Sunday, September 27, 2026

YMCA of the Rockies Snow Mountain Ranch, Part One




Whenever we head west on Interstate 70 and we reach a hill near Genesee, I see this view of the Rocky Mountains ahead, and I feel excitement, as I know we are off on another Colorado adventure! 

I received an email in September with an offer from the YMCA of the Rockies in Snow Mountain Ranch in Grand County offering a half-price sale for a lodge room which was available for a short period of time. My husband and I had heard that fall color was early this year at high elevation, and we decided to take advantage of the offer.

In the past, we've stayed at the YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park, located very close to the eastern entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park, and we know that their accommodations are clean, quiet, and full of family-style amenities. 
You can see the blog posts I wrote about the Estes Park YMCA of the Rockies location here and here.



As we continued driving west on I-70, we passed the large and long construction project, costing $905 million, being carried out by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to eventually reroute the interstate at the Floyd Hill area. This project spans an eight-mile section of the I-70 Mountain Corridor, extending from west of Evergreen to eastern Idaho Springs. It aims to enhance traffic flow and safety in one of the busiest areas of the state, acting as a crucial economic gateway for Colorado and beyond. The project began in 2023 and is expected to continue through 2029.



We saw the first glimpse of Autumn color when we turned off I-70 onto CO Route 40!


 Fall has always been my favorite season, and seeing the beautiful Colorado aspen trees turn their golden colors is always a thrill for me!


Soon, we were driving over Berthoud Pass

Berthoud Pass was discovered in 1861 and named for the chief surveyor of the Colorado Central Railroad, Edward Berthoud. After surveying the spot, it was determined that the pass would work only for wagons and not for a railroad, and now cars navigate the road up and over the mountain.

Berthoud Pass is a well-maintained four-lane alternating highway — equipped with guardrails and other safety measures, but it can still be a "white knuckle" drive, as there are many steep grades and switchbacks on both sides.




The summit of Berthoud Pass sits at 11,307 feet (3,446 meters) and is part of the Continental Divide.



Finally, after an hour-and-a-half drive from our home, we arrived at the YMCA of the Rockies at Snow Mountain Ranch.  As you can see from the signs, there are many wonderful areas and buildings to explore and things to do. The ranch sits at an almost 8,700-foot (2,650 meters) elevation, so that is a consideration as far as weather and oxygen levels.





Upon check-in, we each received a green rubber wristband door key, which was convenient to wear while at the facility.



We stayed in the Indian Peaks Lodge.

It had two queen-size beds and a pull-out couch, and there was secure wifi available, but no TV, so we read books during our stay instead. 



Accommodations at YMCA Snow Mountain Ranch range from cabins, lodges, yurts, and camping sites, depending on the season.

During the winter season, it offers opportunities for cross-country skiing, Nordic races, a tubing hill, snowshoeing, and also downhill skiing at nearby Winter Park Resort.

 In almost all seasons, it offers an indoor climbing wall, an indoor heated swimming pool, roller skating, basketball, volleyball, ping-pong, and foosball, a craft center, meeting rooms, mini golf /disc golf, a pickleball court, hiking trails, a library, a zip line, and horseback riding. 
 Some activities may depend upon the season, staffing, and some require an extra fee.




A view of the back of our Indian Peaks Lodge.


We had a ground-floor room and often sat outside because the fall weather was still warm during our visit in September. We had magnificent views of the Rocky Mountains from our chairs! 
The morning and evening alpenglow was stunning; we were also thrilled to watch the clouds rise up from the mountains in the morning.


However, we did not sit all day! :)
Come back again to my next blog post to see some of the activities we did during our stay.

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Sunday, September 20, 2026

Remembrance of Captain Jason Dahl, Pilot of United Flight 93


Thank you to all who read and commented on my blog post about the sad 25th Anniversary of 9/11. 

We have so many memories of that horrific day, and the 25-year milestone was a poignant time of remembrance for us, and I'm sure for you. 

Also touching for us was learning 13 years ago that Jason Dahl, the pilot and captain of the doomed United Flight 93 plane brought down by brave passengers on 9/11 into a field in Pennsylvania before it could destroy another part of Washington, DC, was a resident who lived in our Colorado suburban Front Range neighborhood. 

Many of our friends knew Jason and told us what a wonderful person he was, as a neighbor, husband, father, and Boy Scout Leader.



After his tragic death on 9/11, our community erected a small memorial to Captain Dahl on our main street, just outside his neighborhood. It is a marble stone with a bronze eagle in flight. Over the years, neighbors have decorated it every 9/11 in remembrance, as you can see in the collage of photos I took.

A non-profit, the Jason Dahl Scholarship Foundation, was also established in his memory. It supports future generations of pilots, young people yearning to fly, through the award of Aviation Scholarships annually.





This year, on the 25th Anniversary of 9/11, there was a special remembrance ceremony held for Captain Dahl and all those who perished on 9/11, held at his memorial, generously sponsored by local businesses.

In attendance as speakers were neighbors who knew Captain Dahl as well as other members of our community, Police and Fire Color Guards, our local West Metro Fire Department, a Fire Department Ceremonial Bagpiper, some United Airlines pilots,  and two ladies who sang a variety of patriotic songs.


You can see the "Missing Man" flyover that occurred at the beginning of the Memorial program in this Youtube short video.



The bagpiper played a few songs, one of which was "Amazing Grace," which always brings a tear to my eyes.

You can also watch it as a short video on this YouTube link


A special memorial American Flag was folded by a Police Color Guard, and a Red, White, and Blue flower wreath was placed at Captain Dahl's Memorial.




The Color Guard also marched off with the United States of America Flag and Colorado State Flag at the end of the ceremony.



The ceremony ended with all of us singing "America the Beautiful."

It was a very honorable remembrance ceremony for Captain Dahl and all those who perished on 9/11.

May we always remember them...


... and may we also remember these words spoken after 9/11 by the late Mrs. Sandy Dahl:

"If we learn nothing else from this tragedy, we learn that life is short and there is no time for hate." -- Sandy Dahl



PS: We were away last week, "Leaf Peeping" the aspen trees in the Rocky Mountains turning their gorgeous golden fall color--join me again on my blog soon to see more!

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Sunday, September 6, 2026

25th Anniversary of 9-11 in New York City


 This is how I'll always remember the Twin Towers in New York City. 

This photo hangs in the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.

 When I saw this photo on a visit to this very emotionally touching museum, I had an immediate flashback to the last time I saw the towers in August of 2001, when I waited to meet my husband, who worked in 7 World Trade Center, located across the street from WTC Tower 1. I sat in the WTC promenade by the fountain, and I remember watching a window-washing crew at work up high on Tower 2. 

We had traveled all around Italy with our college-age children that past May, and I remember thinking how we traveled so far to see so much beauty in Italy, but then sometimes take for granted the marvels we see almost every day here at home in the USA.




The unidentified remains found in the rubble after the terrorist attack are located behind this wall inside the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. The New York City Medical Examiner's Office is still identifying remains as tests become more sophisticated.



This photo is of our children when they were young, standing inside the glass tunnel entrance to 7 World Trade Center from the WTC Promenade. My husband worked in that building from 1987 to 2001. WTC 7 collapsed at 5:20:52 p.m. on Sept. 11, 2001, after enduring fires for almost seven hours, from the time of the collapse of the north WTC tower.

We were all fortunate that day, as my husband was home preparing to leave for a business golf outing. Our daughter was home as she was attending NYU and did not live in the dorm that year, but drove to the college from our home in Brooklyn. Our son, who had graduated from college in Washington, D.C. that spring, stayed to work there at the time and lived a few blocks north of the White House. He was preparing to go to work when he heard the news that the WTC towers and the Pentagon were hit.


Part of the memorial for the 343 firefighters killed on 9/11 at the Ten House Firehouse, located on Liberty Street. My older brother was an FDNY lieutenant for almost 30 years and had retired a few years before 9/11. He knew many of the firemen who perished that day. 

I have written many blog posts about 9/11, as you can see by the tab on my blog's sidebar under "Labels." Some of them show the many memorials to the memory of 9/11 that we have seen all around the country. The latest one we saw was as part of the Counterterrorism Education Learning Lab we visited with friends last summer in Denver, Colorado. You can read about the purpose of this museum on their FAQ page.

They had a steel beam from the WTC on display as part of an exhibit.


When we moved from NYC to Colorado in 2013, we learned the pilot, Jason Dahl, from the third hijacked airplane on 9/11,  Flight 93, had lived in our neighborhood. 

His flight was the plane that the brave passengers brought down in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, to prevent further destruction in Washington DC.



This memorial was dedicated to his memory in the area where his home was located. 

In 2002, the Captain Jason Dahl Scholarship Fund was established to provide two deserving aviation students a scholarship grant in Jason’s name.

Our neighborhood all gathered on the 20th anniversary to remember and honor Captain Dahl, and we plan to do the same for this 25th Anniversary.

“If we learn nothing else from this tragedy, we learn
that life is short and there is no time for hate.”
~ Sandy Dahl, wife of Flight 93 pilot Jason Dahl


The 9/11 Memorial and Museum has a special 25th Anniversary Remembrance and Service page.

Is there a 9-11 Memorial where you live? I'd love to learn about it in your comments below.

To all our friends, neighbors, and work associates that we lost on 9-11...

We will never forget!


It is up to all of us to make the world a better place.
 Let us spread kindness and defeat hate!

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Sunday, August 30, 2026

It's Been a Bear Filled Summer!


 Colorado is home to black bears. Black bears are the largest carnivores in Colorado and sport a variety of coat colors; although they are called black bears, they can be honey-colored, blond, brown, cinnamon, or black.
Adult males weigh around 275 pounds. Females weigh about 175 pounds. Depending on the season, food supply, and gender, black bears may weigh anywhere from 100 to 450 pounds. Black bears measure about 3 feet high when on all four feet. They can be 5 feet tall when standing on their back legs.
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In late summer and fall, black bears enter hyperphagia, a natural phase when they can spend up to 20 hours a day searching for food as they build the fat reserves needed to survive the winter hibernation.

All the photos in the photo collage above are photos neighbors in my community have taken of bears in their yards this summer and shared on our community Facebook page!
 Sadly, because of the persistent drought and early spring bloom followed by a severe frost and multiple wildfires, much of the normal food--chokecherry and serviceberry berries, nuts, and insects--that the bears would normally find in the wild has been scarce this summer.


Part of our Colorado Front Range community development is nestled in a high-altitude valley (5,735 feet to 6,503 feet) abutting the foothills, where Colorado wildlife roams free. We are used to seeing many deer in our area and occasional mountain lions, raccoons, bobcats, coyotes, foxes, moose, and bears.


I lived most of my life in New York City; seeing so much wildlife has been both educational and exciting to me!
 I learned very early on, as you can read in this blog post, to look up into trees when on a hike, as often bears and mountain lions can be sitting in them!


Early this summer, a wildlife expert, Mark Surls, came to our community to do a talk about living close to wildlife, and offered information on how to safely coexist with them. 

We learned how not to have attractants around our home, no food or other odor attractants in our cars, and to always have our car doors locked and our garage doors closed. We were reminded not to have birdfeeders, pet food dishes, dirty barbecue grills, and accessible garbage cans.  We are instructed to keep our garbage cans in our garage and to take them out the morning of trash collection, especially when the bears are out of hibernation.  Most bears seen in residential areas near or within bear habitat do not cause any damage. If a bear doesn’t find abundant food, it will move on.


The bears definitely love a full garbage can,  and sadly there is a saying that "a fed bear is a dead bear." Our community has installed bear-proof garbage cans along our trails as a precaution.



Once a bear finds a food source, they will always return to it and become habituated to looking at humans as a food source.  Sadly, if this occurs, most of the time they have to be euthanized by Colorado Parks and Wildlife. This summer there were double the reports of bear activity, even in places like the city of Denver, which rarely sees bears!


We have not seen a bear in our yard this summer, but we know they have passed through, as we frequently find and have to clean up large piles of bear scat! I kept this photo small on purpose as it is definitely "ick"! If you want to see it larger, click on it.


Bears are not the only wildlife suffering from the unusual heat and drought. We have a bird bath in our front yard that we have had to refill many times a day. We have seen not only birds, but squirrels and deer drink from it, and I would not be surprised if an occasional bear also stopped by for a drink! 
The deer have eaten almost all our flowers and greenery this summer, even things that they have never eaten before, and it may be they are trying to get moisture or are also not finding their normal wild foods in the hills.


Another animal that has suffered from the drought in Colorado is the marmot.

A marmot is a cat-sized, furry ground squirrel that lives in burrows in North America, Europe, and Asia. The 15 or so species worldwide include groundhogs. In the Rocky Mountains, yellow-bellied marmots are plentiful. Hikers often spot these charismatic creatures perched on boulders.

Last winter, scant snowfall and warm temperatures deprived many Colorado marmots of an insulating blanket of snow over their burrows. Researchers believe their hibernation quarters got too chilly, causing many to sadly die of the cold.

Summer flowers at our Community Center

September begins in a few days, which means autumn-like weather should be occurring soon in Colorado, and the aspen trees will begin to change color. Fall is my favorite season, and after a very hot summer, I am looking forward to it! I'm hoping for a more normal winter with lots of snow too!

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