As our last full week winds down here in Summit County I am becoming... sad.
Here are my top things I love about living in our mountain town-
1. The first has to be the scenery. How can you ever get sick of driving around and seeing this...
2. Your choice of outdoor activities. Of course skiing is awesome in the winter, but we LOVE the summer-- hiking, kayaking, paddleboarding, heading to the park, picnicking, really just anything outdoors!
3. The festivals. If enjoying life in nature isn't enough there are a TON of festivals throughout the summer months. BBQ, beer, concerts, art, Oktoberfest, I could go on and on!
4. The farmers markets are big and like a great street party.
5. The summer produce. Rockyford cantaloupe, Palisade peaches and Olathe sweet corn. Yum!
6. Our post office. We don't have home delivery here. I know, that is right, no mail delivery to your curb! But I actually love the old fashioned life of going to the post office to pick up our mail. We know the people behind the counter and it is a great place to see friends and neighbors.
7. The wildlife. We spend a lot of time looking out our windows to spot chipmunks, fox, deer, moose and bear. Still have never seen a bear, but we had one in our neighbors trash can when we were living in Frisco and had one at our house this year in the bird feeder! We saw the tracks!
(this is in our backyard!)
8. No air conditioning! To a native Floridian this is awesome! The summer is everything you would think it would be, cool, fresh and crisp. I love having the windows open with fresh air blowing in. No hearing the air kick on and off. We just won't mention the heat in the winters!
9. Dog friendly. Dogs truly rule here. It is a dog world and they love it! We can take our dogs on a hike or down by the lake and the are able to frolic off leash. I notice when we are out with the kids the dogs get more attention than the babies!
10. The slower pace of life. I notice we slow down and enjoy life here. Less TV, less stress, less of the grind. We play outside, build fires, watch the stars.
11. And speaking of the stars... they are SPECTACULAR. The sky just seems to drip with them and they reach all the way down to the horizon line.
12. Mark wants me to include the beer. Colorado can boast as the state with the most microbreweries. Our VERY small county has at least 4, maybe 6.
13. The people. People seem truly happy here. They are joyous and kind, from strangers to friends. One example: we were at an outdoor concert last Friday night picnicking with some friends. The weather drastically changed, rained and turned very cold. I think someone said it was like 45 degrees. We were all trying to stay warm with what little layers we had brought. Poor Baby Teagan was still cold even wrapped up in my fleece in my arms.
A complete stranger came up behind my, wrapped her big jacket around Teagan and fastened it in back. She said she had been watching us and wanted me to have it. When I had a chance, return it to the local school. How nice is that? The friends I have met here are so opened and welcoming. I will miss them very much this winter.
