Spring comes a bit later in the Rockies than in many other places. Although we had a mile winter, with not a lot of snow, still it is only in the last week or so that areas above 9000' or so have begun to green up. Here at 10,000' altitude, we had warm weather (up into the mid-60s and even the low 70s) for a few days several times in April. Then came yesterday's cold front: mid to high 30s, and snow! I took this picture early yesterday morning, when we had about 2" on the ground:

By this morning the snow had finally stopped, but we were looking at a 5" blanket of white. Just now, at 4:30pm, it is mostly gone. The dirt roads are muddy, but will firm up overnight, and life goes on.

Most of us here are grateful for the snow, since we didn't get much during the "normal" winter months. When things get too dry, wildfire is always a possibility. There haven't been any large wildfires here in South Park in recent years, although there have been in other parts of the state. Restaurants and other businesses that benefit from tourist traffic are moving from curtailed winter hours to staying open more days of the week. We're already seeing more visitors and more out of state traffic. When we get to thinking it's too much, though, a trip down to the Front Range will remind us quickly that greatly reduced traffic is one of many reasons we choose to live here!