appreciating nature

A New Southern Colorado Adventure & Delight!

/ Laura Lee Carter / 9 Comments

Yesterday, we celebrated Valentine’s Day in one of the most mellow places I can imagine. We drove an hour and a half west of here and arrived at the Sand Dunes Pool for a long, peaceful soak in the hot springs there.

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We started out in the long, lazy river pool at around 100 degrees. This gets deeper the further you go in, and at the end there is a small water fall. The surrounding are surprisingly tropical and the temperature inside is perfect! This is the only pool you can swim around in in the adult section.

When you tire of the long, cool pool you can choose between three other smaller pools from 103 to 110 degrees or take a sauna.

The atmosphere is tropical, with cool plants growing everywhere! We saw a few orchids, some very nice succulents, a large Jade tree, and even a few tomatoes on the vine. This place is wonderful, like a moist, warm oasis in the middle of the dry, cold San Luis Valley. No wonder it is so popular! Alcohol is served in this section, and their hamburgers are great.

Sand Dunes Pool outdoor swimming poolEverything I have described so far is in the adult or age 21+ section of this property. There is also an large, outdoor pool for families with kids. The surrounding mountains are incredible, and they also have places to stay there if you are on a vacation or RV camping. We’re just glad we live close enough to drive over for the day!

I do wish to mention one comment from a fellow swimmer yesterday. She was around age 50 and apparently she had been observing Mike and I for a while, when she came up to us and said,

“I just have to say you two make such a cute couple! My husband and I have been married for over 30 years. I just hope we can be like you two as we grow older together.” 

That pretty much made our day!

How did this happen? How did I end up here, feeling so fortunate?

It’s a long story, one I can now share with you in my new memoir!

Location, Location, Location – Where do you belong in this wild & crazy world?

/ Laura Lee Carter / 7 Comments

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Picture this: We now live a southern Colorado county with only two traffic lights. Yep, in the whole county!

So, our recent experience getting stuck in our worst traffic jam ever in Denver, convinced us that country living may be a better choice. After a quick trip up there this week, I am even more certain that we have found the best place in the world for us.

What happens when I drive up to Denver? The first thing I notice is the foul air, and then everything starts crowding in on me. When you’re used to a one stoplight town, traffic in the city can get very intense, very quickly. Try sitting in that traffic for 30 or 40 minutes after living in the southern Colorado outback for a couple of years. UNBELIEVABLE!

Did you know my original goal in leaving northern Colorado was to never waste another minute of my limited lifespan sitting in a traffic jam?

Don’t get me wrong. I do see the appeal of the city, just not for me anymore. I now totally appreciate what a fine line it can be finding the right size city for each of us. Too small and it can get boring, too large and it’s ugly in so many ways.

From my experience, it is important when you start searching for your forever home, to spend some serious time there first. Spend at least six months to a year there before choosing anything permanent. Try to make a few friends and learn as much as you can about the area.

IMGP4598As we age we find out how important the simple pleasures are in our lives. When you have more past than future, you learn.

Want to learn more about the experience of moving from the city to the country to live a quiet, relaxed life? Check it out here!

My Next Project: A Journal of Retirement

/ Laura Lee Carter / 8 Comments

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I’m just beginning to get excited about writing my next book! This week I started collecting all that I have written in the past few years, and enjoying (in retrospect!) the process of how our retirement came about. Retirement for us was a bit of an ungraceful process, sort of like that joke about making sausage, but it happened all the same and most importantly, we survived!
It’s surprisingly fun and funny reading my old entries about trips to Ecuador, renovating our old house for sale, falling down the stairs, etc. I would guess this could make for some interesting reading for those who are just beginning to consider their retirement options.

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Mike fooling around down below!

I have decided to write it in journal-style, much like if the reader was reading my diary, as it happened. I have always enjoyed the intimacy of books written in this style.

IMGP4580This book will answer such questions as when and why did we first get interested in moving to Ecuador? Why did we lose interest? How did we decide to check out southern Colorado as a site for a solar home? How did we choose the architecture of this home? etc.

Basically this will be a summary of how this wonderful place all came about for us. How did we end up here, doing this at age 60?

I am filled with gratitude that I can now live like this forever.  Please go learn more about our move from Fort Collins to here in my new memoir!

“I don’t know where I’m going from here, but I promise it won’t be boring.”  –  David Bowie

After the Snow, Lovely Sunshine!

/ Laura Lee Carter / 12 Comments

It snowed all day yesterday. It was so peaceful and beautiful…

IMGP4550And then this morning I woke up to the prettiest winter morning I could ever imagine… granted it is 3 degrees outside, but it is truly glorious!

IMGP4559The mountains in the distance are, of course, stunning from our front windows, but what thrills me the most is the sparkles in the newly fallen snow…

IMGP4562so hard to capture, and yet exactly like someone threw small diamonds all over the ground.

And here is an early morning photo of the tidy little valley below us…

IMGP4556just as the sun comes up to make our new day the best ever!

Click on photos for full-size views, and follow us on TWITTER!

I am filled with gratitude that I can now live like this forever.  Please go learn more about our move from Fort Collins to here in my new memoir!

 

Blogging Boomers Winter Solstice Edition!

/ Laura Lee Carter / 10 Comments

IMGP4456Are you ready for the shortest day of the year? This is it! We’ll get barely nine hours of sun today, and that matters in a solar home! But I LOVE the idea of the light returning soon to bring us another glorious spring!

Today I present to you a few GREAT bloggers who wish to share with you their thoughts around this holiday time.

christmas treeTom Sightings presents for you a A Christmas Miracle, set under the tree, that might just make you believe in the goodness of the world, fate, destiny, or kismet.                         If not, have a cup of hot cider; and that might bring you a stroke or two of luck. Happy holidays to all!

Meryl Baer of Six Decades and Counting just returned home following a two week adventure in Norway, land of the midnight sun – except in winter, when darkness reigns. She is thrilled to Return to Sunlight.  

books for christmasThis week Linda and her husband Art volunteered at the Salvation Army Toy Drive, where they served the parents of 4,500 children in the Tucson area! Volunteers for a fabulous day! What FUN!              Keep those kids reading books!

 

On The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide, Rita R. Robison, writes about how satisfied customers of credit unions, online banks , and smaller banks are with their banking experience, in comparison to those who do business with one of the nation’s four largest banks. Go see this survey. Would you like to switch financial institutions?

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And me? I haven’t been busy at all, unless you consider weather watching demanding. I enjoy spending time with old and new friends, and thoughts of the winter solstice much more than that whole crazy Christmas scene. And I can assure you, rural living has no noise, traffic, crowds, etc.

Just right for enjoying the sweetness of doing nothing and the challenges of living in the present.

However you enjoy this winter break, please enjoy it thoroughly!