365 Days in Aspen

“Are You a Local?”

2016-09-05 13.09.282016-09-05 13.05.56Admittedly, I walk around with stars in my eyes, still entralled with the environment here. The quesion is – is this the honeymoon phase, or is it everlasting love? 

Yesterday a couple asked me, "Are you a local?" The question – and my answer – "yes" – made me smile, both inwardly and outwardly as well.

Aspen in fascinating in that it's a unique (and ideal) blend of tourists, part-timers and locals. The tourists keep things dynamic, offering new opportunities to meet someone new and interesting. Their "go for it" mentality perpetuates them to live life to the fullest while they're here, to savor each moment as voraciously as they partake in the local cuisine. 

The part-timers I've met choose Aspen as their home for the summers. It's an ideal escape from the heat in other parts of the country. In Atlanta it would get too hot to do things outside, while here you can enjoy the outdoors a LOT more. 

Yet it's the locals that interest me the most. So many people I meet have lived here for decades. They're not among the "rich and famous." They just love living here and will do whatever they can to continue. The stars are still in their eyes. Some have their own businesses, some taking whatever jobs they can get, and some are firmly integrated into the community, working for the city or local businesses, schools or hospitals. 

I have yet to meet anyone who's grown up here. I look forward to that. To find out how it feels to attend the schools in the pictures above. To look out and be surrounded by the beckoning ski slopes and hiking trails.