Denver's Big Blue Bronco

If controversy and conversation is the mark of a great artist's work than Luis Jimenez can rest in peace, as his last sculpture and the work that killed him has inspired lots of controversy and conversation.

Jimenez was the artist who created the great blue bronco that graces a large hill in front of the Denver International Airport.  The sculpture was commissioned in 1992 with Denver agreeing to pay Jimenez $300,000 for his work.  The statue was to be completed and in place by 1994.

The delivery date was never met and it would be another 14 years until it was finally installed in front of DIA.  While working on the final assembly of the sculpture in 2006, Jimenez was killed when a portion of the statue fell from a hoist, landed on him and sliced through an artery in his leg.  Trapped underneath the large metal section, Jimenez bled to death on the floor of his workshop.

The statue was finally installed and dedicated on June 12, 2008.  Immediately after that people started to complain about the statue and its garish blue color and blazing red eyes. Opinion on the statue has been divided ever since.  Many city residents want to do away with the statue.  What they would replace it with if anything makes me wonder.  Would they prefer a bland white statue of a horse like "Thunder" on the top of the football stadium in downtown Denver?.  That just sounds so incredibly tame to me!

Obviously I like the statue.  I think it adds a ton of character to the airport and by extension the city of Denver.  I have become very used to the statue since I first saw in it the summer of 2008 and now I would definitely be unhappy if it were to be removed!

Unfortunately, that may just happen.  When a Denver city commissioned piece of art is placed on display there is an ordinance that says it must remain on display for so many days or months or years - I really don't know the exact details of the code.  After that time is up, the art can be removed, placed somewhere else or simply left alone.  That default display time for "Sparky the Demon Horse" (as I call him) is coming to an end.  In the coming weeks the Denver Commission on Cultural Affairs and City Art will make a determination as to what is to happen to the statue.  I hope that it is retained and can become a major symbol of our city.

Embedded at the top of this post is a wonderful, amazing, beautiful picture of the statue taken at night.  This picture was highlighted on a Facebook Page called "Visit Denver" today and I stole it from there.  (Actually - it was listed as shareable, so no stealing was necessary!)  I like the picture so much that I have updated my Facebook cover with this photo.  Even the picture is a truly remarkable work of art!

Well - that's it for a Monday night.  I hope everyone had a great weekend and has had a good start to the week.

Thanks and peace to all! ~J.

An End-to-End Hike of Denver's High Line Canal Trail

Numerous times in the past I have mentioned what I consider to be one of Denver's hidden natural gems - The High Line Canal Trail.  This trail runs from the mountains to the plains and it winds its way through many of Denver's suburbs.

In the past, I have hiked, walked or run on about 1/2 of the distance of this trail.  My wandering has been mainly confined to that section of the trail that is to the west of Interstate 25.  For the last six or so months however, I have frequently driven past sections of the trail that are to the east of Interstate 25.  One of Zack's best friends lives a short distance off the trail on Quebec Street.  In the course of the many times Zack and I have driven to his friend's house we have had the occasion to drive across half a dozen or so street crossings of the trail.  Each time I have driven across the trail, I have thought how cool it would be to start and hike the entire trail from one end to another.

I am not proposing to do that hike all once as it is over approximately 66 miles in distance.  Though I consider myself to be a good hiker, I can't do 66+ miles in one day.  However I can break it up into manageable distances and knock out 10 - 20 miles of the trail per week.

With the beautiful weather we had in Denver today, I decided to start hiking the trail again.  This time my goal is to hike the entire trail from one end to another within the calendar year.  It really shouldn't be that hard of a goal and to be honest it really is not.  The only thing that makes it somewhat difficult is that I have to normally cover twice the distance.  My normal manner of hiking the trail is to take the car, drive to a trail head or a nearby park and then walk out 2 -3 miles.  Then I have to turn around and get back to the car.  Therefore, I have to cover double the distance.  Other than that, hiking the 66+ mile trail isn't that big of a deal.

As you can probably tell by the name of the trail, The Denver High Line Canal Trail, it follows the course of an irrigation canal.  The purpose of the canal is to provide the "plentiful" water of the mountains to the agricultural areas of what is now the Denver Metro area.  The canal was originally conceived a few short years after Denver got it's start as a city.  The idea was first floated in 1870, but construction on the canal didn't begin until 1880.  From start until finish, construction took 3 years, which to me, seems like a very short period of time for work that was done exclusively through manual labor - as there were no mechanical means to build the canal in those days.

From it's completion, the canal has provided a not so steady stream of water to the arid farm lands on the plains.  In it's earlier days, I am quite sure it ran on a much more consistent basis, however in the most recent years the flow of the water in the canal has been restricted quite often due to the extreme droughts that Colorado has faced.  In fact there are very few, if any agricultural customers who still utilize the High Line Canal.  Denver Water now owns and maintains the canal and so the use of the canal is all incorporated into the overall Denver Water management plan.  Additionally the canal, given it is simply an earthen ditch is a very inefficient means of delivering water as it is estimated that between 60 - 80% of the water is lost to evaporation or just drains out of the canal into the nearby ground.

The trail along the canal didn't open for recreational purposes until the 1970's as prior to that it was considered private property.  Even now, sections of the trail are sometimes closed by Denver Water for various reasons.  However, access to the trail is one of the governing principles that Denver Water uses in it's overall management plan.

Besides walking, hiking and running the trail is also used for biking and horseback riding.  Pretty much any non-motorized type of recreation is allowed along the trail.  Though due to the rough nature of the trail as it is primarily dirt and gravel - I won't recommend riding a high performance road bicycle on it nor would I recommend skate boarding or inline skating!

To keep track of my progress on the trail I am going to take pictures of each of the mile markers as I pass them.  It might get a little confusing for me at times as there are 4 or 5 different entities that work with Denver Water to maintain the trail.  And through each of their sections they use different mileage equations.  But as I pass each marker I am going to take a picture of it!

If you have any interest in learning more about the trail, here's a link to the Denver Water Website on the trail.  Additionally, you can check out the entire length of the trail on Google Earth.  Just go to Google Earth and type in Denver High Line Canal Trail in the Fly To Box and it will take you to the center point of the trail.

For those of you who read this and live in Denver, if you have interest in hiking this thing with me, please let me know.  As I always say for my hikes and bike rides - the more the merrier!

And here are the pictures of the first two mile markers I passed today!  Mile markers 42 and 43 are now officially complete!

(The hanging sunglasses are someone's attempt to get a lost article back to whom ever lost it.  I wonder if it ever works or if the lost item - sunglasses, hats, gloves, etc - just hang out for a really long time!)

Well that's about it for today.  Nothing else of significance to note!  I hope everyone had a wonderful Tuesday!

Thanks and peace to all! ~J.

Don't Count Your Chickens Before They Hatch

Tonight has been an epic example of the old adage "Don't count your chickens before they hatch".  For the last 6 weeks the media and press of Denver have been on a constant drumbeat of discussing how the Denver Broncos were going to the NFL Superbowl this year.  That dream ended in the bitter cold of Sports Authority Field at Mile High this evening.   All the hype and hoopla concerning how great the Broncos were and how they were a lock to beat the Baltimore Ravens meant exactly nothing.  The Ravens demonstrated on the field that they were the better team today and that the Broncos season was at an end.

Here's a link to an article written by one of Denver's top sports writers that defines the viewpoint of many in Denver going into today's playoff game.  http://www.denverpost.com/kiszla/ci_22343829/mark-kiszla-ravens-not-exactly-cloud-nine-against.  After reading this article you can see how many in this city were thinking before the game.

Back in week 14 of the regular season I sat in front of my TV on a Sunday night watching the local newscast and was astounded when the sportscaster started talking about who the Broncos would likely face in the Superbowl.  Really?? I was utterly astounded by this premature line of thought when there were some really good teams in the running for the playoffs.  Denver is a city that seems to live and die by it's football team.  Why stir up such hopes and dreams when there is no reason for it?  You need to demonstrate you can win in the post-season before you should start making such predictions. 

Not being a Broncos fan, I felt that I had somewhat of an objective viewpoint on this game going in to it.  Listening to the sportscasters and media pundits talk about Peyton Manning and the game I realized they were missing one key point - Peyton Manning for all of his star power has been a failure in the post season.  Yes - he has won one Superbowl with Indianapolis at the end of the 2006 season, but in general he has done horrible in the playoffs.  If your team's goal is to win the Superbowl, Peyton Manning is not necessarily the quarterback to accomplish that goal.  In the aftermath of today's game there are articles being written that Manning's legacy in football is not going to be that of a champion but that of a disappointment.  See the following article in Manning's home town newspaper.  http://www.nola.com/superbowl/index.ssf/2013/01/peyton_manning_column.html

The bottom line is though Peyton Manning does great in the regular season he is not a big game super star like Tom Brady, Joe Montana or even his brother Eli.  Just as an example, his brother Eli's post season record is 8 - 3 with 2 Superbowl victories.  Going into today's game, Manning's post-season record was 9 - 10 with only one Superbowl victory which is not a particularly stellar statistic for someone of his star power.

Hopefully if the Broncos do well in the regular season next year this kind of hype and over the top expectations can be avoided.  From my personal perspective I certainly will be glad if I never hear the phrase "United in Orange" again!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Thanks and peace to all! ~J.