Red Rocks, Evergreen, ranches, and a castle

Friday, August 10^th – Red Rocks and Evergreen.  Our sightseeing outing today saw us headed to one of the most spectacular open-air venues in the world, the Red Rocks amphitheater in Morrison, CO.  Some of the biggest acts in history have played at this historic venue including the Beatles, U2, Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, Fleetwood Mac, Neil Young, and many more – with many of the performers using this venue for live recordings.  Several of the artists even autographed a guitar and donated it to the Red Rocks museum – which we also walked thru.  And even with a limited seating capacity of almost 9,500 seats, I can’t see anyone having a bad seat.  I hope the couple of pix included with this blog update can verify that observation. We were lucky enough to be there when the sound system was being tested, and what a sound system it is. The bass was cranked up to some out-of-this-world volume that I’m sure downtown Denverites could easily hear.  We all agreed we’d like to attend a live concert at the Red Rocks amphitheater sometime in the future. 

After taking in more of those Garden-of-the-Gods type red rocks, we opted for a bite to eat at a little Mexican café in historic Morrison, at the entrance to Red Rocks.  After lunch, we headed to near-by Evergreen, about 15 minutes away.  All of us have been to this charming little town several times before and always enjoy its small town atmosphere and wonderful shopping. Evergreen has numerous artistic shops, many displaying the works of local artists.  And all three of us have contributed quite handsomely to the coffers of Evergreen’s retailers, purchasing quite a number of beautiful pieces of art over the years.  Only minutes off I-70, Evergreen comes highly recommended for an afternoon shopping spree or even a bite of lunch.  Almost guaranteed is a return trip to this quaint little mountain town.

Saturday, August 11^th – Cherokee Ranch & Castle.  With only a short sightseeing day available to us today, my sister, Sandi, and I decided to introduce Lynette to the Cherokee Ranch & Castle (CRC) near Castle Rock, which is about 30 minutes away via State Hiway 85.  CRC includes land that originally belonged to two separate homesteads dating from the late 1890s. The Scottish-style Castle itself was built between 1924 and 1926.  The property was purchased by Tweet Kimball (quite a lady, BTW) in 1954. Tweet also purchased adjacent land and renamed the new parcel the Cherokee Ranch, which today includes 3,100 acres of natural beauty and wildlife. In 1996, Tweet worked with Douglas County to protect Cherokee Ranch through a Conservation Easement; since CRC lands butt up against open spaces belonging to Highlands Ranch, the two combined areas will guarantee Greater Denver that these lands will never be developed.  What a wonderful legacy for Tweet. Today, CRC serves as a cultural and educational hub for this part of Colorado.   In addition to delightful tours of the Castle, other activities open to the public include a performing arts series, themed teas, elk watching, Scotch whiskey tasting, as well as special event evenings dedicated to specific authors with actors dressing up in period costume and reading from the works of Dickens, Poe, and Churchill, to name just a few.  CRC is also a spectacular venue for weddings and anniversaries.  The Castle is home to many fine examples of art and sculpture, as well as unique historical artifacts.  Definitely well-worth a visit and tour for anyone coming to this area.  Needless-to-say, there is spectacular scenery in all directions, including a wonderful view of Pikes Peak, almost 40 miles away. Their website is located at http://www.cherokeeranch.org/  and it has some pretty nice photos of the Castle from a distance, which I didn't get.  The above photo shows Lynette and Denny in front of the Castle entrance. The arched rock entry way above us is actually made from petrified rock.  Very impressive.
We ended this day over an evening of good food and camaraderie at my sister’s place in Highlands Ranch that included a long-time mutual friend, Cathie.  Better known in these parts as “Aunt” Cathie, she is loved dearly by my sister’s two little Yorkshire terriers, Benzee and Bella.

Below is a snapshot of "Aunt" Cathie with Bella, one of Sandi's very cute Yorkshire terrier.

Denny's sister, Sandi, with her "kids" Benzee (left), and Bella (right), along with

Obidiah Long-Beard, the Traveling Lord of LynDen Haus

IAfter visiting for awhile, we were ready for some dinner (we're always hungry). Sandi had bought some great steaks, so I grilled (or mis-grilled) steaks for everyone, which we washed down with a couple bottles of wine.  We thoroughly enjoyed catching up on each other’s lives, and reliving many fun and humorous memories, including some very hairy storytelling!