Dawn Tieken

I took a trip up to Frisco, CO on Tuesday evening to see some friends who were visiting from out of state.

There was quite a difference in weather from Denver at 5,000 feet east and Frisco, at 10,000 feet west... despite that it's only an hour and a half drive.

In Denver I was wrapped in sunlight, driving with the windows down and music turned up. It was a nice, balmy 63 degrees. Quite enjoyable. Once I hit I-70, I realized that driving without heat on was probably not the most plausible idea and further up the mountain, I was happy I added some windshield wiper fluid before I left.

When I arrived, the sun had set and I didn't get a good look at the place but the following morning, wow!!! I walked out on the patio, filled with wood for the log fire and saw the gorgeous snow-capped hills with white stuff piling up at my feet.

I hadn't skied in over 10 years, but I thought I'd give it a try. The Colorado mountains are certainly different than the wimpy little hills I took back home in Wisconsin when I was in 8th grade! It was absolutely beautiful!

I did take a realitively "big" wipe out on our last run, but other than that it was an awesome time! If you can stand the biting cold, and the whipping winds-- you're in for a treat! The price was also pretty friendly, but I'm not sure if it changes on the weekends.

In the past year, I think I've not lived up to Colorado's full potential... Going skiing is kind of the "Colorado" thing to do, so I'm glad I finally had the guts to conquer it-- even if it did leave me a little bruised afterwords!

Written by Elizabeth Bestul

While living in Highlands Ranch, you may experience on of Colorado's warm/mild, or cold/snowy winters... or perhaps a mixture of both-- which makes every flip-flopping day an adventure with parents and children.

Here are some ideas to keep your children active, and you sane! ;)

Highlands Ranch Community Association has a number of pools at their recreation centers. EastRidge and SouthRidge both have leisure indoor pools complete with slides! So stop fantasizing of summer, and get out in the water with your kids! Pools are obviously indoors, and heated!
http://www.hrcaonline.org

Douglas County has an awesome library system and you can always find a time for you and your child at story time! Pick a time that's age appropriate for your young children, or even school age kids at one of Douglas Counties libraries! it's always fun to spend time with them and while they're getting stimulated socially, by those their own age... PERFECT! If you have older kids, Douglas County offers creative writing classes for kids in 1st-6th grade and even a teen class is offered!
http://www.douglascountylibraries.org

If you've got young ones, Monkey Bizness is for those eager to walk, run or crawl with kids of a similar age. Adults are free, and it's $5 for those crawlers under a year old and only $7.50 for those over a year! Kids get a work out, create friends, and you can sit back, relax (the ground is awfully cushy,) let them run while you make friends and network with parents doing the same!

80% of homes in Highlands Ranch are located only a quarter mile away from Highlands Ranch city parks. With 70 miles of trails roaming through the city on a couple thousand acres of land, conveniently located in, well, what is basically your back yard-- there is plenty of wildlife and and new places to explore!

During the day, Chuck E Cheeses is extremely lonely. Located just off 470 and Quebec (there are locations in Aurora, Englewood and Denver too!) it's convenient to the Highlands Ranch area. You might think it's expensive, but it's relatively inexpensive if you have the resources! If you go to http://www.chuckecheese.com/ and sign up, you receive coupons each month-- often better than those in the Newspaper... leaving you pay less than $5 a person for a family of 4. You don't need to purchase food either! Let your kids run and work off some of that active energy, or climb in the tubes. Fun, and fairly inexpensive!

If you're thinking about taking your toddler(s) to the mall. Park Meadows offers a free "play" place for the youngsters.

If you prefer to look outside the area, you can find places like The Denver Zoo (http://www.denverzoo.org) or The Butterfly Pavilion (http://www.butterflies.org) and the many museums of Denver- Art, Fire Fighters, Nature and Science, Rail Road Museum and so many others! Don't be afraid to do a little research! Highlands Ranch and South Denver Metro, has so much to offer for you, your children and family fun!

A couple weeks ago I read an article on a woman, here in Colorado, who won a million dollar home by purchasing a $50 raffle ticket.

The 6,000 sq foot home, located in Maryland, was recently renovated with hundreds and thousands of dollars in top of the line appliances and the works. When the economy started to take a turn for the worst, the owners tried to know avail to sell their dream home... that's when the owner came up with the idea of a raffle.

Unfortunately though, they didn't sell as many tickets as they would have liked and made less than $20,000 on the deal... but one Idaho Springs woman found herself owning the home of her dreams on the other coast.

Moral of the story?

If you're thinking about selling lottery tickets to sell your home-- see me first. It obviously doesn't pay off, and I am 100% certain I can get you more and off your hands quicker than you might expect.

Oh! and if you're looking to win a home in a raffle lottery, don't forget you have to pay the taxes and the home will be YOURS.

Welcome to Denver!

To learn more about Denver and to discover the BEST community for you - contact Dawn Tieken, Prestige Real Estate, 720-339-8977 - dawn@milehighagent.com