On the Way to Steamboat
Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home.
Matsuo Basho
My mother’s family homesteaded Steamboat Springs, CO back in 1902 with two covered wagons and a team of oxen. To make it over the pass they had to hitch up all of the oxen to one wagon, pull it over, and return for the other wagon. They waited in Denver until the snow broke and took most of the summer to get there. When I was a kid I thought that driving for four hours to get there was a long time, now I think it is too fast. Routt and Grand counties are beautiful country and I am convinced that nothing faster than a horse can do it justice, it is so annoying to pull off the road every 5 minutes to see something. I wonder how our modern ease of travel has affected both our sense of adventure and our appreciation for the journey.
Pictures from the areas around Kremmling, Steamboat Springs, and Walden.
Architecture
Moving in slightly closer and looking at building structure itself you see that the more than just the shape of the overall building is interesting. The entryways, hallways, and floors are all constructed with purpose and style.
The public library is right next to the museum of art. This entryway, filled with book drop offs and doorways, had the cool quietness you would except from a library. Peering down this column of marble and shade you are filled with a sense of silence solitude as though peering into a separate world through the pages of a book herein contained.
Across the street is yet another columned building, but, as you can see, quite different from the other and a stark contrast to the ultra modern structures in its immediate vicinity.
Moving in through the entry there are thick cut doorways in the cold marble where soft light beckons. Ascending small stone stairs you emerge in a Hellenistic world.
The other side.
Through the ancient columns, down the heavy stone staircase, and across the silent, sprawling brick plane lies the Denver Tech Center.
From old to new
public to private
spacious to cramped
silence to sirens
hangin’ to hustlin’
greek to greed
flat stone to gleaming glass
Denver is a world of worlds.
Buildings
I spent the weekend in Denver, Colorado. Usually we only go there to go to elitches or the natural history museum or drive through it on the way to bandamier speedway, we never really see or explore Denver. We always eat at fast food places and drive on ugly highways and hope no one breaks into our car, but this weekend we ate at fabulous restaurants and walked around under the amazing architecture and hoped no one would break into our car. It was great!
The fascinating thing about downtown Denver is the juxtaposition of old, classic, ornate buildings with the giant, shiny, and angular modern architecture. We went to the new(ish, since I’ve been there last) museum of art, which I believe was inspired by my favorite architect Frank Gehry. It turned out that the first Saturday of each month is a free day at the museum so we ended up only having to pay two dollars for parking, and that turned out good because I got impatient with the inside of the museum so we just left so I could walk around the outside. I really only wanted to see the building.
This series is of whole buildings surrounding the plaza around the museum. Later posts will include more detailed shots of the museum and park across the street.
CHINKandCRANNY 