I attended a dinner party the other night at some friends' home in Ridgway. They were in town, after having moved to Parker for job reasons, while maintaining their home in Ridgway. Their circle of friends are not my usual circle, but I have, certainly, met many at previous parties and in and around town. As I spent time talking with all of them, and reflected on it the next day, I was impressed all over again with what an incredible, diverse, inspiring group of people I've come to know and associate with since moving to this part of Colorado 4 years ago. As I've told many of my friends and family in California, I think moving here has added at least 10 years to my lifespan. So many of my friends I've made and the people I've met are over 50 years old, and, yet, they are all still so active, I mean, really active! They hike, bike, hunt, horseback ride, mountain climb, fish, raft, ski, snow shoe, dogsled race, hot air balloon, camp, jeep, motorcycle ride, and some of them are well into their sixites or even 70's. For example, one of my agents, Kylee Smith, is a 60-year old retired P.E. teacher who has run the Imogene Pass 8 times and is still so very active, running circles around me. She convinced me and another agent in my office, Betsy Spitzer, to ride in the annual Partners' fundraising 100-mile bike ride last summer. Betsy and I trained together and were the determined sag riders, who never accepted a ride from the sag wagon, while Kylee rode back and forth to check on us. I never would have attempted this without the encouragement of friends like Kylee, and the support of Betsy!
Not everyone I know is over 50 years old. My partner, Annabel, and I have plenty of younger friends, too, many of whom are parents. We've been so impressed with these parents and how dedicated they are to their children and how supportive the community is. Even we, with no children of our own, volunteered to help the old middle and high school move into their new building. It takes a village, you know. I don't think too many children around here spend time with Game Boys or in front of the TV! How jealous I am of these school kids who have a snow/ski day as part of their school curriculum!
And it's not all about outdoor, physcial activities. So many of my friends and colleagues are business owners, or in second careers, such as many of my agents, or artists and craftsmen, musicians, actors, world travelors, fundraisers, local politicians or politically active, volunteers and members of philanthropic organizations, writers, photographers, gardners, cooks, ranchers and farmers, and from different states and countries or are second, third and fourth generation Coloradans from Ouray or Montrose Counties.
Below are a few photos of me with Annabel, friends, and visitors, in activities I've enjoyed since living here:
I may sell real estate in the Montrose and Ridgway areas of Colorado, but I also sell a lifestyle. Hence, the purpose of this post.
~Ninah
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