Boulder, Colorado: Denver’s uppity well-off neighbor. It’s prettier, hillier, more educated and liberal. The air is cleaner, the people are whiter, and they all wear outdoor-recreation jackets with tasteful little logos on them. The University of Colorado’s main campus is here, and students cruise through the town on bikes, play Ultimate Frisbee in the park and occasionally celebrate 4/20. The environmental scene is huge, too, with local activists pulling such stunts as the Incredible Carfree Move (please note, Boulder is also home to offices of the indomitable Rocky Mountain Institute, whose work is not quite as exciting as moving a couch on a bike but may ultimately have a greater effect)…

In short: it’s a beautiful place, but a little insulated from reality. Still, Cousin Matt and Cousin-In-Law Emily live there, and that’s all the reality I needed. Anyway I was tired of Denver’s take on things.

It SNOWED again, you know. Dumped inches on Denver, closed all the highways crossing the Rockies, and thwarted my plans to camp at the lake. I’d been staying with Lynne for a few days, but she needed to get to work; it seemed like the perfect time to go visit Matt&Em, and anyway I’d been looking forward to seeing them since three states ago.

Matt&Em and their dog Zion (and their yet-unnamed baby girl, currently en route to Boulder via Emily’s stomach) live in a cabin tucked up under the Flatirons, which are part of the Front Range of the Rockies. The Flatirons are just how they sound: big huge gigantic nearly-vertical sheets of rock that stand proudly above the town, daring anyone to try crossing.

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Read the rest of Adventures in Boulder (388 words)

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Post tags: Boulder, Colorado, outdoors, snow, tourism, touristry, volunteer, voluntourism, weather

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