Colorado Springs was not the showcase of the Democratic National Convention, but our near neighbor to the north, Denver, got some nice coverage out of the deal. Mile High is about 1 hour from here, and it is nice knowing that the Denver Broncos NFL football, Avalanche NHL Hockey, Colorado Rockies MLB baseball, and Nuggets NBA teams are all so close, and play in some really world class venues. Whatever your politics, it is fun to have some sports teams to root for.

Speaking of sports, the quintessential Colorado sport, skiing / snowboarding, celebrates a major pre-season milestone this weekend, with the major equipment and pass sales beginning. Lift tickets at most resorts are in the $85 range for one off visits, and season passes or 4 packs are the best way for Colorado residents to beat the high cost of riding. We'll probably go with 4 packs to Copper Mountain this year ($119 for 4 visits), as gas prices and slow real estate sales will be putting a crimp on our families style. Normally a season pass for unlimited riding is $399.

We got a chance to check out the new emergency at Memorial Hospital North last night. My wife apparently hurt herself at the YMCA in a workout, and it flaired up badly on her late last night, so we drove the 1/2 mile to the ER (we could have walked, but she really was not feeling too good :-) It is a beautiful place, and before I even got the car parked in the nearby lot, she was already being treated. If you have to spend the night at the ER, this is the place to do it!

We finally got a foreclosure property under contract yesterday. It took a full week, 3 or 4 rounds of back and forth negotiating, but I think the house will be a good one for this client, and it is by the cleanest foreclosure I've ever shown, with very little that needs doing.

We also had a closing delayed for a day as a result of miscommunication between lender and buyer (not my buyer or a lender I would normally use :-) This could get interesting for the buyer, as he is scheduled to deploy to Iraq next week, and needs to be moving in this weekend. The processing department of your lender can make all the difference between a good purchase experience and a bad one, hopefully this will end up as just a minor inconvenience for the buyer and seller, but it is was another object lesson in using the best lender possible for your loan. I use Dana Hines at Adams Bank for this very reason, she never has these kinds of glitches.

Today's photo is from the top of Copper Mountain this spring, we really enjoy taking the lift up and hiking down, and was the view looking back toward Frisco from Copper.