Mountain West Microbrew & Dirty Soda Fountain: Irrelevant chit chat

[wong21fr]

Originally Posted by Cirrus

Questions for Denverites:

1. What are the best/biggest playgrounds in town?

City Park, Sanchez Park, and Central Park come to mind.

2. Is Confluence Park good for kids?

The area aroud REI has some kid-friendly areas with some climbing structures and there's always the Children's Museum that's right there.

3. Are there any good rooftop/upper floor bars/cafes besides the Hyatt?

The Le Méridien Denver at 15th and California is a good one. There's also Linger and El Five in LoHi that both have some great views. The Halycon in Cherry Creek has a nice rooftop bar as well.

4. Besides Union Station & the CPV, what must I see that's new/improved over the past 15 years?

I would suggest the Stanley Marketplace as a great adaptive re-use project with a ton of kid-friendly elements plus local shops, restaurants, bars, etc. Probably the most unlikely place in Denver where a community center of gravity would have developed. The Golden Triangle is great to check out given how it is filling out, but the street life is still lacking.

[mr1138]

Originally Posted by Cirrus

Questions for Denverites:

I don't have kids, so I probably am not the best to ask on the first two questions. I have observed a brand new playground at Sloan's Lake recently though that looks nice.

3. Are there any good rooftop/upper floor bars/cafes besides the Hyatt?

I also was going to say Linger. Avanti in Lower Highland is another that comes to mind. Odell Brewing has a location on Perry St. with nice patio overlooking Sloan's Lake. There is also one opening soon at the new Populus hotel (that I imagine will be quite busy to begin with).

4. Besides Union Station & the CPV, what must I see that's new/improved over the past 15 years?

Blake, Walnut, and Larimer streets in RiNo. This part of town still has some urban grit to it, but the transformation has been pretty incredible and the street life is NOT lacking. I agree Golden Triangle is going through an interesting transformation too, although it feels more upscale and "sanitized" than RiNo.

Further from the center, you could check out the changes in a place like Tennyson Street, South Broadway (a much more gradual transformation), or TOD areas like Belleview Station or Olde Town Arvada. And for what it's worth - Cherry Creek has also been going through an ongoing transformation.

5. Are there any cute hipstery shops my wife will want to go to? The sort of place that carries locally-made funny stationery

I may not be the best to ask on this one, but again, I'd suggest RiNo (mostly east of the RR in the area we used to call "Upper Larimer"), or neighborhood centers like Tennyson, 32nd and Lowell, or Olde Town Arvada as good places to look for this.

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by Cirrus

Questions for Denverites:
5. Are there any cute hipstery shops my wife will want to go to? The sort of place that carries locally-made funny stationery

Think LODO - At the Top of my list is:

Milk Market - Dairy Block

An All Local, All Wonderful Food Hall; it's a 16-venue cornerstone of the historic Dairy Block.

The Alley


Courtesy Dairy Block

Kitty-corner from this is the redeveloped block across from Coors Field called

McGregor Square

DENVER’S DOWNTOWN PLAYGROUND

OUTDOOR PLAZA




Courtesy McGregor Square

---------------------------

Cherry Creek North would certainly be an option

Away from downtown, yes, Stanley Marketplace is a nice recommendation.

[wong21fr]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

Think LODO - At the Top of my list is:

Milk Market - Dairy Block

McGregor Square

Not really any cutesy stationary shops in either of those locations (McGregor has a small stall iirc). More so eateries and some boutiques at the Dairy Block.

Though McGregor does have a little toy store, Peak-a-Boo Toys, that took over the Tattered Cover location after the spectacular implosion of that company. It's the second location with the original location being off of Main Street in Breckenridge.

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by Cirrus

Questions for Denverites:

1. What are the best/biggest playgrounds in town?

2. Is Confluence Park good for kids?

YES, Confluence-Riverfront-Commons Park is always a nice choice, to picnic, to relax, walk down to the river.

If you are Zoo-inclined the Denver Zoo has spent tons of money making the zoo eco-animal-friendly. If you're more science inclined then the same can be said for the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, both a part of City Park.

If you find yourself in the vicinity of the Capitol the Denver Library, recently updated, is a nice stop; also an easy bathroom break. That's a nice area next to the new Denver Art Museum addition and it puts you just north of the Golden Triangle. Also the Civic Center Park is right there with its summer flowers etc.

Still, it's easy to say that you can't beat Wash Park.

[Cirrus]

Thanks, folks. Most of my Colorado time will be south, but I'm going to try and squeeze a lot into a couple of days in Denver.

[wrendog]

2034 Olympics in SLC. That'll be a good time.

For you Colorado Folk... what small mountain town should we do our family reunion next summer? Considering Telluride or Durango, but up for any good option..

[Cirrus]

I can't really help you with the mountain towns but does everybody remember that time Denver was awarded the Olympics and then turned them down? NIMBY culture is super awesome.

[TakeFive]

Denver is a beautiful and vibrant city -- It's still an active, outdoorsy kind of place that residents love.

* Denver is still a Broncos Town

and while the team has not been good of late the fans are antsy for the new season for hope and improvement.

* People still flock to Coors Field over the summer

Despite the Rockies being awful people still crowd into Coors Field especially for teams like the Dodgers, the Cubs, the Red Sox etc.

* Empower Field at Mile High had a summer of well-attended concerts

** It's Denver's awesome parks that bring people outdoors

Top parks for volleyball and whatever activities:

1) Washington Park -- 2) Denver Mountain Parks -- 3) City Park - Denver -- 4) Cheesman Park -- 5) Sloan's Lake Park -- 6) Confluence Park -- 7) Civic Center Park -- 8) Berkeley Park -- 9) Central Park

Top attractions in Denver

1) Denver Botanic Gardens -- 2) Denver Museum of Nature & Science -- 3) Denver Union Station -- 4) Denver Zoo -- 5) Denver Art Museum 6) Red Rocks Park -- 7) 16th Street Mall -- 8) Larimer Square -- 9) Elitch Gardens

And that is just the highlights; there's so many crooks and crannies to check out if you're an explorer.

[TakeFive]

The Dog Days of Summer

end August 11th which is Sunday. That was my self-imposed day for ending my own summer vacation. All the kids are now back in school, colleges will soon be buzzing again so it's my time to get out of the house and be constructive again.

Why do they call it the Dog Days of Summer?

"When Sirius would appear in the sky just before the sun, near the end of July, that marked the beginning of the very hottest days of the year. The Romans referred to this period as "dies caniculares" or "days of the dog star," which was eventually translated as just "dog days."

[TakeFive]

Side Pocket Topic -- Does Denver/metro use insurance companies as a substitute for policing?

When I read above that WalletHub rated Denver 48th for Safety, it didn't seem to pass the smell test. But it made me curious and it isn't how you want to be known.

Best States to Live in (2024)
Aug 12, 2024 By Adam McCann, WalletHub Financial Writer

Here's their methodology parameters for Safety

Safety - Total Points: 20 [our of 100 for all categories]

• Violent-Crime Rate: Full Weight (~3.64 Points)
• Property-Crime Rate: Double Weight (~7.27 Points)
• Traffic-related Fatalities per Capita: Half Weight (~1.82 Points)
• Total Law-Enforcement Employees per Capita: Double Weight (~7.27 Points)

It seems the metro area, the whole state is very slow-footed. For years, the metro area was at or near the top for car thefts. Eh, who cares, it's just a property crime. Let Joe worry about it. Perhaps everyone is too preoccupied chasing liberal dreams to care?

Next source:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/car-ins...ates-insurify/
August 20, 2024 By Aimee Picchi, Edited By Anne Marie Lee

There's some bad news ahead for the nation's car owners, with a new report forecasting that auto insurance — one of the biggest drivers of inflation this year — will continue to rise in 2024. That's according to a new report from Insurify, a company that provides data about auto insurance rates. The typical U.S. insurance policy will jump 22% this year... the report found. That comes after drivers saw their policies jump 24% in 2023, it noted.

This site has an interactive map. This is what it says about Colorado:

The average annual cost of full coverage car insurance in Colorado is projected to increase to $2,839 by the end of the year. This represents a total projected increase of 28% in 2024.

Consider that insurance rates are a lagging decision based on previous year(s) results. Comparable figures for nearby states include:

• Arizona -- $2,195
• Utah -- $2,192
• Oregon -- $1,983
• Texas -- $2,915

Comparing City Public Safety Budgets

Of course I used Phoenix because for one thing it's easy to Google; Denver not so much. But also I consider Phoenix to have a credible police, fire etc protection.

Talk about comparing apples to oranges. In wanting to equalize the comparisons I figured out that if you add the populations of Denver, Aurora, Englewood, Lakewood, Thornton and Littleton you're still not quite the population of the city of Phoenix but getting close enough. lol

Bottom Line:

Denver's current Public Safety budget is ~ $569 million (Phoenix is right at $1.5 billion) If you were to add $200 million to Denver's budget or another 35% you'd equal the per capita figure for Phoenix.

I'm not sure it's important to spend as much as Phoenix per capita but given the rep that Denver ain't so safe, does anybody care?

Violent crime at "crisis levels" in Colorado as prosecutors see youth crime skyrocket
August 21, 2024 By By Kelly Werthmann -- CBS Colorado