Denver Mint Tours

While you are in Denver, Colorado area, you probably do not want to miss this tour. If you only have few days in Denver, do make an early ( give yourself about a month a head) reservation on line. The reservation will tell you in detail about list of items allowed to be brought with you during the tour and do really follow the instructions or else they won't let you in.

Parking located near Delaware in USPS building. It costs about $5 for the first 4 hours.
It's a good idea to bring an umbrella. It could be scorching hot you have to wait outside before they let you in.

The tour starts promptly. They allow you to take a potty break and drink before their 30 min tour. You will be greeted with security and metal detector. Then, you will find yourself in a room filled with old coins or other monetary exchange. Beads, spices was once considered as money.

You will be inside a room filled with information about how do they make coins, metal mixes, machine, recycling coins and on. The tour guide is very knowledgeable. You will be able to see machines that makes coins, nicely decorated building After the tour ends, you can visit a gift shop.

During our visit, the gift shop was closed due to construction. It was an OK tour for us but very educational.

Bobolink Trail

We decided to try hiking in a very kid friendly and easy trail. We went to Bobolink trail, on South Boulder and Cherryvale Road.

We started a little after noon. It was really hot and a little bit "buggy". In addition to sun lotion, hat, sun glass, a bug repellent would help. There is a parking lot but no john... so if you really need to go, you can look for shady area or find a gas station with restroom on 55 and Arapahoe.

The trail is bike and stroller friendly. There are creek access where you can try walking on the stone to the other side of the creek. About 0.6 miles, you will see access to East Boulder Community Park. It was too hot for us to continue so we bailed out to the Community Center.

Next time, we'll try going there earlier... or when the sun is not so scorching hot. It's a fun experience for family.

A trip to Water World

While we're in Denver, we took the opportunity to visit Water World. If you happen to be drinking lots of Mountain Dews, keep the cans as it has $6 coupon off. If you are not, you could sign up to get one.

The park opens at 10. We arrived there about 10:30 which I considered late. Once we got in, we went to Captain Jack's area. If the benches are full, you could try other places like Big Top or Thunder Bay. There area lockers and bath house close to the area. We rented a locker for our valuables.

Some rides requires tube. If you are traveling alone with kids, you may want to rent a tube. If you want to save some money, you can carry the tube yourself to the starting point. I have to warn you that it's a bit heavy...

We tried most of the rides, including Voyage to the center/earth, Raging Colorado, Wally's world, Lost river of Pharaoh, Captain Jack, Thunder Bay, Storm, Big Top, Space bowl (this one, you need to be able to swim), H2O arena and gondola. We ran out of time...

We were there on a Friday... last weekend before school starts. Despite 30 min wait or more on each ride, we had fun and plan to come back.

When we come back, we'll plan it some time in the middle of summer, middle of the week. Hopefully the lane will be shorter. This time, we'll try to arrive 10 min before they open...

Playing with mud at Denver Art Museum

Visiting Denver? Don't miss Denver Art Museum. Currently, Marvelous Mud on exhibit until September 18...
Other than live artists demonstration, you got a chance to get dirty. You could pick an apron, pick a lump of clay, some tools and then use your creativity to build anything you like.
They even have a pottery wheel...


My suggestion is to arrive a little bit earlier. The clay needs some time to dry. In the real clay world, you suppose to fire it to 1200F. My clay didn't have a chance to dry out... Too bad that I accidentally squeeze the clay and broke. Luckily, I got a chance to take a picture of it so I can share my piece.

I think it's very fun piece. Wouldn't you agree?

Colorado Dragon Boat Festival

When we're in Denver, we had the opportunity to see Dragon Boat Festival. I say it's an awesome festival. Despite high 90's close to 100's, there are estimated 100,000 people came to see the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival that is filled with Asian dance and cultures, food, market and of course Dragon boat race.

We were there at around 11. As they suggested, we parked on lot G in Invesco Field. There are shuttle bus from BVSD that would take us to the location. Volunteers are working hard to make sure all the buses move as soon as it filled. At the location, we were dropped at the very far end of the festival. There are market place where people sells bamboo hats and parasols, knick-knacks, snow cones and so many more. You should try coconut and sugar cane juice in addition to Asian food.

Folding chair, umbrella, sun lotion, sun glasses, hat, drinks are essential. With almost 100 F, misting tent is like an oasis in a desert. Despite the scorching hot, I think it is worth going.