Street pianos, cannabis, cowboys and the Fab Four

Ok, let’s dispel a few myths. Denver – it’s not cold. Denver – it’s not actually in the mountains. Denver – is not buttoned up and boring. Denver – is far from boring.

Denver, the mile high city, enjoys a very temperate climate. It’s on the same latitude as Madrid and Rome, is close to but not in the mountains and during the summer months, temperatures average out around 25/27c. Most people I talk to assume it offers ski conditions nine months of the year but no, far from it. Come here in your salopettes and ski gear and you will be sweating like Lee Evans in rubber pants! Sure, it does have ski facilities and resorts nearby, but not in Denver itself. Denver is a city not a state!

As a large North American City it offers many of the top notch attractions you would expect including fabulous museums, bars, restaurants and pianos. Yes, pianos. The main pedestrianised street (16th) is littered with uprights for budding Richard Claydermans to come along and show their dexterity on the keys.

The piano strategy typifies the laid back, relaxed attitude you get from the city. Denver, in common with most of Colorado, specialises in relaxation and aids to relaxation. It has, for example, over 50 micro-breweries supplying a wide range of ales to tickle the palate. I tried the Rocky Mountain Oyster Stout which boasts that it is made with fresh sliced and roasted bull testicles.

It had a curious bouquet and I did swallow, but it left a rather nasty aftertaste that only went away after sampling several of the other tipples.

For those that want something a bit stronger than beer, Denver, and the rest of Colorado, will, from January 5th have legal cannabis shops where one may be able to purchase said good. After that it becomes a bit Pulp Fiction-ish, it’s legal to buy it but illegal to use it unless …. you just better check it out before you proceed.

Colorado already possesses more medical cannabis shops than there are McDonalds and Starbucks put together so if you don’t fancy a tall half-skinny half-1 per cent extra hot split quad shot (two shots decaf, two shots regular) latte with your quarter pounder you know what to do.

Relaxation comes in many forms and Denver offers a sporting smorgasbord to rival any other city in North America. It has both major league baseball and NFL in the form of the Rockies plus the Broncos but what makes it really cool is that both are accessible very easily by public transport (which in the centre is free), by foot or indeed by horse.

Cycles – la the London model are available almost everywhere and once again are priced very easily. Golf is very big too. Having hosted the recent Solhiem cup, the area may now get a reputation for what are truly fabulous courses. The real cool thing is that being so far above sea level you can drive it like Justin Rose. When I played, however, I left the Justin bit in the club house and played more like Rose …..awful, but there was no disguising the quality of the course if not the golf itself.

A curiosity in Denver is a cowboy or ‘western’ clothing shop where the famous cowboy shirt was invented well the studs that do them up were. The origins, as I was told by Sam who has worked there since 1949, were that Jack A. Weil started the Rockmount shirt business and worked daily in the historic shop in Downtown Denver till he was 107 years old.

The designs are unique and the shirts are "slim fitting to accentuate the body, whereas conventional shirts are boxy. A better fitting shirt is less likely to get caught or snagged while riding the range. The shirt yokes broaden a man’s shoulders. The flap pockets fasten to better hold their contents. The snap fasteners have a break away function to let loose if the shirt got caught, and hold more permanently than buttons". And they look good!

I purchased an especially attractive number in cream, with yellow and brown dots. Sounds awful, I know, but looks gooooooooooood. I am in good company Robert Redford, Meg Ryan, Dennis Quaid, Aidan Quinn, Nicholas Cage, Kiefer Sutherland, Woody Harrelson all have a Rockmount shirt. Jack A Weil’s grandson Steve now runs the business with an equally delicate but caring pair of hands

So when dressed like Jesse James why not tie your horse up outside a local saloon and listen to some music. It should not be overlooked either with numerous local ensembles performing an eclectic mix of sounds within the city boundaries. The big groups and solo artistes also come to Denver in their droves and from the past there can be no bigger band than the Fab Four from Liverpool. In 1964 John, George, Paul and Ringo performed at the fabulous, atmospheric, visually stunning Red Rock amphitheatre and stayed down town at the Browns Palace Hotel.

Today almost 50 years later the date is commemorated with a tribute band playing the same set at the same venue and the hotel preserves the suite they stayed in. The suite is still bookable, so even if money can’t buy me love it can buy me a night’s stay in their room.

Interesting question though! The suite only has two bedrooms both with double beds so who slept with whom? Maybe I don’t want to know. Next year the Beatles celebrations promise to be even bigger and more detailed as they celebrate the half centennial of the mop haired scousers taking the city by storm.

All in all a cool, as in Fonz cool, place to visit and well worth making the extra effort next time you are visiting Colorado for whatever reason. Why not have a few days of mile high fun in the mile high city of Denver?