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8-14-2008
Inside the terminal
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8-14-2008
Fountain inside the main terminal
notice the unique roof!
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Jeppesen
Terminal has a fiberglass roof that is extremely strong. It represents the
snow peaked mountains of Colorado. The airport covers 53 square miles -
the largest commercial airport in North America! The 3 mile long runway
is the longest in the country. The airport is also one of the greenest in
the country and has aggressive environmental programs including a huge area
of solar panels. The blue mustang at the airport entrance is just one of
the fine art projects to be seen at the airport. |
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The roof looks
like multiple large circus tents and has the appearance of a fabric ceiling.
It is supposed to represent the snow-capped mountain peaks here.
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Some views of
the tarmac and the distinctive terminal in the background. At night the
lights from inside the terminal glow and make quite a beautiful sight.
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14 August
2008
Invesco Field at Mile High in Denver
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14 August 2008
The Denver Skyline
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The U.S.
Mint in Denver
The US Mint was begun in 1863 but was only used as an assay office for
the gold fields. It wasn't until 1904 that the government decided to begin
minting coins here in Denver.It was decided to erect a new larger facility
which was an Italian Renaissance style building modeled after a Florentine
palace. It was completed in 1906 and remains a beautiful and treasured
building in the downtown area today.
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The Denver
downtown is constantly changing and remains a unique & diverse site
with offices, shops, malls, restaurants, hotels, meeting places, parks,
galleries, and many places to just sit and enjoy the atmosphere.
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DOWNTOWN
DENVER AREA
Often referred to
as the Civic Center Area
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Denver City-County
Building
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Denver is
a Consolidated City & County
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DENVER
ART MUSEUM &
CENTRAL LIBRARY
These unusual buildings have
many works of art outside.
Notice the "horsie" on the chair
8-18-2008
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Denver Public
Library & Artwork
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The Art Museum
& library are neighbors
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Outside the
west entrance, the 15th step is exactly 1 mile above sea level. The designation
was changed to the 18th step in 1969 and then, in 2003, to the 13th step
where it now remains. Each spot has a marker about the mile high status.
The Capitol was designed by Elijah E. Myers in the 1890s. Colorado white
granite was used. The gold dome was not added until 1908 to commemorate
the Colorado Gold Rush. The main entrance hall goes up 180 feet to the
top of the dome!
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The Capitol
is an impressive view
from all angles
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Vietnam War
Memorial near capitol
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This area is known as the Civic
Center and includes a Greek amphitheater, a war memorial, and the Voorhees
Memorial Seal Pond as well as many beautiful gardens. It is bounded on one
end by the City-County Building and on the other end by the State Capitol
building. Surrounding the park are a number of government buildings, the
main library of the Denver Public Library System, the Denver Art Museum,
the Denver History Museum and a number of other businesses. The park officially
opened in 1919. |
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Bronze Bronco
Buster Statue
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Bronze On
the War Trail Statue
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There are many lovely flower gardens
that are well manicured and full of vibrant colors. The arch in the background
was a nice backdrop. You can see the Denver Art Museum in the picture above
and to the left a view of the downtown buildings of Denver. |
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| The Denver Convention Center
has a piece of art that looks like a very large bear looking in the windows |
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Denver has
the 10th largest downtown in the country
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The downtown Civic Center area
includes many tall buildings. Streetcars haul people around the area. The
tall white Republic Plaza Building is a landmark downtown and can be seen
from almost all angles. There are also some architecturally unique buildings
such as the round front one above. Old buildings are mingled with the new
to provide an interesting downtown for Denver. |
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The Republic Plaza
building was completed in 1984 and is 714 feet tall and is 56 stories high.
It has a three story marble lobby that features changing exhibits and programs.
Buildings downtown effectively mix the old with the new. The historic Brown
Palace Hotel that opened in 1892 is right next door and the modern World
Trade Center buildings are nearby. The nearby Quest tower is 709 feet high |
NEIGHBORHOODS
IN AND AROUND DOWNTOWN DENVER
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We drove down
Colfax Blvd between downtown Denver and the Denver Airport area and passed
by many interesting buildings including churches, colleges and beautiful
older homes in nice neighborhoods.
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Scenes along
Colfax on the way from downtown to the airport area
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The Denver Zoo began many years
ago, in 1896, with the gift of a black bear named Billy Bryan. Now it
has grown to around 4,000 animals and over 700 species. The zoo has many
exhibits, conservation programs, environmental education programs and
continues to offer public service to the area.
Among the special features
of the Denver Zoo are:
Predator Ridge,
a home to 14 African species of mammals, birds and reptiles in natural
habitat
Tropical Discovery where you can visit a coral reef, a swamp and
riverbanks areas. There is even a Komodo Dragon exhibit.
Primate Panorama offers views of the social primates with monkeys,
apes & more
This is just a glimpse into
this interesting & unique zoo we visited in Denver
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These pieces
of art are at the entrance of the zoo
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A Cheetah
at rest in the afternoon sun
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The PACHYDERM HABITATS
include Asian elephants, rhinos, tapirs and hippos |
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Peacock - the large fan-shaped tail belongs
to the male bird. The
female is known as a
Peahen and doesn't have such a tail.
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Sheep and Rocky Mountain Big Horn Sheep are found in this exhibit |
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We saw two
great bird shows - A Macaw
and a Falcon
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Monkey Island
- built in 1936
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Monkey Island
- Capuchin monkeys, American pelicans, and crested screamers
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The
monkeys had great fun swinging on the ropes & moving around the island.
There were pelicans in the moat area
as well as many ducks. |
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The Brown
Bear is not often found in the wild today in North America
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More Monkey
Business! - we saw so many different kinds of monkeys & other primates
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Penguins in
a cold place & Flamingoes in a warm place
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BIRD WORLD
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In Bird World you can walk
right into the exhibits and see the birds flying around and building nests
and just interacting with the other birds and also with the visitors.
Around 200 species are represented in Bird World. Each exhibit is geared
to the natural habitat of the birds within it. We watched one little bird
carry around a piece of string for at least 20 minutes. We never did see
what he did with it.
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The Rhino
was very personable!
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How about
a smile!
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Ankole (Watusi)
Cattle
African Domestic Cattle
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Ahhhhhh! the
sun feels so good!
A seal's life is great right now
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These are Reticulated Giaffe
found only in the plains south of the Sahara in Africa. Their unique coloring
is good protection to them in their environment. The baby giraffe was
still over six feet tall!
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Tropical Discovery Indoor
Rainforest
See waterfalls and swamps and
coral reefs. You can imagine you are really there in each one.There are
fresh water fish and marine fish, turtles, lizards and even a Komodo dragon
habitat that is amazing. You won't want to miss their one
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