Denver Day of Rock

Last Saturday was a perfect day to visit Denver. We arrived in the early morning and parked downtown right near the heart of things, and we could immediately tell that things were buzzing more than a typical Saturday. There was a Memorial Day parade going on, and a huge festival was being set up along the main downtown drag (16th Street - a pedestrian-only street of shops and restaurants). Turns out not only were they celebrating Memorial Day, it was the annual Denver Day of Rock - a day of free concerts to benefit kids' education, health, and well-being. Very cool.

We spent the first hour or two just walking around - Tom had a Denver walking tour from Frommer's, so we followed that around to some landmarks like the capital building, the performing arts center & museums, and the "16th Street Mall" as it's officially called.

 

By the time we got over to 16th Street, many local artists and vendors had set up shop. We saw so much cool art here and wished we already had somewhere to live so we could've picked something out!! Instead, we just grabbed business cards with hopes of purchasing something down the line... it's not like we have any spare room in our car on this trip, anyway. The vibe in Denver is so chill and cool - everyone seems relaxed and at peace with everyone else. It's quite a contrast from the streets of  NYC where everyone is always in a hurry and seems stressed out. We walked up and down 16th Street for a bit and then ventured over toward an area called LoDo (lower downtown) and the Denver Rockies stadium (Coors Field). Yet another event going on this Saturday: a Rockies game! We thought about getting tickets but decided to save our money and enjoy the free concerts instead.

 

From the Rockies stadium, we crossed a few footbridges (including one over the South Platte River) and checked out some really cool newish residential areas that seem to be geared toward young professionals who work in the city. It's incredibly easy to get from this relaxed, more naturey area to the downtown skyscrapers on foot thanks to the pedestrian bridges connecting them. There is a gigantic park that hugs the river, and people were biking, swimming, running, and skateboarding everywhere. One group had even set up a volleyball net in the middle of a park. If we could transplant Denver to the southeast, it would be our dream city. It's so clean, so active, so chill, and has all the things we want in a city (except proximity to our families!). Sigh. Oh well. We'll just have to come visit again.

View from the first footbridge looking toward the park and footbridge #2

After walking around this area for a while, we headed back across the bridges to 16th Street and listened to some of the bands play. No joke, we walked more than a half marathon today, and our legs were killing us, but we were having a blast. The music was great, and proceeds from everything we bought (food, drinks, arm bands) went to charities for kids. One band in particular we loved was Bop Skizzum - a funk band that could easily contend with some of the artists at the top of the charts. Check them out on iTunes!! We also got to hear the Gin Blossoms and some other lesser known (but awesome nonetheless) bands.

Bop Skizzum from afar

Bop Skizzum closer up

Gin Blossoms (I swear... our flash didn't help out much)

It was a long day, but we had so much fun (and for a great cause)! We headed back to our hotel exhausted and content.

Up next: driving day through the gorgeous Colorado Rockies (ie - lots of pics, minimal text).