Rocky Mountain High

Wow. I can't believe it's already mid-June. Before we know it, it's going to be end of the summer! Although, I can't say that I would be sad. I'm not a fan of Colorado summers. It gets so hot and dry here. Did you know that the atmosphere could get so dry rain can't fall? Seriously, we haven't seen rain in WEEKS. I always look forward to a good thunderstorm and every night I watch them pass right over us and head east. Boo.

These past couple of weeks have been jam packed.  My parents came out last week and we spent the week being tourists.  Declan and I were treated to a train ride through the Royal Gorge. I learned that it is not a good idea to bring a 17 month old on a 2 1/2 hour train ride. Thank god they served booze. On Thursday we headed up to the mountains for a weekend in Vail.  We decided to take a detour over Mt. Evans, the highest paved road in North America. It is definitely not for the faint of heart. We're talking cliff-hugging roads and tundra conditions. But the views it make it a worthwile day trip. 

We spent the weekend vacationing in a cabin alongside Gore Creek in Vail. It was so nice to get away. Except I am always sad when I leave the mountains. I love it up there. This weekend I swore that one day Tom and I would own a vacation home somewhere in the Rockies. Not sure how that's going to happen yet, considering the avg. cost of a home is well above 7 figures, but I'll keep you posted. Perhaps I'll invest in a lottery ticket or two.

On Saturday, Tom and I (and the pups) left little man with the grandfolks and headed to the Holy Cross wilderness for some hiking. We found a 4x4 trail and headed up (on foot!), and up and up and up...... I swear that trail was straight up the mountain, not a switchback to be found. I was pretty sure I was going to die.  However, the map guaranteed a deserted mining town (always cool) at the summit so I persevered. After 2 1/2 hrs of hiking uphill we came to a giant snowfield and could go no further. No mining town for us. We walked around a bit until I found bear poo and then headed straight back down. The ice cold beer waiting for us back at the cabin made the 7 mile hike well worth the effort!

This week I am preparing for a visit with the in-laws. Tom and I decided to build a deck and we've enlisted their help. I'll post pics as soon as we get our camera fixed!

Adventures in Landscaping

It's raining today. I have both love and hate for rain.

I love rain because it gives me an excuse to stay indoors all day and watch movies. Then again,  I hate rain because it keeps me indoors all day. I love rain because our grass desperately needs some water. Colorado was not meant to have green. I don't know why we insisted on laying down so much sod. It almost never rains here and the cost of water is astronomical (much like gas!). We have such tight water restrictions (once every 4 days) that our grass is always near death. 

Which brings me to my next complaint. Why in the hell did Thomas and I buy a home with no landscaping? We thought "Oh! It will be so much fun to landscape and make it our own!". We are idiots.  We are also idiots for buying a house on a 1/4 acre lot. I always wondered why people up in Denver buy homes so close together. Well, now I know! 

Do you know how much it costs to buy a damn tree? I grew up in MN. We have trees everywhere. Compared to Colorado it looks like the amazon rainforest. Therefore, I like mature trees. Thomas and I have 3 trees. Actually, 2. Because some little insect called the "Ash Bore" killed our 3rd tree. Now our maple isn't looking so good because it can't get enough water. You know you are old when your happiness is tied to whether or not the maple you spent $400 on is thriving. That and when you are dying to ask your reclusive neighbors how they keep their grass so green.

Anyhow, back to landscaping. We recently hired a designer to give us a plan to work with. I don't want to start throwing shrubs in the ground without having  a plan. I think she threw up in her mouth a little when I told her we only had about $1500 to spend on our yard this year. She works with people who drop $20K, minimum.

Since grass is so expensive to water we would like to do what is referred to as "Xeriscaping". Or, rocks. Lot's of rocks!  Well, that was until we were informed it was $250 to buy a large boulder-sized rock. Seriously?! We live at the foot of the ROCKY mountains. Why does some jackass get to sell what we are surrounded by naturally for that much money? Can't we just go ind our own rock? Thomas says we would need a forklift but I say "I married you for a reason now get to work!".

We also want to put in a deck or patio. Since hiring someone is out of the question on our budget we will need to DIY. However, we can't just run to Home Depot and get some lumber for the deck. With 100+ degrees in the summer and the 6800 feet closer that we are to the sun it will warp within a year. So, we have to buy composite decking. That shit costs $33 per piece! GAH! Our deck will probably be just big enough for a couple of chairs at that rate. 

So, I've given up my dream of a flagstone patio, retaining walls, a waterfall and koi pond in the backyard. For now I guess we will live with our dead ash tree, the dying maple, our sad little spruce and comatose sod. 

Next house we buy will require NO LANDSCAPING!

Home Sweet Sweet Home

We are finally back in Colorado!! Words cannot even describe how good it feels to be back at home. Here's the rundown of our adventure in getting from Lompoc, California to Castle Rock!

Thursday morning we were on the road by 9 am! Leaving on time never happens for the Folgers, so this was a small miracle in itself but we were determined to get on the road ASAP. The drive to Vegas was uneventful, with the exception of a small detour in Santa Clarita. Since our printer was packed, Thomas decided to write down the directions from mapquest. Well, he left out the part about having to actually get on the interstate and it took about 10 minutes of driving through an LA suburb before we figured it out. But not until after we paid $5 for a stupid state map because the 7-11 employees were zero help. 

We arrived in Vegas about 4:30. I'm sure we were a sight pulling up to valet parking in our dirty Pontiac Sunfire, loaded down like the Clampetts from the Beverly Hillbillies. I open the door and my half eaten bag of cheetos spills out with Declan screaming bloody murder in the backseat. At check-in we were offered a very sweet upgrade package and decided to go for it. Weekdays are definitely the time to score a deal in Vegas. We got the "Diamond Spa Package" suite for only a $100! This room was definitely meant for the high rollers. We had a master suite, separate from the 900 sq ft living room filled with granite and marble! The bedroom had a huge kind sized bed with ton's of down pillows. I can't tell you how good this felt after the bed we had in Lompoc! We also had a 2 person jacuzzi tub in the bathroom. This was Declan's favorite!

Since there aren't many options in Vegas for those with kids, we just spent the evening walking up and down the strip. Declan loved all the action there was to see. Especially the fountain at the Bellagio. Thank god you're able to enjoy alcohol while cruising the strip (on foot of course) but what I don't understand is why the casinos feel they need to charge $7.50 for a corona??!!! I could buy a 6 pack for the cost! But since we were too lazy to find a liquor store, we ponied up. There is something about Vegas that makes you take complete leave of your senses and spend money like you have it!

The rest of the drive was pretty uneventful. I must say though, I highly recommend a trip to Utah. It is a beautiful state. Especially southeastern Utah with all of it's canyons. This is where Moab, Canyonland Nat'l Park and Bryce canyon are. In fact, the whole western US is beautiful. I love living here! 

We arrived home on late Saturday afternoon. Thomas headed straight to the liquor store to buy some Sunshine Wheat for the kegerator. We had some of our neighbors over that night for some drinks. I think he forgot to take into acct that he is no longer acclimated to high altitude living so he was verrrrry sick on Sunday.  The rest of the weekend invloved getting our house and yard livable again. And made the trip to Lowe's for some household project stuff. We now have a sliding screen door again. At least until one of the dogs decided to run thru it, like last time.

I hope everyone had a fabulous Memorial Day weekend! I know we did.