If you're a lover of art and nature stop everything you're doing now and rush to Denver Art Museum!
Or, maybe read this post first so you know why!
Yesterday we visited Denver Art Museum to check out the exhibition Biophilia: Nature Reimagined. I'd been seeing it pop up on Instagram for a few months now and kept planning to go see it over Summer Break with the kids. Well, here we are, just one week out from school starting and we finally made it.
More importantly though, there are only a few more days left to see this stunning exhibition before it closes for good. If, like me, you've been procrastinating about visiting, you're running out of time.
Wondering what Biophilia is all about? Read on for more...
Did you know that Denver has a connection to the Titanic?
While it may seem a little odd that a city in a landlocked state shares a tie with one of the most famous ocean liners in history, I'm here to let you know that it's true!
Do you remember Kathy Bates' character in the movie Titanic? The loud and brash American woman with the big hats and personality to match. Unlike the main characters Rose and Jack, she was actually a real person who survived the Titanic sinking. Her name was Margaret "Molly" Brown and she was a Denver based mining millionaire and philanthropist.
While Molly Brown was already well known in Colorado for her philanthropy work, her efforts to help less fortunate survivors of the Titanic's sinking rocketed her to national fame. She went on to become a well known leader of the suffrage movement and a cultural icon, portrayed on stage and in iconic movies including Titanic and The Unsinkable Molly Brown.
Molly Brown's restored Denver mansion still stands today and is home to a museum that features aspects of her life including her experience on the Titanic, her many travels and her suffrage work. It's a stunning example of Queen Anne style architecture filled with furniture, art works and memorabilia of the time.
If you've been here a while you'll know that I'm a huge history buff, so visiting places where I get to step back in time, even if it's only 100 years or so, is something I find truly fascinating. We recently visited the Molly Brown House for the first time and I'm excited to share it with you here today.
Every time we take a trip back to Australia I'm always asked by my friends here in the US about the animals. Will we get to see kangaroos on our trip? Will we get to a cuddle a koala? Will we get bitten by a deadly snake/spider/shark/crocodile/jellyfish?
Ok, that last one is asked more often that you'd expect - and obviously the answer is no because I'm here to write this post today. Unless I'm zombie Sally right now! You never know!
Anyway, scary animals aside, Australia's weird and wonderful friendly animals (or at least, friendly seeming animals) are always what my friends here want to know about.
My kids are just as intrigued by Australia's wildlife, so every time we go back to Australia we make sure to plan a trip to a local wildlife park or zoo.
During our recent trip back to Adelaide we visited Gorge Wildlife Park in Cudlee Creek.
Disclaimer: I received a complimentary tour. All opinions are my own.
Looking for a fun new Colorado adventure? An adventure that gets the whole family outside without too much effort? Something active and a little quirky?
Have I got the adventure for you!
Colorado Railbike Adventures is here and it checks all of these boxes!
So just what is a railbike?
As you can probably tell from the pictures here, a railbike is a pedal powered vehicle designed to run on railroad tracks. I've been seeing them pop up online on disused railroad tracks all around the world and they're such a great way to repurpose something no longer in use. The first time I saw one was when we visited Fiji in 2022. The railbikes there run on old sugar cane tracks along the coast. I had really hoped to ride the railbikes there but they were fully booked for the week of our visit, so I'm super excited that we now have such an experience here in Colorado too.
Obviously there are no views of the ocean here in Colorado, but riding the railbike with the Flatirons and snowcapped Rocky Mountains as our view was pretty spectacular none the less!
Each railbike at Colorado Railbike Adventures seats four people. Each person has their own set of pedals to power the railbike, but it's pretty easy going so if you have a couple of lazy riders (ahem... kids) who don't want to pedal the whole time, or if there are just two riders, you'll still move pretty easily.
For families with little ones who are just along for the ride an extra seat can be added to the front.
All of the seats come with seatbelts similar to what you'd find on an airplane, and harnesses are available for anyone needing something a little more secure.
So, what about the route? Right now there is one route available to ride. The Boulder Valley Mine Route is a 4.2 mile return route that travels west from Colorado Railbike Adventures' depot to Old Town Erie. Along the way the tracks pass by the Erie Disc Golf Course, through farmland, along a creek, over a trestle bridge, across bike paths, and across a road with a dedicated traffic controller.
In the Fall there will be an 8 mile return route opening as well.
Once you reach the end of the line in Old Town Erie there is a short break at picnic tables while the staff turn the bikes around on their handy custom turn table. During this time you'll learn a little about Erie's mining and railroad history.
The first leg of the ride is down hill so you can pretty much coast along the whole way. The return ride, however, is uphill so you'll need to put in a little more effort with the pedaling. There's no rush though as you have two hours for the entire trip.
At the depot you'll find plenty of space to relax, picnic tables, restrooms and yard games.
If you want to see our railbike adventure in action make sure to check out my Instagram post below.
