Denver is “only” 4 hours away.  We used to make the trek there quite a bit, often several times a year.  However, in recent years, we’ve slacked off.  The last time was almost 4 years ago, I believe.  But, if there’s one person who can motivate me to pack up the minivan and hit the road, it’s the young Pharaoh Tutankhamun.  His museum exhibit was in Denver just over 20 years ago.  I missed it then and have regretted it ever since.  When I heard that a new exhibit would be in Denver this year, I knew I had to see it.  And so I did.  🙂

Good News:

Dh knows his way around Denver, so I pretty much just had to sit back and let him maneuver the van through the morass of big city traffic.  I prefer to stare at the car ceiling.  To look at the 8 lanes of insane drivers would give me a panic attack.  The hotel was adequate.  The beds were not slabs of granite.  The pillows were not marshmallows.  And the water pressure in the shower was good enough to wash the shampoo out of my hair in under an hour.  Parking at the Art Museum was relatively inexpensive and close to the entrance.  We had pre-purchased our tickets, so we were able to meet up with my sister, her boyfriend, and my niece and her boyfriend and then waltz right into the exhibit after obtaining our audio tour mechanisms.

Bad News:

We didn’t get the memo that everyone and their brother would be at the exhibit that day.  Oh…my…word.  Children of all ages were running this way and that way and this way and that way.  I must admit though, there was one little boy who was perhaps 3 or 4 who was an absolute kick in the pants.  He was with his grandmother, and he was so excited and was actually asking questions that made sense!  Love that kind of passion!  Also in attendance was a large group of older folks whose tour leaders found it necessary to speak…to…their…charges…in…very…loud…voices…with…little…or… no…regard…for…other…people…packed…into…the…sardine…can. Even with the volume on my audio device cranked, it was no easy task to decipher the narration of Harrison Ford and Dr. Zahi Hawass.  The rooms…chambers…were dark.  The individual cases were illuminated from within or above.  This gave the exhibit a marvelous sense of being in an underground tomb.  However, it made it very difficult to actually SEE some of the items and the information placards unless you were very, very close to them which was no easy task considering the number of visitors. I felt very badly for a couple of visitors who were in wheelchairs.  They couldn’t even get close to the cases.  😦

Overall Impression:

I give the exhibit a B-.  We saw the Ramses Exhibit at the art museum in New Orleans in 2004, and it was AMAZING, so my standards were set pretty high.  Don’t get me wrong.  We did see some fabulous art in the King Tut exhibit.  The abilities of the ancient artisans boggle the mind.  When I think of the meticulous work they were asked to do without the assistance of magnifying OTT lamps and precision tools, I am in awe.  And I’m sure the experience would be vastly different on another day with less of a crowd, etc.  Am I glad we went?  You betcha!  No more regrets.  I went.  I saw.  I want more.  Maybe a trip to Cairo one day?  Time will tell.  After all, our son is in college, studying to be an archaeologist, so one never knows…

Our Denver jaunt ended with a Colorado Rockies game, and the Rocks won!  Woo hoooooooooo!  It was a good trip studded with Egyptian gold and six-dollar hot-dogs.  Can’t beat that with a stick.  🙂 🙂 🙂