Where We Live

For almost five years now, I've lived in the small town of Evergreen. It was the fact that I lived here that first made Shawn interested in getting to know me...you'll have to ask him for the details on that one. When we decided to get married, there was very little discussion about where we would live...Shawn's immediate vote was that he should move in with me up here.

Evergreen is a small little town in the Rocky Mountains. When the town was first started, it was primarily a "summer residence" for people who lived in Denver. Now there are about 40,000 people who live here. There is a "downtown" area that has little shops and restaurants. One of the more infamous establishments is the "Little Bear Saloon." It's located in the oldest building in town, and known for having good live music and getting a little crazy.

We also have a lake in the center of town. It's actually man-made, but I've been told there's decent fishing because Bear Creek runs into it. (Side note: Willie Nelson used to own property on Upper Bear Creek, and according to the rumors, Johnny Depp bought a house up here, too, a couple years ago.) The lake is especially popular during the winter, as it's open for skating and hockey once it freezes over. NHL players have actually been known to come up and play pick-up hockey with the kids from time to time.

Since we are a mountain town with an elevation of about 7200 feet, there are certain things you just have to be prepared for. A traffic jam in our town is normally caused by a herd of elk that refuses to move out of the road. More than once, I've woken up in the middle of the night because of the coyotes yelping outside my window. You have to get bear-proof garbage cans, and everyone knows that if you come across a mountain lion, make yourself look as big as possible. One other thing to get used to is the weather. We normally get about double the amount of snow that Denver gets, and it can literally snow at any time. Yesterday, it was sunny and in the 70's up here. Today...snow. I took these pictures on our back porch about 20 minutes ago. Gotta love mountain living.