Sunny Day at the Pearl Street Mall, Boulder, CO

Boulder Theatre, Boulder, CO

Sunday, my last full day in Boulder, brought brilliant sunlight and a deep blue sky. It was the perfect way to conclude my visit to Boulder, and a nice follow-up to the damp gloom of the preceding days. With the arrival of beautiful weather, the Pearl Street Mall, Boulder's downtown pedestrian mall, just came alive. Here are some photos I took during that day.

Boulder Theatre, facade, Boulder, CO

The historic Boulder Theatre is a beautiful example of colorful art deco architecture. It's obviously popular with Boulder's pigeon community.

Water feature at Pearl Street Mall, Boulder, CO

What's a better water feature in the middle of downtown Boulder than a boulder with water trickling down? This water feature was even more beautiful when it shined a deep bronze glow in direct sunlight.

Pearl Street Mall, Boulder, CO

Bright autumn sunlight streams in through the trees as the Pearl Street Mall's various boutiques, art galleries, and stores begin to open for the day.

Public contortionist, Pearl Street Mall, Boulder, CO

Public performers are a popular feature of the Pearl Street Mall, providing pedestrians with a wide variety of entertainment. Here, a man contorts his body into an amazing position while managing to juggle three balls.

Public contortionist, Pearl Street Mall, Boulder, CO

Then, he actually manages to raise his body to balance himself on one leg from the seated position. Just astonishing!

Folk singer, Pearl Street Mall, Boulder, CO

This singer had an excellent folksy voice. As you can see, he definitely has at least one completely devoted fan, and probably a good many more.

Pearl Street Mall, Boulder, CO

The Pearl Street Mall is beautifully landscaped with trees that provide both color and shade. I love it especially in autumn, when the leaves start to turn golden.

Folk rock band, Pearl Street Mall, Boulder, CO

I loved this folk rock band so much I had to watch them perform several songs. The singer had a beautiful, soulful voice.

Folk rock band, Pearl Street Mall, Boulder, CO

They had amazing energy and the makeshift drum (or maybe that's a specialty drum) kept a good beat.

Instrumentalist, Pearl Street Mall, Boulder, CO

I admit ignorance here. I am not sure what type of horn this is. It's sounded almost like Tibetan wind instruments I have heard in the past, with a long, low, solemn sound.

Instrumentalist, Pearl Street Mall, Boulder, CO

Mountain view, Pearl Street, Boulder, CO

This is the view I enjoyed while sitting out in front of Trident, a local coffeehouse and bookstore that I used to frequent all the time when I lived in Boulder. They have a great selection of teas and excellent, moist slices of chocolate chip pumpkin sweetbread.

Pearl Street Mall, Boulder, CO

There are many images of Boulder that I will always keep etched vividly in my mind: the mountainous beauty of the Boulder Creek Trail as it slowly makes its ascent, the refreshing sound of the creek coursing along and rippling over rock, the beauty of cottonwoods and aspens turning golden in autumn, the Flatirons among the foothills of the Rockies (which I did not get the chance to photograph), the quirky artsy hippie culture of many of the locals, the main public library where I used to spend much of my time. But this photograph, above, is one image I have always remembered when thinking back to my days living in Boulder: the vibrancy of pedestrian life along Pearl Street Mall and the many unique shops and galleries I would enter to browse until the idea of coffee or tea would make its presence known. And all the while, whenever I would look west, the foothills of the Rocky Mountains would be there, rising above the city and shouldering blue sky. Boulder is beautiful. Until next time, Boulder...