Fort Collins

So here is our adventure through the city of Fort Collins. Initially the city seemed not green enough to me...which is almost crazy to say because actually it is one of the most "green" cities ive ever heard of/been to. Of course, it is still April and, while it is 60-70 degrees out and, we went mountain biking and hiking, the trees are allowed to take their sweet time to bloom again. We were quite amazed with how active the city was as soon as we pulled in. There are bike lanes on every street, and they are all being used!!! Everyone here is super concious of pedestrians and cyclists because they're almost more popular than drivers! There are also beautiful parks wrapped around every neighborhood (practically), and hiking trails throughout the city...not to mention along the foot hills ("Front Range") and mountains skirting the city.
I thought it would be dry here since it looked so rocky in pictures but, in fact, their is a huge reservoir here and a few lakes too! When we pulled in, I almost wrote the city off altogether because I "wanted my trees"...but to be honest, this is day two and we are LOVING the landscape! Its so useful! This next picture is for you D2.

And the city is lined with trees and parks so in the next month or so it will be amazing im sure! Oh, and pretty much everywhere you can imagine there are recycling centers, bike/snowshoe/etc rentals, organic & local food shops, little "mom & pop" stores, etc. Best of all, the people here are incredibly friendly. Our jaws have dropped many a time since yesterday because of the courtesy and friendly remarks people made to us. Daniel and I decided that it must be because these people aren't inside their houses all year round like we are in Michigan. They actually see eachother, realize they have PEOPLE as neighbors, and interact with them because EVERYONE is out and about. :) We highly recommend a jot through this city if you can make it here.

Check out this EXTREMELY tall bike. Its kind of hard to see but the guy seemingly climbing down from that tree is actually using the tree to get off his incredibly tall bike.

A small village nestled in the mountains. We passed a sign that said Stout - Population 47.5. Daniel asked a very good question, "how do you get half a person?!" Also, check out how nice these log cabins and homes are. No one seems to live in a shabby place.

Getting ready to hike up Horsetooth Mountain. Fort Collins is approximately 5000 feet and we are going to work our way up to 7,600.

Mid-hike. Layers on, layers off. Its warm, but there is snow. Its freezing in the wind, but warm warm in the sun.

This is Horsetooth Mountain.

Our view from Horsetooth.

This is a lovely resturaunt that we had dinner at tonight. Its local, organic, and vegan. Sweet. I had a fabulous salad with marinated tofu and seaweed, and Daniel had a tempeh/blackbean burito with sour "cream" and guac and a salad. Oh, and we shared a cup of this exotic white bean, tomato, fennel and lavendar soup! I never would have put those ingredients together. The couple that owns the resturaunt is very nice. Moved here from North Dakota with their 4 kids last September and started the business which has been open for 2 months. Soon to have organic beers & wine. Next time we'll take pictures of our food! Its way more fun that way!