horsetooth reservoir

I finally realized the severity of the news of the summer drought this year when we hit western Nebraska (it's difficult to see the effects of the drought in the city). Throughout NE, WY, CO, MT, ID, UT, NV, and even into CA the creek beds had been reduced to dry pathways. One of the largest and most dramatic indicators of the drought was the water level at Horsetooth Reservoir in Fort Collins.

June 2011

August 2012

Besides the lack of rainfall, the water in the reservoir had been used this past summer to help put out the fires in Colorado.

I can't complain about the beautiful colors at the reservoir though. Photos there always turn out great, whether it's rainy and foggy or sunny and bright.

let's build a fort

I visited my sister in Fort Collins, CO, last summer, and was so excited to go back for a couple days during our trip! FC has the cutest downtown area (locals will call it "Old Town") that's chock full of restaurants, bars, & shops--I don't think I saw a single empty storefront. There's also some great sculptures & public art, like this bear friend.

Fort Collins has this cool ongoing public piano project--local artists paint pianos under a little outside tent in Old Town and the pianos are placed around the city (or at least, in the area). Anyone can play them, and lots of people do! It's so cute to see kids pounding out "Frere Jaques" or laughing adults struggling through "Heart & Soul". Dane decided to play a little tune for me :)

Of course, we had to get some ice cream at Walrus (ok, maybe it was more than once...). My sister is the master of trip planning, so we packed in lots of great restaurants, the ghost tour, Horsetooth Resevoir (I'll have a separate post on that!) during our two day stay. It was nice to stay somewhere for more than a night, and gave us a break from driving every day!