Washing away the dust of the West

We have spent a thoroughly urban day, and as we left the city centre this evening to return to our hotel, it rained heavily, removing the last traces of the dust that had coated the car since we turned off the paved road to visit Rock Art Ranch over a week ago: washing away the dust of the West, as it were, as we face the Eastward road tomorrow morning, all 1004 miles of it.

Our Denver city day started with free parking opposite Union Station (my reasoning for choosing that spot, apart from its free-ness was that we knew we could find the car again!), and a stroll down the pedestrianised 16th street in bright sunshine, though coolish temperatures. We fell upon the Tattered Cover Book Store (www.tatteredcover.com) with cries of delight - it is a heavenly bookstore, extremely well stocked in all subjects, with lots of polished wood, and soft seats everywhere so you can settle down and read or browse for as long as you like. Naturally we spent time there and did a little shopping, though remained reasonably mindful of the fact that books bought would have to be carried home to the UK! If you ever go to Denver, just put this bookshop on your list of must visits.

Dragging ourselves away reluctantly, we stopped off for a Starbucks, sitting on the sidewalk: it seemed an appropriate Sunday morning thing to do in Denver! For a good slice of the afternoon we were at the Denver Art Museum (www.denverartmuseum.org) where we were lucky to stumble upon a free admission day and a Mexican cultural festival with Mariachi music and dancing on the street and inside the performance area of the museum. Although DAM does not display an enormous collection, it is well displayed and substantial, and you can't appreciate everything in one visit, so I concentrated on Western American Art, American Indian Art, European and American Art, and Modern and Contemporary Art. There is also a small collection of African art - a few traditional objects and a few contemporary paintings. I thoroughly enjoyed the visit: perhaps the highlight for me was the collection of American Indian pottery, modern and traditional, and I now covet one of Maria Martinez' black on black pots. Maria Martinez (1884-1980) was from the Pueblo cultural tradition in New Mexico and rediscovered an ancient craft of creating jet black pottery, delicately decorated. The pieces are beautifully executed and remarkable. I can't find a non-copyrighted image of her pottery on the web to show you, but if you browse her pottery's website, you'll get the idea: www.mariajulianpottery.com

Our final venture was to visit the Denver Museum of Contemporary Art which is housed in a new building designed by the British Architect David Adjaye (b. 1966 of Ghanaian extraction). This is his first public building in the USA and has led to other commissions. The spaces for display are enclosed in a grey glass box, which somehow works: we decided we liked the building, and we were extremely kindly received there. When I explained that we'd come especially to see the building, we were given free admission and were able to have a quick stroll around the galleries. There are some Damien Hirsts among other things.

We have satisfied our thirst for urban living, and we are ready to hit the road. Des Moines (and other places), here we come.