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jfink
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- Conroe, Tx
- First Name
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- Last Name
- Fink
LoL, I expect there may be a few drop-ins from time to time. No pool house, but there's a guest bedroom almost as big as the master bathroom in the house we're selling.
Help me out - what's a west sloper? Gotta learn all the new lingo.
Fortunately, we've been visiting Colorado for some 40 years now. We've had relatives in Aurora, still have a relative in Littleton, and I even have an old high school buddy from my brat days in Munich who lives a few miles away - and he has a VStrom! Anyway, we know the state's geography pretty well, and we don't pronounce Ouray or Buena Vista like the tourists do; to the locals, it's YOU-ray and BEU-na Vista.
Our across-the-street neighbors told us 4 years ago that, when Centennial was incorporated, they picked the name because it was about the time of the state's centennial, although I haven't been able to confirm that from official sources. Frankly, given the time frame, I suspect it might have had something to do with James Michener's book, "Centennial," which was about a fictional town in roughly that area of Colorado. But hey, that's just me...
Oh, the Jeep and the Honda are both AWD. And I've driven in Colorado snow, Texas ice, German blizzards, and Kansas City -- well, whatever that white stuff is there. Plus, being retired, I have no problems just waiting for the snow to melt. In the Denver area, that usually doesn't take long.
90% of the population in Colorado live east of the continental divide, the rest are "west slopers". I lived in Glenwood Springs for seven years, but I have to begrudgingly admit that I am an east sloper. It was also a liberal vs conservative thing. Votes on water use rights would always favor east slope, check out Moffat Water Tunnel. There have been votes to enlarge and improve through the years, that always passed. To read about it, the tunnel has been an amazing success, but the victors always write the history.
Colorado's nickname is "The Centennial State", so it makes sense to have a city named Centennial. I think the nickname happened before Michener's book? When I lived there, it was an Englewood address. I remember that it was quite a political football when they incorporated into Centennial. I think some of the old fogies may still be in denial. At one time just south a little bit there was an unincorporated town called Beverly Hills, now it's called Castle Pines. I suspect Beverly Hills was a little too redneck. My mothers name was Beverly, so that exit sign (not there now) would always bring a little smile.
Given your experience, I am sure you will have no problem navigating. But, what I remember is it was like bumper cars on the first snow of every year. People drove like they had never been on snowy/icy roads before. Given the transplants, may be they hadn't? After everyone got their "snow legs" it got better. If you can find yourself a coffee shop at a light with a slope, it can be entertaining.
I don't know if your Jeep is a short wheel base or long wheel base, but if it is the short wheel base, be careful on the highway when it's icy. Those things swap ends faster than a wet bar of soap in a bathtub. Let's see ... contacts ... contacts ... ah, yes there it is ... Tim Shefler ... Centennial
Next time I am up, I will drop you a note.
