It's beginning!

Well, it's back in the 60s and 70s in our home bases, but not far away at all, there are signs of the season that follows fall.  Here are two photos showing some Rockies.  The first shows them in the distance near the WY/CO state border...

...and the second shows them from a bike path on my school campus (that's them lurking there behind the buildings and foothills).

As you can see, there's a long way to go before they're again the fully snow-capped Rockies you often hear about, but the process has begun!  We'll keep you posted!

A discovery

While sitting out back in Fort Collins, I was happy to make a surprising observation...

We have amazing sunsets here in Colorado sometimes!!!

This was definitely the best one so far.  Hope something unexpectedly nice happened in your day, too!

The flakes keep flying

We don't expect to post every time there's a snowfall in Laramie or Fort Collins, but since this is the first Wyoming snow we've seen since late May, it seemed noteworthy.

Anyway, here's what you missed, depending on whether you like to be inside our outside during snowstorms!

Visitors!

This week, Charlotte and I were very excited to have our first visitors here in the West-my Mom Mom and Pop Pop!  We were happy to spend two days exploring together, and kicked things off by checking out Charlotte's turf at the University of Wyoming.

Then we headed off to Vedauwoo at 8,600' to take a little stroll...

...and work on mountain goat impressions.

Following all this activity, we headed to downtown Laramie, which has, among other things, very large salads!

On the second day, we headed south to Fort Collins to explore my neck of the woods.  We all managed to keep out of the planters while strolling around "Old Town"...

...but this critter (a "painto horse," according to Pop Pop...haha) proved too much to resist.  

We concluded our tour by visiting my turf at Colorado State University, and it was a nice ending to a great visit.

Anyway, we know who our first visitors were...will you be next?

A first in Fort Collins

For those of you who aren't here with us in Fort Collins this weekend (which unfortunately is all of you), we thought you might like to see the surprise we woke up to this morning!  It's been a nice and cozy way to start our weekend.  

We hope you're having a great (and maybe slightly warmer) weekend wherever you read this!

A fall from 7,200' can be painful...

...or it can be pretty!  Charlotte and I were sitting inside our apartment the other day (that's where we live in Wyoming, if you ever need to find us), when we looked out our window...

and realized that, by golly, fall has arrived!  Not only are we doing "fall-y" activities when we get the chance (and shivering in the mornings), but it even looks like fall outside!

Unlike most places in Wyoming (and Laramie), which have no trees, we are lucky to live in the "Tree District," which does.  Better yet, they change color in the fall!  

Best of all, some of the trees in our neighborhood are nice and big, so there are lots of leaves to look at!

Happy fall from Laramie!  It's doesn't quite compare to the Northeast, but it's definitely not too shabby.

Tour de Coop

Speaking of fall activities here in Laramie, Charlotte and I recently had the good fortune to attend "Tour de Coop," which was easily the most adorable agricultural event we've attended in a long time.  The event is premised on the idea that people would like to look at adorable chickens and see some different chicken coop designs.  Actually, we got to see lots of innovative chicken ideas, including an old bed frame repurposed as a movable chicken pen/tractor.  Brilliant!

As you can see, we were hardly the only attendees (though Charlotte was a particularly enthusiastic chicken observer).

Anyway, enough about the people and the coops...here's what you really want to see-the stars themselves!  We were treated to views of adorably peepy chicks...

...a flock of runner ducks with a mountain view...

...and some chickens with fancier accommodations than most college students.

All in all, a great time was had by people and chickens alike, and we're already eager for next year's tour!  Only 11.5 more months!