Kruger Rock

All of the neighborhood scouting and a weekend of open houses in Fort Collins/Loveland had us looking up into the mountains for a day hike. Dogs and Rocky Mountain National Park are not a friendly combination with the former banned, except for parking lots and roads. So we looked to Larimer County and found Hermit Park Open Space near Estes Park with dog-friendly trails. 

After paying the $10 for a 24 hour day pass, we drove up to about 8300 feet and parked at the trailhead. There was only one other car parked; we ran into only one other group on the way up to Kruger Rock.

It was a spectacular hiking day with temperatures in the sixties, sunny skies, changing fall colors, and excellent trail conditions. 

We gained about a thousand feet to reach the top. The final ascent included a short and narrow rock scramble.

After such a great hike, we felt like we had earned a beer. Unfortunately,  it was only 11:30 am when we finished up and drove into Estes Park. No problem! Not only was Rockcut Brewery open, but the bar was full by the time we finished our one beer. 

Rockcut Hazy IPA

Getting to Know You

We’ve spent several days exploring the Loveland and Fort Collins area. Basically, we look for residences in our price range and then walk the neighborhoods, seeing if it feels good to us. This afternoon, we went to half a dozen open houses to better understand the market. 

It’s been some work but also some fun. One night we went out for dinner with one of Julia’s optometry school classmates and her husband, Dave, a Fort Collins lawyer. They took us out for Mexican food and to some hole in the wall bars in Fort Collins’ Old Town.  A good time was had, but I frankly can’t keep up with Dan, who is a serious craft beer drinker. 

Before today’s open houses, Julia went to the weaving guild meeting in Loveland.  She said the people there were very friendly and welcoming. I found some advanced pickleball players to play with at one of the city parks in Loveland and ended up getting invited to play next week at one of their regular advanced groups that gets together. People talk about Midwest-nice, but we have found people to be very friendly in Northern Colorado.

After another round of open houses tomorrow, we will do some exploring in the mountains next week.

Taking a walk on the Big Thompson River trail

New Belgium Brewery beer garden

“Watching” at Bent Beech beer garden

Loveland and Fort Collins

Our first visit is to Loveland, Colorado, which is about an hour north of Denver. We like this area for a number of reasons:  better weather, beautiful mountains, great beer and pickleball scene, weaving community, close major airport, and friendly people. It ticks a lot of boxes.

On our first afternoon here, we kicked back at the outdoor beer garden of the Crooked Beech Brewing Company. Both of our beers were excellent. It was in the low 90’s for temperature but very comfortable with low humidity and no mosquitoes.

Hazy IPA and Milk Stout

Fall Comes Early to Wisconsin

During the last couple of days, I've been able to see my breath when I take Callie out for her early morning ritual at 6 a.m. Our apple trees had a good year,and we collected seven gallons of unpasteurized cider. 

This will be the last year of cider-making.  Julia called her step-brother to come get the cider press, as we plan to be downsized elsewhere this time next year.

We recently entertained daughter Allie for a week. One day we went to the Boneyard, which is a combination dog park and tavern. This dog took a liking to Julia--whether she liked it or not.

I think one of Allie’s favorite parts of her visit was a road trip to Amish country. 

We also managed a short hike.

Tomorrow, we head west.  We will begin by stopping off at my Mom's in Iowa. 

Summertime on the Mississippi River

We are back at one of our favorite places to Scamp in Wisconsin. Yesterday afternoon, we hitched up and drove to a camping spot north of LaCrosse.  There was a small band playing at the Trempealeau  Hotel just overlooking the Mississippi River. 

Unfortunately for the band, there were busy train tracks between the river and the stage, making things more “interesting.”  They had a good sense of humor about it and played some extra “train songs.”

This morning, we hiked the Riverview Trail and up Brady’s Bluff.  This is a beautiful part of Wisconsin.

Where to Downsize?

 We are looking for a smaller place with less maintenance, and we really aren't geographically limited in terms of places to live.  

Justin was the main reason we continued to live in south-central Wisconsin.  We both have some friends in the area, but not a lot of close family.  Julia's parents have both passed. My dad passed this year, and my mother isn't necessarily committed to living long-term in Iowa, although she will probably stay there in the short term. 

Have we considered staying in Wisconsin?  Yes, we know we like Madison, and we would consider living there, if it wasn't the most expensive place to live in the state of Wisconsin.  The truth is that we could sell our house and barely afford to trade to a newer two bedroom townhouse or condo.  Add in the much higher property taxes and a monthly chunk for an HOA, and living in Madison loses much of its allure.  

On the other hand, we know Madison.  We've lived in the area for over 40 years.  It's a progressive city with great parks, festivals, bike paths, lakes, etc. If we could find the right place that we could afford, we would certainly consider it.  But we've been looking at the market for quite awhile without finding anything that tempted us.   In the meantime, we are doing our due diligence to see if there might be somewhere else in the country for our next adventure.  

What are the criteria that we are examining for our next location? A medium-sized city in a walkable neighborhood, good bike trails, access to hiking (mountains and/or desert), diversity in culture and restaurants, sustainable water supply, sunny climate, less winter, affordable housing, good health care, reasonably low crime, a blue or at least purple state, and a thriving arts/weaving community.

We've done quite a bit of research already, and the four states at the top of our list have both pros and cons. None of them meet all of our wants, but life is about compromises. The three states we will visit this fall include:  Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona.  There are four cities where we will airbnb in apartments and condos to get a better "boots on the ground" feel that can't achieved with internet/Zillow research.  

The plan is to blog about each of the cities as we experience them.

On a more immediate note, last night I won my first pickleball medal (bronze) at the second annual Baird's CAPA Cup.   It was my partner's first tournament, and we played at the 4.0 level (men over 50).  I felt like we both underachieved, losing badly in two out of three games at the start.  In the next three games, we were often behind but kept battling, winning each game to qualify for the bronze medal round.  Then we won decisively in the medal round.  It was a lesson to never give up--no matter how badly things are going.

 

Sweaty John