>>>>>>Agreed on the SCOTUS.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Lately the best weekends are the ones with absolutely no tv, no cell phone, and no computer. They are becoming more frequent as I get older. The best week to 10 days of the year as far as detachment are the ones I spend in a wilderness area in Colorado every fall hunting. we pack in what we can carry. If I could I would relish a move to wilderness Alaska or Montana (if the wife would go for it) and come to town once a month if that much.
>>>>>
>>>>>I would highly recommend Alaska. Montana has nothing going for it. Nada. Zilch. :)
>>>>
>>>>Oh, come on, Bruce -- not even the scenery? You know more about it than I do but the pictures I have seen were spectacular.
>>>>
>>>>Here is a site I just googled ---
>>>>
>>>>http://www.bigskyfishing.com/Photo-Gallery/photo_gallery.htm
>>>
>>>That was meant to be tongue in cheek. Much of Montana's charm derives from the lack of people here. We're the 4th largest state in area but 44th in population, still less than 1 million. Whenever people mention moving to Montana I usually remark on the looooong, coooold winters. It is usually enough to make them think twice. During the real estate boom, there was a large influx from California because house prices were cheap here (comparitively). The local joke was that they (the Californians) typically lasted 15 months, long enough to enjoy 2 summers and 1 long winter.
>>>
>>>Here is a website put together by a friend of mine
>>>
>>>http://www.montanapictures.net/
>>
>>Then they all headed to the western slope of Colorado. Now, there is no land left to buy and anything for sale is too expensive for anyone but the transplants to buy.
>>
>>However, there is nothing more dangerous than a Texan in Colorado during the hunting season! (Having been shot at by a few years ago)
>
>My first job (in geology) was as a mine geologist at a small mine in Silverton. When the Sunnyside mine closed in the early 80s, I thought the town would dry up and blow away. It only survived because it was the only town in San Juan county and the county seat. Based on your remarks, I just looked at real estate prices in Silverton. Wow, they've gone up a little since I lived there. I always really enjoyed the geographical diversity of that four corners area.

I love that area. Silverton and the San Juans are my favorite. Ouray has turned into a little tourist town. My parents had a cabin in Pagosa Springs when I was a teen. The area though that had the greatest influx of celebrities and Californians is actually the Grand Junction area believe it or not. A few well-known folks (you can meet them all on Main St) bought up huge plots (100-1000+ acres) and put a single house on it. I guess they just wanted their 'space.' :o) Hotchkiss and Gunnison are terrible now too.