COME TO LIFE | Pick-Your-Passion Itineraries Mural Arts Adventure 3 DAYS RECOMMENDED, 306 MILES GREELEY AURORA Walsenburg Hop back on the Highway of Legends and head 20 minutes up the road. Snap a picture of the brightly colored “Public Health is a Puzzle” by Maria Cocchiareilli-Berger and local veterans and artists or Yul Jorgensen’s “Code of the West,” depicting a scene familiar to locals of the Mystic San Luis Valley — a watercolor sunset above peaked blue mountains and fertile valleys. With 30 Certified Colorado Creative Districts, hundreds of galleries and world-class art museums, Colorado is bursting with vivid examples of street art. Make your way around the state to see massive murals and more created by diverse, local artists. Parker Outside Denver, Parker’s Sulphur Gulch Trail hosts “Love Others” by Matthew Fascone, a series of 5-foot-tall hands that spell out the mural’s name in American Sign Language set against a majestic mountain background. Stops: Alamosa Get your bearings on the area with the 85 individual works (portraits, landscapes and more) that grace the exterior walls of the San Luis Valley Museum , making up the “San Luis Valley Heritage” creation by Ian Wilkinson. Then learn about the bloody conflict between the indigenous people of the area and early European settlers at the “Naming of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains” mural by J. Noel Tucker. Aurora East of Denver, Colorado’s third-largest city is known for its rich tapestry of cultures. Spot “Lucia Escalate” by Detour, Anna Charney and A.L. Grime, and the vibrant “Afro Flower Lady” by Brazilian artist Jiacuy Roche. Visit colfaxcanvas.com for an audio walking tour of many others. 70 25 Denver PARKER “Greeley and Whale” COLORADO CREATIVE INDUSTRIES. WALSENBURG ALAMOSA 160 La Veta Just an hour east lies the laid-back town of La Veta. It’s situated on the meandering Highway of Legends and is home to “The Creative Process” mural, produced by five students from surrounding schools around the topic of how daunting creating can be. LA VETA Want More? COLORADO.COM/MURALMARATHON by Betony Coons, a mystical black-and-white image on the side of John Galt Coffee . Or stand in the middle of “Courage” near the realistic heart by Silva and Sam-Bruce on 8th Avenue . More: greeleydowntown.com/outdoor-art . “NAMING OF THE SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS” IN ALAMOSA 82 1-800-COLORADO
Colorado Official State Vacation Guide 2022: Page 82
