Colorado "beach"

We took a day trip down to the Great Sand Dunes National Park. A bit of a long drive (~3 hrs from COS), but it was nice. We got a late start, so we didn't get to stay as long as planned. Left home just before 10am & arrived around 1pm. The park seemed pretty packed, probably b/c the previous holiday weekend was rather rainy. After paying the $3 pp entrance fee (16 yrs & older), we drove down to the parking lot for Medano Creek (a seasonal creek that runs past the dunes). It was very full. We had to circle around before finding a space to squeeze in near the picnic tables. An intern approached us for a children's nature walk, so we joined up. Quickly realized that Olivia was not paying attention, so we went for a walk along the creek. It was great. We tried to start hiking up the dunes but the sand was hot & Olivia did NOT want to put her shoes back on her feet. great...More walking along the creek before we decided to go back & have a picnic. After eating, we grabbed our beach chairs, changed in to some swim clothes & went back to the creek. The wind began to pick up & the temp. started dropping, but it was a lot of fun. Before leaving the park, we drove up around the Pinon Flats camping area to check it out & see if we'd find some co-workers camping up there. Looks like we need to come back & camp there. They have some nice flat areas for the tent, a large metal cabinet to lock up your food (bears in the area) & a pit to light camp fires.

Memorial Day Hike

We went to Garden of the Gods on Memorial Day this year. It was cool & grey, but we went out to see how far we would get. We chose the Siamese Twins Trail after reading about it in a book we got from Aunt D. The park was pretty busy being a holiday, but we found a spot to park at the Spring Canyon trailhead. It was really nice to try a different trail & not have to take the stroller along. Olivia did really well. We wound up doing 2 trails - Cabin Canon Trail & Siamese Twins Trail. There were people riding horses on the trail. We had Olivia tracking the horseshoe prints & she started pretending to ride a horse. It was a nice day. The rain caught up with us at the end of the STtrail, so we hurried back to the car.

The weather

Getting used to the weather out here can be challenging, esp. after moving from a place as predictable as S. FL. The weather can change & change fast out here. For example, it was in the low 70s yesterday, but we woke up to 40s, misty rain & fog this morning before barely hitting 60 in the late afternoon. Even on days that are predicted to reach the 80s can turn quickly, esp. in the transition between seasons. I can't forget the weekend that we spent out here to look for a place to live. It was a weekend in October. There was plenty of sun & near 80 on Sat, but we woke up to snow & 40s the following day. We had a similar October weekend this past Autumn. Our first big snow came over Thanksgiving weekend, but we didn't get much more until February & March, into April this year.

We went to the "Gigantic Plant Sale" hosted by the Horticultural Arts Society today. It's down at their demonstration gardens near Monument Valley Park. A neat little event. I haven't been down in that area in a few months (near Colorado College). It was nice to see all of the trees opening.

Spring is here

We've learned a lot about landscaping & xeriscaping since moving here. We bought a house & had to install full landscaping. The different climate zone, altitude & water restrictions posed a challenge for us initially. It took awhile to research & understand what lives out here. Our yard went in pretty late last year, so, it's nice to see things coming back to life.
Our Newport Plum tree is my favorite. It had some beautiful pink flowers & now deep red leaves. The aspens & crabapple trees are doing well, too. The single Swedish Aspen is a late bloomer (last of the aspens to open). The Austrian pines are nice, but need a little more attention. We also have 2 fruit trees - apple & apricot. Oh, and our street tree - a nice Oak.

Something new

We've been in CO for about 1.5 years already. This is just a place for me to chronicle places we've been & how our life is changing out here.

We moved here quickly & somewhat unexpectedly from Miami, FL. My husband was looking for a new job & the city of Colorado Springs became our next adventure. I find it a bit ironic or coincidental to be here. My husband & I were here in 1997 as COS was the finishline for Sunrayce '97 (a solar car racing project that we both participated in at our university). So, to find ourselves living here 10 years later was pretty neat.