Boulder is an important town to me. I went to school there in ’86. I spent a month there in the summer of 2001. I lived nearby in Denver twice. I’ve seen an inordinate number of stellar shows at The Fox and Boulder Theatre, imbibed on Pearl Street’s best infused mojitos, nibbled the tofu, etc. But what it all comes down to is this: there are lots of good people in Boulder. People I am lucky to call friends.
Boulder is also blessed with musicians who like to come down off the mountain on special ocassions to jam. Rockygrass is such an ocassion. And local pickers, Yonder Mountain String Band, did descend, along with the hill folk who follow them.
After the first night at our friends’ cottage on Alpine, and two nights sleeping in our REI tent along side the St. Vrain River (waking at 7:30 am to get out of the hot sun both mornings) we motored into downtown Boulder on Sunday afternoon and checked in to the St. Julien Hotel & Spa, “where nature meets nurture and simplicity meets style.” Ms. D enjoyed a hot stone massage. I took a nap in the four-poster bed after showering in the all-slate bath. Slate, not just on the floors, on the walls as well.
Of course, I’m far from the only one who thinks highly of Boulder. One of the world’s most creative companies just opened an office there, in order to offer its employees the choice of working in Miami or Boulder.
When living amidst all the natural beauty, organic food, beautiful people and world class athletes, one can, from time to time, find it all a bit too much. Yet, when one steps back–as I have several times in my life–and looks at Boulder through fresh eyes, mostly what’s there is a model community filled with active, educated citizens making their own reality better day-to-day.