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Boulder, CO - Art, Tea, & MoreJun 8, 2008
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Leanin' Tree Museum
Bronze Sculptures, More to Follow
We had a little rain overnight and the wind is still with us. It’s a strange kind of wind though; one moment it’s dead calm and the next moment it’s blowing 40 mph. We finally just gave up on the awning and retracted it.
Trail Ridge Road was still closed so we headed for Boulder today. Boulder is home to the University of Colorado and is a recognized center for education and research. It gets its water supply, which is pumped through 28 miles of pipe, from Arapaho Glacier.
Our first stop was at The Leanin’ Tree Museum. These are the guys who make the cute, funny greeting cards with the wizened faces of old cowboys and cowgirls. Actually, they also have very beautiful, serious, and whimsical cards; but, what surprised us was the museum and sculpture garden. Ed Trumble founded the company in 1949 and had a vision to amass a collection of art of the American West. There’s money in greeting cards because what he has achieved here is truly awe inspiring. Outside the museum is a large sculpture garden displaying sculptures representing the American West and Native American cultures. Inside the museum, is a private collection of sculptures and paintings that is truly extraordinary. All in all, the collection boasts 250 paintings and 150 bronze sculptures all created by more than 100 artists. We both loved the wildlife paintings but Joe reminded me we don’t have a wall big enough to accommodate any of them. Admission was free but no one could get out of the gift shop without buying some of these appealing cards; each one I picked up made me smile. Joe gave up and went out to take Foxy for a walk.
Celestial Seasonings Tea was next on the agenda. Herbal tea played a big role in my weight loss success here recently so I stocked up on some more teas. It’s hard to figure out how one can spend $30 on tea, but I did. Oh well, it’s going to last a long time; now, I just have to find a place to put it.
By then, we were starving and set out to find a place for lunch. We ate at a great restaurant called Turley’s. The food was excellent and not all that expensive. I had a fruit plate and muffin and Joe had a buffalo burger and salad….really good.
Fortified with food, we were ready for the trip up Flagstaff Road through Boulder Mountain Park to Flagstaff Mountain at 6,872 feet. This was a beautiful scenic drive over a dizzying hairpin switchback road. Boulder is a university town and bicycle riders are everywhere. The signs warned not to pass them on curves. We were just amazed at the stamina some of these guys had to cycle up this road; we gained 1,000 ft. elevation over about 2.5 miles. We were rewarded with spectacular panoramic views of Boulder in one direction and the Rocky Mountains from the other. At the summit, we got Foxy out and walked a trail; made her day.
Back down the switchback road and we made our way to Pearl Street Mall. This is a pedestrian only mall and it was just mobbed with Sunday strollers. You can see a little of everything here and it gives a real flavor of the eclectic personality of the community. We walked about for a while and enriched the economy at Ben & Jerry’s for ice cream.
We stopped at Wal-Mart in Loveland on the way back to pick up a few things. This is the biggest Wal-Mart we’ve ever been in; it’s almost overwhelming in size. Then we fueled up the Jeep ($3.799 for unleaded); blew $50 in no time and headed home.
We were still full from lunch and the ice cream so we just had a light supper at home.
