Why not Niwot?

What in the world could the title of this blog mean?! ? Well, we should start at the beginning. It's a rainy weather day, so we have proclaimed it to be a stay-home-and-get-things-done day. Denisa worked on those Alaska blogs that are driving her crazy, because this might be the last good internet we have for a while. Mark went shopping because this might be the last big retail area we are in for a while. He bought a camera to replace the one that died while we were in Alaska. He got a good deal on one just like our old one. It was out of the box with no cable, no strap, no battery, and no charger. But we had all those things, and just needed the camera. Good find, Mark!

We are also having problems with our five-year-old lap top computer. So Mark spent a couple days researching a possible replacement. By the end of the day we were at the Apple Store in Boulder, picking up a Mac Book Air. Now he has to set it up and learn how to use it so he can teach Denisa. Hopefully he can get all that done before our old lap top dies. Mark has already resuscitated it several times.

We wanted to visit this Boulder area, because we had heard of the Flatiron Mountains and how popular this town is for tourists. We have to say that we loved the mountains, but we didn't care for the town. We didn't like the vibe, and we witnessed several things that made us uncomfortable. We saw people in the park smoking funny-smelling little cigarettes, we saw guys dressed as women, we witnessed a confrontation with the homeless in another park, and a group making obscene gestures at a police officer hoping to get a negative response. While the downtown was pretty, we saw too many liberal leanings and disrespectful actions that made us uncomfortable. 

So on our way home from what will be our last trip to Boulder, we decided to stop in at the tiny town of Niwot. Their one-block Main Street proclaims that they are "Vintage Colorado." That seems a little more our style.

We walked to the park to see that they had a talented carver transform old tree stumps into works of art.

Denisa loved the hollyhocks blooming in front of the ice cream shoppe. They are a good vintage flower, since she remembers the ones that always bloomed at her grandparents' old well house on the farm.

But the best part of downtown Niwot was the baby grand piano that was turned into a flower garden.

As the sun was setting, it made a nice picture with the baby grand and its American flags. It looks like Niwot still has a sense of national patriotism, and we like that.

What a sweet little town! We had tried to love Boulder, but we just couldn't. Now unexpectedly we found this little-known town that was easy to love. They had signs in town that asked the piercing question, "Why not Niwot?" We saw people carrying folding chairs and hurrying down a shady street. Now is that music we hear? We followed the sounds to see a gathering they have every Thursday night--"Rock and Rails."

The railroad runs right beside the park, and the old caboose announces that this is the vintage Niwot stop.

A very good band was playing tunes from the gazebo, and we were dancing in the street until after dark. What a great way to end a rainy weather day when we stayed home to get things done! While we decided that the city of Boulder is a "no" for us, we'll say that Niwot is definitely a "Why Not?!?"