Got to see Denver yesterday....

Had a lunch meeting in lower downtown (lodo) yesterday. Got to see downtown and a few neighborhoods. What a nice city! Lots of downtown residences and restored buildings. It has quite a personality. The best part was the volume of activity on EVERY street!

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Never tire of those mountains....

Seriously. Does anyone ever tire of looking at these? They look different every day. Some days they even disappear from the horizon! I wonder if people who have lived here all of their life continue to be amazed by the view...

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Not that I'm complaining...

so yesterday - on St. Patrick's Day - the high temp was 75. We were 10 degrees warmer than Central Florida! Today we are only suppose to go up to 73. The breeze is amazing so we've had the windows open all weekend.

I had to buy a sunscreen with a much higher SPF. My face started to go red running errands in the car!

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On a clear day you can see forever...

We were leaving the CSU Environmental Center and the view of the mountain range was just stunning. Because we live in the Front Range we don't get to see the snow capped peaks every day until we are a few miles to the east. This morning some of the interior ranges were in view because the sky was so clear.

So, I tried to do it in a panoramic series. Now that I see the result, I'm a little disappointed. They aren't nearly as impressive as they were in real time.

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RIP Refuse

So, Kate is working on several articles for local publications to keep her portfolio fresh. One of her assignments is to write an article about the Recycling Graveyard that was created by CSU students for the Environmental Center.

In it, they've buried common items with their rates of decomposition in soil indicated on their "tombstones" - very cool.

A leather boot: 40-50 years
Cigarette butts: 2-5 years
Banana peel: 3-4 weeks

and so on...

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Raptors

After paying our respects to the refuse, we wandered over to the Raptor Center. It's a little nature center with eight local raptor specimens.

Kate thought they all looked ticked off.

This was the female bald eagle. I was shocked by her size and calm demeanor. She is really beautiful in person. This photo doesn't do justice to her beauty.

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Yet another Cleveland connection...

This statue of Esther Hobart Morris is in front of the Wyoming capital building. Morris was a leader in the American woman's suffrage movement. She was also the first woman to serve as a justice of the peace in the United States.

In 1895, at age 80, she was elected a delegate to the national suffrage convention in Cleveland, Ohio.

What a nice surprise to uncover that connection - we stopped to snap her photo just because we thought she was beautiful!

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Returning to Fort Collins...

The most interesting sights were really found on the way home. First of all, the Rocky Mountains are amazing driving from Wyoming. Then - in the distance we found a wind farm. We exited I-25 South to try to get closer because they were gorgeous but never got any closer than the photo indicates. As it turns out - we would have had a better photo if we had pulled over to the side of the highway! Wind power supplies 40% of Fort Collins' electricity (City operated utility) at the moment. The long-range goal is to generate more power than we actually use.

As we pulled into Old Town, we ran into a major traffic jam (in the middle of Sunday afternoon!?). There were so many people downtown - driving, walking and biking - that the traffic was moving at a snail's pace. When we turned onto our street from Old Town after our adventure, the mountains were there waiting for us!

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Happy wandering...

We drove to Cheyenne, Wyoming this afternoon. It was a beautiful clear day. We wandered around aimlessly - really not knowing where we were or where we were going but didn't care. It was fun just to explore. And - it's only about a half hour from Fort Collins! We can't wait to return for Frontier Days this summer to take in the rodeo.

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My views...

This is essentially the view outside my new office. Old Town Fort Collins is a well-preserved example of Prarie architecture. Probably among the best structures remaining in the country today. Oh, and the sun? Yeah, it pretty much shines down on us 300 out 365 days each year. I can't think of a single day it hasn't been shining since we arrived. It would explain why everyone here is in such a good mood...

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One month later...

So, we are in Fort Collins, Colorado one month today! Amazing. For the most part, we have been setting up our apartment and learning how to get around Old Town. We are also trying to find our path as a lonely subset of our family.

Yesterday we decided to venture out into the sunshine and do a little exploring. The weather was perfect: blue skies, bright sunshine and temperatures in the 50s.

We visited the Swetsville Zoo. It was a little odd - but fun. Bill Swets, a former farmer, has recycled old metal scraps (car parts, various pieces of machinery, farm equipment, etc.) into a whimsical metal sculpture garden. By the end of the afternoon Kate kept saying "maybe I should learn how to weld...." This guy has the true heart of an artist and clearly sees something very different when he looks at a piece of scrap metal.

Check him out at: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/COFTCswetsville.html and http://www.americanprofile.com/article/759.html .

We also explored the Horsetooth Reservoir & Park for a few hours. What an amazing drive - it was breathtaking at every turn! Horsetooth Mountain Park is a scenic 2,711 acre park located on the west side of Horsetooth Reservoir. It is located 4 miles from Fort Collins and 12 miles northwest of Loveland. Elevations vary from 5,430 feet at Horsetooth Reservoir to 7,255 feet at the top of Horsetooth Rock. Horsetooth Rock is one of the most outstanding features in the park and is a very familiar landmark in Fort Collins and Larimer County. According to Native American legend, Horsetooth Rock is what remains of the heart of the Great Red Warrior slain by the Great Black Warrior in a long ferocious battle. The park is also known for waterfalls and tremendous views of the Front Range with more than 29 miles of trails for hiking, mountain biking, or horseback riding. I predict serious hiking in our immediate future..!

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