Gone Hikin'

It's been a week since I posted! Partly because it was a really busy week, and partly because our camera was out of batteries...this post will be pretty short, we went on a long hike today and I'm a tad exhausted!

Lastnite we went to Boulder and saw Medeski, Martin & Wood perform. Met up with some friends from Birmingham, Casey & Pete, who now live in Longmont, CO. I had never seen MMW before and enjoyed their acid jazzy crazy jams and fun crowd. Boulder is such a neat town, can't wait to go back and explore.

We went hiking today up Tanglewood trail. We were aiming to hike up to Roosevelt Lakes, about 4 miles up the trail, but made it up about 2 1/2 miles before we decided we had a good hike and would tackle the trail another day when we had more daylight. The trail was absolutely beautiful. We tromped through a few passages with knee-deep snow and made it up to around elevation 10,500 feet.

More later - have a wonderful week everyone, we're thinking about you (whoever is reading this..yes..you..)!

Our turn around point - victory! Almost!

Give me a 10 for Best Couple

Give me a 10 for Best Couple

Breckenridge Fun

Saturday we drove up to Breckenridge to see Robert Randolph and the Family Band, one of our favorite funksters. Jason laughed at my awe-struck faces when we drove into Breck - such a cool little ski town, I fell in love. We met up with our friend Bo (who we met at a concert in Ft. Lauderdale) and had an absolute blast. Below are some photos of the show, and driving up to Breck we went through some neat mining towns. Como was one of them. A brief history of Como - Como is an unincorporated town and a U.S. Post Office in Park County, Colorado, United States. The Como Post Office has the ZIP Code 80432.[2]
Located at the northern end of South Park, the town is a historic mining settlement founded during the Pike's Peak Gold Rush in 1859. It sits approximately one-half mile (1 km) north of U.S. Route 285, approximately 9 miles (15 km) northeast of Fairplay. It is accessible by an unpaved county road off Highway 285 leading northwest over Boreas Pass (to Breckenridge) in the Front Range. The mountains northwest of town form a dramatic background to the town site, which sits on the flank of Little Baldy Mountain. The town was named by prospectors and miners from Como, Italy who came to work the gold fields of the area.
In 1879 the town became the location of a roundhouse of the Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad, which was extended over Kenosha Pass to reach the silver mining areas during the Colorado Silver Boom. The roundhouse served as a junction for trains going northward over Boreas Pass and southward toward Fairplay and over Trout Creek Pass at the western end of South Park. The town has many historic weathered structures, including the roundhouse, and has the air of a ghost town that is still nevertheless populated, by 500 people. It has a small commercial district just off the main county road consisting of a post office and general store. The roundhouse is currently under renovation with intention of turning it into a principal tourist attraction in the area.

We'd love to take a half day or so and explore these kinds of places along 285. Enjoy the pictures, and lots of xoxoxox's to everyone ;)


Old house restaurant in Como.
Look at the view from here!

Como.

Many of the old mining houses are painted funky like this pink house..

We were stuck for awhile behind this guy on a mo-ped

A great concert in a great town!

Robert Randolph!

View from the show.

Crowd next to the concert.

That's a mountain peak behind this building on Mainstreet!

Mainstreet, Breckenridge.

Snow Daze

It was 82 in Denver yesterday, today, they expect to get 3-5 inches of snow! Higher elevations (such as ourselves) will probably see more. It began snowing around 1 this afternoon and has not stopped. The precipitation is a welcomed sight for the fires out here. Our thoughts are with the families of the firefighters and pilot that perished. Please check out this site if you have a chance http://www.wffoundation.org/index.html

Here are a few pics around the apartment I felt inspired to take.
We can't wait for warm weather!

Denver & Eggs

A single word to describe us tonight: tired. Denver=long day. Jason's job=long day. Tomorrow=snow. The wind is howling outside..like a freight train. Below are a few pics I took today, and also a picture of a gift from one of our neighbors. Eggs! From her pen of hens & turkeys.

More tomorrow.

xoxo

Endeavors in Evergreen

I love weekends. Weekends=Exploring. Yesterday we briefly explored the town of Evergreen. Evergreen is about a 30-40 minute drive up 285 and then north on 73, and well worth the drive! A little history on Evergreen -
Homesteader Thomas Bergen arrived in 1859, establishing a ranch and stage stop north of present-day downtown Evergreen. Bergen's Ranch was recognized as a settled area at the establishment of Jefferson County, Jefferson Territory. Subsequent settlers homesteaded south of Bergen along Bear Creek Canyon and the downtown area grew around the confluence of Cub Creek and Bear Creek. Fellow homesteader Dwight P. Wilmot is credited with naming the area "Evergreen"; his home has been preserved and still functions as a private residence across the street from his namesake Wilmot Elementary School. The town grew on the lumber demand for buildings in Denver and by the 1880s, the town could boast a population of 200 people and six operating sawmills. Improvement of the road from Denver up Bear Creek Canyon in 1911 and electrical service reaching the town in 1917 spurred further growth and the town became a popular summer destination for Denver residents. Resorts like Troutdale-in-the-Pines, Greystone Guest Ranch and the Brook Forest Inn opened and entertained Denverites and celebrities including film stars of the day and Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Theodore Roosevelt, who both vacationed at the Troutdale. In the 1950s, improved utilities in town and the rising popularity of automobiles began to entice more future residents to stay year-round and the town became known as a commuter community.
During the 70s, Evergreen was a hotspot for hippies, artists, and musicians such as Willie Nelson.
Evergreen is surrounded by thousands of acres of land in the Denver Mountain Parks and Jefferson County Open Space park systems. The Denver Mountain Parks in the area are Bergen Park, Corwina Park, Dedisse Park, Dillon Park, Fillius Park, O'Fallon Park and Pence Park in Indian Hills. The Jefferson County Open Space Parks are Alderfer/Three Sisters, Elk Meadow, Lair o' the Bear, and Mount Falcon Park in Indian Hills. Evergreen Lake, a popular recreation area, was created by damming Bear Creek in 1927. It sits above downtown Evergreen, which includes a mix of historic buildings and local businesses, including the well-known entertainment venue and restaurant The Little Bear. In the winter, skiing and snowboarding is available at nearby Echo Mountain Park and ice skating is offered at Evergreen Lake.
Notable residents: South Park co-creator Trey Parker graduated from Evergreen High School in 1988. Much of the early show is based on Parker's experiences living in nearby Conifer and going to school in Evergreen. In the South Park episode Night of the living homeless it is discovered that the homeless in South Park had migrated from Evergreen. Space shuttle astronaut Jeffrey Ashby graduated from Evergreen High School in 1972. Country star Willie Nelson owned a ranch in Evergreen for several years. MLB player Kevin Kouzmanoff grew up in Evergreen and graduated from Evergreen High School in 1999. The scenes featuring Darryl Hannah and Danny Huston in the 2004 film Silver City were filmed at a house in Evergreen. Diane Mott Davidson, Anthony award-winning and New York Times best-selling author Joanne Greenberg, author of I Never Promised You A Rose Garden, currently resides in Evergreen. Larry Walker, Colorado Rockies outfielder Jamin Winans, film director of 11:59, graduated from Evergreen High School.
Thanks, Wikipedia.
Evergreen is such a beautiful place (I'm beginning to think there's not one ugly place in Colorado. Oh yeah, except Limon). Evergreen Lake and the surrounding park has a healthy population of Elk, otters, and all the birds you could ever wish for! We also discovered a very cool watering hole called Cactus Jack's. Not only do they host an open mic night every Thursday, the establishment is owned/run by Widespread Panic fans! http://www.cactusjacksaloon.com/ Check them out if you're ever in the area.
Jason's working this morning but if he gets home at a decent hour, we may trek down to the town of Florissant and check out one of the world's largest fossil beds.

An April Stroll

We received about 6-7 inches of snow, maybe more tonite. Jason's out working in this, while I've had the leisurely day of watching quality movies from the Bailey library, such as, "Club Paradise" (Robin Williams, Twiggy), "The Boy in the Plastic Bubble" (John Travolta's break out roll. Really?), and "Father Goose" (Cary Grant stars as a boozy beachcomber siting out WWII in peace..until..well, just go rent the movie).
The weather is expected to improve as the weekend gets closer, no snow in the forecast. I'm taking a little journey up to Denver on Tuesday for a job interview, going up early to explore a little.
Here are some photos of a stroll through the neighborhood, it really is as beautiful as it looks.
xoxox.

Jason going to work


Notice the bird topping off this tree

Check out the goat house next to the horses..goats have it so good!