Self-Proclaimed "Mountain Snob" Cut Down to Size by Colorado Ranges

DURANGO, CO--

Suz Tolwinski, a resident of Tucson, Arizona, was recently humbled by mountains she saw during a one-month stay in Colorado. Tolwinski's permenant residence in Tucson is to the south of the Santa Catalina mountain range, which appears to have endowed her with some sort of expertise as to what constitutes "real" mountains.

"Usually, I scoff at the so-called 'mountains' championed by residents of other parts of this country," explains Tolwinski. "I was just camping with these other two chicks in Acadia National Park in Maine, and I'm like, dude, you call these things here mountains? Psshaw, more like molehills! And when I was driving up to Colorado through New Mexico, my car's engine barely noticed those Sangre de Cristo mountains. I mean, that range is really some weak-assed shit."

However, since her trip to Colorado, Tolwinski now admits to a new feeling of humbleness with regards to the rugged landforms. "When I turned the corner on I-25 near Denver and caught sight of those snow-caps, I nearly peed my pants," the 26 year-old said of her first view of the Rocky Mountain range. "These mountains could totally kick the Catalinas' butts, hands down. I mean they are, like, waaaaaay fatter and waaaay higher." Tolwinski's assessment is likely true. While the Catalina mountain range stretches along the northern length of the city of Tucson, and reaches a maximum height of 9,157 feet above sea level, the Rockies span nearly 3,000 miles from British Columbia to New Mexico, and top out at an elevation of 14,440 feet above sea level.

Tolwinski mentions the impression made on her by Coloradan mountains on her way out of the state, as well. "So like, I'm driving over this one range today, and when I cross to the other side of the peak- get this- it's FREAKIN' SNOWING. It's in the dang 30's, in the middle of August, with these icy hail-balls all over the road and my car is slipping all over the place. But by the time I get to the bottom of the mountain, it's like, back up in the 80's," Tolwinski said of the San Juan Mountains, part of the western slope of the Continental Divide.

Despite her exposure to mountains grander than the Santa Catalinas, it appears unlikely that Tolwinski will stop trash-talking other mountain ranges anytime soon.

Yeee-haw from ol' Colorader!

I'm in Boulder, Colorado for the month, collaborating with the super-nice and super-inspiring climate modeling experts at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). And it's impossible not to enjoy this visit. Boulder is liberal, outdoorsy, and hippy-ish, and at the same time well-to-do, posh, and yuppie-ish. So everyday I get my eyes full of gorgeous views of the Flatirons, and my lungs full of fresh air, while riding my bike to work on the safe network of wooded bike paths. But I can also enjoy quality sushi, first-rate cocktails, easy-to-find vegetarian food, and tours of charming historic hotels. The photo at right is from the NCAR website. It's completely impossible to do photographic justice to the setting of the lab, on top of a mesa and in front of the Flatirons, but their photographers got closer than I can.

This past weekend, Coley came to visit. We enjoyed the bars and restaurants at the vibrant Pearl Street pedestrian mall, a brick walkway where there's always something going on. In fact, usually, many things are going on there at once. In one weekend, we saw a street performer who can tell you the tiny bumpkin town you come from if you just give him the zip code (in foreign countries, too!), a Beatles cover band, live break-dancers, and young children climbing all over animal statues and playing in the water fountains. And that's just a fraction of the non-stop action that goes on there on any given summer day.

Coley and I also took a scenic drive up into the mountains. In just 45 minutes, we climbed almost 4,000 ft. up to the town of Ward (Coley's last name-- and soon to be mine!). We took the Prius up the mountain to get to this town, whose population was recorded as 169 in the year 2000 census. But there was no shortage of hardcore Coloradans biking from Boulder, to reach the 2 general stores and myriad lovingly- made junk sculptures that comprise this town. From Ward, we oogled the snowcaps on neighboring mountain tops for 20 minutes as we wound along the scenic peak-to-peak highway to Nederland. Nederland is another small mountain town, but at least this one had a video rental store, a couple restaraunts, and a supermarket. After exploring the reservoir there, we headed back to Boulder in half an hour through Boulder Canyon, following alongside the river that had carved out our path.

So there's no shortage of quiet boondocks and natural beauty around here, and also no shortage of social city fun. The only complaint anyone seems to have about Boulder this time of year is the heat-- but you won't hear any moaning from this Tucsonan!