Lovely Longs Peak

On a sweet spring day!

Birdwatching

The weather in Estes today is a bit bleak. Very foggy and rainy, but I won't complain because we really need the moisture. Unfortunate timing for the Jazz Fest this weekend, though, but I'm sure folks will still make the best of it.

In the meantime, however, the last few days have been great for bird watching! We've had lots of visitors at the feeders and in the yard this week. We have a hummingbird or two coming up to the feeders, but of course every time they are near, my camera is nowhere to be found! Alas. Here's a few of the other visitors I did manage to capture.

Juvenile western meadowlarks

White-breasted nuthatch

Downy Woodpecker

A golden eagle

How Sherlock birdwatches.....

Officially Official

Well, it's officially official! We close on our new house on July 6! (Assuming that financing goes smoothly and that the inspection doesn't turn up anything bad!)

I am so excited to move. The Conklin House has been a great transition for us, but there could really never be any permanency here. It's just too small for us and definitely too small for a family. So the idea of moving into a bigger space that is officially "ours" is very exciting. I'm looking forward to mornings on the balcony overlooking the city. Sure, we'll miss the beautiful view we have here, but let's face it--we live in Estes Park! Everywhere is a beautiful view. I'm also very glad that this is happening now and not later on in the year. It means that we will be completely moved and settled well before the wedding, which will dramatically reduce my stress once we get closer to it. Now we can invite family over for holidays and not be cramped into a too-small space. Now we can have a yard for the dog to run around and chase birds at his leisure in. Now we will not have to worry about not having enough space when we start a family.

Of course, I must mention the reason we're buying this house, because in actuality it's kind of bittersweet. We had originally planned on saving this year so that we would have a 5% or maybe even 10% down payment within the next year or 18 months. However, in March Cameron's mother, Ginger, passed away. She had a large inheritance saved for Cameron and his two brothers, and what we received from that was well more than enough for us to put down a full 20% or more as a down payment. We knew that it would have made her very happy to be able to put the money toward a house and a future for us and our family and so we decided to move as quickly as we could while the market was definitively in our favor. So the fact that we are moving into this great house at this time is definitely bittersweet, but more sweet, I think. I know that she would appreciate how we are using those funds, and I definitely appreciate the amazing opportunity we have, even if it is coming from a sad place.

I'll continue to update this blog of course, although it will be undergoing a name change sometime this summer. And I'll be sure to share photos and news as the move gets closer!

"Spring"

Really wouldn't be May in Colorado without snow, would it?

Some News!

Well, readers, looks like this blog will be taking a change of name soon...and that's because we'll be leaving the Conklin House soon. I don't want to put the horse too far ahead of the cart, but it looks like we will be buying a house! We'll be moving across town to a beautiful house that looks a little something like this...

We saw it a little earlier this week and put in an offer on the same day because we liked it so much. The bank responded this morning with a very generous counter-offer and we decided to accept it! We'll be submitting a contract later today and ideally we will close in 60 days. Fingers crossed!

The house is great and will be a wonderful starter home for us. It has 2 bedroom and a loft on the third floor that can be used as a guest bedroom, 3 bathrooms, laundry room, 2 balconies, wide open great room/kitchen/dining room and a huge fenced yard. It's very sturdy and has never had anybody live in it. Plus it just looks so cool! I'm very excited. I've grown very apathetic to living in this tiny, dark house and I can't wait to have a bright, open, lively space to live in and start a family in.

We will keep you updated!

Finally Adjusting

Pretty good morning when there are elk in your driveway, huh?

I think I am finally adjusting to the change from life in a big city to life in Estes Park. I know it's been over four months, but this has been an exceptionally hard transition for me. Most of it has to do with the fact that I left a job I really loved and was unable to find another one until very recently. I was idle for the better part of four months and that's essentially a recipe for disaster for me. That, coupled with the fact that we live in a fairly remote location, added to the rough winter, left me feeling like I was stuck in a box for a long time. Every time I went down the valley and visited Fort Collins, I missed it a lot, and I started having some doubts about living here for a long time, which put me between a rock and a hard place knowing that we're here for the long haul.

Now that I have a job and I'm out of the house more regularly, things are getting better. Spring is on its way and I don't feel so isolated and stuck in my house all day. I can open up the windows and listen to the birds and hear the world outside. The last time I visited Fort Collins, I didn't miss it quite as much. I think I am finally becoming okay with living here in Estes Park.

I am still feeling slightly wobbly with my new job, although everyone seems to be telling me the opposite regarding my performance. I am having a difficult time making myself feel confident with my job, maybe because I feel so much pressure to be great. Most of that is myself, I know. I have high standards for myself. I don't want to let anyone down. I still seem to wake myself up every night over-thinking details from my last shift which keeps me up most of the night. I am ready to feel confident and be able to sleep through the night knowing I did a good job at work. Coupled with all of this doubt, I know, is the fact that Cameron and I haven't quite been able to coordinate our work schedules yet, with the result that I am working when he is off and vice versa, which has been another frustrating transition. I haven't yet been able to get a good rhythm down as far as balancing work life and home life, so because of that I also haven't done any writing in several weeks which is starting to get to me too. With any luck, soon this transition will start to feel more complete and everything will begin to fall into place. I know that with summer coming on I will be even more busy than I am now, so it is critical to get into a confident swing.

In any event, the weather is finally turning here and Estes is looking beautiful. We are still waiting for everything to bloom--but spring is definitely on its way to the Rocky Mountains. 

Visitors at the Conklin House

Here Comes the Sun (Little Darling)

Marvelous couple of days here in Estes. A real taste of incoming spring!

This morning I spent a little outside time with Brody and Whiskey, since it was so pleasant. The sun actually has a little heat coming off it now, which I feel like has not happened in some time. Later, Brody and I took a nice long walk around part of the lake. I took him down to the shore near a shallow part and true to form, he dived right in. There was a thin layer of ice on the water and after crunching through a couple of steps he quickly back-pedaled and looked back at me with an expression of "what on earth is this?"

Brody approves of sunshine

Whiskey's favorite thing to do outside is roll in the dirt.

What's that they say about cats being clean?

One of the most fascinating things I'm learning about Estes is how easy it is to track the path of the sun as it returns from its winter position in the south. Mostly this is because we have--literally--more sky here than anywhere else that I have ever lived. The corners of the sky aren't filled with other buildings and houses and the "neighborhood". Maybe this is because we are so high above the rest of the city, but also it's because Estes itself is inside a big bowl and all the mountains surround us. So, as a result, we see a lot more of the sky. When we arrived here in November, the sun was so low in the south that it would beam directly into our south-facing windows at around 3:00 in the afternoon and it was just unbearable. Then the sun would disappear behind the nearest foothill in between us and Longs Peak and it was gone by 4:30. Through January we watched every day as the sun slowly climbed higher and higher over that foothill, and now it hovers way over that foothill in the afternoons. Now that it's cleared that foothill, too, we see the sun for a lot longer as it descends over the Divide in the west. Because it's come around the other side of that hill, now it shines into our kitchen around 5:00, too. It's been a fascinating discovery and it's something that I've never been able to see before. In the city it's hard to track the path of the sun on a day to day basis because there are so many things blocking the majority of the sky. Here, the only landmarks are mountains and foothills and the sky is wide open to us. For me, it's a sure sign that spring is on its way back. Personally, I can't wait. I'm so ready for things to start budding and turning green again. I do like the seasons in their own turn, but winter and summer tend to linger on too long for me, and I get very excited to see the seasons turn and watch the earth go through its changes. In little over a week I'll be able to replace my winter wreaths with my spring wreaths and plant my new herb garden. I think I'll have to wait to do my flowers, but I'm very excited to have a real "garden" this year since this is the first time that I have a real yard to work with. 

Well, the birds are chirping and the sun is shining, so I better get out and enjoy it before I have to go to work!

It's alive!

I do apologize for the lack of posts of late. Simply put, there has not been that much going on up here in Estes to work up a post. I've also been dealing with some personal struggling in terms of how bleak this winter has been, which only added to the non-postage. Happily, things are now on the upswing. Spring is on its way--we're supposed to reach the high 50s today--and Daylight Savings, which is my favorite day of the year, is next Sunday. Won't be long after that until we really start reaping the benefits of this paradise we live in.

With any luck, soon we will also be rid of the wind that has been plaguing us for a while now. Since Christmas we've had some terrible winds which the locals all say is worse than the norm. There have been several nights when we've had winds up to 80mph sustained, not gusting, all night long. While Cameron loves the "white noise", it makes it impossible for me to sleep and I've had to start sleeping with my iPod headphones stuffed in my ears to try and drown it out. It would be an understatement to say that I am very excited for that weather pattern to go away for good.

Another reason for the upswing, I've found gainful employment. Hooray! Starting today, I'll be waiting tables at Mama Rose's, an Italian restaurant downtown. I'm excited, if not terribly nervous, for the adventure. I'm hoping that it will be a challenge to keep me going.

We've had an influx of wildlife around the house of late! The elk have been coming to the field next to our house quite often. We've also heard a couple of coyotes around the house at night, and a few weeks ago we spotted a bobcat in the back yard about 50 yards from the door. Recently we've also heard a pair of Great Horned Owls in one of the trees around the back. Looks like a lot of the wildlife is coming back out from their winter slumbers.

In the meantime, here's a few goings-on that we've had in the last couple of months.

Snowshoeing in RMNP

Elk hanging around town

Elk hanging around our house!

Our new cat, Sherlock

I'm also rehearsing with the Oratorio Society of Estes Park, which will have performances in the end of April. We are performing Beethoven's Mass in C Minor. Very exciting! It's a new challenge for me that I have never done before and I decided on a whim to join back in January. 

Hopefully, I will be more regular with posts as spring comes on.

Stuff to Do in Estes Park: Have a Beer at the Stanley Hotel

This evening it was approaching the early dinner hour but neither Cam nor I were very hungry, but we didn't want to just sit on our butts, so we decided to hop over to the Stanley and have a drink. It may seem a sin, but despite living here for a couple months we haven't done anything else except drive past the Stanley.

I, of course, had to try the flagship brew:

(And it was darn yummy!) 

I was impressed with the moderate prices of the draught and bottled beers at the bar; most of the mixed drinks were fairly expensive but the beers were nicely priced at $5-6 per beer.

We took a brief walk around the lobby; unfortunately most of the rooms were closed off to non-registered guests, but it was pretty interesting to get a glance at the prestige of this glorious place. I have a feeling we'll be spending a night here after the wedding as a temporary getaway. At the very least, we're going to try and take one of their history/ghost tours soon, as those are very reasonably priced.

No ghosts in these pictures though....

WinterFest in Estes Park

Today we went to the Stanley Park Fairgrounds to check out the 3rd annual WinterFest. It was fun! There was live music, vendors, beer and wine, and chili. Lots and lots of chili. The biggest part of the fest seems to be the chili cookoff, but since we arrived relatively late in the afternoon and didn't want to spoil our dinner, we didn't partake in the voting process. We did try a couple of samples, most of which were really yummy. The place was packed! I am sure it's been really great for Estes Park.

Outside the main stage there was a Candy Land ice castle, ice bowling, and a snow cone ice luge! There was also a petting zoo with one of the most adorable--if not completely aderpable--llamas I've ever seen in my life.

We didn't stick around for things like the jalapeno eating contest or the bonfire, and we missed the Ceilidh Irish Barn Dance that they put on last night to kick it off, but it was still a cool little event. It's expanded a lot, apparently, and now takes place at the fairgrounds instead of at Bond Park. So yay for Estes! I actually also ran into a vendor I once sat next to at a craft fair in Louisville where I was selling my wreaths, so it was neat to catch up with her.

Timeless

The beautiful thing about most of Estes is that it's perfectly timeless, and I mean that in the literal sense of the word. I took this photo of The Stanley on Christmas Eve and after a bit of editing--and removing two cars from the right side parking lot--you might almost think it was a picture taken a long time ago. I love that about some of the places here in Estes.

Nature's Beauty

The sunsets lately have been absolutely stunning. These pictures don't do any justice at all, but hopefully you get the idea.

The weather has also been unseasonably warm. With the exception of a little snow on Saturday night, we've been dry and fairly warm, if not a little breezy. Last week Cameron and I took advantage of the nice weather to go and take a hike in RMNP. We started at the Cub Lake trailhead and wandered a little bit. We didn't really have the time for a full out-and-back hike, but we wanted to go out, so we deviated from the trail a bit and walked along (and on) the river, which was frozen solid in most places. When we got back on the trail we found that most of it was very icy and we had not brought our snowshoes or crampons, so the going was a little treacherous and we turned back after a while.

Admittedly, I've stolen several photos from Cameron because as it turns out, his new iPhone takes way better pictures than my actual camera.

Please note that I do not ever suggest deviating from any marked trail or walking on ice unless you are completely comfortable and sure that you know how to get back from where you are going. I should note that where these pictures were taken, the ice was not only a foot or two thick, but we were within sight of the highway. Please be safe if you want to go hiking in RMNP and use your best judgment. Getting off the "beaten path" can sometimes bring you to some really exciting places, but it can also be dangerous if it's not in the right conditions.

All right, PSA over.

On the home front, I'm occupying myself with wedding preparations. Right now that includes making the invitations. I decided to "DIY" most of the wedding for the sake of saving as much money as possible, so I'm typing the invites on my typewriter. It's still a bit early to be sending things out (save-the-dates will go out next month) but I figure since there's a lot of time involved, I might as well get them done now so that I am not having to rush in the summer when I am working full time. And in the end it wasn't actually as tedious as I thought it would be; I typed all of the save-the-dates yesterday while I was watching football. (Go Broncos!)

I am still waiting for a rubber stamp to arrive in the mail to put the final touches on them. Mostly it gives me something to do in this period of time when there is not much going on and I am only working one day a week. I'm enjoying it.