The next item from the seminar was to visit a senior independent living community. A group of us took a field trip to the Reserve in Lone Tree. I knew this probably wasn't the place for me when I walked in the door and saw their motto, "retirement for the rich at heart." It should have said, "rich in pocketbook," because this is currently the most expensive retirement home in Denver. It looked more like a giant cruise ship to me with 4 dining facilities, a saltwater pool, both dog and people spas, a theater, library, and bars everywhere you looked. The people who retire here must really be into drinking. The apartments themselves looked pretty much like the one my Dad had at the Parkway, but at 4 times the price. The manager told us the average age of their residents was 81, so I think I've got a few years before I need to worry about that.
Moving on to cheerier topics, for my "do something new" challenge this week, the Bike Club rode the Poudre River Trail from Greeley to Windsor, Colorado (22 miles). It's a new trail, all concrete, but pretty rural - lots of wild turkey and deer. There were no coffee shops along the route, but we stopped at a nice patio next to the Loaf & Jug convenience store for a snack break.
On the way back to our cars, we got stopped by a huge train stopped across the trail (one of those with over 100 cars). I had a feeling the train was going to be there a while unloading or loading up freight. So, the conductor decoupled a couple cars and backed the train off the trail. I don't know how in the world we would have gotten back otherwise, because we were out in the middle of nowhere.
On Thursday, Bruce, Charlie, and I hiked the Panorama Point Trail in Jefferson County. This is one of my favorite places to hike, partly because there is a nice flat rock halfway up the trail that I can use to sketch while Bruce and Charlie continue hiking up the hill. But also, because it's right next to Smokehouse Barbecue, which has fabulous pulled pork and fried pickle sandwiches. Yum!
And on Friday, after all those disparate activities, I rode my bike to the Fika Coffee Shop for a little peace and quiet. Unfortunately, I think half of Parker had the same idea, because the place was packed. There's a little wishing well right near the front door of the shop. Someone had installed a trinket box jam-packed with stickers, bracelets, mini-figs, and small toys. The funny thing was I think every adult who passed the box, stopped to peek inside.
