Hey Guys! I realize that Colorado was actually the thirty-eighth state to be ratified but, for us, it’s the forty-ninth state we’ve been to! We only spent a week in the Denver area, but we crammed so much into that one week that I’m going to break it up into two different posts.

The Colorado State Capitol Building will be the last SCB we visit for a while. It’s SCB number forty-eight for us even though Colorado is state number forty-nine on our map. If you’ve been with us for a while, you might remember that we missed the Alaska SCB. Planning didn’t work out…it would have cost way more than we wanted to spend for us to lay eyes on a building. So, we skipped it and went on a day cruise instead.

On the first floor of the Colorado SCB the “Women’s Gold” wall hanging celebrates all of the achievements of women in Colorado through its first one hundred years of statehood. The maker of this quilt had a little help though…she had 3,500 people put at least one stitch in the wall hanging.

Colorado Rose Onyx marble from Beulah, CO is so rare that all of the known reserves were used to build the SCB. So, if you ever want to see it in person, you’ll have to visit the Colorado State Capitol Building.

Around the dome is the Colorado “Hall of Fame”. There are sixteen stained glass windows depicting individuals who helped with the growth and development of Colorado.

During the tour, we were able to go up into the dome and out on the little walkway around the dome. Check out that view! Those are the Rocky Mountains in the distance.

Between the third floor of the SCB and the dome, there’s a museum. It’s not a huge museum, but it’s packed with a ton of information about Colorado and the SCB.

They call Denver the “Mile High City” because the SCB sits exactly one mile above sea level.

There are three “mile high” markers on the steps of the SCB. The first one was put on the 15th step in 1909.  After the brass cap was stolen seven times within thirty-eight years the “mile high” was etched into the step itself.  In 1969, some students at the University of Colorado remeasured and found that the first measurement was off a bit and a brass cap was installed on the 18th step. In 2003, measurements were taken again and they found that the “mile high” marker was still off…so, another brass cap was installed on the 13th step. You can see all three steps in the picture above.

The exterior cast iron dome was recently restored and covered in more than sixty-five ounces of pure gold.

While we were in the area, we took the time to go visit Buffalo Bill’s grave and museum.

William F. Cody was born in 1846 on a farm in Iowa. Throughout his life, he embraced the Old West and did everything from herding cattle to riding on the Pony Express to scouting for the Army, but it was his time as a buffalo hunter that scored him the name “Buffalo Bill”. In 1872, Buffalo Bill joined a theater production that would one day become Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show.

William Cody was buried on Lookout Mountain in 1917 where he loved the view of the Rocky Mountains.

Not far from where Buffalo Bill is buried, is Genesse Mountain Park where you can see Denver’s buffalo herd. There are a couple of overlooks and a few hiking trails you can use to catch a glimpse of them.

On our last day in town, we snuck in a visit to Dinosaur Ridge.

We missed the tour by like…five minutes. So, we opted to walk it. Well, actually, we walked one part, drove to the other parking lot then walked the other part. We probably ended up walking more this way, but the rain was threatening so we tried to stick close-ish to the car.

Dinosaur Ridge is world famous for its dinosaur tracks and bones. Kind of cool to walk where the dinos once walked.

Dinosaur Ridge is known for the world’s first stegosaurus discovery. While you walk the trail, you can touch actual dinosaur fossils.

It’s called a dinosaur bulge. It’s where a big dino…maybe a brontosaur…steps in soft ground like a river bed or mud and it creates this bulge shape as the ground hardens. We’ve been to 49 states, but this is the first time we’ve taken the time to visit a dinosaur site. I can promise you…it won’t be our last. My little science nerds were in paleontology heaven.

Let’s talk foodies! Y’all know we like our burgers! Check out this jalapeno popper burger. Yum-oh!!

Stay tuned for Denver Part Two!

See y’all down the road!

#westernloop2018