Springtime in the Rockies

Springtime in the Rockies is not for the faint of heart. A week in May might be a combination of days with 34 degrees and several inches of snow, followed by a 72° day of glorious sunshine and breathtakingly beautiful blue skies only to be displaced with a dump of 5- 7 inches of more snow. Typically the end of the week may bring us all back to basking in 80° sunshine by mid-afternoon, and leaving us guessing as to what the next week will bring.

You never know. Between the 32° days and the 80° temperatures people often forget how to drive. Spring must be the best season for the towing industry, especially in the mid united states like Colorado springs towing or tow truck St Louis. With so many lowlanders moving into Colorado who are accustom to Spring arriving and actually staying, they end up slipping and sliding into trouble. It’s not unusual to see cars in the ditch or off onto the median waiting for a tow truck to show up.

Commonly, above 6,000 feet in altitude is where the snow begins to stick in a Spring storm. Newbie drivers to Colorado tool along as if in denial as huge flakes hit the roadways. Depending on the altitude, you really aren’t out of the woods until mid June. So don’t take the chains out of the trunk just yet.

I’ve lived between 7,000 and 9,000 ft. in the foothills west of Denver for many years. I still get greener than the budding leaves on a Boxwood Bush with envy when I see pictures of gardens popping up not cradled in snow. I admit that waking up and having to shake the snow off the tender limbs of a young Aspen on Memorial Day gives me the shivers inside and out. There are parts of the country like Washington D.C., with the pink Cherry Blossoms bursting forth lining the arcades that make me long for the sweet elusive days of Spring.

So when living in Colorado year round, May is the best time of year to leave for vacation. I learned this long ago; resistance is futile. Most years I plan 2 weeks back in the Midwest to visit family and friends. Ohio is green, and couldn’t be more the epitome of what I think Spring was meant to be in May. Growing up in the burbs of Akron I was barefoot as soon as the tulips poked through the soil. The indigenous trees are full and green while our Colorado poplars and pines are still sleepy and barely awake.

Another favorite get-away for me is driving south to Santa Fe. It’s still in the mountains, which I love, but 10-20° degrees warmer. With cool evenings and 75° days, May gracefully ushers in Summer without the high altitude snow. Springtime is warm and the evenings lend themselves to a light sweater. An abundance of blooming plants greet each day with unbound ecstasy and the high desert is poised for June, July and August’s intensity.

I imaging everywhere has it’s “best” season. Of course, best is subjective. With so many individual preferences and desires, it’s satisfying that there is no lack of places to choose from. Personally, I wouldn’t trade Colorado as home base despite its unwavering Spring weather unpredictability. The most outstanding part of it all – variety abounds, and the world has enough diversity to satisfy any and all proclivities. I hope you’re living exactly where you want to be – at least most of the time.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go focus on blowing the snow of the crocus and catch a plane (wish me luck getting there in one piece!)