50 States: Colorado (2)

April 22nd, 2008 · No Comments

50 States: Colorado

I’m sure I’m getting the order wrong, but regardless of where I actually traveled first, Colorado has always been the most important state in the Lower 48 for our family, and I have many fond memories of visiting grandparents, my aunt and uncle, cousins, and family friends there over the years. This photo shows my parents, my dad’s sister, and their mom, sitting on the front porch of the house where my dad and aunt grew up, in Loveland, Colorado. We spent many a summer and Christmas at that house, and after college, I stopped to visit Grandma on at least three road trips. The house was wonderfully familiar, from the kitchen cabinets Grandpa had made, to the beautiful old fridge in the garage apartment, to the attic where Scott and I slept when the house was particularly full at holidays. Grandma and Grandpa are both gone now, and the house has been sold, but I still have a fondness for the town – no matter how much it seems like it’s becoming merged with Ft. Collins to the north and Denver’s advancing suburbs to the south – and great memories of our days there.

Colorado is also one of the states I’ve traveled the most, from Denver and Boulder and Loveland to visiting friends of my mom’s in Grand Junction, riding the steam train in Durango, driving Trail Ridge Road, mini-golfing in Vail, climbing the Wonder Tower in Genoa, seeing R.E.M. and Wilco at Red Rocks, and of course, helping my dad build his car in Greeley just last month.

Tags: Nostalgia · Photos · Travel ·