Changing Colorado weather

In just a few days,
our hikes went form this

to this

Cool, eh?

This is not a day

for expresso on the porch

We're up at 9,670 feet

in south central Colorado, in the Sangre de Cristo mountains once again.

And, while there is snow in the taller mountains
















and there is a nightly frost 

there still is a lot of yellow, 
and even a few green aspens remaining.

It seems strange for the end of October.
But it must be the numerous early freezes and snow falls 
that has brought about such a late change in colors this year.

Going West once again

We left Arkansas before the colors changed this year 
and headed for Colorado, past Trinidad, just north of the NM sate line on IH 25.

As we headed up Highway 12 towards Cuchara and La Veta,
we were surprised to see their colors are changing late.

Here we are at the Segundo church, the second in a series of coal towns
west of Trinidad, on "The Highway of Legends".

While the long car ride can be tiring,

Colors just kept getting prettier along the way.

And now.... the rest of the story

Imagine: 

as you sit and enjoy 70 degree weather in mid October...

lots and lots of fresh water lakes.

Arkansas just seemed too good to be true.

So, we did a little digging. And found 3 things that ruled out our moving here:

1) Temperatures in July and August reach 100 for a few days.
And humidity is in the 80s to 90s.
Quite a bit like Texas...but with fresh water.

2)  And, this really burst my bubble:

http://www.kiplinger.com/tool/retirement/T055-S001-state-by-state-guide-to-taxes-on-retirees/compare.php?ids=4-6-32-44-5#zTb8YcWuQodD8ORw.03

... a comparison of State Taxes.

It's hard to give up an additional 7% of your retirement income,
even if it's to live in a fresh water paradise!

3) But, the deciding factor was when we saw 2 of these fellows crossing the road, 
within 3 miles of each other:

It doesn't matter if you get experts to tell us these > 3 inch creatures are completely safe.

There is NO WAY you will ever get my wife to hike these Arkansas trails again.

Living on the water in Arkansas

With so many lakes around AR,  can you imagine.....

having your boat docked right behind your house???????

Yes, that's the view from where we are staying.

And at only $ 110 per square foot......Arkansas sure is tempting!

What to do in Hot Springs.....

While we don't necessarily need it to cure our livers,

we hope a trip to Hot Spring's Bathhouse Row 
will perhaps cure some other "impurities" in our system.

And, if that does not work......

maybe a consultation with Zoltar will give us some good advice......

on how to bet on the ponies.