Saying Goodbye To Fort Collins

My sister Susan's townhouse up in Fort Collins is just about ready to be put on the market. Susan has decided she no longer feels comfortable living by herself and having to deal with stairs every day. And so she has moved to Denver, and is staying with me at my condo. This past Tuesday I drove up to her place to have new carpeting installed, per the recommendation of the realtor. It took over five hours to complete that installation, and so I took the opportunity to drive around town one final time and take a few photos, including at the Annual Flower Trial Gardens, located outside Colorado State's University Center for the Arts. It is quite beautiful when it is in bloom from May to October, but this time of year seems a bit stark, not to mention deserted, as seen in the photograph on the left.

Fort Collins has a lot of open space, in addition to many bike and walking trails that run all through town, including along the Poudre River and Spring Creek, seen in the photograph on the right. With a beautiful CSU campus, a wonderful and vibrant old town, and Poudre Canyon just a few miles away, it is a wonderful place to live. And I haven't even mentioned the Odell Brewing Company and its great patio. I am sure we will be up there to visit from time to time, but it really won't be the same. Of course, I am assuming the townhouse will sell quickly, although after the realtor told me her concerns about deferred maintainence at the townhouse, that might not be true.

Fort Collins has a lot of wildlife, too. It is the only place owned by a family member where I have seen large deer with huge antlers hanging out in the front yard. Susan has also seen foxes and skunks running around her place, and some people have even spotted bears and moose in the area. Granted, I did not see any such animals there this past Tuesday, and had to make due with the photograph of the squirrel on the left, which technically speaking is still part of the wildlife population. Of course, we also had such beasts where I grew up on the South Side of Chicago, and so exotic it isn't. But Fort Collins is still a great town, no matter if the wilder wildlife tend to hide out.