Fall in Colorado

We're back for a little taste of fall in Colorado. It used to be that we'd come to Colorado because Alex would have some kind of meeting; Wee and I would tag along and we'd tack on a weekend for fun. Now we book trips for the weekend and Alex thinks of some kind of meeting so we add in some work days too. Our trip on Wednesday evening was precessing faster than usual until the Super Shuttle driver had about a 2 hour fight with her GPS system on the way to Boulder. The whole Super Shuttle adventure was new to us; in the past we had always rented a car, but after the summer we kept our reliable Ford Explorer at Cabin Guy's place. It was nice to arrive to our own car even if it wasn't in our own home. We were also greeted by a friend at Cabin Guy's place. One of the workmen, Tim, was staying there for the last few days before his wedding. Congratulations Tim! After a little peek at our curved truss we headed for our old home-away-from-home-in-Colorado, the St. Julien. We have been staying at the St. Julien several times a year since January 2006, just a few months after it opened. A few of the staff recognized us and gave us an upgraded suite room with a view of the mountains. We luxuriated in the 1000 threadcount sheets and ordered room service. So nice to be home.

On Thursday and Friday, I worked from the St. Julien, Alex had meetings in Longmont and Colorado Springs, and Aidan went to backup care at Bright Horizons. Backup daycare is one of the best benefits that any company can offer. Wee has been to Bright Horizons in several locations, but especially likes the one in Longmont. He was so sad when Alex picked him up after only a half day on Thursday.

After our first Bo Staff class on Thursday afternoon we went up to The Land to see the cabin and just say hi to the Land. It's hard for me to see the destruction that the construction has caused. I can't wait for the digging and the heavy machinery to be done. Even the cabin seems so unnatural and big to me. But we did take a little walk to the Aspens and this summer's campsite which is still as natural and beautiful as ever. The wildflowers are all but gone, but the aspens are their beautiful autumn yellow.

We had dinner with Amy back in Boulder. We lunched with her again on Saturday and will see her on Sunday. So great to have friends to hang out with.

For the weekend, we've moved our base to the Best Western in Nederland. The staff remember us from this summer's Schoenberg family reunion. They asked about my mom and the rest of the family and say hi to everyone.

This morning we hiked the Hessie trail to Lost Lake. This is one of those trails that is so beautiful that it doesn't seem real as it winds past babbling brooks, through bright yellow aspens, displaying valley vistas, and ending up at an alpine lake. The horses and dogs that we met on the trail add even more extra credit and then the pièce de résistance was finding wild raspberries! We really didn't have anything else to do today, so we uncharacteristically took our time and meandered around and just relaxed.

In the afternoon we hit the trails again, this time on horseback from Sundance Stables. Another fabulous trek through Aspens and Pine forest with views of the Continental Divide. The big bonus on this trip was that the stables offered us horses for free next summer if we can set up somewhere for the horses to hang out in a pasture on our land. How cool would that be?!!!

In the evening we went to the movies at the Nederland community center. The movie was The Time Traveler's Wife, which was ok, but really we were going to check out the small town scene. Alex was all anxious about getting there right on time. We arrived about 5 minutes late, but still had plenty of time to hang out. The event started with community announcements - Pine Beetle classes available in October, the normal community announcer's hip replacement recovery is going well, adult floor hockey has started up, and Obediah someone will be doing a concert at the church on Sunday. Next was the ticket stub raffle where people won free candy, a local gift certificate, and a t-shirt. Then the announcers shouted back to the projectionist "Do we have any previews?" "Nope" "Damn! Well, let's start the movie then." We just smiled, happy with our sort of residence in this small town.