There are a few defining moments when you go from being young and adventurous to old and cranky. One of those moments is when it snows and you either think “Oh no, snow, it’s cold and I’m stuck in the house” or “Yay, snow! I want to go out and play”. Well, this last storm, I found myself teetering on the precipice! Think back to a few weeks ago when we had four days of sub-zero temperatures. The first few days, I gave in, “it’s too cold to go out”. It was an extreme weather weekend. I was very pleased with myself for actually doing a few house projects that were on my to do list for months, possibly years.
I turned the “stuck inside part” to “Hey, I love my apartment, and I get to hang out in it in my sweatpants and watch movies all weekend (and tackle those projects). I think it was the third night it snowed. A beautiful blanket of snow covered downtown, “it’s time to go out and play”. I dug out my flannel lined jeans, gloves, boots, hat, scarf, sunglasses—let’s go!
When I walk out the front door of my building, the first decision is which direction to walk in. I decided on the Auraria Campus. It’s one of my favorite walks, and I knew it was going to be beautiful and peaceful. The DU campus is so close to the UpDoNa neighborhood. In the spring and summer, the campus is covered in gorgeous flowers in every color and a lot of bees; I love bees. In the fall, the campus is alive, with red and orange leaves everywhere. In the winter, after it snows, it’s exquisite.
The walk was magic! I love it when I’m the first one to step somewhere after it snows. There’s something about being the first one to touch the snow and see the beauty of it covering the trees, the sidewalk, the scooters! If you need a little tranquil walk downtown, I highly recommend a wander across the Auraria Campus. It’s one thing to describe it; it’s another thing to see it.
I hope you enjoy the photos I took along the way.
Thumbnail attribution: Marc Heft
Attribution for all other photos: Marc Heft
