I'm getting a little bored with walking and reading challenges, so I decided to set a goal of doing something new each week. It can be something educational like visiting a new museum or something for entertainment like going to a new movie. I just need some motivation to get outside away from my Kindle and computer. So, I started off with a trip to the Mother Cabrini Shrine in Golden, CO. Mother Cabrini was an Italian nun who was sent to America by Pope Leo XIII (not the current Pope; he's Leo XIV). Her goal was to establish orphanages, schools, and hospitals for Italian-American immigrants. She was the first American to be canonized a saint. Truthfully, Mother Cabrini spent a lot more of her career in New York and Chicago than she ever did in Denver. But in order to become a saint, you have to have 2 miracles credited to you and one of hers was finding water on the top of the mountain where her shrine is located.
I went on this trip with the Parker Senior Center. I always think their trips are very interesting, but this one turned out to be a little hairy. In order to get to the very top of the monument, you have to climb 350 steps. Since the average age of our group is around 85 and mobility is definitely iffy, we got permission to drive up there. I was totally freaked out when they pointed us to this dirt track that ran along the side of the mountain. Surprisingly, the bus had enough power to make the steep climb, but I opted to walk the 350 steps back down to the gift center when the tour was over.
My next little adventure was a trip to the Argo Mill in Idaho Springs, an historic gold mining and processing plant. It's considered an engineering marvel, because back in 1893 they built a 4-mile long tunnel to drain water from over 150 underground mines. The tunnel also provided a fast way for miners to get to the mill and process their ore (instead of climbing up and over the mountain). We only went about 50 yards into the tunnel, but that was enough for me.
We also toured the mill and learned about the chemistry of extracting the different metals from the surrounding rock. Mostly they used a lot of hazardous chemicals, so it's no wonder the mill workers had a life-expectancy of only 40 years.
At the end of the tour, we got to pan for gold. I personally thought this was really challenging not to lose your gold when you're swirling it around in a pan of sand and water. But I managed to find my 2 microscopic flakes. Surprisingly, they are worth about 50 cents.
On Thursday, Bruce, Charlie, and I went to Sandstone Ranch. Bruce and Charlie went on a hike, while I attended a Plein Air workshop. The teacher was an oil painter, but she focused on different types of setups for painting outdoors. Notice her big umbrella sitting on top of her easel. Surprisingly, she said with the intense UV in Colorado, an umbrella was almost as important as the paints you use. I thought about staying around to do a little painting of my own, but since Bruce and Charlie had finished their hike, we headed off to the Mexican restaurant in Larkspur for lunch instead... yum!
And speaking of Bruce, we got inspired by Janet's photo of her kids sealing her driveway for Mothers' Day, so Bruce took a day to seal ours. We haven't gotten any harsh cracks or spalling yet, but I figured it doesn't hurt to seal the concrete against Denver's harsh winter climate.
And the week wouldn't be complete without a bike ride or two... or three. On Monday, I went out exploring on my own. They paved a new trail in Denver along the Jackass Gulch (I'm sure that was named during the Gold Rush days) that leads down to the light rail station, crosses over a 6-lane road, and ends up at the Platte River Trail. It's so nice to find trails that feel safe, and it's an extra bonus when they are paved. On Wednesday, I led our bike group on a loop ride in this same area. We didn't take the Jackass Trail, because it's pretty steep to ride back up to the parking lot, but we did take another trail along the Platte River - very scenic and flat. On Friday, I rode to the Fika Coffee Shop by myself, because I wanted to do some sketching and I wanted to take a break from doing new things every day. My original goal was once a week; I need to remember that.
