From Colorado Station to Yale Station: Shops and restaurants, oh my!

I took this hike backwards, starting at Colorado Station and going south to Yale Station. I was hoping to find a particular cut of meat at a grocery store on Yale (I didn't.) and I didn't want to pack it any further than necessary.

Colorado Station is interesting in that, where most of the other platforms are built above the surrounding land, Colorado is below the ground level. The train enters the station from both ends through tunnels. This stop provides access to a cluster of high rise buildings called "Colorado Center" which includes a theater, office space, and a few shops and restaurants.

The walls of the station feature a bird. I'm not sure what kind of bird it's supposed to be. It doesn't look like the Colorado state bird, the lark bunting.

Colorado Station has its art piece.

Ries Niemi designed these seven foot high, stainless steel "Big Boots" that include both Native American and traditional cowboy imagery.

They wouldn't fit me so I left them where they were.

This hike is urban at its most...well, urban. If you're into shopping, this area is for you. If you're looking for international cuisine, this might be what you're looking for.

There wasn't much for me but I used to live on the next main street to the east so there wasn't much to surprise me.

Harvard Gulch arises directly behind this YMCA and that will be where my next hike begins.

Autumn is in full color here. 

I wonder whose Mercedes has lost an emblem.

This is about as well as I could do on this hike for my requisite shot of the Rockies. It is from the platform at Yale Station and captured more fall color 

People here talk about driving into the mountains to look at the trees.

I don't get it. The Aspen trees go bright yellow but everything else is green evergreens. All the color is down here in the city.

The train ride back to Arapahoe Station was uneventful. A neighbor's garden had a milkweed going to seed. There were tuffs of milkweed floss all over their lawn. The method of spreading seed is pretty effective.

Next time: Harvard Gulch and the University of Denver campus.