Fall has always been my favorite season – the colorful leaves, cooler weather, and….Football! Now, having lived in Colorado for 11+ years, winter is very close to being my favorite time of year. Winter here is the absolute best, in my humble opinion. Typically, it will snow for a day (rarely for multiple consecutive days, except for in the mountains perhaps), then the following few days are usually bright sunshine and gorgeous blue skies, until it snows again. It can't get any better, right?!
On not so windy days, you may only need a light jacket! The snow is so light and fluffy (that famous powder") that most of the time, we just use a broom to remove the snow from our sidewalks, etc – fabulous!
My favorite mountain town, especially in the winter, is Breckenridge. I love the laid back atmosphere there. We like to take Hwy 24 to South Park, then Fairplay to Breckenridge. A lot less traffic than I-70 and beautiful scenery. Check out www.gobreck.com for upcoming events there.
There's no shortage of winter activities in the mountains here for sure. Colorado has no less than 23 ski resorts! Skiing/snowboarding, snowmobiling, dog sledding, tubing….not to mention, one of my favorites, lodge loafing in front of a fireplace with a cup of creamy hot chocolate!
So, I recently learned a very surprising fact about snow: Snow is actually not white! Yes, it is clear and colorless, but because snow crystals have countless tiny surfaces from which visible light is efficiently reflected, what little sun light is absorbed by snow is absorbed uniformly over the wave lengths of visible light thus giving snow its white appearance. Amazing! (NationalSnow and Ice Data Center).
- Skate in the Park at Acacia Park, downtown
- Winter Tea at Glen Eyrie Castle - I have not experienced this yet, but it is on my must do list! Get in touch if you want to join me! The grounds and the castle are beautiful, even more so in the winter.
- Santa's North Pole Adventure out of Georgetown, CO (www.georgetownlooprr.com) Highly recommend! Some of my family members recently did this and they said it was fantastic!
Last but not least, one of my Favorite things to do….Sledding!
Who remembers these as a kid? I hope I'm never too old to go sledding! For other great sledding hills in the area check out www.parkgrades.com. There's SO much more to do, so for more details on all the above and the other fun holiday and winter events, go to www.visitcos.com.
Food for thought…..have you ever considered that during this darkest time of the year, we get snow – beautiful "white snow" that brings light to the darkness…Let There Be Light! I wish you all a most wonderful Christmas holiday!