Fall countdown

Locals tell us this fall is unusual. The weather is warm, with a few days of cool; typically just a few hours of cool.

Fall in the mountains is beautiful. The sky is the bright periwinkle color Colorado is known for, and the contrast against the dark green pines and turning aspens demands my attention.

Since Halloween was on Sunday this year the boys got to celebrate for three days. At school Friday the party had a parade with many parents in costumes. Costumes here are often elaborate, or perhaps homemade with a lot of imagination. For instance, one boy in Grant’s class wore an oversized coat with his head sticking out below the top button--- and his head was decorated with blood paint and inside a large pickle jar. He really looked like he was carrying his own head.

Friday night the community had “trunk or treat” at a school and about 40 cars were decked out with fog, talking candy dishes, and all the stuff a haunted house would have.

Sunday night Grant went with a friend to a neighborhood that closes itself off and celebrates by giving out full size candy bars and little toys while watching the kids. We joined a few of Justin soccer buddies for potluck dinner and then a trailer ride around the neighborhood to collect candy. When everyone returned we watched part of Charlie Brown’s the Great Pumpkin as the kids counted their candy for a homework assignment.

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.