Historic Denver ~ Castle Marne Bed and Breakfast

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes,

 but in having new eyes." 

– Marcel Proust

 

When I travel, I am a student of all who passed before me. 

William Lang was architect to the rich and famous in 1889 Denver.  Built for investment banker William S. Raymond, the three-story articulated Rhyolite stone mansion was the first upscale home built away from the congested downtown.

Built in the late Victorian era, in this last incarnation as a destination bed and breakfast establishment with bona fide historic credentials, the imposing structure clearly reflects the  European eclecticism favored by the nouveau riche of the soon to end silver boom.  Please walk through the images and note the steeply pitched roofline, elaborate cornices, bay windows and balconies embraced by its charming garden. 

 

Named the Marne during the ownership of the Edwin Van Cise family from 1918 to 1938, the home was divided into apartments. It was a mixed-use development. It served as a processing center for the Department of Corrections. 

It spent some time as too many buildings do when they fall out of fashion- vacant, vandalized and most likely to be raised. 

Then the Peiker and Feher- Peicker Family saw past what it was to what it could be. They purchased and completely renovated the building as a bed and breakfast in 1 year- opening in 1989 to acclaim for their tireless hospitality. 

They saw past the flooded basement and ceiling open to the stars to understand this was a project worth undertaking. The 22" walls offer protection from extreme temperatures that blow through the Mile High City. 

The visual heaviness of the structure

softened by flowers.  Alyssum, petunias and spider plants. Simple garden staples add more than the pennies they cost.

Inlaid tile floors are a hallmark of the architect Lang. Built in the days before air conditioning, broad porches fitted with swings  were popular places for corseted women dressed in cumbersome layers to fan themselves.  

The 6' wide Impressionist Movement stained glass representation  of a peacock with tail feathers fully fanned out was designed for the original  home by M. Watkins. 

The original lincrusta wallpaper may be the largest example of its time still in existence. Invented in Britain in 1877, the name of the first washable wallpaper is derived from it base material -Lin for Linum (flax) and Crusta (Relief). The  depth of golden sheen is unlike anything modern. 

Melissa Feher-Peiker shares a good laugh.  Notice the painted ceiling border. The exquisite painting of the pipes- at the time the inn was built, indoor plumbing was something to show off, not hide behind a wall. 

Not to intimidate my tablemates at breakfast, the camera was put away.

The Presidential Suite features a half-tester bed. 

Louis J is the remarkable inn-keeper in the making. With patience, poise and confidence the young man guided me through Castle Marne, with a love of history and our nation obvious in every sentence. Someday I hope he runs for Congress. Whatever his party of choice will be, I expect I should like to vote for him.

Click here for more information on Castle Marne Bed and Breakfast.

Denver Botanic Gardens IV - Celebrating Life

"The only way to live is to accept each minute as an unrepeatable miracle." 

 ~ Storm Jameson

Gardens are like life- a series of momentary miracles. Our quality of life dependent upon our appreciation of this.

The Denver Botanic Gardens- A collection of 42 gardens, 42 celebrations. Enough images from one day to write for the entire year on this wonderful place where every vision of paradise has a spot dedicated to it.

Don't you love the transition from wildflowers to shade?  The challenge of a hillside transformed into a canvas. A problem turned into an opportunity.

Flowers aren't just to look at. They fill the air with scent, singing out to hummingbirds to come sip. 

A large flat space made romantic by treating it as a large living room divided in two areas. The abundance of plantings rich with texture and pops of color. A living floral arrangement.

The rectangular space made interesting by the ebb and flow of structure, paving and plantings. The repeated columns stained in different colors: classic structure made playful.

The ceramic water basin offering water to wildlife. Small, it is easily lifted to clean and freshen.

What makes life interesting isn't what we match-up, it's in what we mix-up. Tucked in the corner- traditional Southwestern succulents surround the English inspired folly. This area is a mixed marriage with conifers and tropicals is so American in spirit.

The diverse heritage blended with conifers and spiced with tropicals is so American in spirit. It so reminds me of HGTV decorator Candice Olson's  mantra to know the rules so you'll know when to break them.

Cultural richness is so much livelier and truthful representation of real life. Even though it is more work to keep things working smoothly, the easy road isn't what we were taught to value as children was it?

Tucked into a tiny corner is a peaceful pocket- the scripture garden- where scriptural plants are contemplated with text and ornamentation.

The designer of the West Herb garden is memorialized on a sundial.

This red squirrel takes its sacrificial portion of a grape from the pregnant vine.  

Reader and garden goddess Nikkipolani  asked how the manipulation of perspective through height would look from the opposite end of the path. This image is from the destination back to the front where the plantings are taller. The visual impact is the same- the space extends.

My daughter-in-law's Facebook announcement photo

Speaking of miracles and the ongoing celebration of life... I am pleased to announce that Gerry and I are expecting our first official grandchild around March.

Denver Botanic Gardens III- Garden, Art and Happiness

"Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace."

~May Sarton

One of the question Pastor Rick Warren challenges readers of the Purpose Driven Life is "What is the your metaphor for life?"  Mine is the garden. I don't feel out of place in Denver even though the ripe hips on the rose bush shout that I'm not in my native Southern California. Here, we are clipping away to get our autumn repeat blooms. My hunch is Denver is not going to want to encourage tender growth when the frost hits them. Neither technique is wrong as long as it is in response to the local environment.The important lesson is to thrive, our lives must adjust to where we live. 

Kizuna (Bonds Between People)- West meets East is on display through November 4th.   This view of       an art installation created just for this season is seen across a planting inspired by the artwork of the late American abstract impressionist Clyford Still. The longer I live, the less I see a line between art and the garden. To be truly be happy, one must be able to taste both. 

This  whirlwind of wooden shaving began as green bamboo. In his installation pieces, the artist Tetsunori Kawana enlarges on  the same sensitivity to the sculptural rhythm and and organic response  of natural materials as he learned in mastering ikebana- Japanese flower arranging. Of his art and soul, the artist says "Always I am listening to the Earth."

Looking up through his THE SHAPE OF FUNDAMENTAL ENERGY II,  his motionless tower  imbues the sense of circulating winds with tornadic power.  

The ubiquitous garden border, a concoction of Victorian England, breaking free of earlier rules regarding strict formality... I believe encouraged by a Monarch who truly loved her husband. Love is like that,  opening the heart to previously unknown paths to beauty.

The landscape architects used a bit of visual tom-foolery to add length to the perspective even tho'  the real estate ran out. By shortening the height of the hedge as it recedes, the perspective runs longer.

I thought this scene a nice spot to stop. To rest on a bench. To appreciated scenery beyond framed  by the opening in the latticework. This is the landscape equivalent of finely crafted lingerie peaking out from under a silk blouse. Utterly seductive.  

Change of Perspective ~ Loveland to Denver

"Distance not only gives nostalgia, but perspective,
 and maybe objectivity."

~ Robert Morgan

American Poet

In my life as a writer, it is not enough to stare at the typeface on the screen.  The words must be printed out. Taken to another room to edit and proof.  The change of screen to paper, paper to the light coming in from a different perspective, brings a new perspective, changes the words, what I think of them and what deeper feelings can be rendered from ink on paper.

The road-trip, a solitary female driving through Denver to Estes Park to Loveland back through to Denver had a similar effect on me.  The change of light from the west coast winding up the Rocky Mountain Roads and back through the farmland exposed me to fresh perspective of all that is wonderful about this great nation.

Such as our diversity. The scenic is obvious. The intellectual spark. Rediscovering this without any pressure to commit was a new kind of fun. Switching back and forth between the progressive and conservative stations which seemed to fill the air like stars on a clear country night. The same facts rendered through different perspectives. To totally believe both would be like reckoning Mars and Saturn are the same planets. Glad my computer was back in Diamond Bar or I might have been tempted to pull over for one of my infamous fact-check missions. There was only one fact on which all agreed. Paul Ryan has climbed lots of Colorado mountains. Another factoid to file away. 

Denver was no problem finding. But I was getting concerned about finding the Botanic Gardens when I happened upon this lovely city park golf course.  My heart stopped at the words inscribed on the entrance to an inner city sanctuary where children learn what the game offers the world- people who spend the day in

Honesty Integrity Sportsmanship

Respect Confidence Responsibility

Perseverance Courtesy Judgment

 I said a silent prayer of gratitude that everyone who crosses this threshold are strengthened by the power of these words. I bought a visor to support their influence, relieved (in all sense of the word when on travel) that just blocks further was my Mecca. The Denver Botanic Gardens.

A sprinkling of  images to help you feel the wetness on my cheeks which was not just because Southern California girls don't generally don't have a clue why people need  umbrellas.   

We don't always take copious notes to recall the exact varieties of dahlias and - is it gomphrena poking their floral buttons up through the star of the show?

What we do always travel with is our hearts. As much as it would have liked to stay, it is back with me in Southern California. The rest of this series would not be possible without it.

Or the generous support of my husband, Gerry. Thank you, honey.

Pain ~ Pleasure ~ Memories

Requiem. In Latin- Missa pro defunctis. In English-The celebration mass  for the repose of the soul. 

I have taken a few days off to compose my thoughts on current events.

Oslo, Norway. My husband was assigned there for an extended period. We would go 3-6 weeks without seeing each other. One Friday, just before an anniversary, Gerry called to ask

"Would you like to meet me here on Monday?" 

You betcha.

Someday I shall write about the beauty of the country and its people. For now, I wish to say

The terrorist last week claims to be a Christian. I heard a noted journalist proclaim that because this person (whose name I will not honor with publishing) says he is a Christian, we must take him at his word. What pure perverted poppycock. NO. It dishonors those of us who see God as the Trinity - Father, Son and Holy Ghost- to let a mass-murderer implicate our faith.

Borders Books and Music ailed for a very long time. A former employer, the formerly venerable business struggled for at least a decade to "find itself" in the Age of Amazon.com. Not as strong in customer service as Barnes and Noble and not as cheap as Amazon.com, what Border's excelled at was mediocrity. Unfortunate for the fine employees counting down to hoped-for retirements they worked very hard for.

My niece Vicki - she was hospitalized with complications of diabetes. Thank you God, that she is better.

Now, please move with me from the pain of last weekend back to where we left off with a family celebration centered on the Aquarium of the Pacific

I loved reading the names of major donors. Among the names- British Petroleum and Boeing.  I know it is popular to demonize large corporations. But corporations are like people-  in prosperity, capable of great good.

The sea anemone filled me with the same child-like wonder it did when I on a family vacation near the  Oregon Sand Dunes .  Could it really be nearly half a century since I first poked my  finger into the center of one ? I remember being totally enchanted. Fortunately my parents noticed the tide sweeing in. A few more minutes alone playing in the tide pools and I would have been cut off  on a hillside with pine trees, wild shasta daisie and not much else, except maybe bears.   

Gerry- look at how relaxed he is feeding the manta rays? He was always the wise one in our family. He didn't just make a living- he made wonderful memories for me and our children.


 Gerry and our guests were enamoured with the sea creatures- I am a lady of the land. The tile mural and fountain-  Rios de la Vida (Rivers of Life) is an amazing piece of interpretive sculpture.

Then it was off to celebrate the summer birthdays at George's Greek Cafe.   The Pine Avenue location has a patio- and some of the best service in California.  Before dinner, our waiter brought us some bottles of wine to sample

 Happy Birthday to Chet and Anka of Portland Oregon

 Happy Birthday to Shannon and Kenny Plunk of Huntington Harbor, CA

With 6, we ordered one of the Family Style dinners-where you can order more plates of favorites. One course is Saganaki- Battered and Fried Greek Kasseri Cheese, Flamed at the Table with Brandy, Finished with Kalamata olives.

Saganaki is as delicious as the presentation is spectacular.


The Future- If tomorrow never comes, we had this day. God willing, we shall have more good times together. And if fortune smiles- with our oldest son, Trevor able to celebrate his summer birthday with us, too.  

Aquarium Therapy

“Don't grow up too quickly, lest you forget how much you love the beach.”
-- Michelle Held

Marine mammal show

Summer is the time when one sheds one's tensions with one's clothes, and the right kind of day is jeweled balm for the battered spirit. A few of those days and you can become drunk with the belief that all's right with the world.
-- Ada Louise Huxtable

 "We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch - we are going back from whence we came."
John F. Kennedy

Preparing to feed the Manta Rays

Niece Anka and husband Chester with Gerry preparing shrimp to skewer

These are just a few images from our visit to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach.
More to follow later in the week...

Images of me, the marine mammal and below water creatures by Gerry Plunk