Halloween

Trick or Treating in downtown Evergreen is a big event. In the foothills there are lots of people that don’t live in neighborhoods with rows of houses so the merchants downtown setup candy stations at their door and hundreds of families walk along the sidewalks.

We saw Frankenstein who was over 7 feet tall walking on stilts, werewolves with long fangs wearing torn flannel shirts, Winnie the Pooh, a giant iPod, a basket of dirty clothes, a head on a plate, and lots of unidentified characters covered in fake blood.

The bank gave out fake money, the taffy shop gave free samples, the animals shelter gave away puppies and duck calls. The duck calls could be heard down both sides of the street keeping the kids busy as they waited in line to get into the next shop.

In the late 1800s rich residents of Denver developed downtown Evergreen so they’d have places to eat and things to do when they visited the natural beauty of the area. They left one side of the short strip with its original two levels; the bottom one for hitching up your horse, and stairs leading up to the stores above. Thank goodness ski resorts to the west have grown up- Winter Park and Vail to name two- and now the rich of Denver don’t overrun Evergreen. Hoorah for progress, which brought money to our town, helped it grow, and then moved on!

Today Evergreen is still one of the first towns west of Denver in the foothills of the Rockies. Leaving Denver the land is flat, 30 minutes later you enter a valley surrounded by mountains. You don’t even need to get out of the car to see wildlife. Elk and mule deer wander the town, and bear and fox can be seen once off the road.

A persistent reminder of man are the many Harley bikers that cruise the area and then stop at the bars downtown that offer beer and food, and seating along the river running through town. For the most part the bikers look like a tame bunch, the older crowd out for a drive.

At Christmas time there will be a walk through downtown so we’ll be back for the festivities. And this time we’ll know to get their early to find a parking place, or park around the lake and hike over.