Today is the opening day for Soapstone Prairie Natural Area and Red Mountain Open Space, located in Larimer County. This natural area first opened last year and now is ready for hikers, horseback riders and outdoor enthusiasts to come and enjoy its’ beauty and activities.

Even though Northern Colorado has been experiencing some snow, there are still trails open and areas to experience just make sure you dress warm. Zoe Whyman, spokeswoman for Fort Collins Natural Areas says there is some snow and ice covering areas and that some trails could be closed because of the winter conditions, but not because there’s snow on the ground.

If your deciding what to do this week and/or weekend, consider visiting the 18,728-acre Soapstone Prairie, owned and operated by the city of Fort Collins, and 15,000-acre Red Mountain Open Space. This is the first time the prairie has been opened in March, so take advantage of the early opening and spend some time with Mother Nature!

More about Soapstone Prairie

Soapstone Prairie Natural Area is an integral piece of the Laramie Foothills Mountains to Plains Project, a partnered conservation effort to create a corridor of protected lands, linking the mountains to the plains. These lands are home to many species of wildlife, such as pronghorn, elk, swift fox, burrowing owls and golden eagles, and rare and threatened plants. Funding for Laramie Foothills Mountains to Plains properties came from Fort Collins and Larimer County dedicated open space sales taxes, Great Outdoors Colorado, The Nature Conservancy, Legacy Land Trust and private landowners.

There is no doubt that December is one of the busiest months of the year. We love being busy, in fact, we wanted to share with you some things we are excited about.

We assisted Realities for Children on their annual Bikes for Tykes event this year by providing trailers and assisting them in picking up bikes for donors here in Fort Collins. We were so pleased to receive a large thank you poster with wonderful thank you messages all over it from some of the kids who received bikes. We are also excited about our donation move for a Habitat for Humanity family.

We also just completed a complicated large move from Windsor, CO to Texas. It was 25,000lbs of household goods including a pool table that had to be crated. We delivered them on a Sunday so they would not have to miss any work and delivered the entire highly insured load with no damage. Also, we recently assisted Lee Cord (A Group Realtor) and the Larimer Chorale with the receiving, delivery and storage of their new risers. We received a nice card from Lee Cord where he stated, “You have solved a problem for the Larimer Chorale, and you made the purchase of the riders possible for us, thanks again, we will continue to refer customers to Exodus”.

As you can see, December was a busy month for us! We look forward to a busy and successful 2010 and hope to do business with you!

At Exodus what matters most to us YOU! When we say YOU we really do mean you. You don’t have to be someone needing assistance in moving or help acquiring a storage unity, you are important to us because we are all a part of the same community.

We value our community in Northern Colorado more than a lot of moving companies you will find. Here at Exodus, we make the public our top priority in doing business. We also work hard to build and maintain a reputation that is admirable for the Northern Colorado community and we hope to live up to all the expectations that we have set for ourselves.

We also support locally owned businesses and events that are taking place in Northern Colorado and will do our best to help you out. Let us know how we can help spread the word about your business, organization, and charity by following us on Twitter @ExodusMoving.

Exodus often contributes to non-profit organizations by donating our white glove moving services. Now more than ever, we encourage you this Holiday Season to give back to your community. Wherever you are, whatever you do, you can help someone or something in such a small way that makes such a big difference!

Let’s put it this way, you scratch our back and we’ll scratch yours. Let’s work hand in hand this Holiday Season and even ring in the year 2010 by supporting local businesses, organization, charities.

“We can begin by doing small things at the local level, like planting community gardens or looking out for neighbors. That is how change takes place in living systems, not from above but from within, from many local actions occurring simultaneously”

                                                                                        – Grace Lee Boggs

We know that today is black Friday and you are supposed to be out shopping around for all the greatest deals in town, but we wanted to bring you a list of upcoming family events in the Northern Colorado area. There are so many exciting things going on that we think you would enjoy!

Old Town Ice Skating Rink, Fort Collins, CO (through January 31) Old Town Square Skating $2 Skate Rental $1

Garden of Lights, Fort Collins, CO (Dec 4-27) The Gardens on Spring Creek 970-416-2486

Sanra Claus Visit, Fot Collins, CO (through December 24) Old Town Square, FREE

Crafts and Food, Fort Collins,CO (November 27 only) Fort Collins Senior Center, 1200 Raintree Drive. General Admission $1 970-221-6644

Holiday Barn Boutique (November 29 only) Azizi Alpacas, 11640 Weld County Road 72, Eaton, CO.

Acoustic Eidolon (December 4 & 5) Rialto Theatre, 228 E. Fourth Street, Loveland, CO. Adults $18 Seniors/Students $14

Nutcracker with a Twist (ongoing) Lincoln Center, 417 W. Magnolia St, Fort Collins, CO. Adults $9 Seniors/children $7

Christmas in Berthoud City of Berthoud, CO. Chili dinner following parade

Holiday Wreath Decorating (December 5) 11am Bath and Garden Center and Nursery, 2000 E. Prospect Rd. Fort Collins, CO. $25

Kids Kristmas (December 5) Noon. Oldtown Square, Fort Collins, CO.

Family Festival (December 5) 1pm Front Range Village, 2720 Council Tree Ave

Since we’re based in Fort Collins, CO we know a thing or two about our neighbor city that is just down I-25 from us. If you’re moving to Denver, or are considering moving to Denver, here are a few things to help and a few things to do while you’re there.

Planted at the base of the Rocky Mountains, one mile high in the Colorado sky, Denver’s access to the good life can’t be denied. According to The Denver Office of Economic Development (OED), Metro Denver has a population of 2.7 million people, with a growth rate that has consistently outpaced the national rate every decade since the 1930s.

You’ll find that Denver is growing, and is also a very active city. With the mountains, hiking trails, bike trails, rivers, lakes and sports arenas so close, it’s almost impossible not to get physical! And, with over 300 days of sunshine, it’s hard to sit inside and let a beautiful Denver day go to waste. Be ready to be outside!

Downtown Denver has a lot of amazing restaurants, night clubs and retail stores. With the mountains about 45 minutes away, you’ll find that you have a lot of options of things to do. It’s hard to get bored in this city. And, Fort Collins is about 40 miles north of the city, so make sure you come up and check out what we have to offer. Voted Best Place to Live by Money Magazine, you can’t go wrong in Fort Collins, CO.

If you need help with your move to Denver, please contact us  we’d be more than happy to help.

Moving to Denver? Here are a few helpful resources:

 http://www.denver.org/metro/moving

http://www.city-data.com/forum/denver/

Whether or not you live in Loveland, Colorado or you are just spending the day there, there is something unique that this city has to offer to all, Benson Sculpture Garden.   As you may know, Loveland has been described as the “sweet heart city with a love affair for the arts”. As art has become the backbone of this city’s tight knit community, the Loveland High Plains Arts Council has been the major source behind the progression of display for the arts, particularly sculpture. Due to the undeniable amount of attention and admiration for local sculptures artwork, a group of 5 sculptures envisioned an outdoor exhibition and sale as a unique environment for artists across the country to showcase their work as a way to generate funding for a sculpture garden. The garden located in Loveland, Colorado has illuminated its beauty and uniqueness since 1985 and continues to host its renowned event each summer known as Sculpture in the Park, where over 130 pieces of artwork are selected to be on display. The artists selected are asked to provide newly produced work so the park represents different styles to ensure the park maintains a unique flare. Benson Sculpture Park is a great place to take out of town guests or just a place to enjoy a nice stroll with your sweetheart, whatever the reason may be the park offers a natural, relaxed, unique environment for just about anyone to enjoy. So, while the sun is still out warming all the beautiful fall colors, we encourage you to check out this must see park in Loveland, Colorado.

Since it is Blog Action Day we wanted to contribute and talk about the importance of our planet, and let our readers in on some things we do here at Exodus that helps us tread more lightly on the earth.

At Exodus, we care about the environment and we hope that you do too. There are many things that individuals and businesses can do to make a difference. If we all did a little, it would make such a big impact. And that is one of the reasons behind Blog Action Day. Another is the importance of us bloggers having a voice and having the government and general public hear it. If we all join forces, we can make change happen.

Here are a few things we offer to our customers so we can have a small carbon footprint, and so can our customers!

• Recycled boxes
• For office moves, we use rolling crates versus boxes. They’re reusable and save the employee time packing
• A few of our trucks operate off of veggie oil
• We offer a lot of support to our community by helping several non-profits move
• We have crates available for residential moves, instead of using boxes
• We treat our employees as part of the family and take care of them (unlike many moving companies around)
• We support local businesses!

Think about what you can do within your home and office to make a difference and tread more lightly on the planet. Also, participate in Blog Action Day, especially if you have a blog, or ask someone if you could do a guest post for today!

When you relocate to a new place, a great way to meet people is by getting involved within the community. Find an organization to volunteer for, go to a benefit event, or go help build a house. There are several non-profits in the world that could use the extra hand or extra dollar.

At Exodus, we help out by donating our services through moving local organizations, and picking up items that have been donated at fundraisers and delivering them to their facilities. We have helped several organizations in Northern Colorado, such as Alternatives to Violence, Habitat for Humanity, Larimer Humane Society, Food Bank of Larimer County, United Way of Larimer County, Boy and Girls Club, Realities for Children, and the list goes on. To see a complete list please visit our Charities We Support page.

As a business, it is so important to give back to your community. Also, getting your entire office to volunteer at an event is a great employee morale booster and a fabulous way to have some company bonding time. Sometimes when you’re outside of the office is the times when you open up and really get to know your team.

One great place to find a local non-profit is through Volunteer Match.  They allow you to sign up for email alerts, search through a large database of organizations and give you the option to donate. Your local Chamber of Commerce is another great place to find organizations and events that are happening within your area.

Whether you are relocating your home or your office, participating with local non-profits and charities is a great way to meet people and contribute something positive back to the world.

The leaves are falling and the fireplaces are starting to be used which means Rocktober has finally made its way. It’s getting chilly outside but that does not mean there isn’t anything going on, in fact, we have provided a list of a few events that are happening this weekend in Northern Colorado.

Oct 3

Fort Collins Downtown Farmers Market . Don’t miss one of the last weekends of the Farmers Market to get your fresh organic locally grown produce and fruits!

Time: 8-12
Location: Larimer County Courthouse Parking Lot

An Epicurean Affair
Enjoy a VIP experience with a top local chef: tour the Farmer’s Market, learn how to combine what’s in season, and enjoy the results at a specially prepared dinner.
Call 970.419.8240 to buy tickets.

Adventures in Food

Time 11:00am-4:00pm
Location The Armory, 314 E. Mountain Ave.
FREE

Oct 4

BeetStreet Homegrown Challenge

Time 2:00-5:00PM
Location Lincoln Center, Fort Collins
Tickets $20 for over age 21, $15 for under age 21
Tickets at the door $25 for over age 21, $20 for under age 21
Tickets are now available at the Lincoln Center

David Lanz (Grammy Nominated Pianist) & Angelo Wells Local Fort Collins Pianist

When: Sunday October 4th at 2:00 pm. Post Concert Reception to Follow
Where: Edna Rizley Griffin Concert Hall
Tickets: $20.00 and can be purchased through the CSU box office or through Angelo Wells in person.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!!! Don’t forget to watch the Colorado Avalanche as they take on the Vancouver Canucks this Saturday at 1pm. The Rockies also kick off Rocktober with games against the LA Dodgers Friday, Saturday and Sunday!