The zone forecast, from the National Weather Service, was for the Denver/Boulder area to get heavy snow on Thursday Night and Friday and then a second round of snow on Friday Night into Sunday.  I figured Boulder would receive more snow than Denver so made reservations at a hotel in the downtown area of that city.  I was surprised by the size of Boulder.  I thought it would be a much larger city.  I was impressed with it none-the-less.  It seems like a great place to live.  Scenic, with beautiful hills and mountains to the west.  I even had some camera problems on Thursday Morning and was able to find a nice camera store near the hotel.  Everyone was helpful and nice.  So Boulder gets an A+ for hospitality!

My thoughts on Boulder was that they would have a nice wet snow that might accumulate to 8 inches or more.  That forecast worked out nicely.  Parts of the city received 14"+ of heavy, white, frozen, pasty snow!  BEAUTIFUL to say the least.  Make sure you check out the photographs in the gallery.  I can only dream of events like this back home. 

Friday, December 29th

Needless to say the experience in Boulder was amazing.  Waking in the morning brought an INCREDIBLE site.  Something that was akin to a Hollywood Movie.  Spectacular scenes of snow covered trees, automobiles, signs, houses, and everything in between.  I have witnessed a lot of nice snowstorms in my lifetime but this event definitely ranks as the number one wet snow event.  Well worth the trip to Colorado.

Unfortunately this is where the chase takes a turn...and not a good turn.  We made attempts to travel east from the Denver area.  The roads were closed across almost all of Eastern Colorado.  Even though the snow had ended and the roads seemed to be okay...it didn't matter.  Closed is closed.  We waited for a number of hours - hoping - that they would open again.  They did not.  We made some attempt to travel south and then east but that didn't work out either.  I should have listened to the advice of some of the online weather community when they tried to warn me about sticking to one area.  If I had to do it over again I guess I would have traveled to Eastern Colorado on Thursday...before the heavy snow fell.  I would have missed the big Boulder wet snow event...had I done that.  So thus is life!  I can't say that I left disappointed.  I ended up going snowmobiling 1 2 3 (check out the view) in the Evergreen Region of Colorado.  This area had received over 20 inches of snow from the system that moved through the Denver/Boulder area. Absolutely BEAUTIFUL area and here (be sure and click on the links for a photos I took of that area).  If you ever get a chance to visit then make sure you travel the Squaw Pass Road.1 2  This road will take you through the mountains and into Idaho Springs.  Breathtaking scenery.  Make sure you get gas though before you head into the hills...ummm someone forgot to fill the SUV up before we headed out.  I won't mention names but if I looked in the mirror I would see the guy.  :)  Also check out Idaho Springs and if you love to snowmobile then check out the Winter Park area.  We traveled there on Saturday.  Unfortunately this area was hit by an avalanche a few days after we left.  A number of cars were trapped under the snow on the same road we traveled.  Thankfully nobody was killed.  There are some extremely steep banks in that region and when they are covered with snow it makes it a bit dangerous.  There were several small avalanches while we were in the area.  Something to keep in mind if you are adventuresome.