A Tour of the Colorado Rockies Coors Stadium

 

The 2026 American baseball season has begun, and it reminded me that I never showed photos of a tour we took last April of the National League Denver Rockies baseball team's home field,  Coors Field in Denver, Colorado!

Opened in 1995, the park is located in Denver's Lower Downtown neighborhood, four blocks from Union Station. The stadium has a capacity of 50,144 people for baseball.

Tours of Coors Field are available Monday through Saturday. Our tours provide a behind-the-scenes look at one of the premier ballparks in Major League Baseball. Tours typically last 70-80 minutes and cover a distance of approximately one mile. Our "Motley Crew" friends group all pre-purchased tickets to attend the tour, and we met in front of Gate D, where the tour begins.

The guided Coors Field tour took us through the dugout, premium seating areas, press level, and the rooftop, and gave us many insights into how Coors Field operates beyond what fans see during a game.

One of the most distinctive features of Coors Field is the famous purple row of seats, in the upper deck, 20th row, which marks exactly 5,280 feet--one mile--above sea level. (1,609.344 meters)

We learned fascinating facts about the stadium on the tour, such as the fact that the grass has an electric heating element below ground to keep it green and fresh even in cold early-season weather. We also learned that baseballs have to be specially treated to function in the mile-high altitude of Denver. The baseballs are kept in a humidor set at 70 degrees and 50% humidity. It is well-known that baseballs travel approximately 9% further at Coors Field because of its elevation.

The Rockies Clubhouse was off limits to visit, as the players leave their private possessions there, but we were able to visit the visiting teams' clubhouse. Our tour guide showed us the various rooms for the visiting manager and coaches, as well as the dressing room for the teams. The teams are treated to gourmet meals, and laundry and other services are provided. 

Coors Field has many dining options, from casual to upscale.

The Rooftop at Coors Field is a 38,000-square-foot addition to the upper deck in right field, offering numerous eateries, a variety of seating and standing-room options, and stunning views of downtown Denver and the Rocky Mountains, along with craft beer options and lively entertainment. The Rooftop opens when gates open and remains a favorite hangout spot for fans throughout the game. No special access is required, but it’s best to arrive early to claim a good spot.

The Rockpile is one of the most budget-friendly and iconic seating areas in baseball. With a history dating back to Coors Field’s opening in 1995, these seats offer an old-school bleacher experience. 

Day of Game Rockpile: Both $4.00 and $1.00 Rockpile tickets are available for purchase on the day of the game for most home games, beginning two hours before game time at the Rockpile Ticket Office located near Gate A. Rockpile tickets are available to Guests 12 years of age and younger and 55 years of age and older for $1.00.

We have attended a few games with our grandchildren at this great price and enjoyed seeing the game from one of the most unique spots in the park!

Some fun displays around the stadium.

Dinger is the Rockies Mascot. He is a lovable, purple anthropomorhic triceratops dinosaur that has been the Colorado Rockies’ biggest fan since he firsthatched from his egg at Mile High Stadium on April 16, 1994. 

The choice of a dinosaur, specifically this type, was inspired by the discovery of a number of dinosaur fossils—most notably a 7-foot-long (2.1 m), 1,000-pound (450 kg) triceratops skull—at Coors Field during its construction.

McGregor Square is a new addition to the Coors Field experience, featuring dining, shopping, and a massive outdoor screen that broadcasts games. It’s a great spot to soak in the baseball atmosphere before or after a game, and entry is free!

We all enjoyed our tour of Coors Field and highly recommend it to all baseball fans.

Go Rockies!!

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 Sunday on Silverado

In the Merry Month of May

We have had many beautiful blue sky days in the merry month of May.....for many reasons!

My husband and I have been busy raking, weeding, and planting in our gardens.  We have a large front lawn with a slate-walled flower area near our house that we have been slowly filling with perennials. Each year, we take note of what survives the winters and snowy springs that we have here on the Front Range of Colorado, and what also survives being nibbled by daily visits from deer and rabbits. My backyard has a large retaining wall, and we have also been slowly filling it each year with new shrubs and perennials. This year, we added some annuals to each garden to add some color.  Notice the new scarlet pink "Knock Out" roses rimmed with chicken wire? It's the only way to ensure my deer visitors don't devour them all!  I really love seeing our gardens come alive in May!

May has been a busy month....we went to a Colorado Rockies baseball game in Coors Field in Denver, with my daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter. We sat in the "Rock Pile" bleachers just for the fun of it.  It was my three-year-old granddaughter's first baseball game, and she enjoyed it.

We also celebrated the end of the school year in May for our grandchildren! My oldest granddaughter's preschool had a beautiful and adorable "Continuation and Graduation Ceremony. My granddaughter is only three, so she'll continue in preschool next year. She loves the Pastor and teachers.  She really learned so much this year and enjoyed all the playtime and friendships with other children. The teachers made a beautiful slideshow of all the year's activities, as the song "Let Them Be Little" played in the background... that brought tears to my eyes! Click here to listen to that song on YouTube.  Children grow so fast, grandchildren grow even faster!

We also attended my oldest grandson's flag football games, my youngest grandson's soccer games, and my oldest grandson's horseback riding lessons. My granddaughters had fun playing together on the side lines.

My youngest five year old grandson began karate this year and was thrilled to receive his yellow belt in May!

My daughter and son-in-law went on a vacation trip to celebrate their anniversary, and their daughter stayed with us for a week. We had lots of fun with her, and she loved being with Grandma and Pop Pop!  Early one morning, I took her to play in a community playground.  As you can see, it has really greened up in my area!   Do you see the brick house in the distance in the last photo?

Only the stone walls stand, but this is a National Register of Historic Places!  It is the Bradford-Perley House. It was once the residence of Major Robert Boyles Bradford, a prominent Denver pioneer who founded the Bradford Wagon Road.  That wagon road was a principal route for gold rush pioneers in the 1860's to take from Denver to Leadville and South Park.  You can read more about this historic house on this Denver Post link.  My husband and I are members of our community's Historical Society, and we often do volunteer work to help maintain the house and apple orchards that were planted in the 1860's. On this day, our granddaughter helped too!

The red rocks near the house are also of archaeological significance as they had been used by the paleo people who lived and hunted on the Front Range of Colorado for thousands of years. The Denver chapter of the Colorado Archaeological Society did many digs here years ago and found many interesting artifacts. You can read more about their discoveries on this link.

Last week in May, we saw our youngest grandson graduate from preschool!  He will now enter kindergarten this summer in the new school year.  The teachers asked each student what they wanted to be when they grew up.  There were a lot of bakers, firefighters, scientists, police, and athletes, but our grandson surprised us all by declaring he wanted to grow up to be in the US Coast Guard!  PS--the shirts my youngest granddaughter is wearing say "Crazy hair--don't care!" She has been blessed with big blond curls and wears them well!  This little miss will be celebrating her first birthday soon--where does the time go?

Of course, at the end of the month of May, we honor and remember those in our armed forces who made the ultimate sacrifice to preserve our country's freedoms on Memorial Day. Above is a photo of the National Cemetery in New York, where my Father and Mother are buried together.  My Dad was a veteran of World War II and Korea, but was fortunate to be able to come home to his family. So many veterans did not.  May we always remember and honor those who served and gave all.  Prayers that there will one day be peace and an end to all wars....for our children, our grandchildren, and all that follow!

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Ridgway, Colorado--Gateway to the San Juan's

 Ridgway, Colorado, is called "The Gateway to the San Juan's, " for a good reason, as this is the view of the mountain range one sees as you drive towards the town. (All photos will enlarge for easier viewing if clicked on)

Steep, forested mountains, mesas, and cliffs surround Ridgway on the south, east, and northeast, and the house we rented in November was located on the top of Log Hill Mesa.

The drive up and down Log Hill Mesa, and the house we rented, gave us spectacular views of the Cimmaron and San Juan Mountains. It was a wonderful base to use to visit the towns of Ouray, which is 10 miles north, and 37 miles east to the ski town of Telluride--about 30 and 40 minutes away in different directions. You can read blog posts I wrote about each town if you click on the highlighted links.

The picturesque rural town of Ridgway, nestled in the Uncompaghre Valley at 6,985 feet, looked as if time had stood still.  It is named for the Denver and Rio Grande railroad superintendent Robert M. Ridgway, who established the town in 1891 to service the silver and gold miners, ranchers, and farmers in the area.  It now has a population of approximately 924 people and concentrates on creativity and culture and a connection to the outdoors.

The railway is gone, but its memories remain at the acclaimed Ridgway Railroad Museum.

The views of the mountain ranges from the town certainly added to its Old West charm.

More than 100 films and documentaries have been filmed in the scenic SW area of Colorado. One of the most famous films in Ridgway is the Academy Award-winning John Wayne 1969 movie classic "True Grit."  The True Grit Cafe in Ridgway has movie memorabilia on its walls. There is even a True Grit Walking Tour conducted through the Ridgway Visitors Center every Friday, May through October.

 

This fun "Then and Now" YouTube video shows scenes from the "True Grit" movie, and what the same scene would look like now.  The quality of the music at the beginning of the video is somewhat fuzzy, so you might want to turn down your speakers.

We were excited to do a drive along a portion of Last Dollar Road.  This bumpy dirt road was once used as a mining supply route in the 1800s leading from Ridgway to Telluride but now is surrounded by large aspen groves and ranches.

The view of the Dallas Divide through the arches of Last Dollar Ranch was certainly scenic!  The designer Ralph Lauren also owns ranch land in this area.  We did not go much further along the road as it was muddy and we knew it would be difficult to travel, so we turned around.  We definitely would like to return to this area one day to see these views again and hopefully be able to do the entire 18-mile drive.

Another interesting fact about Ridgway is that it contains the only traffic light in the entire Ouray County! Here is, at the intersection of highways 550 and 62.

Please Click on this to enlarge

It is easy to see why the San Juan Mountain area of SW Colorado is called the "Switzerland of America," and why we enjoyed this vacation so much! From Alpenglow to winds blowing the snow on the mountaintops, we saw gorgeous sights from the deck of our rental home.

On the home front, we celebrated a few happy occasions recently!

Please click on this to enlarge

The Denver Broncos football team won Superbowl 50! My husband and I went to the celebratory parade for the Broncos in Denver and enjoyed seeing quarterback Peyton Manning and the Vince Lombardi trophy and the rest of the Bronco team and cheerleaders and mascots in the parade!  Over a million people were in attendance--most dressed in the Denver Broncos colors of orange and blue!

The best events, however, were the birthdays of our son and our granddaughter "J" in February.  She is growing up to be the happiest and most imaginative little girl.  She really lights up our lives!  

 I hope you all had a very Happy Valentine's Day. Only 34 days 'till Spring!

 

Wrigley Field--Chicago Cubs-Celebrating 100 Years!

I've mentioned a few times, recently, that my husband and I were fortunate to spend a weekend in Chicago in early May.  I'm sorry that it has taken me a while to edit a thousand photos I took there, and also for a trip we took soon after that to California, but in between I was also delayed by having my laptop repaired for a glitch that was preventing me from staying connected to the internet (thankfully that was covered under my computer's warranty!)  We visited Chicago to attend an annual business event that the company my husband works for hosts every year--a rooftop viewing of a Chicago Cubs baseball game at Wrigley Field! It happens that this year is the 100-year celebration of the Chicago Cubs Wrigley Field!

According to this Wikipedia article, the Chicago National League Ball Club is the only franchise to play continuously in the same city since the formation of the National League in 1876. They are the earliest formed active professional sports club in North America.  In their history, they have also been known as the Federals, White Stockings, Orphans, Colts, Panamas, Rainmakers, Spuds, Trojans, Microbes, and Zephyrs. According to this MLB website, on New Year's Eve 1913, Chicago Federal League owner Charles Weeghman agreed to a 99-year lease on a small parcel of land located at the corner of Clark and Addison Streets on Chicago's North Side. At a construction cost of $250,000, a ballpark with a seating capacity of only 14,000 was constructed and named Weeghman Park, later to be named Wrigley Field in 1927. On April 23, 1914, the Chicago Federals played their first Major League game at the ballpark, defeating the Kansas City Packers, 9-1. Four days after opening day, the first renovations were made. The outfield walls were pushed back as much as 50 feet and the scoreboard was moved from left field to its present location in the center field. Many renovations later, Wrigley Field is the tenth smallest actively used major league baseball park, and the oldest National League baseball park.

We were going to be watching the Chicago Cubs play the St. Louis Cardinals at a "rooftop" venue outside the park.  The Chicago Cubs has a few official rooftop venues for left, center and right field, and there are also many privately owned rooftop venues. We were going to see the game at Brixen Ivy, a private executive rooftop experience.

As you can see there are quite a few rooftop venues across the street on the left field side of Wrigley Field. Brixen Ivy is the white brick building, third from the left.

There are three walk-up levels in the building. On the club level, we could pick up food, which was included in the all-inclusive ticket. The other levels had an indoor and porch viewing terrace, and the last level had an outdoor terrace with bleacher seats.

Beer and wine and non-alcoholic drinks were also included in the service.

The event was very well attended! Most of the people stayed inside to watch the game as unfortunately, the day was chilly and damp.

I went up to the true rooftop of Brixen Ivy to take photos. As you can see we had a great view of almost the entire Wrigley field from its stadium-style seats.

The rooftop terrace also had a bar and snack service and some tables and chairs, plus TV screens to view the game.

My husband and two of his invitees from New York.  We all stayed on top and enjoyed the game!

These were the rooftop seats on the building next to us

If you click on to enlarge this photo you can see many buildings outside the red brick right field of Wrigley Field that also have rooftop views!

More views of the game and of Wrigley Field.  The Chicago Cubs won the game, so all the fans were very happy!

I had to include this photo of a Chicago firehouse that was located on the corner, near our rooftop venue, as these lucky firemen also get to enjoy the Cub home games!  My oldest brother was a lieutenant in the FDNY for almost 30 years, and all firemen are true brethren.

That evening, my husband and I, and his guests at the game went to Lou Malnati's at the Gold Coast location, as per the request of his guests.  They are New Yorkers and wanted to try Chicago style deep dish pizza.  It was delicious, but I have to admit that since I am a native New Yorker myself, I prefer New York style pizza.  I think a personal preference for pizza is a matter of what you know the best.

While the weather was cold the day we attended this rooftop Chicago Cubs game, the next few days of our visit to Chicago were absolutely beautiful! We visited the Navy Pier, took a clipper ship ride on Lake Michigan, and went up to the top panoramic viewing windows in the Hancock Tower! Chicago is a fabulous city to visit -- please come back soon to see those future blog posts!