Family time in snowy Colorado

First stop after Costa Rica: Colorado, USA! Just one hour north of Denver lies the town of Fort Collins where my grandmother, aunt, uncles and cousins live, at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. They all moved there from Iowa as a family in the 1950s when my mother was a child. That's where I get my US mother tongue and citizenship. Both my US grandparents were born and raised on farms in the Iowa countryside, growing corn and soy beans.

Three years without seeing my grandmother was just too long and I decided to take an extra flight on my way to Bali and additional stop-over in Colorado. And I'm so glad I did! I got to:
- spend nice time with everyone of the family;
- go on a beautiful sunny afternoon hike up Poudre Canyon with my aunt and uncle through snow, ice and creeks;
- bake bread with Grandma;
- hang out with cousin Laura and Kyle;
- look at old pictures of childhood (mine and my grandmother's as well);
- listen to the brand new composition of my uncle Jason based on the 12 Chinese Zodiac signs, love it; (if you like contemporary classical music here is an extract of his 2009 Kleetüden)
- go to Denver;
- cook lots of vegetarian dishes;
- borrow my grandmother's warm winter clothes;
- ride with my Uncle Steve and sing along to great country singers like George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash and more;
- see my friend Christina in Denver who now has 3 baby girls including newborn twins;
- go to daily yoga classes at the really nice Meraki Yoga Studio nearby;
- spot a bald eagle on a morning walk around the block;
- eat delicious mexican food and vegetarian burgers;
- watch old Friends episodes with Grandma on the cosy living rooms chairs under a warm blanket with chocolate chips cookies. Sweet!
- and more

I ended up staying longer than planned, postponing my flight to Los Angeles so I have more time to enjoy here and to figure out what to do next considering all the changes. My flight from LA to Bali through Seoul is now changed due to the Corona virus spreading and South Korea now being on the list of top infected countries (about March 5th). I can't risk getting quarantined or denied entry arriving in Bali so need to rethink my route again. The flight through Hong Kong had already been cancelled a couple weeks ago. It takes a while to figure things out, reach Korean Air on the phone to finally get my flight cancelled and refunded, then book another one this time though Sydney. A few days later, it seems like I'm finally all set.

Approaching Denver, snow everywhere! Will be a big contrast from 30°C in Costa Rica to -9°C on arrival!

Blurry but we almost all have our eyes open and smile! 

Less blurry and with all the food

All bundled up for our hike up Poudre Canyon 

Warm meal after winter hike, was obviously not a vegan place but they did have many vegetarian options for me! Can't believe how big that buffalo is, and apparently they can be even bigger than this one.

Eating so many colorful vegetables

Bread-making time!

Shopping zero-waste bulk at the Co-op with cousin Laura for organic peanut butter and honey!

Treasure pictures - the oldest one shows my great-great Grandmother

It's just a common cold that I have but in these Coronavirus times barely starting in the US, better to protect others in case I cough - I'm off to Los Angeles

Leaving Denver - pretty city lights by night