Beauty in the city

If you're like me, you have a hard time dropping $15 to go wander the Botanic Gardens when a few extra minutes of driving can put you in the middle of equally beautiful wilderness.

Case in point #1

#2

And #3--all less than 90 min from my house

However, I have always been a fan of what I've seen of Dale Chihuly, beginning with the massive entryway sculpture at the Joslyn in Omaha. The colors and shapes are arresting, especially when you consider it's all blown glass.

Inside and Out. Photo courtesy of the Joslyn. Stunning, right?

And we just happen to have a huge collection of his outdoor work at the Botanic Gardens right now. I was chatting it over with a friend of mine, who lamented that it seems pointless to go look at all these sculptures when even more beautiful creations are all around in the flora that normally inhabits the gardens. It's true; sorry, Dale, but you can't beat the Master at His own game. Never the less, I think it is absolutely worth a visit for a few reasons.

1) Gets you outside in the beautiful Colorado fall.
2) Gives you a reason to drop the money to take in the best of creation (especially the alpine collection, the birds and bees walk, and the rose garden), and because you spent the money, you might actually stop to enjoy it, instead of passing it by like we do every day.
3) Tons of beautiful sculptures will make you feel cultured without feeling cooped up in a museum.

#nofilter (I don't really know what that means, but I've always wanted to write it)

So if you haven't yet seen the exhibit, it's worth it. And if you'd rather instead head up to the mountains to see the changing fall colors, fine by me. Bottom line, there's a lot of beauty out there to be seen. Get off the computer and go see it!