Going Downtown

Downtown Denver that is. Another beautiful Spring day here in the Front Range, I had stuff to do in the afternoon so it was going to be a short ride for me today. Besides, I don't want you readers to think that all Colorado has is large rock formations and mountains! : )

I headed downtown after 0930, a bit late I know, but was hoping the traffic downtown would not be too bad since it was a Sunday. Turns out, it was almost OK, still heavier than I wanted since I was wandering around looking for sights to photograph. I was thinking of shooting photos reflecting the "steel canyons" motif but that will have to wait till another day when I can be downtown shortly after dawn; that's when the streets should be nearly empty and I can park damn near anywhere.

Instead, I looked for unusual buildings or ornate churches to use as backdrops for my 1987 R80 Beemer, Brigitta. The warm weather had everyone out and about, the yuppies in their faded ball caps and REI shorts, lattes in their hands; the bums in the corners basking in the warm sun while they waited for the next passerby; and young women jogging along the boulevards.

Add cagers to the above mix and riding around downtown was an exercise in vigilance while trying to find a good spot to momentarily park Brigitta for a shot or two.

I found empty parking lots to be a good location if situated near a cluster of buildings like this one was:

Note the small church, dwarfed and nearly hidden

The streets downtown are a series of one way streets, with a street mall walking area thrown in for good measure. I had to do repeated circlings in order to get good spots for shots. Sometimes, I had to sneak some time on the sidewalks.

A couple of Denver's Skyscrapers, look closely, Brigitta is in the shots

An unusually shaped apartment building

As I mentioned, I had to forego the idea of the "steel canyons" motif this time, parking spots were full where the buildings were the thickest. I did however find a couple of good spots to photograph some churches that caught my eye as I wandered around.



A quick pass by the Denver Art Museum Complex offered an opportunity to park Brigitta on the sidewalk next to the giant brush and dust pan. I guess it's art.


A loop around the capitol did not yield much in the way of photo opportunities. Specially since I'd done that round of photos with Maria last year: LINK

Before leaving though, I managed to find a temporary spot again for Brigitta near the Kit Carson Pioneer monument which lies across from the State Capitol building.

This is a nice spot, will have to come back when the leaves come in

After these shots, it was home for lunch and an afternoon of chores. A sure sign that spring is here was the scores of bikers on their cruisers; no helmets of course!