MANCOS, COLORADO!

I'll tell you what, Mr. Larsen is one of the few politicians I have encountered of any flavor who actually seems to be a responsible human being. I don't care what he calls himself. If he ever again runs for office, I'll not only vote for him, this democrat will actively help campaign for him! I've discussed any number of issues with him since we first started an e-mail correspondence when I sent the entire Colorado State Legislature a most uncomplimentary e-mail. Mr. Larsen responded at once (unlike the rest, most of whom never replied at all), and gave me his analysis of the issues and what he had been doing to try to change things. And he wrote personally - not some stupid canned reply. The people of his district adore him, and so do I. I really, really hope he'll get back into politics after he takes his break from the legislature for a while.

I do wish you well with your relocation efforts, Mrs. P., and I hope it doesn't take you as long as it has me. I've been struggling for a full year to get out of this place that I should never ever have come back to.

My best advise is to perservere. Never give up. Not ever. You'll obtain your goal. It may not happen as fast as you'd like, but it WILL happen. I even painted the La Plata Mountains in water colors on my front window, so that every time I looked out I was reminded again of where I needed to be. (I'm gonna have to do a bunch of scrubbing to get my damage deposit back, but it was worth it!)

[Mrs. Parker]

Thanks for your encouragement. It seems that in my life, patience is my continual challenge. I too love to paint, although I rarely make the time to do it, and I think a Coloradoesque landscape is in order to remind me of my goal!

[Brett's Honey]

Mari, I hate you. Seriously though, congratulations! Your pictures would make anyone envious of your new home! The first vacation that I can remember was in Colorado, when I was six. We buried my Dad there because he loved it so much, he kept going back there, even hopping on freight trains for rides when he had to. My husband and his family go to Colorado - the eastern part - every year, or at least every other year for vacation. I went with them 2 years ago and loved it. We took 11 four wheelers, there were 13 or us ranging in age from 4 to 87, and we rode old mining trails up in the mountains for a week, and nobody wanted to leave. We would start out dressed in shorts and T-shirts at the bottom of a mountain and put on another layer every few miles, until we were riding in snow and sleet at the top of the mountain, wearing coats and rain suits. Hopefully we'll go again this summer!

Cool! Say, didn't I meet you going the wrong way over Imogene pass once? You remeber me. I was the one driving the beat up Toyota with Colorado plates, and I hopped out and shook my fist at you and yelled, "Stupid flatlanders! Outta my way!" And then after you had to back half way down to let me pass, and I'd driven off in a cloud of dust you realized that it was ME going the wrong way, NOT you! Sure, you remember!

Seriously, let me know next time you come out for a visit and I'll show you how to drive off Land's End in a thunderstorm. Its a kick! You go over the edge of what looks to be a precipice about a 1,000 feet down, ignore the sign that says, "WARNING! Road not recommended!" and lock in your hubs and start floating down through the clouds.

Beleive it or not, the universe must REALLY want me to leave the Front Range almost as bad as I do because today I got the offer a second apartment in the truly cool town of Cedaredge, Colorado, right at the foot of the Colorado Plateau. That apartment I can have by April 1, and they don't even require a damage deposit! Decisions, decisions! West Slope here I come!

[xoxoxoBruce]

and they don't even require a damage deposit!

Poor unsuspecting fools.

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Poor unsuspecting fools.

Pffffft! Yeppers, little do they know! They called twice today, too. They long for me and that desperado Belle Starr and that master of Siameseness Mr. Rikki Tikki Tabby and my collection of great C/W CD's that I like to play at top volume, and my prized stick of TNT that's really an old road flare, and my hibachi that I throw juniper logs into to have front porch flame-out BBQ's. I give any abode I reside in a certain Kentucky hillbilly mystique after only a few days.

Other than that I'm a nice former librarian trying to recovery from a disability. (heheheh!)

Cedaredge is tempting because I could just move right on in, and I've been worrying about how to come up with the $500 damage deposit Mancos requires. I really adore the 4 Corners, and Cedaredge is pretty far noth of there. Its really pretty, though.

Its a tough call, I'll have to decide over the weekend which spot I'll head for. The most important thing is that I'm heading OUT of here at long last! YAY, OH, YAY!

[WabUfvot5]

It looks beautiful there Mari. One question I have is where is the nearest airport? Denver? Or is there a local one so you can jet out of there when there are 3279 feet of snow and you need a break?

Actually, Durango, which is about a 40 minute drive to the east, has a very nice, up to date, little airport. Jets land there and everything! The flight to Denver is maybe an hour or two, I forget, but not very long.

I won't need to fly away from the snow, though. That's another cosmic thing about Mancos. Its one of those "edge" places right between the mountains and the desert. Mancos itself gets tons of snow every winter, but they are very good about keeping highway 160 clear. In 20 minutes, you can be in Cortez where the pavement is dry. Two hours from Cortez and you can be basking in the warmth of the desert country of southern Utah!

The Sonoran desert is maybe an 8 hour drive away. You hit snow again around Flagstaff for a bit, but after that its all smooth driving down to the Baja if you feel like going that far!

[WabUfvot5]

Sweet! It sounds like you plunked down in a primo place