July 11, 2025.
Today we arrived at the Westminster Elks for two nights. Nice place. Several up on the hill with full hookups. We got the last available. It was $23 per night. There were a few electric only down in the large parking lot where the lodge was. A couple other RVs came in and parked down there.
Tomorrow we plan to ride bike trails from here into Denver to Confluence Park where we will check out the “CROSSCURRENTS” festival fundraiser for The Greenway Foundation. It is free to the public with music from 2pm-10pm. Perfect timing!
July 12
Denver is an extremely bike-friendly city with regional trails connecting to each other! It was pretty easy to navigate where we wanted to go. We biked from the Westminster Elks to Confluence Park in downtown Denver.
The amount of unexpected art along the paved trails was a pleasant surprise! They continued to just pop up unexpectedly. Loved it!
Entering part of the city we saw the Denver Urban Gardens.
Interesting…
We were looking forward to listening to live music as part of the Healthy Water Festival, but that was from 2 PM-10 PM. Since we arrived well before two, we decided to go to the RINO Art District now instead of later. I wanted to find the many building art murals in the area. The painted murals continued as we rode the bike path.
45 second into the video below, you will see a cool train section that is on a trestle. I’m not sure if it has been turned into a restaurant, or something, but it was pretty neat to see it up there.
I enjoyed the dialogue on this next mural. It was pretty big, so it is in sections to be able to read each statement. This mural marked where we were getting off to head towards Union Station.
The RINO Art District:
I came across this Welcome sign that showed the murals!
This alley had a lot of murals. and opened to a large lot with all kinds of things for sale at bargain prices. Loved all the picnic tables down the alley.
The mural below is a two in one mural. It depends on which direction you approach it!
Denver Central Market was located right here in the heart of RINO ART District. This was a happening place – inside and outside!! I assumed it was some sort of farmer’s market type place! It was all places to eat, but not your typical food court food! Choices were amazing.
AND there was a big area that was a FULL BAR – The Curio Bar!! We certainly didn’t expect that! As I was finishing up checking out all the food options, I noticed Barry had found the bar. LOL.
I showed Barry options for our lunch. We almost went for the pizza, but decided since we are on our bikes and the pizza would be too big. We weren’t that hungry. We got these great tacos to share.
We decided to eat outside in the shade at one of the picnic tables instead of the nosier inside even though it was air conditioned.
We headed back to Confluence Park. Wow! Both sides of the river were bustling with activity!
The river was full of river floaters, swimmers and sunbathers.
Different view of the water activities
Where they start.
I went to the other side of the river to see what was set up over there and to browse REI (the very large, and prominent red-brick building).
Band performance area:
Down by the river the White Horse Family Native American Dancers provided a great demonstration of the various types of dancing they do. They also explained that what they wear is their regalia – NOT costumes! Each is handmade and represents hours and hours of tedious work. Family members treasure the regalia of passed family members. It is an honor to receive an elder’s regalia.
In between some of the dancing I noticed these mountain bikers practicing some rock climbing skills. I was impressed!
My knees hurt just watching this guy!
The “grass dancers” who break down the tall grasses for their people.
I went into REI finally, but didn’t get too far before Barry called me. I went back to the hillside park area where he was. It was going to be a while before the next featured music group. We considered staying longer, but left about 5 PM to head back. Some of the art work we appreciated this morning reassured us that we were going the correct way to catch the trails we needed. We biked 25+ miles today. What a great day!
Tomorrow we head to Garden of the Gods RV Resort in Colorado Springs for four nights.