www.RogerWendell.com
Roger J. Wendell
Defending 3.8 Billion Years of Organic EvolutionSM
Line

 

Boulder, Colorado

Welcome to Boulder 03-20-2008 Okay, although I've never lived in Boulder (for more than two nights in a row...) I've worked, climbed, played, broadcasted, volunteered, and protested there most of my life since the early 70s. Except for the high prices, tight parking, Marxists, trust fund babies, and its anti-Americanism I've always enjoyed the place - despite the rest of our state holding such a dim view of it (never mind the "pave-it-to-Kansas" politicians in Aurora, the sanctuary city of Denver, and the leftist snobs in Aspen...). Anyway, after hanging out in Boulder for three decades I finally got around to creating this little web page during the summer of '05 - just when Penny Lane was going out of business...                    - Roger J. Wendell

 

 

Click on any of this page's "thumbnail" images for a larger view!

 

Penny Lane Coffeehouse

Penny Lane Coffeehouse Boulder Colorado
That famous sign!
Penny Lane Coffeehouse July 2005
Their other sign...
Penny Lane Coffeehouse July 2005
Penny Lane customers
Penny Lane Coffeehouse July 2005
1795 Pearl Street
The Penny Lane Coffeehouse lost it's lease during the summer of 2005 - closing its doors forever on August 18th. Penny Lane was quite the "hang-out," representing what I always thought was the true character of Boulder. Penny Lane first opened its doors in 1981 at 1738 Pearl and remained there until April 20, 1994. At that time they closed for about 14 weeks and then reopened across the street at 1795 Pearl on August 3, 1994 - staying at that location until their final closing in '05.
Over the years Penny Lane featured all kinds of cool artists, musicians, poets
and a great bunch of customers. Also, I was lucky to conduct a Live at Penny
Lane
interview there, myself, for Boulder community radio station KGNU.

Arrow Pointing Right Click Here for the Original Penny Lane Coffeehouse web page...

YouTube Logo Click Here for a YouTube video of Penny Lane's closing day employee photo shoot...

 

Boulder Miscellanea:

Boulder Flatirons Painter July 2005
Flatirons Painter
Roger and KGNU's Dish Antenna 1995
KGNU Satellite Dish
Southeast Boulder Tornado 06-06-1997
Boulder Tornado 1997
In July, 2005 I discovered this lady parked alongside Cherryvale Road painting pictures of the Flatirons (She gave me permission to photograph her and post it here). In April, 1995 my daughter photographed me in front of KGNU's satellite dish. In late Spring, 1997 coworkers and I watched this tornado touch-down in southeast Boulder - it destroyed a shed and some other structures but luckily didn't hurt anybody - including those of us standing outside to watch!

 

Neptune Mountaineering - Boulder, Colorado - 03-28-2006
Neptune Mountaineering
Boulder, Utah Cemetary - fall, 2000 Okay, the photo at left isn't fair since it's actually from Boulder, Utah! Nevertheless, I took the shot while driving through Utah during the fall of 2000 and the area reminded me of what Boulder, Colorado may have looked like at the time of statehood. The photo at right is the "real" thing! Boulder's Mountainview Memorial Park - 03-28-2006
Mountain View Memorial Park

 

Boulder's Pearl Street Mall - 03-28-2006
Pearl Street Mall
Boulder's Pearl Street Mall - 03-28-2006
Pearl Street Mall
Boulder's Glenn Huntington Band Shell - 03-28-2006
Glen Huntington
Boulder's Glenn Huntington Band Shell - 03-28-2006
Band Shell
Boulder's Glenn Huntington Band Shell - 03-28-2006
Band shell seating

YouTube Logo Click Here's for my YouTube video of Dan playing his didgeridoo on the Pearl Street mall...

Bush Cheney Warmongers - Boulder, Colorado - May 2005 near 47th & Valmont
47th & Valmont
Boulder Courthouse - 03-28-2006
Boulder Court House
Boulder Courthouse - 03-28-2006
Guantanamo protest
Boulder Time Capsule on the Pearl Street Pedestrian Mall - 01-11-2008
Boulder's Time Capsule
My Boulder Library Card (color altered for easier viewing) - 05-20-2008
My library card...

 

I think you can see, from the photos I've taken, that Boulder is a pretty "eclectic" place! Lots of art, environmental concern, peace and social justice activities are always underway. Boulder really is different, I feel, because its people are not only caring but they act on their instincts to create a better world for all of us. Boulder and its citizens can be proud of the good they've brought not only Colorado, but our country and planet as well!

 

 

Boulder Chautauqua Park Entrance - 03-28-2006
Chautauqua Park
U.S. Department of Commerce, Boulder - 03-28-2006
Department of Commerce
Boulder Cooperative Market - 03-28-2006
Boulder Co-op Market*
Boulder Cooperative Market - 03-28-2006
Boulder Co-op Market*
Bouler Main Post Office - 03-28-2006
Main Post Office
Boulder Post Office Delivery Vehicles - 03-28-2006
Post Office vehicles
Boulder's Air Care Colorado - 03-28-2006
Air Care Colorado
Air Care Colorado Normal Operating Temperature - 03-28-2006
Emissions Testing
Naropa University Nalanda Campus - November, 2006
Naropa Nalanda
Valmont city Park - 03-28-2006
Valmont City Park
Boulder County Jail - 03-28-2006
Free lodging...
Former Chicken Processing Plant on Valmont Road - 03-28-2006
Former Chicken Processing Plant

* The Boulder Cooperative Market (2002 - 2007) was one of my favorite food places in town - not only could I buy quality groceries there but they served all kinds of great smoothies and vegan/vegetarian lunches. Unfortunately they closed their doors in August, '07 - I suspect it was due to economic pressure from the Wild Oats/Whole Food merger but will never know for sure...

 

Warning Sign at Boulder Falls - 04-12-2006
Boulder Falls Warning...
Myrna at Boulder Falls - 04-12-2006
Myrna at Boulder Falls
Roger Wendell at Boulder Falls - 04-12-2006
Roger at Boulder Falls
Boulder Falls is located 11 miles west of Boulder, on the north side of Boulder Canyon Drive (SR 119) between Boulder and Nederland. It consists of five acres of mining claims that were given to the City of Boulder by Charles G. Buckingham, president and co-founder of Buckingham Brothers Bank (now Norwest Bank). Buckingham had held a U.S. Patent since 1881 on the American Mill site that included the Falls. He donated it to the City of Boulder for recreational purposes in 1914, hence "saving this beautiful spot from the encroachment of the great tungsten boom."
[From the City of Boulder's website]

 

My Daily Commute to Boulder
My bike ride to Boulder...
Like I mentioned earlier, in addition to showing up in Boulder for all kinds of stuff in the early 70s and 80s, I started working there in early 1994 (until 2010). During the 14 years leading up to this entry I found all kinds of ways to get me to Boulder. When I lived near Cherry Creek Reservoir, 45 miles (72 kilometres) one way, I was involved with a bunch of great carpool companions who worked at different companies all around Boulder (Ball, Roche, some small shops, etc.) - in the mid 90s we were so dedicated to carpooling that we actually had two different cars going up Highway 36 each day! Since that was so successful we got involved with Ride Arrangers and rented a van at very reasonable rates. By the early 2000s that arrangement fell apart, due to low fuel costs and really high insurance and maintenance expenses. So, I started taking the bus - an hour-and-a-half adventure, each way, with a transfer in downtown Denver along the 16th Street Mall. Later on I moved near Golden and was able to take the "GS" straight up Highway 93 - even securing my bicycle to the front to get me to and from the Park and Ride and around town in Boulder. The bicycle/bus combination worked well for me - especially when gasoline prices were approaching $4 per gallon in 2008! [Golden is about 25 miles/40 km from Boulder]
 

YouTube Logo Click Here's for a YouTube video of my daily bus ride into Boulder!

 

Line

 

Cydd West
and his Boulder "Flat Iron"
art at 2301 Goss Street:

Profile of Cydd West on His Boulder Roof - 03-03-2006
Cydd's Roof Profile
Cydd West sits on his Boulder roof - 03-03-2006
Cydd West sits...
Cydd West and Roger Wendell - 03-03-2006
Me and Cydd West
It was a warm, winter afternoon in Boulder when I stumbled upon Cydd West and his "Flat Iron" art. I was with Kaleab (who later took the picture of Cydd and I) when I explained this had to be the most unusual yard art display I'd ever seen. Then to my surprise, from above, was sitting the artist himself - Cydd West!! Cydd lowered himself from the roof to take time to explain what it was all about...
I learned, first, that the laundry irons were his representation of Boulder's very own geologic Flatirons (noted in the photo of the painter further up this page) just a few miles west of where he sits. Next, there's a good bit of Buddhism, Hinduism and other spiritual stuff thrown in for good measure here and there around the property. Finally, it appears that the property's owner is going to undertake some serious renovating but has invited Cydd to return once the project is complete. Interesting to note that the property owner showed up while I was there, as well, but I didn't have enough camera memory left to take his picture - oh well... Anyway, it wasn't clear what Cydd's plans are but let's hope he's able to return and build on this project further!
Note: I'm sad to report that Cydd passed away outside his home in the cold on January 7, 2017. He was 67 years old and had been struggling with health issues a few weeks prior to his death...

 

Line

 

Boulder Municipal Airport
Yes, Boulder has its own airport!

Boulder Municipal Airport Entrance - 03-28-2006
Airport entrance
Boulder Municipal Airport Sign - 03-28-2006
Airport sign
Boulder Parked Airplanes - 03-28-2006
Parked planes
Boulder Parked Airplanes - 03-28-2006
Parked planes
Boulder Parked Airplanes - 03-28-2006
Parked planes
Did you close your flight plan? - 03-28-2006
Close your fligh plan!

 

Line

 

Boulder House at Hovenweep National Monument by Roger J. Wendell
Hovenweep National Monument
Boulder Houses of Interest:

Former home of JonBenét Ramsey  - 03-28-2006
Former home of...
Former home of JonBenét Ramsey - 03-28-2006
JonBenét Ramsey (2006)
Boulder Mushroom House - 03-30-2006
Mushroom house (front)
Boulder Mushroom House - 03-30-2006
Mushroom house (back)
Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse - 03-30-2006
Dushanbe Teahouse *
Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse - 03-30-2006
Teahouse (side) *

*The Monday, April 3, 2006 Daily Camera (Boulder's hometown newspaper) Editorial (p. 9A) had this to say about the Teahouse:
"The Dushanabe Teahouse is a Boulder landmark. It is also a masterful work of fine art. Anyone who has been there can attest to that. That the edifice is hand-crafted and hand-carved is impressive. That this lavish gift came from a desperately poor nation is positively staggering."

"In the 1980s, the United States and the former Soviet Union were still locked in the Cold War. Convinced that people-to-people exchanges could help build international amity, some Boulder residents established a 'sister city' relationship with Dushanbe, a city in the former Soviet Republic of Tajikistan."

"In 1987, the mayor of Dushanbe announced that his city would give Boulder a traditional Tajik teahouse. Some assembly was required. The structure - the work of 40 artisans - arrived in 200 crates."

Boulder's gift, to Dushanbe, will be a "cyber-cafe" built to "green" standards. Don Mock, and other officials from the non-profit Boulder-Dushanbe Sister City organization were working to raise the $400,000 necessary to make the gift possible as I was creating this web page in spring of '06...

 

Line

 

Valmont Butte
Valmont Butte is sacred Indigenous ground that has seen better times!

Boulder's Valmont Butte as Photographed from the North by Roger J. Wendell - 03-28-2006
As seen from the north
Boulder's Valmont Butte Concrete Plant - 03-28-2006
Valmont Butte Concrete...
No Dumping at this time at Boulder's Valmont Butte - 03-28-2006
No Dumping at this time

Valmont Butte is located on the east side of town at what would be the intersection of 63rd and Pearl if the Butte didn't exist...
(Valmont Butte is on the way for many of us visiting Eco-Cycle)

 

Toxic landscape
Unanswered questions remain about pollution at Valmont Butte
by Pamela White
Boulder Weekly - May 29, 2008 p. 11

"It's the $2,575,000 conundrum: what should the city of Boulder do with Valmont Butte? The battered parcel of land, best known for the volcanic dike that rises above Valmont Road, has seen its share of use - and abuse - at the hands of humans. American Indians used the site in their ceremonies, camping below during the winter, hunting on the surrounding plains and burying their loved ones. Pioneer families built a cemetery and used the area for grazing and agriculture."

"Then industry arrived. The site became home to a gold mill, which became a fluorspar mill, which became a gold mill once more, which closed at last, leaving radioactive tailings ponds behind."

"Radioactive soil was transported to the site and buried on Valmont Butte, as were sealed barrels of chemical waste. Drums, tanks and transformers were dumped on the ground, and with them toxic chlorine, PCBs, paints, lubrication oils, wood finishing products and a host of combustible, corrosive and flammable substances."

 

Line

 

University of Colorado at Boulder

University Memorial Center, CU Boulder - 03-28-2006
University Memorial Center
No Skating at the University Memorial Center - 03-28-2006
University Memorial Center Patio, CU Boulder - 03-30-2006
UMC Patio
CU Boulder Administrative Center - 03-28-2006
Administrative Center
CU Boulder Book Store - 03-28-2006
CU Book Store
CU Boulder Fiske Planetarium - 03-28-2006
Fiske Planetarium
CU Boulder Sommers-Bausch Observatory Dome - 03-28-2006
Observatory dome
CU Boulder Sommers-Bausch Observatory Sign - 03-28-2006
Sommers-Bausch Observatory
"'That university you teach at,' he asked, 'is it pretty liberal?' "well,' I said, 'it's not Boulder.' 'Oh, God, no, I hope not,' he said. I laughed. Throughout much of the rural Rocky Mountain West, Boulder had long been regarded as bleeding heart central."

- Daryl Farmer in his book,
Bicycling beyond the Divide
(Two Journeys into the West), p. 46

 

Line

 

Boulder Cars!

Like any other town, Boulder occasionally has a local who sports a
car, truck, bus, van, SUV, or motorcycle that's a little unusual.
Here I'll compile a few photographs, as time permits, of some vehicles
I've seen around town a few times:

KGNU Boulder Car - 10-27-2008
Airtight
I saw this same car around town for almost a decade (as of late 2008). I believe the owner is concerned about air pollution and has sealed all the cracks and crevices throughout his car to protect himself as I also saw him wearing a surgical mask... Airtight Boulder Car - 08-21-2008
KGNU
Boulder is the birthplace of KGNU community radio and people are obviously very proud of that!

 

YouTube Logo Click Here's for a YouTube video of my bike ride down the Boulder Creek path adjacent a Prairie Dog town...

 

Line

 

The Boulder Flatirons
(and Raptor Closings):

The Flatirons are sedimentary rock formations located about 3.5 kilometres (2.2 miles) southwest of the Pearl Street Mall in downtown Boulder. There are five large, numbered Flatirons ranging from north to south (First through Fifth, respectively) along the east slope of Green Mountain. The name "Flatirons" probably came early pioneers who couldn't help notice that these 300 metre (1,000 feet) rock faces resembled the flat, metal irons used to press clothing.

Boulder Flatirons by Roger J. Wendell on 03-28-2006 Osprey, Golden Eagles, Peregrine Falcons and Prairie Falcons love the Flatirons and other climbing areas in Boulder. Since 1986, Boulder's Open Space and Mountain Parks has instituted annual closures during nesting season. These seasonal closures usually start on February 1st, lasting through July 31st, and have been very successful in preserving the number of raptors fledged each year. These protected areas, throughout Boulder, are monitored by volunteers throughout the closure period. It's interesting to note, too, that there are some bat closures, in certain parts of Boulder, that last until October 31st each year. I, personally, , wish to thank my friends in the climbing community for their help in making this conservation effort such a success each year in Boulder!
The Maiden at Boulder Flatirons by Roger J. Wendell on 01-01-2010
The Maiden
Seal Rock at Boulder Flatirons by Roger J. Wendell on 01-01-2010
Seal Rock
The two photos above are some other rock features immediately adjacent the Boulder Flatirons.

 

Line

 

Recycle Logo Boulder has always been way ahead in lifestyle techniques that are low-impact and Earth-friendly. Click Here for my recycling page with a bunch of photos from Boulder's Eco-Cycle recycling center and the Resource building materials recycling facility...

 

Line

 

Goat Leaf Recycling:

Goat Leaf Rcycling at 1065 Cherryvale Road in Boulder, Colorado - 11-06-2006 Each fall, along Cherryvale Road, this homeowner puts out some sort of hand-painted sign inviting passersby to drop off bags of dried leaves as goat food! So, while I'm driving to work, I drop off a bag or two of leaves from my yard on Green Mountain. I've never met the owner of this "operation, but want to take this opportunity to thank her/him for their idea of leaf composting this way! I have another photo of their "goat leaf compost drop-off" on my Recycling page.

 

Line

 

New York Times Tech pioneers find fertile soil in Boulder
By Claire Cain Miller The New York Times
The Denver Post, Sunday, Section K-11, May 16, 2010

"'In Silicon Valley, you're a small fish in a huge pond, and it didn't seem as collaborative and a lot more corporate,' said Chad McGimpsey, who moved to Boulder a month ago and is now a regular at the twice-a-month coffee club. 'Here, you're a big fish in a small pond. Plus, there are the mountains.'"

"A long list of communities around the country have tried to become 'the next Silicon Valley.' But very few have the mix of money, universities, a high-tech talent pool and appealing lifestyle needed to hatch tech startups."

"Boulder, however, has been luring tech industry veterans and young entrepreneurs from Silicon Valley and Manhattan with promises of a tech community that allows for lunch-break hikes in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains."

"The town's big successes include Rally Software, a fast-growing company that makes project-management software; Socialthing, a social media service acquired by AOL; and Kerpoof, which makes Web design tools for children and was acquired by Walt Disney Co."

Venture capital dollars ar following the entrepreneurs to Colorado. From 2007 to 2009, venture capitalists invested $1.9 billion in 275 Colorado startups, up from $1.6 billion in 247 companies from 2004 to 2006, according to the National Venture Capital Association. The money is coming from Colorado venture firms - including Foundry Group, a high-profile firm in Boulder - as well as from Silicon Valley and New York."

 

Line

 

Links:

  1. America!
  2. BJFCP - Boulder Jalapa Friendship City Projects
  3. Bolder Boulder - 10k road race
  4. Boulder Bike Share
  5. Boulder Blue Line - News, Analysis and Opinion for the Informed Boulder Resident
  6. Boulder-Lhasa Sister City Project
  7. Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks
  8. Boulder Shambhala Meditation Center
  9. Boulder Weekly
  10. City of Boulder
  11. Climbing Photos - from "Eldo" near Boulder...
  1. Colorado!
  2. Daily Camera
  3. Eco-Cycle - Building a Zero Waste Community!
  4. Hiking
  5. KGNU Boulder - The world's most important radio station!
  6. Longhorn Ranch
  7. Naropa Institute
  8. Penny Lane Coffeehouse - a gathering place
  9. Resource - Boulder's source for used building materials
  10. San Francisco
  11. Travel and Travel Two

 

Line

 

Back Back to Roger J. Wendell's Home Page...

Web Counter Logo

 

Abbey | About | Blog | Contacting Me | Copyright | Disclaimer | Donate | Guest Book | Home | Links | Site Index | Solutions | Terms, Conditions and Fair Use | What's Changed or New?
Copyright © 1955 -