Sunday, February 15, 2026

The Blue Mustang of the Denver International Airport

Denver International Airport (DIA) is located 25 miles (40.234 kilometers) east of Denver on the high plains in Aurora. Colorado. Opened in 1995, it replaced the smaller Stapleton International Airport. 
It is the largest airport in North America by area — 53 square miles (137.269 square kilometers) — and one of the world's busiest, serving over 64 million passengers annually.
The Denver International Airport Jeppesen Terminal's internationally recognized peaked roof, designed by Fentress Bradburn Architects, resembles snow-capped mountains and evokes the early history of Colorado when Native American teepees were located across the Great Plains.


 The airport features some of the longest commercial runways in the world, necessary due to its "hot and high" altitude, which affects aircraft performance.
Downtown Denver is less than 40 minutes away via the A Line Commuter Rail.


On trips to the airport, we witnessed the construction of the Westin Hotel, which opened in 2015 and is adjacent to the airport.

The hotel was designed with this description:
 “Building upon imagery of flight and aviation, the sleek form resembles a bird with wings extended, framing and accenting the acclaimed tent-like roof of Jeppesen Terminal.”





Travelers heading to and from Denver International Airport (DIA) along Peña Boulevard have been greeted for 18 years by a blue horse statue called "Blue Mustang." He recently celebrated his birthday!  There is no parking area near the sculpture, so my photos are all "drive-by" ones. 

Weighing 9,000 lbs. and standing 32 feet tall, Blue Mustang is a fiberglass sculpture by Luis Jiménez. It was one of many public art projects at the airport. 

According to the DIA website: "Jiménez’ characteristic style references the grandeur of the Mexican muralists, the energy of the Southwest, and the bright colors he experienced as a youth in his father’s sign-making company. Jiménez’s vivid paint, unique surface treatments, and method of exaggeration have influenced many young artists who are emerging in the galleries of Los Angeles and New York in the styles that are known as Lowbrow and Urban Art."


Most people tend to affectionately refer to the statue as "Blucifer" due to its piercing red neon eyes, but the eyes are actually a tribute to the artist's father, who owned a neon light shop in Mexico

There is also the sad fact that the statue’s creator was killed when a section of the sculpture's three sections came loose in his New Mexico studio, pinning him and severing an artery in his leg in 2006.
After his death, family and friends made the decision to complete the sculpture. Jiménez’s son took over the project to make sure Blue Mustang was finished.



The Blue Mustang is definitely an eye-catching sight when one drives towards the airport terminal!

 I captured this photo of him in the snow a few years ago


Some fun facts about the Blue Mustang: 

The Mustang's eyes are made out of LED lights, and the maintenance team has changed them just once in the airport's lifetime.

The piece was partly modeled on Jiménez's own Appaloosa stallion, Blackjack, a horse that he bought in fulfillment of a childhood desire after becoming a successful artist

A team of professionals helps to perform maintenance on the Mustang's paint as it becomes weathered. Every year, a local art fabrication and conservation company gives him an exam and a cleaning. They check for any cracks or chips caused by the elements. The sculpture is then washed by hand with distilled water, any holes or cracks are filled, it's repainted with an airbrush, and sunblock is applied.

The city ultimately paid $650,000 for the sculpture. A 2007 appraisal valued the work at $2,000,000, and the city has insured it at that value.


Denver International Airport is a busy one, and the Blue Mustang is certainly an iconic sight when one is beginning or ending a travel adventure!


 
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Sunday, February 8, 2026

Our No Snow Winter!

The photo above was taken on an early morning drive to the Denver International Airport late last month. As you can see, there is no snow on the high plains or in the foothills, and there has been very little snow accumulation in the Colorado Rocky Mountains this winter!


Denver didn’t get its first snow until Nov. 29, the second latest first snow on record, and it was only 0.2 inches. 
Temperatures around the Colorado Front Range have also been downright balmy, drawing close to, or even setting, record highs. 
It was 70 F degrees (21.11 C) in Denver on Christmas Day!


A persistent pattern of high pressure over the western U.S. has been the main driver behind both the warmth and the lack of snow, effectively blocking Pacific storms that typically help build Colorado's snowpack.
Natural climate patterns from the Pacific, such as "La Niña, " are also contributing factors. 

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), during La Niña events, trade winds are even stronger than usual, pushing more warm water toward Asia. Off the west coast of the Americas, upwelling increases, bringing cold, nutrient-rich water to the surface. These cold waters in the Pacific push the jet stream northward. This tends to lead to drought in the southern U.S. and heavy rains and flooding in the Pacific Northwest and Canada. During a La Niña year, winter temperatures are warmer than normal in the South and cooler than normal in the North. La Niña can also lead to a more severe hurricane season.

 

My front lawn is usually covered with deep snow by this time of the year.
Instead, this winter, it is full of deer enjoying the cool shade!


The few snowfalls we have had so far are light and melt quickly as the ground is warm and dry. The Rockies are at 50% of the snowpack they need, and I heard today that they will need five to eight feet of snow (2.4M) just to catch up to normal!

If we, and the other Western states, end up with really low snowpack numbers, water supplies will be greatly compromized and that could eventually lead to water restrictions, increased wildfire risk, and challenges for agriculture later this year.



Colorado’s snowpack typically peaks in early April, as March and April are historically the snowiest months in our region. Weather patterns may shift as La Niña weakens toward neutral conditions in the coming weeks.


(A pillow on display in a nearby new construction model home)


We can only hope this will happen!












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