The Goodrums

The neighborhood is filling up now. After a month or so of being one of two occupied houses on the street, new people are moving in every week. We now have neighbors on either side and across the street from us. Time will tell if they will be as cool as Chris and Felicia, Wendel, and John, Mandy, and Oscar in Jackson, who set a pretty high bar for the future. Though it won't be the same, the potential is definitely here for a pretty cool street. So far we have a Colorado native (a very rare thing), a South African family (complete with cool accents and British friends), and a couple in which she happens to be from Peru. We've already bonded with the South African family given our mutual appreciation for Rooibos tea and the outdoors.

Speaking of loving the outdoors, we have discovered that we are only a short ride (10-15 minutes) from some great mountain biking (or walking/hiking) trails. It turns out the open space behind us is slated to become part of the Back Country Wilderness Area of Highlands Ranch. Trails are cut in parts of the wilderness area and they are working on building some more back country trails. The wilderness area also ties into Daniels Park and either includes, or is adjacent to, a Bison ranch. We rode past the Bison ranch last weekend and I counted about 25 head of Bison and about 200 head of Prairie Dog. Most of the land west of the Back Country area is undeveloped and I believe that a significant portion is actually a part of Pike National Forest, which means it will be safe from development. Needless to say, we were quite excited to make these discoveries and hope to make very good use of the trails.

So that's the scoop for now. We've been pretty busy with guests and travel lately, but are enjoying the blessing of having all of the visitors (we're waiting for you next). Next up is landscaping the back yard to appease the community association. After the yard, I will move on to the garage. And I already christened the oven with a cheesecake (Pecan Pie Cheesecake). If you place an order early enough, I may even make your cheesecake of choice for your visit.