egyptian mummies, Navajo weaving, Chinese silk robes, and Spanish colonial silver beg to be fingered.

Daily during summer months, hikes through the museum with checked-out Family Backpacks, full of hands-on games and activities, lead to different adventures throughout the museum. Nooner Tours provide free 30-minute in-depth tours of a different area of the Museum each week.

The Civic Center's most popular attraction is the U.S. Mint. Free 20- minute weekday tours summarize coin pressing from start to finish. A gift shop features unique and typically unavailable coins. A museum traces the history of money.

Union Station is Lower Downtown's 17th Street anchor. Three-story-high arched windows flood sunlight into the great hall with lofty ceilings and massive oak benches defining the waiting area. Nostalgic railroad logos line the east wall, but now only Amtrak's California Zephyr and the Winter Park Ski Train make regular stops. Denverites prefer hopping the train for a run from Denver to Glenwood Springs. Passenger trains also run through The Royal Gorge on a daily basis.

Denver's Lower Downtown, a revitalized warehouse district, now flaunts a disproportionate share of sports bars, trendy entertainment venues, art galleries, and new restaurants.

City Park is one of 200 parks inside the city limits. A mile long green belt of lush landscaping and colorful flowers stretches across more than 320 acres. Paths beckon walkers, skaters, and bikers. Within City Park's boundaries, the Denver Zoo, Colorado Museum of Natural History, an IMAX Theater, and Gates Planetarium, complement a restored 1896 Pavilion with a bandstand and snack bar. During summer months, paddleboats on Ferril Lake rent for $5.

Colorado's Ocean Journey brings a million gallons of fresh and salt water, 15,000 creatures, and plants from around the globe to a downtown doorstep. River Journey, an exhibit as exciting as extreme mountain kayaking, begins at the birthplace of rivers and courses through rushing currents, past steep, red sandstone canyon walls, along gentle streams, and across the Continental Divide. The River of Life twists through the harsh desert environment, spilling at the end of the journey into the open Sea of Cortez.

Back in 1870 before the unruly gold rush town had schools or hospitals, performances of "MacBeth"sold out. Today, the Denver Performing Arts Complex stages entertainment from symphony music to regional theatre to Broadway productions. Thirty other theaters and over 100 cinemas emphasize Denver's love affair with the arts.

Red Rocks Amphitheater, north of Morrison, sets between towering 400-foot-high rocks at Red Rocks Park. The natural sandstone formations and inherent acoustical qualities are as legendary as its concerts under the Colorado sunshine or beneath a canopy of stars. The view of Denver's skyline across the Rocky Mountain plains sometimes extends to the white canopy of Denver International Airport.

With 300 days of sunshine a year, Denver is a sports capital. Over 70 golf courses in the area and more than 143 free tennis courts champion individual participation. Facilities, including the hockey/basketball arena, Pepsi Center, Mile High Stadium, Coors Field, and a new $360 million football stadium projected to open in 2001, supports the NBA Denver Nuggets, the NHL Colorado Avalanche, Major League Baseball's Colorado Rockies, and the NFL Denver Broncos.

The din of stadium fans competes with the roar of gasoline-guzzling engines races for the National Hot Rod Association championships, drag racing, funny cars, and mercurial motorcycles at Bandimere Speedway in the foothills of West Denver.

Beer is synonymous with Denver, boasting more malt and hops brewed than in any other American city. Twenty minutes west of downtown Denver, the Coors plant in Golden welcomes some 350,000 annual participants in a free one-hour quick course in the art of brewing beer. The Bud Brigade makes it happen in Fort Collins. In an hour-plus walking tour, visitors meet the world-famous Clydesdale horses and get a brewer's eye- view of how malt, hops and yeast combine to make the world-famous drink.

Beer may be official, but tea is Denver's second beverage. Celestial Seasonings, the largest herbal tea manufacturer in the United States, offers a 45-minute tour through the factory. A highlight is the sinus clearing, eye-watering peppermint room.

Within an hour and a half drive from Denver, skiing, river running, hiking, fishing, camping, horseback riding, sailing or mountain biking tempt the outdoorsy folks. Half of Colorado is public land with two national parks, six national monuments, 11 national forests, three national recreation areas, and 30 state parks.

Rocky Mountain National Park, 71 miles northwest of Denver, features Trail Ridge Road, the highest continuous highway in the world crossing the Continental Divide. Hundreds of miles of hiking trails, tranquil lakes, waterfalls, and horseback riding await. Estes Park, a resort town on the edge of the park, hosts restaurants and shops. Watchable wildlife roams the Estes valley.

Pikes Peak, 60 miles south of Denver, centers more than 40 attractions. Another hour from Denver, A-Basin, a magnet for late-spring skiers, hides in a crook of the Continental Divide. The long, warm days of March, April, May, and June, when most of the slide zones have settled down and the road over Loveland Pass is dry, are the best times to hit the Basin.

Denver offers the romance of a wild country tamed into a sophisticated Queenly City. Visitors are preferred subjects.

For more information, see the Denver Convention and Visitors Bureau website, http://www.denver.org.

Photo credit: Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau

Copyright Arline Chandler