Outgoing Exchange to Northern Colorado

The Big Canoe/North Georgia Friendship Force packed their bags again for a return visit to the Northern Colorado Club, which we had hosted two years ago.We were joined by two members from Wales and three from Alabama, for a total of 20 ambassadors.

We arrived in Denver on September 10th from several directions, and journeyed to Loveland, Fort Collins, and Greeley to be hosted in Members' homes in the three cities. You might think we would have a travel day to get acquainted with our new friends, and their homes, families, and neighborhoods, but we took off running to enjoy an Italian Welcome Dinner and cocktail hour with the Northern Colorado Members and friends in Loveland, 20 of us, and about 40 of them. You guessed it - conversation, jokes, introductions, and just plain fun!

The weather was sunny and gorgeous, neither hot nor cold, but refreshingly dry and comfortable. Loveland ("Where the beauty of the mountains meets the bounty of the plains") is an appropriate name for the very beautiful, artsy city!

Tuesday was a full day of art appreciation. We began the morning with a tour of the Bronze Services Foundry. Loveland is home to an outdoor sculpture invitational show and sale every year that attracts over 500 sculptors. An Art in Public Places ordinance designates a tax for the purchase of art for public display. The tour was followed by a visit to Dan Ostermiller Studio, a famous artist known for his detail in sculpting wildlife. He is one of the few artists who are able to make a living through his art. Lunch was followed by a trip to the beautiful Benson Sculpture Park. Three hundred bronze sculptures adorn Loveland, and many of those can be visited in the beautiful park.

Wednesday was another tour day, in Fort Collins. We were told to drink plenty of liquids, so we set off for a tour of the Anheuser Busch Brewery, followed by a sampling of some very different brewskies. Lunch (we couldn't miss a meal!) was another group delight as we mixed and mingled with our new friends at Pappy's Restaurant. A whimsical zoo was our afternoon destination - not a live animal in residence at Swetsville Zoo, but "sculpture" designed from old farm machinery to resemble dinosaurs and other wildlife - a creative genius!

"Gateway to the Rockies" is another Loveland nomenclature, as we discovered Thursday, passing through Big Thompson Canyon, site of a memorable flood in 1976 that killed over 100 unsuspecting people, some of them campers leaving the Rockies for home on a Sunday afternoon. In Estes Park we were treated to a Historic Ghost Tour of the Stanley Hotel, famous for inspiring Stephen King's novel The Shining. We then traveled by car on Trail Ridge Road to view the beautiful Rockies and see the first herds of bugling elk readying for their annual mating ritual. We were lucky to enjoy a beautiful sunny day on this iffy road, all vestiges of snow from the beginning of the week having melted. Lunch was a high-altitude picnic in this beautiful national park.

We barely made it back "home" to enjoy a small group dinner reminiscent of Thanksgiving (we feasted on turkey and fixings, and pumpkin pie) and prepared by the Exchange Director of the Northern Colorado Club for those people staying nearby in Loveland - we were very thankful and blessed by such a hardworking, friendly Club!

Since Friday was a free day, the agendas were very different for the group members. I had a chance to visit a church, go antiquing, meet my host's grandchildren at a bank appreciation day (we ate hotdogs in the parking lot while my host's son checked on the activities at his workplace, the bank, on his day off), sip drinks on the deck at home, play Scrabble, and look at family pictures.

The Farewell Potluck Dinner that night in the town of Windsor was packed. The Exchange Directors of both Clubs spoke and exchanged gifts between the Clubs, and then everyone in attendance was introduced. The after-dinner speaker was an amazing young lady from Iraq now doing graduate work in Colorado. Four days after her wedding in Iraq, she and her husband were blown up from an IUD, killing her husband and severely wounding herself (she is a paraplegic, confined to a wheelchair). Rotary International flew her to the U.S. where she has recovered and learned English. Because of the U.S. intervention, reunion with her family is extremely dangerous for herself and her family. There are more opportunities for her in the U.S. due to her disability, so she is working hard to make a new life in this country.

We flew back Saturday, but we will not forget our new friends! By the way, my host collects vinegar cruets, so if you know of an antique store that has one, please let me know.

Mary Ellen Johnson