Wrapping up the 2012 Season

[ronb]

My wife loves the million dollar highway. Also good for some sphynkter is the 'old fall River road' in Estes Park. No guardrails, not paved, one way only, logs of ruts.

[Ron Burgundy]

Nice photos! I lived in The Springs from '93-'98 and spent a lot of time in the mountains. Colorado is also on my short list of places to live if I ever move.

[RobRoy]

We just got ours. Our season is just now getting started.

...but while I am currently here in CO (Denver) and it is raining and snowing in the mtns I can only see a future season in AZ!

Second post... Nice to meet y'all.

[BobG]

...but while I am currently here in CO (Denver) and it is raining and snowing in the mtns I can only see a future season in AZ!

Yeah AZ is pretty nice for boating. I'm at work in the Lakewood/Golden area right now (Denver West). I got home yesterday afternoon, to snow/slush at my house, but it warmed up - it was 39 degrees at my house this morning.

[ronb]

it was 39 degrees at my house this morning.

35°f here in Fargo this AM...a hard frost on my windows. Time to start parking inside...

[evinrude2stroke]

Wow, What a nice pic. It must be beautiful boating there.
If you don't mind me asking, what is your water temp during the summer months?

[BobG]

Wow, What a nice pic. It must be beautiful boating there.
If you don't mind me asking, what is your water temp during the summer months?

Depends on where you go.
Horsetooth Reservoir, near Fort Collins, at an elevation of 5,000 feet gets up into the high 70's or low 80's.
Lake Dillon, at 9,000 feet barely gets above 60. Plus it's a "Denver Water Board" supply, so there are no "skin contact" activities permitted. No swimming, no skiing, no tubing.
I will have to check on Turquoise Lake at Leadville - elevation 10,200 feet. I bet that's a chilly place!

[Bamaman]

My sister bought a 2 bedroom condo apartment in Aspen, and she absolutely loved it. But she didn't like paying all the plane fares back and forth for her two children and their spouses (who were just married.)

After 4 grandchildren arrived, the 2 bedroom was replaced by a 3 bedroom townhouse in the same building. But flights for 10 people a few of times a year got to be a financial burden.

The 3 bedroom condo was sold just before the real estate crash--replaced by a palatial mansion @ Beech Mtn/Sugar Mtn, NC (ski resorts) in an equestrian neighborhood w/4600 ft. runway and 18 hole Jack Nicklaus golf course. And she still has over $1 million leftover.

While Aspen and many other CO ski communities are ridiculously expensive, NC mountain views are also spectacular at far less $. And the mountain folk are real characters.

[GregF]

We just did a NC mountain vacation (west of Franklin) and I really liked it. The culture is definitely a lot different than the Rockies tho. It is also a lot lower. <5000 feet. They still have "air" in their air.

[BobG]

My sister bought a 2 bedroom condo apartment in Aspen...While Aspen and many other CO ski communities are ridiculously expensive, NC mountain views are also spectacular at far less $. And the mountain folk are real characters.

Wow. Your sister seems to have more money than God. Us Colorado Mountain Folk, in general, couldn't afford to live anywhere NEAR Aspen, which seems to be some kind of weird part of California, or something. In fact the people who WORK in Aspen, generally live WAY down-valley, in Glenwood Springs, or Rifle, or Newcastle. Stupid-high prices like that are the result of California and Texas zillionaires that want their own piece of Colorado. In fact, the last time I was in Lake City, CO, over 90% of the license plates were from Texas. I'd love to visit the mountains of NC some time!