February 3, 2016 by coloradotravelingducks

Denver’s Snow Storm February 2016

I, Zeb the Duck, woke up to a foot of snow in my backyard yesterday. Just to be sure, I live very close to Denver, not in the mountains. The snow is to be in the mountains on the ski slopes. I am sitting on a foot of snow here.

Sitting on 12 inches of fresh snow

And the snow is cold. But, it is pretty also. Isn’t this park gorgeous with the fresh white snow?

Park with new snow

Now I know how the humans and ducks in New England experience winter. If you get snow from this storm, have fun with it.

November 23, 2015 by coloradotravelingducks

Denver’s Christkindl Market with Zeb and Soapy Smith Duck

On a sunny Sunday, Zeb and Soapy Smith Duck wandered through Denver’s German Christmas Market. Walking down Denver’s Sixteenth Street Pedestrian Mall, heading toward Skyline Park, we stopped to read the blue cow by Douglas Rouse.

Denver’s Blue Cow

We love the blue cow with some facts unique to Denver. Denver has the nation’s largest city park system with more than 200 parks within city limits. And we love the 300 days of sunshine each year to enjoy them. Our airport, Denver International, is the nation’s largest at 53 square miles. Did you know that the Denver Mint is the largest producer of coins in the world? And the thirteenth step of Colorado’s State Capitol Building is exactly 5,280 feet above sea level. We are the Mile High City. Let’s enter Denver’s Christkindl.

Entrance to Denver’s Christkindl Market

There are so many venders with German or European themed items and food. We, Zeb and Soapy, want Soapy’s dog, Steve, to help us decorate this Christmas tree.

Let’s decorate this tree

Remember our Soapy Smith Duck is quite the rascal, so Zeb and Steve will watch him so he does not take ornaments off the tree and give them to strangers. We love the top picture of a pier going over the water.

We like this art

This booth had great art for sale. We were so tempted and had to try the potato pancakes, with applesauce.

Wonderful potato pancakes

We really like them. Hand carved wooden decorations were a big hit.

Wood carvings at Bethlehem Nativity

Aren’t they nice? The potato pancakes were good, but we could still eat more. Then we saw the Styria Bakery.

Stryka Bakery. Can’t pass up a good bakery

This huge pretzel with cinnamon and sugar was just what we wanted.

Cinnamon Pretzel

Delicious! Here we are near the warming tent, which also happens to be the beer garden.

Entrance to warming tent and beer garden

By the entrance we saw and recognized this statue.

The Town Musicians of Bremen

The Town Musicians of Bremen.

The musicians created by the Brothers Grimm

Inside the tent, people were enjoying the German beer.

Beer available here

We spend a little more than one hour here, but it is great. The Christkindl Market will be opened every day at 11:00 a.m. It will close at 1:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving. It usually closes at 7:00 p.m., but stays open until 9:00 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. The market will be in Denver through December 23. We hope you will visit here on one of our many sunny days. We might even return again. This is a great place to purchase gifts, for others and for yourself.

October 18, 2015 by coloradotravelingducks

Denver’s Zombie Crawl with Zeb and Soapy

I, Zeb the Duck, and Soapy Smith Duck went to Denver’s 10 Annual Zombie Crawl. Yesterday on 16th Street Mall, we saw thousands of human zombies.

So many zombies and humans

We saw Zombies fighting in the street. This guy looks fierce.

Zombie street fighter

Check the teeth on this zombie.

Zombie teeth

Anybody know a good zombie dentist? This can’t be.

Can it really be??

Mr Trump. . . Look at two sets of Ken and Barbie Zombies.

Ken and Barbie are zombies?

Why not? So many Ken and Barbies already. There was music and some were dancing.

Music and dancing

What are these pretty girls doing?

Lady zombies

So much blood. Are zombies taking over? Humans are in jail.

In jail

Guess you should Beware of Zombies.

Beware of Zombies

A really tall zombie here.

Really tall zombie

Is this a happy zombie bride and groom?

Newly wed zombies

At least this one is not scary.

Friendly, for a change. We hope!

Unlike other festivals, the Zombie Crawl does not have food booths. Denver’s 16 Street Mall is a great place with many wonderful restaurants.

Great restaurants here

Isn’t this a great pedestrian mall?

Wonderful pedestrian mall

We like 16th Street, but we never saw it with so many zombies. We hope you have some fun experiences like this for Halloween. We liked the Zombie Crawl.

September 28, 2015 by coloradotravelingducks

Art and Music Festival at Sloan’s Lake with Zeb and Eider Duck

I, Zeb the Duck, enjoyed Denver’s Art and Music Festival at Sloan’s Lake.

Here we are at the Art & Music Festival

Mom and I listened to Steve Werges play the guitar and sing.

Steve is entertaining us and several others

Walking around the festival, we admired these photographs.

Fine Art Photographs

Aren’t they great? Paint The World Custom Tie Dyes had lots of stuff.

Tie Dyes

We liked these dresses,

Colorful clothes

but mom did not bring any home. We talked to Keith of Lars Metal Art and admired his pictures.

Metal art from Lars Metal Art

These are made of metal. Many are copper that he pounds from the back. This one is multiple layers of copper to show depth.

Lars Metal Art Multiple layers of copper

He also designs and mounts backsplashes and doors for your home. His art is amazing. Visit http://www.larsmetalarts.com We really like it and we like Keith. These bowls are porcelain pottery.

Porcelain pottery

These are made in Pine, Colorado (about 45 miles from Denver). The artist said the bowls are very nice filled with water and floating candles. Next we admired granite serving platters from Rough Around the Edge. Visit http://www.RoughAroundTheEdge.com The granite can be heated or cooled and will hold the temperature for hours.

Granite Serving Tray from Rough Around the Edge. Being heated with candles

These great trays are attractive and also very useful. Many also have small candle holders. The wick will never burn out and the small reservoir is fill with oil that burns. Very nice! This is Barry from Art Glass Jewelry.

Barry makes Art Glass Jewelry

His jewelry is made of layers of fused glass. Visit him at http://www.ArtGlassJewelry.etsy.com Mom just couldn’t resist. This pendant now lives at our house.

Mom bought this pendant

It really is pretty. Cliff of CSimmons Fine Art & Photography Studio takes great photographs and then makes painting from the photos. He also makes cards with some photos. We loved this squirrel.

This squirrel lives with me now

He is just like the ones in our yard. Visit Cliff on Facebook at cliff@csimmonsartstudio.com So this greeting card came home with us also. As we were leaving, we saw all these tall sculptures.

Tall sculptures

I like them! And, in case you were wondering, this festival was at Sloan’s Lake in Denver, and there really is a lake here.

It is a rather large lake

It is a rather large lake with a sidewalk trail for hiking. Water sports are here also. We like the stand up paddle boarding and the sailboat.

Water sports at Sloan’s Lake

You would like to visit Sloan’s Lake. We do.

September 14, 2015 by coloradotravelingducks

A Taste of Colorado with Zeb and Soapy Smith Duck

A Denver end of summer tradition is the 4 day food festival called A Taste of Colorado. Zeb and Soapy went Monday, Labor Day. This was the 32nd year for A Taste of Colorado.

Purchase tickets here for food

This year there were over 50 of Colorado’s favorite restaurants and hundreds of additional booths. The music from live bands was great. Our first stop was to hear the Richie Law band.

The Richie Law Bank

The crowd was dancing and everybody loved these guys. We especially liked the guitar player.

Great guitar player

He used to play professionally in Nashville and toured with various bands. He is really good. And, he is Soapy’s dad. But, this is a food festival, so let’s eat. We bought and enjoyed grilled steak – churrasco from Rodizio Grill. We ate it before the humans remember to take our photo. But, it was really good. Then we watched these young humans jumping and laughing with EuroBungy Colorado.

EuroBungy Colorado

Great time for kids. Look at these dancers.

Bella Diva Dance

This is Bella Diva Dance and they are good. We like them and the crowd really like them also. This festival is held in Civic Center Park, a huge park between the Colorado Capitol Building and Denver’s City and County Building. There are thousands of people here, but it does not seem too crowded, except maybe in front of the main stage to see Bruce Hornsby and The Noisemakers.

Listening to music. Denver City and County Building behind crowd

The Albert Bartlett Culinary Show takes place here.

Albert Bartlett Culinary Show

Great produce. This is making us hungry again. Since this is a food festival, soon we will show you some of our favorite food booths. You can imagine with thousands of people and so many food and beverage booths, some relief stations would be necessary. This is just one of several locations.

A necessity for big crowds

We like Spice Island Grill and the Jamaican Jerk Chicken. The international looking seating area was a great addition for us.

Spice Island Grill

Here at Grammy’s Goodies, we savored a huge chocolate chip cookie. These giant Krispy treats and slices of pizza are so tempting.

Treats from Grammy’s Goodies

We really thought these guys were great. They showed how to toss and make pizza crust with a short song and dance.

Making pizza

We like them a lot! For information about Grammy’s Goodies, visit http://www.grammysitaliangoodies.com And, of course, no festival, food or otherwise, would be complete without the Giant Turkey Legs from The Goods Smoke and Grill.

Ever popular turkey legs

Everything looked and tasted so good. We are so full and so happy. We hope you visit a food festival soon. It is fun and yummy!

August 30, 2015 by coloradotravelingducks

Mythic Creatures at Denver’s Museum with Zeb the Duck

I, Zeb the Duck, saw Mythic Creatures at Denver’s Museum of Nature and Science.

Mythic Creatures in Denver

This is a special exhibit through September 7, 2015. It is good; don’t miss this one. This is the Kraken.

Kraken

Hundreds of years ago, European sailors told of a sea monster called a kraken that could toss ships into the air with its many long arms. Today we know of a living sea animal, the giant squid, that has eight arms and two tentacles. It can grow longer than a school bus, but it lives at great depths and is hardly ever seen. I, Zeb the Duck, may be in love with this mermaid.

Mermaid

This s a Yawkyawk made from fiber, by Marina Murdilnga.

Yawkyawk

This is an ancient spirit of northern Australia’s aboriginal people. This spirit that lives in the water, looks similar to a mermaid and has the power to give life. Some believe a woman can become pregnant just by going near their water home. This giant Optithecus blacki, lived in southeast Asia for almost a million years, until about 300,000 years ago.

He lived 300,000 years ago

In China fossilized teeth and jaws have been found. I am sitting by a fossilized jaw bone. This is a statue of a Griffin.

Griffin

A griffin is a legendary creature with the body, tail and back legs of a lion. A griffin has the head and wings of an eagle and has eagle’s talons on the front feet. The Griffin was thought to be an especially majestic creature. I liked this unicorn.

Unicorn

In modern fairy tales and stories, the mythic unicorn looks like a white horse with a single long horn on its head. But in older stories, this fantastic creature has a short, colored horn and the body of a goat. This is an ivory tusk from an arctic whale called a narwhal. In the Middle Ages, many believed these tusks to be unicorn horns.

Narwhal Whale Tusk

This chupacabra from Mexico lurks in the forest prying on goats and cattle, terrifying local residents.

Chupacabra

The chupacabra acts much like a vampire, killing animals by sucking their blood. The Barong Ket is King of the Spirits and an oversized village guardian for many residents of the island of Bali, Indonesia.

Barong Ket from Indonesia

Rangda is the half-goddess, half witch demon queen of Bali who often battles Barong. Elephant Bird is from Madagascar.

Elephant Bird from Madagascar

This bird, according to fossils, did exist on the island of Madagascar. However, even though legend says the bird could pick up elephants, he would not have been able to lift an elephant. Another problem with the legend: Elephant bird lived in Madagascar, but elephants never lived in Madagascar. The fossilized egg, also found in Madagascar is the largest egg ever found. This is Pegasus, son of the monster Medusa and Poseidon, the god of the sea and of horses.

Pegasus

Of all the mythic creatures that rise from the water, prowl across land, or fly through the air, the dragon is the most famous.

Dragon

A very impressive dragon. The Chinese Parade Dragon chases the “Pearl of Wisdom,” a baton carried by the parade leader.

Chinese Parade Dragon

These are just some of the mythic creatures you will see at this exhibit. We enjoyed our time here and believe you would enjoy it also. But, go soon. These mythic creatures are at Denver’s Museum of Nature and Science only until September 7, 2015

May 15, 2015 by coloradotravelingducks

Furry Scurry in Denver with Zeb and Soapy Smith Duck

Every May, the Dumb Friends League sponsors a 2-mile walk for humans and dogs. This is the biggest fundraiser for the Dumb Friends League. This year there were over 12,000 humans, over 5,000 dogs and two Colorado Traveling Ducks. Registration begins at 7:00 a.m. and the walk begins at 9:00 a.m.

Registration begins at 7:00 a.m.

As you can see, there are a lot of humans and dogs here.

What a great turn out for the Furry Scurry

The walk is held at Denver’s Washington Park. The paths go around the lake. The finish line is a welcome sight for dogs and humans.

After 2 miles we have finished

We thought these white dogs were beautiful.

Mom really likes white dogs.

This vehicle reminds us that we are raising money for the Dumb Friends League.

Dumb Friends League sponsors this event

Sheltering homeless pets is a great cause. After the finish line, there were many booths. A portion of all profits goes to the Dumb Friends League. This is the first time we saw this Mobile Dog Wash.

The Pooch Mobile

Isn’t this great?

Even a toy dog inside

What a great idea. Often humans complain about pet hair. Here is the solution.

Be Forever Furless

All humans should know CPR for humans and now they can learn first aid and CPR for dogs.

Sometimes dogs need help

You can see this was a nice morning and so many walkers stayed to shop, eat and enjoy the day.

Lots of shoppers and lookers

Dogs need clothes, too. The baseball cap can shade the eyes, or the bill can be flipped up.

This dog is a Bronco fan!

The dog scarf is a fashion statement. Large areas of Washington Park were designated play areas for dogs. This obstacle course was fun to see. This dog is not sure about going through the tunnel.

Why would I want to go inside that tunnel???

Another dog had no problem going up and down the ramp.

Up the ramp and then back down. OK

This dog is catching a Frisbee.

Catching a Frisbee is fun

It was a full and busy day for the dogs. These two seem happy and slightly exhausted.

A festival for dogs!! Very tiring

We hope you visit a furry scurry, or similar event near you. We want to go again next year.

March 2, 2015 by coloradotravelingducks

Egyptian Mummies Arrived in Denver

Mummies??? I, Zeb the Duck, and Soapy Smith Duck, saw mummies–in Denver. Mom took us to Denver’s Museum of Science and Nature. We saw real mummies from ancient Egypt.

Egyptian Mummies in Denver

Let’s go in the room of mummies.

Why did the Egyptians mummify bodies? In the afterlife the deceased would join the god Osiris.

Osiris

The person was said to become an Osiris.

Here is the mummy of a poor lady.

Mummy and coffin of a poor woman.

But, how did the Egyptians mummify bodies? In 4 steps. First the internal organs were removed. The priests removed most organs through a cut on the person’s left side. The heart was not removed, as the heart was the site of wisdom and intelligence. The brain was extracted through the nose with long hooks. Second, the body was dried. During the mummification process, items that the deceased may need were assembled.

Some of things needed for the journey to the afterlife.

These items were to comfort him and help in his journey to the afterlife. The body was laid on a bed of natron, a natural salt, during the drying stage. The body was dried for 40 days. Third, the body was wrapped in linen provided by the family. The quality and quantity of the linen varied by the wealth of the family. Amulets and scarabs were often put in the linen. Fourth, the mummy was placed in the coffin and was ready for a proper funeral and burial.

New coffins–ready for a mummy

This mummification process took 70 days.

Until 1946 tourists to Egypt could buy mummies as souvenirs of their trip. In 1904 a businessman from Pueblo, Colorado purchased these mummies. They are in Denver on loan from Pueblo’s Rosemount Museum.

The hieroglyphs with this coffin lid say this man was a scribe at the temple of the god Amun in the city of Thebes.

Well preserved coffin lid

The high quality of the carpentry and paintings indicate he was a respected and wealthy man. The paintings have been well preserved for the past 3,000 years, but some parts of the lid have fallen off.

What did these people look like when they were alive?

How they may have looked when alive.

From the skulls, this is how the scientists believe they looked.

These mummies are fascinating, but we ducks don’t think we want to be mummies. You would like to see this exhibit. If you don’t live near Denver, visit an exhibit near you. It is fun to be a tourist in your own town. We hope you try it soon and often.

February 23, 2015 by coloradotravelingducks

A Snowy Day in Denver

I, Zeb the Duck, was ready for a day trip to our Rocky Mountains yesterday, but it did not happen. The weather forecast correctly told us that we would receive snow. So, instead of a trip to the mountains, we shoveled the driveway. One of our wonderful neighbors was shoveling our sidewalks by 8:30 a.m. Then we stayed inside and mom baked banana bread. Smelled good and tasted great. We did go outside for a couple pictures.

Fresh white snow

The snow does look pretty here. So white and clean. Now I am on the hot tub cover.

Zeb on the hot tub cover with about 10 inches of snow

I am light enough to sit on top of the snow, but this stick shows a little more than 10 inches of snow. The hot tub is in a corner of our yard, against the house, so the rest of the yard may have received more or less. As mom is writing this Sunday evening, it is snowing again. We do not have the snowstorms other parts of the country received this year, but this enough for us for now. We hope you are enjoying your winter and seeing some pretty snow as well. It should be sunny again in a couple days.

December 31, 2014 by coloradotravelingducks

Happy New Year’s Eve Day

The Colorado Traveling Ducks and their humans hope you have a very Happy New Year’s Eve. In Denver, it will be cold as we ring in the New Year. Denver will have two fireworks displays again this year. The first show is at 9 p.m. and the second is at midnight. Here are some photos celebrating New Year’s Eve in 2013.

Denver fireworks last year

Celebrating the arrival of 2014 near Denver’s capitol building

Looking forward to ringing in 2015 in Denver

If you are near a television at midnight Eastern Standard Time, we hope you watch the ball drop in Times Square. This, the 6^th ball, debuted in 2009. The ball begins 475 feet about the street. Weighing 11,875 pounds, the ball is 12 feet in diameter, and contains 2500 crystals. That is really big!

We will celebrate with friends, one of whom is hosting a party. We will be careful and hope you will be careful also. If you drink, please have a designated driver or call a taxi. Have a good time today and remember the Colorado Traveling Ducks care about you.

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