Am I confused?   Well, Kim Coffee thinks I am.  I was thinking about getting my Christmas Tree and my ski's back out.  Kim says that she's putting her snow tires back on.  DOWNTOWN ESTES PARK IN FRESH SNOW We received sixteen inches of new snow, and it is supposed to start snowing again today around 4:00 PM (and it did) for another six inches plus. CORNER OF COURTNEY AND LOOKOUT STREETS What a beautiful snow!  It is so quiet and serene with the fresh snow dampening the typical sounds of the day. COLORADO SKY AGAINST THE FRESH SNOW Hope you are having a great week - we're playing in the snow - Gerald 05/12/2010

Greetings from Estes Park! We are in the middle of a big spring snow...about 14 inches at our house so far, and another band of the storm passing through until tomorrow morning. Not enough, to my three sons' dismay, to call a snow day...the roads were only slushy, not impassable as the storm warnings had predicted. Oh well, spring snow makes for great snowball fights after school, too... Here's a shot of 6PM yesterday and 6AM this morning and its still snowing ;-) 05/12/2010

Greetings from Estes Park! The Estes Park Board of REALTORS received a presentation from John Gerhard, of the CSU Everitt Real Estate Center regarding our current marketconditions. CSU has been studying market areas in Northern Colorado since 1997 and has compiled very detailed market statistics based on paired sales data, which follows properties through repeated sales. Since 1997, residential properties in Estes Park have appreciated approximately 150%, with a peak happening in 2008. The research conducted by the Everitt Real Estate Center, powered in part by a technology donation from Hewlett-Packard, is more detailed than other indices such as Zillow, that report home prices for broader metropolitan areas. The study uses Geographic Information Systems, (GIS), to select the data. “In... 05/11/2010

One thing about living in the mountains is that you also get to live with the wildlife.  My last post talked about the Coyote that was licking it's chops over the dogs we were watching.  It's a little early for the bears as we are still getting snow.  Our area however does have an increasing cat population.  There have been no reported incidents however sightings are up significatnly.  Even though these big cats don't like to be seen - they are here, and you need to be aware of thier presence. Have a great week, and don't forget to look over your shoulder.  Oh yes, don't try this at home, and don't get this close. Gerald 05/10/2010

When you live in the mountains you learn to watch out for critters that might think your cat or dog would just be a snack. We saw this Coyote strolling by as we were puppy watching this afternoon.  You have to keep an eye on the natural preditiors while loving your pets.   05/09/2010

Estes Park, Colorado is full of institutions.  Those glorious places that remind us of a time not so long ago that seems to be so lost.  If you need a haircut at Dermody's Barber Shop, you just walk in and sit down.  I can remember growing up in a small town in Nebraska with he same policy.  If you were in a hurry, and there we a lot of people in the shop, you would just have to come back later or pick another day.  Of course there were those people in the shop that didn't much care and would let you take their place if you really were in a hurry. Want to know how long it will be before you get your haircut?  You can't just look in the window because some of those occupied seats are just listeners or contributors to the local news.  Derm will tell you soon as you peek your head in how m... 05/09/2010

Springtime in the Rockies can be challenging some years, and this seems to be one of those challenging years.  We typically have springs a waterfalls that occur during the springtime that naturally come out of the rocks.  This year those springs are having difficulty with the freezing that seems to be constantly occurring. It is this same freezing and thawing that wedges the rocks from the rock cuts onto the highways.  We have to be careful not only watching out for the animals, but also the rocks that may have recently fallen into the path of your car. Eventually we will have spring, green grass, flowers, flowing streams and new babies. Gerald 05/08/2010

Driving back and forth between Estes Park and Allenspark to the Meadow Mountain Cafe we pass by Meeker Park Lodge.  The boards still cover the windows, and as you can see we are still experiencing snow in May here in the high country. There have been fleeting moments when I thought I should sit around the pot bellied stove in this quiet little part of the world and tell stores about WhiskeyJack, Three Toed Mike, Indian Joe or other colorful people.  Grizzly Bob and Black Bear Mike could be some of the local favorites along with Cougar Jack. It won't be long before the plywood covering the windows comes down, the store opens and the tourists are enjoying Meeker Park Lodge again. Gerald 05/08/2010

Greetings from Estes Park! The Estes Park Elementary School hosted its annual 5th grade music concert on Thursday. These kids are fortunate to have two wonderful music teachers, Julie Varilek on vocals and her husband, Chuck Varilek in the instrumental department. The concert was fantastic as usual (this was my third son's program) with everyone in pirate costumes in front of elaborate sets created by the art department. I have to admit, the 5th grade band was exceptional...by far the best out of the three I have been involved with. Chase was more than happy to inform his brothers of that! This will be my last time in the elementary school, Chase is headed to Middle School next year...I'll miss these concerts! 05/08/2010

Greetings from Estes Park! Trip advisor just included Rocky Mountain National Park in the top 25 outdoor adventure destinations world-wide! We are so proud of our National Park, just outside our door in Estes Park, Colorado. Many recently retired residents volunteer in the Park in the summer to assist visitors from all over the world appreciate our mountain wilderness. The school kids in Estes Park benefit as well, with the opportunity for annual field trips lead by Rangers to various regions of the RMNP to explore archaelogical finds, eco-systems and the history of the establishment of Rocky Mountain National Park in the early part of this century. For more information on Rocky Mountain National Park, visit their website, then plan your trip, we will look forward to seeing you! 05/07/2010

Greetings from Estes Park! One of my challenges as the president of the Estes Park Board of REALTORS this year was to help get a Workforce Downpayment Assistance Program up and running here. We just had our first recipients of the program, and that felt great...but now to replenish and build for the future! We will be having our annual Bowling Tournament this year to benefit the program. Should be lots of fun, we have door prizes, raffles and great pizza provided by Rob and Julie Pieper of Poppy's!  Visit the Rock-N-Roll Bowling Tournament website for more info... 05/06/2010

Greetings from Estes Park! I'm happy to be a part of an organization called the Estes Park High School Band Boosters. This is a formidable group of moms who do SERIOUS fundraising for the band program here in town. They raise about $9K per year that pays for band trips, new uniforms last year, and assorted items not covered by the school district. We found out that our band program assistant's position was eliminated during recent budget cuts. In a 15 minute time span in one board meeting, we figured out that we could hire our assistant by the hour if we raised just a little more cash than last year. How cool is that? Our first fundraising event toward the goal of retaining our assistant band director was a bake sale and kettle corn concession stand at the Estes Park Ducky Derby last Sa... 05/05/2010

Greetings from Estes Park! Saturday was the 22nd annual Ducky Derby in Estes Park, sponsored by our local Rotary Club. There were over 5000 tickets sold at $20.00 each with $19.00 of each ticket going to a charitable non-profit local organization. One of the beneficiaries was the Estes Valley Workforce Downpayment Assistance Program, sponsored by the Estes Park Board of REALTORS and the Estes Valley Housing Authority. In spite of the cold weather, there was a good turnout at the finish line to see whose duck won! It's lots of fun for everyone all along the way, from Nicky's on Fall River where the ducks are dropped in the river, to the Wheel Bar at the finish line. Now, to check the big board to see what my ducks won... 05/05/2010

Greetings from Estes Park! The Estes Park Board of REALTORS and the Estes Valley Housing Authority has been working for over a year on a downpayment assistance program targeted toward local workers who are trying to purchase a home. On Friday, the first recipients closed on their first home. Josh works in construction for the Portfolio Group, a local firm that specializes in high-end homes. Carissa works for Simply Christmas, a retail store for all things holiday right on Elkhorn Avenue. Josh told us at closing that he had done the windows on the house next door about five years ago and remembers thinking at the time that he hoped he could have a house like the neighbors' someday. That's the house he and Carissa closed on Friday and moved into this weekend. After a fairly arduous under ... 05/03/2010

Sometimes it's just nice to be able to get away from the world for a while, and kind of crawl back in time when life was simpler.  When you go to the Meadow Mountain Cafe in Allenspark that is just exactly what you get to do.  The Meadow Mountain Cafe has four stools at the counter and six tables.  If you want to use your credit card, don't bother they take cash at the counter because they like to keep it simple.  If you get really irritated with folks talking on their cell phones in restaurants while you are trying to eat?  You'll love the Meadow Mountain as there is no cell phone service available in this part of the mountains. Everyone at the Meadow Mountain is friendly and typically hankerin to visit.  This is pretty much how the news travels in this part of the mountains.  The food... 05/03/2010

Spring keeps trying to come to the Rockies, and it keeps losing to the snow and ice.  Here are a couple of pictures of the snow line today. We are living right at "Snow Line".  Everything above us is snow, and everything at our level or below is rain. It is increadable to look outside and see the snow so close and yet so far away - kind of like spring this year.  When we travel down to the valley we see trees in bloom, leaves and green grass.  When we come home we see snow. We are blessed to live in a beautiful place Gerald 05/02/2010

Greetings from Estes Park! The day after my snow shovel exhibited signs of a nervous breakdown, the sun came out and it was absolutely glorious! This photo was taken at the top of Devil's Gulch Road on the way from Estes Park to Glen Haven as I was checking on an under contract home with a failed septic system. Yuck, to say the least. I always love popping over the hill and seeing this view! 05/02/2010

I was on my way to work and finding the traffic pretty typical, occasional deer a few elk.  I wasn't really paying attention to the horse and rider, and then I thought that wasn't exactly an every day event.  this horse and rider were navigating the busy streets through a construction zone at 7:00 AM.  I've been in Omaha, Dallas, LA, San Diego....... etc. during construction and traffic jams.  Just wanted you all to know that we have to deal with that ourselves right here in Estes Park, Colorado.  The horse and rider are preparing to merge into one lane.  We all know how difficult this can be at 7:00 AM on the way to work. We not only have to deal with traffic issues here, but we also have other issues. You can see the Duck Race flags flying on main street.  Every year the Rotary Club i... 04/28/2010

  Seems like the cleanup at the Hallmark store is going faster each day since the customer that was coming to the store to purchase a card accidently drove through the store.  We were considering adding coffee to the things that are sold in the store and haveing a drive through.  After a very long consideration (abut haf a second) we decided that we would not do that. SOUTH WALL OF PEAKS HALLMARK   BARE SHELVES AT PEAKS HALLMARK Just thought I'd keep you abreast of what was happening at the Hallmark store since the drive through.  I looks like they are going to take everything completely out of the store, put in new carpet, and then put the fixtures back and new merchandise.  SUZIE SAYS YOU CAN'T SELL ANYTHING FROM AN EMPTY WAGON   We would like to say thank you to everyone that is wor... 04/26/2010

Greetings from Estes Park! Last Friday was the annual 5th Grade Marble Run Project day at the Estes Park Elementary School. This was our third project, and by my youngest son's estimation, by far the best! Chase and his partner came up with the idea for a fan powered by a small electric motor with floppy blades made out of straws and foam. It has two possible failure holes in the circular pan, so the marble can potentially fall through twice per revolution, but doesn't really until the batteries are depleted. Then the marble makes its way down to the bottom via the usual ramps. The project had to cost less than $15.00 and be made out of recycled materials, and be constructed as a joint project with parents and a classmate. Parents always recycle the bases, handing them down to the next ... 04/26/2010