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.

It goes back as far as 1936, where a law stated the ban on firearms in national parks, declaring such parks and monuments to being sanctuaries for wildlife. However starting today, bringing your gun to Rocky Mountain National Park will be legal. In national parks nationwide, a provision in a 2009 federal credit card reform law drops the decades-old ban on carrying loaded guns — including semiautomatic weapons. The National Park Service from now on will adjourn to state law when deciding what guns can be carried into a national park, and Colorado among other states has determined this to be officially authorized.

“Firearms prohibited” signs are coming down soon and the rangers of the National Park Service will be trained on making sure they understand what kinds of firearms are allowed. In case you are a hunter, you should know that hunting within the national park will remain illegal and you cannot carry your firearms into federal buildings including the park visitor centers.

Rocky Mountain National Park Chief Ranger Mark Magnuson says “we’ll welcome (gun owners) as we would any park visitor” in response to visitors going to the park with their firearms today.

To read the full story, visit Coloradoan.com. What are your thoughts on this new Colorado law?

On January 31, our Exodus moving team carefully moved items to be temporarily stored in an office building used by employees at The Ranch. Employees had to vacate their offices inside the First National Bank Exhibition Hall while construction gets under way to replace the building. We were more than happy to help them out and get them setteled in their new temporary office. To read more about the rebuilding project in the Reporter Herald based out of Loveland, Colorado click here.

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

At Exodus, we are locally owned and locally involved. We support and work with many local businesses and know the importance of supporting people right in our own backyard. Even though we help people relocate from all over the world; whether they are moving to Northern Colorado or not, we still put a heavy focus on being involved with local non-profits, going to events and festivals, and promoting the businesses and charities we work with. A way that you can get your business or office involved is through BALLE – Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, which is a national organization whose mission is to catalyze, strengthen, and connect local business networks dedicated to building strong Local Living Economies. BALLE has over 70 active networks across the US and Canada. To learn more visit www.livingeconomies.org

Another great way is just by riding your bike down the street and shopping at the farmers market, buying your clothes from a local retailer and having dinner at a community restaurant. Supporting the business down the street builds our local economies, which is vital to overcoming the economic downturn. The small mom and pop shops are closing faster than you can imagine because they cannot compete with the big box stores. Try to think of alternatives within your community to support businesses that are locally owned and operated.

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/

We specialize in residential and commercial moves whether it is down the block are across the world. Each of our employees undergoes a background check, drug testing, an in-depth interview and a reference check. They are reliable, dependable and hard workers who can help you make your international move as stress-free as possible. Moving can be overwhelming, especially if you are moving to a new country. International relocations, given the language, culture, custom and government regulations, etc., can be stressful and tough to learn. It might also be exciting and thrilling, but either way, it is overwhelming. As a qualified moving company in Fort Collins, CO and all across the world, we can make your worldwide move stress and worry-free, anywhere you go.

How does it work? When we pick up your belongings, we load them into the same container that will arrive at your destination. Your belongings will be taken to the east or west coast via railroad, an Exodus truck, or one of our network’s trucks. Then the steamship company will take your container across the ocean to your destination port. At the destination port, our network agent will clear your container through the local customs. It is your choice if you want to pick your belongings up at the port or have them delivered directly to the door of your new home.While as a reliable Colorado moving company we can guarantee a local pick up date, we cannot guarantee a delivery date on international shipments. The average delivery takes between six and eight weeks from the date we pick up your container to the date of delivery. It is in your best interest to find out from the country’s consulate what you are allowed and not allowed to take into the country. Exodus cannot be responsible for any items which customs denies entry. At no charge to you, we will have one of our experienced, knowledgeable Move Coordinators review your move in great detail and provide you with an accurate assessment of your cost of moving. Estimated to include, well just about everything!

Learn more about International Moves here.

We wanted to end this week with two emails we got this week. We are so thankful for our clients, they mean a lot to us! Enjoy your weekend!

Ilan,

About a month ago I had the extreme pleasure of using Exodus services as I moved myself and my two young children out of one apartment and into another.  I’m a single parent and am a participant of Project Self-Sufficiency.  It was through PS-S that I was given an opportunity to have Exodus move my entire household for $100.00.  I cannot express just how helpful this generosity was to me and my family. I don’t know what I would’ve done it without such a gracious opportunity.  I just wanted to take the time to earnestly express my gratitude at this endeavor.  Thank you, immensely!

Also, I thought it necessary to commend you for the OUTSTANDING efforts and productivity performed by your staff.  The two men assigned to my move were prompt, polite, efficient and often downright amazing as they figured out quite inventive ways to move extremely awkward furniture up three flights of stairs.  I’ve never been so impressed in such a performance!

You have a great staff, and an even greater heart, to do what you did for me.  Again, I thank you very much.

God Bless!

Sincerely,
–
Tandi R. McBlair

Email to Suzanne:

We would love to have the use of a trailer or two for our Bikes for Tykes this year.   I spoke with Ilan last week as well.  He suggested that the trailer(s) be parked at First Presbyterian Church where the actual bike distribution takes place, rather than part it at the Realities For Children office then move it.  Great idea! We have been in touch with First Presbyterian Church and they have agreed to let the trailer be parked there in their lot.

We are hoping to get the trailer delivered the first week in November.  Would that work for your schedule?  As soon as I hear from First Presbyterian where they would like it to be parked in their lot I will let you know.

Thank you once again for your help in storing the bikes for the kids.

Lindsay

Lindsay Schreiner
Event Coordinator
Realities For Children