I just moved (back) to Colorado this week and I have been exploring my new neighborhood by walking. One of the nice things about Colorado is that the sun shines a lot, even in the winter, so taking a walk in the afternoon is a great way to get a bit of exercise, since my job as a programmer has me sitting most of the day. I am fortunate to have a flexible work-from-home schedule which allows this as well.
While I like walking, I often find that I am more likely to do it if I have a particular goal or destination in mind. I have discovered that the nearest grocery store is about a 20-25 minute walk for me, if I walk briskly. It depends a bit on the route I take. If I take the shortest route next to the big road, and the lights all happen to be green (or more precisely, I don’t have to wait long after pressing the button for the crosswalk), I can do it in 20 minutes. It is also mostly downhill on the way there. On the way back, I frequently take the longer route through a neighborhood, which is more pleasant, but takes about 30-35 minutes. I likely also walk more slowly uphill. There is a very nice park which has great views of the sunset on some days.
I also passed many prairie dogs on my route one day this week. They were much more difficult to photograph. As I tried to photograph one, he quickly ducked into his hole. Unfortunately I don’t have my good camera with me, so I am unlikely to get any good photos of prairie dogs anytime soon. Still, it is cool to see them. They make an interesting cheeping sound. I lived in Colorado before, but I had never noticed them.
