Central Park in Stapleton

Denver's airport used to be called Stapleton International Airport and it sat only 3 miles east of downtown Denver. When the city grew and skyscrapers were built, it caused problems for the airport which had already undergone runway extensions due to the rise in flights landing at Denver plus the increased noise pollution to the surrounding neighborhoods.

Denver International Airport (DIA) was built 27 miles from downtown Denver and is the largest international airport in the US. When the last flight left Stapleton (Continental Airlines flying for Gatwick), Stapleton International Airport shut down that same day and a convoy of rental cars, baggage carts, fuel trucks, etc journeyed over to DIA which opened for all operations the next morning. The runways at Stapleton were then marked with large yellow 'X's to show they weren't legal or safe for landing.

All of Stapleton's airport infrastructure has been removed except for the control town and a parking structure as a reminder of the site's former days. The parking is still used by passengers who catch an airport shuttle from the parking area to DIA. New housing, businesses, shops and parks have replaced the runways and the new town of Stapleton is a pleasure to visit.

I found this old photo online and the star shows where the park we visited is now. Houses are now standing where the plane is taking off. If the control tower was no longer there, it would be hard to believe that this area was once an airport.

What was built on top of the runways.

Today we visited one of the parks near the old control tower. The park is covered in bright purple and blue rubber mounds, a mister (to cool you down), play areas, fake rocks for rock climbing, swings and fountains. It was hot & the boys loved getting wet in the fountains and I enjoyed the mister. Even the astroturf was hot but it looked nice and I'm sure it helps with the maintenance of the park - no mowing! The park is quite a drive for us but I had business to do 15 minutes from the park so it was a great way to kill 2 birds with 1 stone. I'm sure we'll go back again soon!

Dekoevend Park

Today we went to Dekoevend Park which is a huge area with playing fields, trails, parks, shelters for BBQs and picnics and a river that runs through it. The boys had spotted the river yesterday while on our bike ride & got their clothes soaking wet so we went back today in swimsuits.

The boys had a blast playing in the water, running up and down the river, playing on the rocks and then in the park. This is what summer is all about. Fun in the sun together.

Fireworks a Day Late

Due to the bad storm yesterday, the fireworks display was rescheduled to tonight and so we set off again at 9 pm to find a spot near the open field where they usually have the fireworks. Last night we had a great parking spot but tonight our spot was taken. After parking we made our way down the side of the field, spread our blanket and waited 20 minutes for the fireworks to start.

Around 9:25 pm they tested a couple of fireworks which had the sensitive nancy cars sounding their alarms and finally the owners realized that they'd need to turn their alarms right off otherwise they would have returned to a car with a dead battery.

As usual the fireworks were good and the boys loved it. Right at the end they did a big red, white and blue display that went on for about 45 seconds and it was so loud that it actually vibrated in my chest. Traffic was crazy on the way home but the boys had fun waving to the firefighters who were there just in case a fire started.

Day after Independence Day

Warren had the day off today since Independence Day fell on a Sunday. We all slept in today and had brunch around 11:30 am. Jordan is on a grain-free diet for his eczema so I made a pizza with tapioca flour which is a

starch extracted from a plant. Cullen doesn't like the tapioca pizza base that much so he's allowed to eat grains and has his pastas and breads while Jordan has to stick to potatoes for his starch.

We divide the pizza in two with BBQ chicken on a white sauce one 1 half and cheese with a tomato sauce. on the other (Warren & I have the BBQ chicken side.)

Once we'd packed snacks and water we drove 15 minutes to park at the South Suburban Rec Center where we unloaded the bikes and set off on a 10 mile ride. There is a path called the Highline Canal Trail (my old stomping grounds for marathon training) which runs from our area right through to Denver and since we hadn't been on the trail from the Rec Center, we decided it would make a good starting point.

We went through a very affluent area called Greenwood Village where many millionaires live and the houses and grounds were sprawling and gorgeous.

This photo and the one below is of the same house taken from different angles! Swimming pool, tennis court with outdoor speakers, riding stables, outdoor kitchen, etc. etc.

The day was wonderful - warm but not too hot with a light breeze. We stopped for 'gotta go' stops, water breaks and when the boys needed 'a break' when they saw some exercise equipment but other than that, they did really well on the bike ride.

When you gotta go, you gotta go!