Germans and Italians in World War II. One of the men, Pvt. Kiyoshi Muranaga, received the Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroics in France. After our time with Hopper, we drove to the
campsite, still covered in deep snow. A kiosk with three panels offers some perspective, and a plaque on a stone marks the campsite. But from where we stood, we imagined the best way to experience this place would be to join Bonnie Clark, the DU professor, when she hosts an open house at the site on July 14, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Till then, it’s time for one last stop. Back on the road home to the west and north, we contin-
ued our history tour with an afternoon stop at Big Timbers Museum, which celebrates the Arkansas River culture that grew up around what used to be a three-mile wide, 20-mile long stand of gigantic cottonwoods, 18 to 20 feet in diam- eter. Native American tribes camped there, and traders fol- lowed, establishing Bent’s Old Fort. The museum is filled with artifacts from every era, includ-
ing items from the Sand Creek Massacre site: bullets, cannon- ball fragments, spurs, horseshoe nails, skillet, spoons, and forks. Big Timbers is open Tuesday- Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Next to the museum, which
is housed in a renovated AT&T building, is a newer Transportation Museum, with 1920s vintage cars and pickups. So Denver’s newest museum
led us to some of our state’s other his- toric attractions—a journey that we hope to make again. l
Tom Hess is the editor of EnCompass magazine. Look for him on Facebook (EnCompass Tom Hess), Twitter (@EnCompass Editor), YouTube (EnCompass Editor), LinkedIn (EnCompass Tom Hess) and FourSquare (Tom Hess).
New and noteworthy on the Denver museum scene Clyfford Still Museum
(720-354-4880,
www.clyffordstillmuseum.org) Clyfford Still is known among art historians as a pioneer of abstract expressionism, alongside better-known greats like Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and Willem de Kooning. The opening in November 2011 of a museum displaying Still’s works, much of which had never been seen, attracted international media coverage. Yet Still never lived in Colorado. So why did his work end up in Denver? Still’s will specified that all of his massive collection—825 paintings, 1,575 drawings and prints, and three sculptures—go to a single city and a dedicated museum built specifically for it. Other cities had a stronger connection to Still, but Denver had a hidden advantage. Still’s nephew, Denver
resident Curt Freed, introduced his aunt, Still’s widow, Patricia, to then-Mayor John Hickenlooper. And soon after, Patricia chose Denver.
Titanic 100th anniversary
(303-832-4092,
www.mollybrown.org) The Molly Brown House Museum, commemorating the Denver-born Titanic survivor and workers-rights advocate, is marking the 100th anniversary of the ship’s maiden voyage with a series of events in 2012. Among them, themed teas (Victorian Unmentionables, Café Parisien, etc.) each month, a gala dinner at the Oxford Hotel in April, The Sinking of the Titanic musical event at Gates Concert Hall, and a “steerage class shindig” in August.
Toyota Elephant Passage
(303-376-4800,
www.denverzoo.org/toyota_elephant_passage) Asian elephants, Indian rhinos and other Asian species will populate a preserve in view of a visitor hub and “village outpost” illustrating human/animal conflicts and relationships. The $50 million addition to the Denver Zoo will open June 1 and feature two miles of trails on 80 acres. The zoo’s biomass gasification system will power the exhibit, converting animal waste and visitor trash into energy.
EnCompass March/April 2012 31
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