Springtime in the Rockies

The first thing you need to know about Boulder, Colorado, is that it is prettier in person. From the University of Colorado to the quaint residential districts to the mountains that loom in the west, it is as pretty as a postcard and as inviting as a Rocky Mountain stream.



I visited the town this weekend because it is the primary setting for Caitlin's Song, the fourth novel in the Carson Chronicles series. As with Wallace, Idaho, in 2013; Galveston, Texas, in 2014; Princeton, New Jersey, in 2015; Evansville, Indiana, and Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 2016; Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in 2017; and Sedona, Arizona, in 2018, I wanted to get a firsthand look at a place I was writing about.



I'm glad I did. Nestled at the base of the Front Range on the edge of the Denver metro area, Boulder is a community that comes as advertised.

I visited CU first, of course. I suspected that the university would be alive on the Friday before spring commencement -- and it was. From the Norlin Quadrangle and the Hill to the University Memorial Center and a buffalo-shaped outdoor swimming pool, the sprawling 786-acre campus was a happening place.

Then there was the city itself. Like a lot of college towns, Boulder is cultural gem, complete with dozens of museums, libraries, parks, restaurants, and entertainment venues -- including more than a few aimed at the college crowd. It is even more appealing in the spring, when flowers and trees begin to bloom, hillsides turn green, and residents and tourists, particularly those in the historic Pearl Street walking mall, are at their festive best. If I learned anything about Boulder on my three-day visit, it was that this is a town that knows how to have fun. Even the municipal bus system, with routes called Hop, Skip, and Jump, projects community spirit.



For me, though, the highlight was visiting venues mentioned in Caitlin's Song, including the stone bridge at Varsity Lake, the student union ballroom, the quadrangles, Baseline Road, and Chautauqua Park, a green space in the shadow of the Flatirons and Flagstaff Mountain. Though these sites have changed since 1962, when the book is set, I could easily imagine what they were like almost sixty years ago.



Readers will have a similar opportunity this week. Caitlin's Song, my fourteenth novel, will be officially released on Tuesday.

(Photos from top to bottom: Economics building and museum, University of Colorado; Stone arch bridge at Varsity Lake; Norlin Quadrangle; Chautauqua Park and the Flatirons; Broadway and the Flatirons.)