Denver Museum of Nature & Science: Leonardo Da Vinci Exhibit

Yesterday Amy, Mel, and Alex treated us to the special exhibit of Leonardo Da Vinci at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. Wow, was it spectacular. The emphasis was on the machines that Da Vinci envisioned in his journals, some of which were actually built in his time. Others were built for display from his notes.  Museum attendees could try out many of his machines.

Did you know Da Vinci typically wrote from right to left in reversed lettering -- we would be able to read it more easily with a mirror. They think the reason for this is two fold:

• Da Vinci was left handed so this writing method would reduce the ink smudges.
• His ideas couldn't be easily stolen because the journals were difficult to read by the casual observer.

Below are photos of a bicycle that appears in one of the journals. It's unclear whether Da Vinci actually invented the bicycle or one of his students. I was impressed by the leather chain and sprocket setup.

 

Glenwood Springs: Rio Grand Trail to Carbonbdale

Now we're camped in Glenwood Springs on the side of a hillside at a campground called Ami's Acres Campground. We got a lovely view of the mountains, but in this area, it had the fairly consistent traffic noise of I70. Not much to do about it though, except enjoy the scenery.

The Rio Grande Trail goes from Glenwood Springs to Aspen, approximately 40 miles. We rode from Glenwood Springs to Carbondale and back, about 29 miles. The snow capped mountains were still visible. We're told they skiied on Memorial Day weekend. Here are some snaps of the trail...

 

Colorado National Monument

We traveled from the Bay Area to Provo, Utah so we could check out Utah Trikes in Payson. It was a fun visit with the highlight of seeing Utah Trikes 3-D Printer which prints carbon fiber!

Then it was on to Grand Junction, Colorado. Our first stop was the Colorado National Monument. Don’t pass this one up folks! It was gorgeous, breathtaking, and wondrous all at once. The driving through was lovely, but the walking on the trails was even better. We heard that some people cycle up and down the narrow mountain road, but we opted for the van.

We also were lucky enough to see Randy riding his trike along the Colorado River near the James M. Robb Colorado River State Park where we stayed. We chatted with him about trail and what riding was recommended. He also said he was in a Blues Band that jams every Tuesday night at a local hangout. Since it was Tuesday, we decided this sounded like fun, so we got to enjoy some great music.

The next morning we headed out on a trike ride based on Randy's recommendations. What do you know, he appeared on the trail, and we road 40 miles down and back to the center of Grand Junction on the bike path.  A great day!

Check out these photos of the National Monument. Do you have a favorite? At the end I've placed a couple photos of Randy and us...

 

 

 

And our ride with Randy: