Saturday, July 30, 2011

Lyons: Quite a Mix of Old and New

Leaving Boulder, we started climbing higher and I could feel it. It never seemed to bother B, but I did all those things they tell you to do to ward off altitude sickness and that was probably what helped me to just keep going.

Because we were staying the night at a bed and breakfast in a rather isolated area, we needed to make sure we had our supper in Lyons. We arrived in town too early to think about eating, so we walked around the couple of streets that make up the "downtown." We wandered in and out of shops and there was interesting stuff to see, such as this wacky newspaper box.


This large mobile swung in the breeze, with its parts spinning.


The old buildings, planters and  benches are made of the red sandstone that is still quarried just outside the town. This stone is famous for its beauty, strength and versatility and has been used world-wide. Lyons sandstone is being used to make the memorials at the sights of the 911 tragedies. Many of the settlers came to farm but soon discovered their pay-dirt was actually rock. The  building below, dated at 1917, now houses a large antique shop. 

The church is a little older.


We thought it had a very interesting, formidable look. Not much snow is going to pile up on the roof!


Down the street, however, this place simply confounded me. It was an Asian restaurant. The "Open" sign was lit (in a Christian fish symbol---??) but....


The sign by the door read:


Well, they are .....close.
And then the "chair" sign in front of another shop read, "Have a seat! Try it out!"
We might try, but we will not  buy.... for the asking price of $450.00.



We had a good dinner at Oskar Blues, a microbrewery. Sitting by the window, B watched a flatbed semi-truck, loaded with huge slabs of sandstone, chug its way through town.  

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