We rented in Louisville, 8 miles east of Boulder and a lot more affordable, to see what that felt like. But I was sure that I didn't want to be out in the plains, and Andy was working in Boulder, so we started house hunting there and focused most of our activities and shopping "in town".
Then a funny thing happened - we fell in love with Louisville. The Boulder job didn't last (thank goodness we figured that out before we put down money on a house!), we spent more time exploring our town, and I joined a wonderful local running group. Boulder has rush hour traffic (okay, so it's not much compared to Dallas and DC...) and a lot of rich people with too much time on their hands, kids with too much money in their pockets, and transients who make the truly desperately homeless look bad. Louisville has families - gobs of them. Not that Boulder is some kind of wasteland; it's a great place to be and live. But Louisville is more grounded but still outdoorsy and fun with a suprisingly cool restaurant scene in a great little downtown.
As the seasons shifted, we also grew to love being "out in the plains". When you're in Boulder, you see the Flatirons and other close mountains. When you're in Louisville, you see the entire Front Range. Boulder has a great farmers market, but it's hard to get in there and park and deal with the crowds. My daily commute north took me past farmstands at the actual farms where the stuff was grown. Hannah and I would drive past the crops then go pick out what we wanted to take home. We watch the seasons change in the fields - cycles of plowing, new growth, harvest, winter prep... I've grown to expect (though not accept - it's gross and annoying!) the burning of fields in the late summer. We listen to coyotes howl at night and know that it must be 11:30. We anticipate the opening of valves in the spring that will turn irrigation ditches in our neighborhood into season creeks, and the local mud pie into something resembling a pond. (I heard the other night that apparently people steal the water, which is why it stayed to low this year!)
Living in Colorado is so much more than enjoying the mountains. In 15 minutes, I can be at a mountain trail, and in 45 I can be up at 10,500 ft for a hike to treeline. But on a daily basis I live and thrive - and run - in the agricultural plains. And I absolutely love it. Here are some photos from my run on Monday on the Teller Farms trail. They've moved the cattle, so there were lots of piles to avoid (no fences between cow and person on this and many trails), and the farmers' kids were out working while I was running. I was struck by the scene in the mud...
Running shoes and boots, dogs, silly Vibram toes, horse, mountain bike, stroller, and truck. Didn't get any cow prints in this shot, but there were plenty.
The trail/farm road, looking north.
The recently moved herd.
And my wonderful running companion!