We're liking Longmont. In the state of Southern Colorado.

June:

Most days we go out exploring our new community looking for new places to go walking, interesting restaurants and such.

There are dozens of city and Bolder County parks within a fifteen minute drive. A neighbor suggested we try Pella Crossing. It's a county park about ten minutes away. There is a 2+- mile loop that goes around two fishing lakes.  The path around the lake is well compacted stone so it works well with Carols scooter. When no one is close enough to disturb, I let Gopher off her leash. She really enjoys swimming and fetching a stick. . There must be some retriever somewhere in her lineage. Pella Crossing has become our favorite walking place.

 Cooling off in the lake.

Every other Tuesday night during the summer, the city sponsors a free outdoor concert in Roosevelt Park. Last Tuesday the band played Celtic Rock. In either 2003 or 2004 we spent most of the summer touring the Canadian Maritime Provinces. Cape Breton in Nova Scotia was among out favorite places because of the absolutely infectious Celtic music. Tuesdays concert brought back those memories.

Nova Scotia Cape Breton Island

This past Tuesday we went to another concert. The band played "contemporary noise"  We stayed for a little while, bought some caramel popcorn and went for a quiet drive.

The other day the temperature was a record breaking 99*.  Our cheapy indoor/outdoor thermometer registered 104*. We took our regular after-lunch walk and didn't find it especially uncomfortable. The relative humidity was only 12%. In South FL, a 99* day would be matched with a similar humidity. Five minutes after stepping outside my shirt would be soaked through.  Not so around here. 99* is hot, no denying that. Sort of like standing in front of a hairdryer hot vs being in a sauna hot.

NOCO (North Colorado) .  I don't know much about CO politics and could care less. However, there has been some really entertaining reading recently about a movement to split CO into two states.  Some of the Letters-to-the-Editor belong with the Funny Pages.  Here it is as I understand the issue. For decades the Republicans (R's) had total control of  CO including the legislature, governorship and virtually all elected statewide offices. The R's were happy campers.  As time passed, the population of the state became increasingly concentrated along the Front Range; that being the metropolitan area between Denver and Fort Collins. Today some 90% of the population of CO lives in the Front Range.

The voters in the Front Range are primarily Democrats(D's) and in some communities like Bolder, very, very liberal.  Liberal to the point of making Berkley, CA look like a hotbed of right wing extremism.

At any rate. When you have a system of government which is based on the vote of the majority it's clear that the Front Range with some 90%  of the population will decide the winner of most statewide races.  As a result, the legislature and governors office are in solid control of the D's.  Not so good for the R's. Recently, the legislature passed a law requiring universal background checks for all firearm transactions. The NRA and the R's went ballistic.  On top of this perceived insult to the R's, the D's passed another law aimed at weaning the U.S. off foreign oil. A number of years ago, CO passed a law that said all electric utility companies selling power in CO must get, as I recall,  10% of their energy from renewable resources like wind, solar, etc. Most people might think this to be a reasonable idea. This year the legislature upped the number to 15%. The R's went insane. Rural CO, home of most of the R's in the state, is real big in oil and natural gas production and anything that threatens the R's Colorado energy policy of pump-more-oil is heresy. 

The R's screamed that it's not fair that the majority D's ignored them in the legislature and pursued a purely D agenda.  Both of these new laws must be repealed now they demanded.  One interviewer asked one of the prominent R's how the total and absolute control of the R's of the dysfunctional U.S. House differed from the total and absolute control of the D's in the CO legislature.  In both cases, the minority party is totally shut out of the legislative process.  Mostly he tap-danced around that question.

So. The R solution is to form their own state. The counties joining in this secession are the oil and agricultural areas primarily in northeast CO under strong R control. The city of  Longmont is in ultra-liberal Bolder County so we will most certainly remain in South CO. 

In the morning, as soon as I'm finished with the funnies, I read the Letters-to-the-Editor and articles related to this issue. Cheap entertainment.  :-)

Seven years ago, on June 13, 2006 while camping near Rock Springs, WY awaiting the start of  the Lazy Daze 50th Anniversary celebration in Cheyenne, Carol had the heart attack which precipitated her life changing stroke.  She recently had a through checkup by her cardiologist. All is well in that respect.

We had a nice Fathers Day. There was a girls U-18 fast-pitch softball tournament at the nearby park today.  Players came from CO, NM and NE. We took our daily walks over to watch some of the games.  Alex played softball, as well as soccer,  in high school and college.

Next week, Alex and Finn and Teagan (T) are coming to visit for a week. We're looking forward to having all the grandchildren collected in one place.

Things are good with us.