Springtime in the Rockies

photo credit

When it's springtime in the Rockies

it's 42 below.

The Polar bears go frolic

in 20 feet of snow.

The Eskimos get sunburned,

the seals they swim all day.

Springtime in the Rockies

is coming back our way.

This little ditty is my Beloved's spin-off version of the famous song by Gene Autry. He's got a fun little repertoire of 'fine music' learned during his camping days with the Boy Scouts of America, some fifty years ago.

No, we don't have polar bears, eskimos, or seals here along the Front Range in Colorado, but we do have a lot of snow when the rest of the country is blessed with April showers and colorful azaleas.

our neighborhood last week

One day we will have temperatures well into the seventies, which we call "the warm before the storm" because usually a whopper of a snowstorm follows, and then sun and warmth the day after that. It's kinda crazy, but most of us love it most of the time.

my sewing room

Neither Beloved nor I ski, but we have indoor projects we enjoy when the weather outside is frightful. It's wonderful to have an excuse to spend the entire day in my sewing room.

a flowering tree at The Streets of Southglenn

My psyche can take only so much of the clouds and gloom. When the weather clears up, and especially now that Beloved is retired, we will often act on the Toyota TV commercial that says "Let's go places!" (in our Ford) by driving to any of a number of places to enjoy the flora and fauna.

The Broadmoor Hotel and Resort

One day last week during a break between storms, we drove to The Broadmoor Hotel and Resort in Colorado Springs, only some 50 miles south of our house. Years ago, when we lived in Colorado Springs, we would walk around the lake there for exercise.

outside decor of one of the buildings

That was when I learned the delightful art of entertaining ourselves for next-to-nothing by walking through the lobbies and finely-manicured grounds of fine hotels.

examples of the carpeting inside the Broadmoor

When Beloved's career transferred us to Florida, we continued that hobby by walking through the hotels at Disney World, riding the monorail from one to the other -- all for free! (this was back in 1995. Can one still do that there?)

the entrance to a bar in The Broadmoor

These grand hotels like to display fantastic art (or "eye candy", as I call it), much of it unusual and clever.

Beloved with the Buffalo

Often the hotel artwork speaks of local history and the famous people from the area or who have made visits there.

me outside one of the many $$ shops 

Of course there are always the shops, often very pricey, that try to lure us in. I seldom succumb to that particular temptation. My personal style is to dress simply with thrift store finds much of the time and then switch around a lot of accessories that are almost as frugal.  

white swans on the lake at the Broadmoor

On this particular day we did not spend just a whole lot of time outdoors because the wind was very strong, ushering in yet another snowstorm for the next day. But we did see a few swans who had their heads tucked under their wings in a mid-afternoon nap. That pose was not very flattering for them, so Beloved honked at them to get them to wake up. Now whether he was speaking their language or just annoying them, we'll never know, but at least they were a little more photogenic for his efforts.

Cheyenne Mountain

We have lived in Colorado Springs twice in our marriage, for a combined total of nearly ten years. The first time Beloved worked inside this mountain with NORAD. You know, those are the people who track the route of Santa Claus every year on December 24th. 

the valet returns our Ford to us

As I've said, we are not real spendy people. The price for this hour or so of artful entertainment was the tip we gave to the valet when we were ready to go home. It was quality time spent strolling hand-in-hand with the love of my life in a beautiful place.

Springtime in the Rockies can pull me down on my thoughts with the cold slushy snow, but thankfully those times are interspersed with brilliant sunshine and fun places to visit.

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