Art & Nature

2015/01/img_6745.jpg
Denver Art Museum, & Museum of Nature and Science

After a nice breakfast this morning at our B&B in Denver, Ray, Shirley, Sally and I toured the following:

“Brilliant – Cartier in the 20th Century” at the Art Museum featuring stunning jewelry, timepieces, and precious objects created between 1900 and 1975. This exhibition highlights Cartier’s rise to preeminence—and the historical events pushing the Maison’s, or design house’s, evolution—as it transformed itself into one of the world’s most prestigious names in jewelry and luxurious accessories.

“Matisse and Friends”- Selected Masterworks from the National Gallery of Art showcases 14 paintings from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., by artists Henri Matisse, André Derain, Albert Marquet, Maurice de Vlaminck, Raoul Dufy, Georges Braque, and Kees van Dongen.

These artists shocked the art world with their raw approach and triggered a succession of innovative movements in modern art. Working in and around Paris at the turn of the twentieth century, they were part of a creative community that sought to redefine painting, favoring an expressive style that emphasized loose brushwork and bold colors.

And, at the Nature Museum: “Silk Road”. Long before the internet and overnight deliveries, the Silk Road connected humanity. Under vast starry skies, across some of the most treacherous landscapes, this legendary trade route stretched 5,700 miles from China through Central Asia to the Middle East and the Roman Empire. Along the way were the world’s most progressive cities, teeming with the lively exchange of exotic goods and new ideas. In the exhibition Traveling the Silk Road, you will take a journey accented by the spectacular sight of camel caravans, the pungent scent of spices, the luster of exquisite silks, and the energy of creative thinking.

Very well done exhibits!

2014 Moto Trip

DAY 1 – Dinosaur National Park

Today I leave on a loop trip through Utah (Bryce, Grand Staircase, Bridges) and Colorado (Durango, Black Canyon, Crested Butte, Salida and Rocky Mountain National Parks).

2015/01/img_0817.jpg
Is all this gear going to fit?

A beautiful Colorado morning for a ride. Up the Poudre Canyon, over Cameron Pass, over Rabbit Ears Pass, through Steamboat Springs with temps in the 60’s and 70’s.

Past my favorite ranch gate near Dinosaur National Park, and temps soared to the high 80’s. Great to find my campsite on the Green River, strip off my riding gear and enjoy the cool night air.

IMG_2106
The Poudre River is running high
IMG_2547
Love this ranch gate, near Blue Mountain, CO
IMG_2544
Lots of Sinclair gas stations in this area. Quite appropriate, don’t you think?
IMG_2583
My campsite on the Green River

Riding Back Home from Steamboat

A stunning Colorado day! Cloudless blue sky, early morning temps in the 60’s and a light breeze, so I know the 3 1/2 hour ride home will be great fun. At Muddy Pass there is a roundup underway…

Up over Rabbit Ears Pass, east of Steamboat, crossing the high rolling plains to Walden, CO, then up over Cameron Pass, and we are now in the Poudre River Canyon.

The water is running quite high and the rafting companies look like they doing a nice business today.Through the tunnel in the rock……

And home