Biking around Fort Collins

"I see you don't have a bike!", my friend said to me. It was his first visit to my apartment since we moved in to Fort Collins last October.

"My lab is just a ten minutes walk from here. I take a bus for going to other places", I replied to him. After some thought I added, "I had never felt a need for a bike".

The next morning, he came to my apartment with two bikes and said to us, "Take these bikes. You can use these to go to the college or for shopping".

Biking was my primary mode of transport until a year ago while I stayed in IIT Madras campus. Other than some rare occasions when there was a flat tire or my bike was sent for servicing, I had always preferred bike to commute from my hostel to lab, and beyond. The last time I rode a bike was when I moved out of 317cauvery for good. I had never biked since then!

Now that I have a bike, I want to give it a try. I bought a secure lock and took the bike out for the first time since we moved. Nostalgia hits me hard when I placed my right foot on the pedal and pushed it to move forward.

I learnt to ride a bike when I entered into a high school. Back in those days, my family did not own a bike. My brothers and myself would take a bike for rent from a nearby shop on an hourly basis and take turns to practise at a ground (which now houses a multi-storey apartment). I felt in love with biking so much that I asked my parents for a bike after scoring a centum in my tenth standard math exam.

Feeling worn out brought back my memories to present. I realized I was tired and was gasping for breath. I was sweating buckets under my fleece though the outside temperature was only 12 deg C! It was then that a realization dawned on me; biking is not only a great way to know Fort Collins better, but also to keep myself in shape!

Spring Fauna Pictures

Thanks to Jaisri for the last three stunning pictures of a chipmunk and an American Robin.

If you don't like the weather, wait for ten minutes!

Only a couple of days ago I was telling my wife that the last snow of this winter had just ended. With the beginning of spring, we were hoping to enjoy some rain. All the Kollywood and Bollywood songs that were shot in rain came to our minds then.

When today's weather changed from sunny to overcast, it was a pleasant surprise for us to see tiny flakes floating all around. With time, those cute little flakes grew in size and became soft pellets. 

"Its snowing again!", we were jumping in a mixture of joy and surprise.

That's when I remembered an old sayings which I read somewhere, "If you don't like the weather, wait for ten minutes".

Movie Out with André

"Would you like to see The Hobbit with us?", André texted me.

My wife and myself watched The Hobbit only last week, but then it's been a long time since I caught up with my friend.

"Sure!", I replied.

"We will be going to MetroLux theatre in Loveland. The show time is at 2.45 PM. I will come to pick you up at around 1.45 PM", he said.

"Sounds good!", I replied to him, disconnected the call, turned to my wife and said, "this time, we are going to watch it in a different theatre".

We had our lunch and were ready at 1.45 PM when I got a call from André saying he was waiting at the parking lot.

On the way to the theatre, André was talking to us about his plans to visit Nepal soon after the New Year. "It's very nice to see you guys today before we leave to Nepal", he said excitedly.

Soon we were joined by his wife, her cousin and their cute little niece and nephew at MetroLux.

at MetroLux Theatres with André

"My nephew, a four year old kid, wants to see Monsters, Inc", said André when we arrived inside the theatre. "But if you guys want to see The Hobbit, you can go ahead. My wife and our niece will be joining you then", he said.

We had already seen The Hobbit, so we decided to watch Monsters Inc. 

"This is my second movie in 3D", he said after buying the tickets. We mentally recollected all the movies we had watched in Fort Collins and said, "This is our third 3D movie in Fort Collins itself". We all laughed and walked towards auditorium 11.

Monsters Inc is a Energy production company that generates electricity from human baby's screaming. Monsters were trained to scare babies and make them scream which would generate electricity and were stored in capsules. The story lies around a monster coming in contact with a baby with whom he felt attached.

As in most 3D movies, the visuals were amazing! After coming out, we felt we not only had a good time with André and Rachel, but enjoyed the movie as well.

Christmas Eve - at a friend's place

"Let us go to our place for some snacks", Susan invited us after the Christmas Eve celebrations at the Summit View church.

People were greeting Merry Christmas happily to each other with joyous hugs. Outside, the weather was cold and had started to snow. "It was our first white Christmas!", I exclaimed to my wife who was already enjoying the evening.

By the time we reached Susan's place, a couple of inches of snow had accumulated on the road. "Have some tea", Cheng Yu, Susan's husband, offered us as we entered. "Take as many cookies as you can", he added pointing to the spread on the dining table.

"This is a Japanese snack. I mean real Japanese, because I bought it when I went to Japan last week", he said. I took a couple of snacks and settled on one of the chairs.

"Would you like to have some hot Apple cider?", Susan asked us before offering a cup each to my wife and myself. By the time we finished the delicious cider, vegetable soup was served.

What started as snacks became a small dinner party by the time Gloria arrived with more food. Soon, Susan's kitchen was occupied by more volunteers helping Gloria and Susan to cook or heat the food. Pasta and breads were served followed with cold Apple Cider in place of a Champagne. We ended the party with a toast for a better year ahead.

"Shall we leave?", I asked my wife after we had snack-cum-dinner. She nodded in agreement. When I was about to inform Susan about our decision, she asked "Would you like to watch some movie?". We looked at each other. Surely we weren't planned before for a movie night.

"We can watch an Indian movie", Cheng Yu suggested.

"Slumdog Millionaire", someone from the party said. "But its not a real Indian movie, isn't it?", asked another.

After some time, when there was no conclusion, I wanted to say "we want to leave" when the topic changed to playing games. "Let us play Dutch Blitz", a girl suggested.

Its been a long time since we played games. A part of us wanted to play and so involuntarily asked "how to play?". Soon everyone gathered near a corner of the room where the beautiful Christmas tree was decorated.

"Its so exciting", my wife said. "This was our first time playing with a group of complete strangers", she continued.

"Stack a pile of ten cards. This is called as Blitz pile. Have another three cards called post pile. Your objective is to empty the Blitz pile, the one with ten cards", a girl explained the basics of the game. "The one who finishes all the cards from Blitz pile calls for a stop saying Dutch Blitz", she continued.

I had a good first round with my positive score equalling my negative score giving a net score for the round as Zero. My wife was struggling with a strategy, and had scored more negative points than positive.

"Its simple. Play your cards from the Blitz pile", I suggested to her.

"But the pile has bigger numbers", she said, her voice showing the disappointment.

"Don't worry dear. Use the post piles and get rid of the bigger numbers from the Blitz pile", I replied.

The next round started. As soon as I cognized the cards on my hand and piles, someone said "Dutch Blitz"! 

"That was real quick", we all commented. "Even I had finished all the cards on my Blitz pile", my wife said ecstatically. 

She continued to win the next two games scoring a hat-trick and her score soared up in the positive, competing with the top player.

Two more rounds, and the game was over. The top player had scored 35 points, which we had set as the winning target. My wife came second with 27 points.

"What was your score?", she asked me in the end.

"31", I replied, mumbling "negative" under my breath.

Chrismas Eve - At a Church

"Would you like to come to church today for Christmas Eve celebrations?", Susan asked us.

We decided to go, to have a first real experience of Christmas celebrations. At fifteen to six Susan reached our apartment and drove us to the Summit View church at whose indoor stadium we played games every Friday evening.

When we parked the car and reached the church, traditional carols were being played which continued until the gathering began formally. The lyrics were projected on a wall and so we all could sing together. While most of the people knew the Christmas carols by heart, it was my first time. To my own surprise, I soon realised I could sing!

The celebration started formally with Hap Pritchard reading verses from the Bible about the birth of Jesus Christ. A carol titled In the Quite Holy Night was sung by a group of people of different ages. A cute little girl dressed up like an angel sung with ease without referring to her notes, unlike others in the group. As soon as the carol was over, she left without waiting for the audience applause!

The group carol was then followed by a soul stirring solo piano by Jimmy Harrington. The music reverberated in my mind for some time even after it was played. A group dance titled Sugar Plum Fairy followed then. Directed and Choreographed by Abbie Hanawalt and Christine Richard, a bunch of cute little kids dressed up like angels danced to a Christian song.

Sugar Plum Fairy dance

The dance was followed by a couple of Violin-Guitar duet and a vocal carols. I wish I could record their performances!

While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks is a group dance directed and choreographed by Christine Richard. The dance was then followed by a message by Mitch Majeski on whether we should greet everyone with Happy Christmas or Merry Christmas.

a scene from While Shepherd Watched Their Flocks

last scene from While Shepherd Watched Their Flocks 

The group dance is then followed by a video of "The Innkeeper's Dream" and "Silent Night" congregation.

near the Christmas tree in the church

 a beautiful painting of Jesus Christ

Christmas "kolu"

After the celebrations, we snapped a few pictures and went to our friend's place for some snacks.

And then it snowed...

I explained the weather in my home city to an American friend in one sentence, "I have come from a place which is hot, hotter, hottest to a place which is cold, colder, coldest". Fort Collins is colder now. A snow storm went across the city yesterday but not before depositing a few inches of snow.

Snowprints of a chipmunk

in front of my apartment

Snowgie aggie

parking lot

how I wished to rock on this horse!

near the snow covered tree

snow snow everywhere...

Learner's Permit - good news, bad news and a good news again

"You have got six wrong answers", the official at the Fort Collins Driving Motor Vehicle (DMV) office evaluated my written test paper and said. I paused briefly making an observation of him until he continued.

"We can allow only five", he said, looking into my eyes. I let out a sigh. When I was mentally preparing myself to leave, he continued "we can allow you to take one more test today, or you can apply for a re-test tomorrow. Which one do you prefer?"

I jumped at the opportunity and said, "I will take one more test today". The officer smiled, took another question paper containing 25 questions on both sides and said, "Do you want to take a look at the wrong ones?"

"Sure", I said and found the correct answers marked against the wrong ones I made. After a few moments, I collected the new question paper and soon found it to be tougher than the previous one. It took about ten minutes for me to finish answering all the questions. I waited for my turn at the counter for getting my test paper evaluated.

A lady officer at a different counter than previous one called me when my turn came. She observed three wrong answers even before I submitted. "Damn! I'm not going to get my learner's permit today", I muttered under my breath.

She collected the test paper from me, marked the three wrong answers and turned to the second page. "Wrong", she said again marking a question with correct choice.

"God, please don't make me come again tomorrow for a re-test", my mind made a silent prayer.

"You have got four wrong answers", she said after evaluating my paper. "Am I allowed to make five mistakes in the second test?", I wanted to ask when she said "you passed".

"You have to pass the vision test before you get the learner's permit", she said and ordered me to look into the eye piece. I moved to the vision test instrument, and peered into the eyepiece. "Read the number displayed inside", she said. A four digit number was moving in a zig zag fashion inside. I adjusted my eyes and read the number. "Now tell me the color which is displayed inside".

"Green...orange...green...red...green...orange".

"Which side does the color blinks?"

"Left, now right"

"Ok. You passed", she said. I felt relieved for the first time. She collected my passport and entered my test results on her computer screen.

When I felt too excited, she said, "your passport details is not yet entered into our database". I looked calmly at her waiting for the next step.

She filled my case number and other details in a form and asked me to visit any of the six Driving License offices where they have a counter for Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (S.A.V.E) and submit my immigration papers within the next 30 days.

I saw the case sheet and found that the S.A.V.E office is opened only on Wednesdays, between 8.30AM and 3.00PM, the nearest one being located at about 65 miles from Fort Collins. Fortunately, my fellow labmate offered me a help to drive me to the Lakewood Driving License office, but unable to take me on the first Wednesday due to his final exams.

"Do you want to go to the DMV office today", he texted me yesterday. I noted the time on my watch. It was 1.30 PM. "I think we can't make it today. Its already 1.30 and the office will be closed at 3 PM", I replied. "Let's give it a try", he replied.

He picked me up at 1.45 PM, hit the I25 around 2.00. I checked the GPS Navigation in my mobile and found it will take 1 hour and 10 minutes to reach the place.

We drove in silence observing the snow covered landscape. When we took the exit 210A and drove towards Pierce street where the License office was located, I checked my watch. We had about 7 minutes!

We skipped the block searching for it, took detour, went inside and parked. Four more minutes, I said and hasted towards the entrance.

"Do you have all the copies listed here?", the lady at the check in counter asked me pointing at the case sheet.

"Yes", I replied, followed her instructions and took my token.

As soon as I entered the office, my token number was displayed on the screen asking me to proceed towards a counter. I went to the counter and showed my case sheet. "Damn! I forgot to bring a self addressed envelope!"

"May I see the originals?", the officer at the S.A.V.E counter asked me to verify the copies I gave to him. "Do you have a self addressed envelope?", he asked.

"I am sorry. I was in a rush and forgot to bring it", I replied. "I can see it. You made it just in time", he replied with a smile. He took an envelope from his table drawer and asked me to write my address on it. I was ready to pay for it if he were to ask me, but he didn't.

He collected the copies and my case sheet, entered the data in his computer screen, took print out of a receipt and said, "you will receive a mail from us in one or two weeks time saying if you are eligible or not. If you are eligible, you can visit any of the DMV to collect your learner's permit", he said.

I thanked him, observed him closing the counter and left.

"Its done", I made a gesture to my friend who was waiting inside the car.

"What about the self addressed envelope?", my wife asked as soon as I entered into the car.

"The officer inside gave me an envelope and asked me to write my address on it", I replied. 

"Good that he din't ask you to pay for it", she replied.

"But, how did you know?"

"You left your wallet with me!", came a reply from her with a smile.

Nostalgic trip to Fort Collins Public Library

Entrance to Fort Collins Public Library

I had been to the Fort Collins Public Library many times before, but never took a bus to reach there. Usually I would get down at Downtown Transit Center or at U.S Post Office and walk to the library. Once I had asked the driver to stop at Olive and Mason, the closest one can get by bus on Route 15.

When wife accompanied me last time, we decided to take the bus all the way and minimize the walk.  From Transfort route maps, we found that Route 18 has a stop just outside the library. We timed other buses that connected us with CSU and Downtown transit centers and reached the library via Route 18.

Nostalgia hit me when I got down from the bus. About two summers ago, when I came to Fort Collins for the first time, I somehow managed to find the location of the library using a map. But I lost my way while returning, and went to an unrecognized place. If I were in India, I would have asked a chai wala or some localites how to reach the nearest bus stop. But I was in U.S then! I was trying to cope with the change. A couple of localites were scared to offer any help thinking either I am begging for alms or trying to steal their valuables.

I almost cried, but felt relieved when I spotted a green metallic shelter with a Transfort post from a distance. An old lady had just arrived at the bus stop when I reached. She assured me that a bus would come in another few minutes, and would take us to the Downtown Transit Center, a place from where I know how to reach my apartment.

"Bus had come", my wife broke my reverie. We boarded Route 18 on its way back, timed other buses and reached our apartment.

Ping Pong

A fierce battle was going on between the two opponents playing ping pong, an activity organized as part of Friday Afternoon Club meeting at the International House.

"What is the score?", I asked one of the audiences who seemed to have watched the game from the start.

"9-10 serving", he replied, his eyes fixed towards the game.

The game had attracted quite an audience who were cheering for every point won. After all, no one knew both the players well to take a side.

I joined the crowd and decided to cheer up for one of them simply because he was closer to me than his opponent.

"You play well. Do you play ping pong often?", I asked him between the game.

"This is my first time", he replied.

"Where are you from?"

"India. In my country we call this game as table tennis", he replied. "I had watched the game often in TV during Olympics or Asian games, but haven't played it before".

His opponent's service came too fast that he did not have a chance to make a contact. "10-10. Play for two points", an audience who took the role of a referee announced.

I shifted my position and move towards his opponent. He had scored an important point to even the game. Two more services like the last one will surely make him the winner of the game tonight.

He was as tensed as the other player who had just lost a point and was ready to break the service. He relaxed only when he heard a loud cheer followed after the Indian player losing yet another point. 

"Good come back", yelled the crowd in support.

One more serve and the game was over. I moved closer to the other player and asked him where he was from. The Indian player conceded his defeat, walked closer towards the winner and shook his hands when the winner said, "I am from Pakistan".

There was a momentary silence between the players which was broken sooner than it formed.

"Good game", the Indian patted. "Thank you! You played well too. Can't believe it's your first game!", his opponent replied.

Strange(r) acquaintance

"Are you going to the school?", an old woman sitting next to me in a Transfort bus asked.

I was wondering how to answer that question. Its true that I am going to school, but right now I am going to Walmart to buy some groceries. She must have read the confusion on my face for she rephrased her question after a pause,

"Are you studying at CSU?"

"Yes", I replied. 

"Its an excellent school. My daughter graduated from CSU", she said, "in 1985". 

1985! I started my schooling in that year! "What is she doing now?", I wanted to ask. But something told me to listen to the old lady instead of developing a conversation.

"My son, he too went to this school, but graduated from Denver and got a job there", she continued.

I checked my watch and noted that the bus has five more minutes to depart. There were no other passengers in the bus but for us.

She appeared to be in her sixties, her body frail with her face completely wrinkled. A green woolen shawl covered her head and her ears and she protected herself from cold with a leather jacket.

"Its terribly cold outside today", she complained, adjusting her gloves.

"I think the weather will become better tomorrow", I said. Forecasters had earlier predicted the day to be cold and windy with occasional snow near Denver. "Sky is clearing up and will be warmer tomorrow".

"Of course! This is winter", she said. After a contemplative pause, she continued, "There was a blizzard once during Christmas", she recollected the past from her memory.

"My son came home for Christmas, but he wanted to go back to Denver the next day to watch Broncos in action. You know, he was a die hard fan of Broncos"

"The blizzard had hit on Christmas night, and next morning the roads were covered with snow! He could not take his car out! Those days, the snow removal squad did not have technology to remove the snow from the road. It took several weeks to clear them manually"

She pointed out to a couple of buildings opposite to Downtown transit center and said, "those buildings were arsoned that time, so they say". My eyes went towards the direction she pointed out and found two new buildings. "Of course, now there is no hint of it", she commented.

A stream of passengers entered the bus, swiped their passes or inserted a dollar bill and a quarter. A cold wind entered the bus and occupied every seat without buying a ticket. She adjusted her green shawl to make her feel comfortable, and asked me "Which country are you from?"

"India", I replied.

"Its a beautiful country, I have heard of her."

"Route 5 departing from Downtown transit center", the driver made an announcement pulling the bus out from the station.

Silence filled the space between us, which was now occupied by some thoughts. The ease with which she started the conversation and went on as if I am her old friend surprised me.

"Next stop, Walmart", the driver announced, pulling the bus to an edge bringing it to a stop.

"Have a good day", I wished her, thanked the driver for stopping the bus for me and walked in my direction.

Movies in Fort Collins

Fort Collins has a good number of cinema theaters screening a range of entertainment media in addition to movies, including opera and ballet performances. I haven't watched a ballet or opera yet, but the following are the movies wife and I had watched since we arrived here.

Breaking Dawn 2:

Though wife had seen all previous twilight movies, this is my first. I liked the powers vampires possess, be it travelling at lightning speed or read other person's mind. I have seen fantasy movies in the past, Lord of the Rings being my favorite. But breaking dawn (Part 2) beats my favorite in the climax scene. Go and watch it in theaters if you haven't  watched it yet.

Life of Pi:

Life of Pi, as the name indicates, is a story about the life of an Indian boy named Pi who was cast away in Pacific and has to share a lifeboat with a royal Bengal Tiger for his survival. If you have read the book before, go and watch the movie for its eye-pleasing actions in 3D.

Skyfall:

"My name is Bond, James Bond", is perhaps the simplest dialogue that no one can ever forget, no matter how many times we hear it from different Bond movies. Add a recurring Bond theme music in the background, people would come and watch the movie even when the movie does not have a compelling story to tell. Skyfall is such a film. I decided to watch this movie for all the hype it has created in the review circles. But the movie failed to amuse me in certain fronts; the theme music was not used properly in this movie, there is no innovative technology gadgets such as camouflage-able car. After watching this movie, I felt its no different from any of the other similar movies I had watched in the past, without the Bond tag. Even the booby traps laid by Bond at his family estate (from where the movie got its name) are novice, considering the traps a school kid laid in Home Alone series! Go and watch the movie only if you are a die-hard fan of Bond movies. For others, I would recommend you to buy any other Bond movies in DVDs, sit back at home and watch in your TV.

Taken 2:

Taken is a story of a CIA operative trying to find kidnappers who had taken his daughter for flesh trade. The crux of the movie lies in intelligent strategies devised by the CIA agent trying to extract information from scarce and limited observation he could make. I am planning to watch the second part of this movie in this weekend.

Good news and Bad news

I have a good news and a bad news to share. The good news is that I had cleared the written and visual tests for obtaining a learner's permit, a document which will allow me to drive a motor vehicle with a licensee sitting next to me.

The bad news is my alien identification number is not yet populated in Colorado database to find if I am eligible for entitlements. I should either wait now and re-apply after a few weeks time, or travel to Lakewood office and see if they can help with my case status. The catch is Lakewood office that works with alien entitlements cases is opened only on Wednesdays.

Fingers crossed.

Japanese chef night

Fort Collins is a friendly community. There is an international club that organizes social meet every Friday, aptly named as Friday Afternoon Club (FAC). There are other clubs as well which are as active as FAC and meets regularly. I happen to join one such social club last Sunday. This social club does not have a name, but meets first Sunday of every month at a member's place. One of the members would host the dinner at their place while volunteers representing the theme of dinner would offer their help in preparing the menu. 

"This month, its Japanese chef night", explained Susan, my wife's friend. We met earlier in an indoor stadium nearby a local church where I play volley ball every Friday after the FAC meet. After reaching the venue, wife and I were introduced to a lot of people from different countries; some married, some studying at school/college, some were at a job, some were old people who has grown up kids of my age!

We struck a conversation with a Romanian girl who had settled down in U.S.A thirteen years ago. She was curious to learn about India, her culture and diversity. When we said that we speak Tamil at home and we don't know Hindi which is our official language, she was surprised. 

We found that there were more people who had traveled to places near India, such as Nepal, Pakistan, Srilanka and Thailand. Some people had landed at one of the Indian airports (either Mumbai or New Delhi airport) to take their connecting flight to other countries.

Gloria explaining the menu and the spread 

Christmas tree decorations starts from Thanksgiving Day until Christmas

Myself hoping to find vegetarian items from the list

"It will be a Mexican night next month" Susan extended her pre-invitation when we finished our dinner and were starting to disperse. We bid our thank you and said good bye to our host when a friend of ours suggested we could plan for an Indian chef night sometime.

5 things to do at Fort Collins

Fort Collins is a college city. At the heart of the city lies the Colorado State University. The city itself has less to serve when it comes to sightseeing, or so I thought until recently. The following are five things I did to explore and experience the city.

1) Friday Afternoon Club (FAC):

A cake ordered by Fine Arts for a Friday Afternoon Club at I.House

Jointly organized by the CSU Apartment Life, Fort Collins International Center and CSU's Office of International Progams, Friday Afternoon Club (FAC) is a weekly activity held at the International House. The event is organized to help people meet, socialize and make new friends with others of all ages from all over the world who had come to Fort Collins for study/work. An evening at FAC typically starts with food that highlights the theme for that particular week, followed by playing some games, while some prefer to sit on couch and have a chat. If you are new to Fort Collins, joining FAC would help you to get some help in settling down. As is common with some of the best things, FAC's are free and is open to Fort Collins community.

2) Take Transfort/Flex:

If you are a new international student/scholar/faculty at Fort Collins, perhaps you might not be owning a car. Unlike the situation in your home country where owning a car is more of a luxury than a requirement, life without a car in Fort Collins is hell. But all is not lost if you do not own a car or have a driving license! Supported by the Associated Students of CSU, Transfort offers free rides for full time student of CSU and provides discount passes for employers of CSU. A simpler way to go around the city is by trying different routes to reach your destination. Let us say we want to go to Walmart at Mulberry for shopping. Since I stay at West Propsect, I would take route number 2 to reach CSU transit center, route 15 to reach Downtown transit center and finally take route 5 to reach my destination. However, I can also take route 7 to reach Mall transfer point and take route 5 North bound to reach Walmart. By taking this alternate route, I have an option of spending some time for shopping at the Foothills Mall shops.

3) Picnic to city park (or any other park near your apartment/residence):

Myself standing near the bank of Sheldon lake at city park with Rocky Mountains in the background

Feeding bread crumbs to a goose at Sheldon lake

There are differnt ways to spend one's time at leisure in Fort Collins. A drive to city park and the Sheldon lake is one such way. Pack your bags with some food and head to the city park. If you do not have a car, you can take route 6 from CSU transit center. Once there, there are ample things that you can do to spend your time. Sit under a shady tree, grab a bite and read a book. Walk along Sheldon lake. Try feeding bread crumbs to the ducks and geese in the lake. The ducks here simply love bread crumbs and most of them are bold enough to snatch it from your hand. Enjoy the scenic beauty of the lake with Rocky Mountains at the background from a swing. If you have a fishing kit, you can even try to catch some fish as well!

4) Visit Poudre River Public Library and museum:

What is more better way to know about the history of a place than visiting the museum/library? Fort Collins public library is located at three convenient places that are at a reachable distance from any part of the city. What more? If you have an address proof, you get a free membership at the library which will allow you to checkout 100 items at a time! The Fort Collins museum was recently renovated and moved to a better location. I have not been to the new museum yet, but I had good experience visiting the old museum which was located behind the old town library. The museum displays lot of items, some of which are more than a century old. What I liked most in their displays was the model of a dinosaur egg. Unlike the displays at the museum in my home country, the Fort Collins museum allows visitors to touch and feel most of the displays.

5) Shopping at Old Town:

Shopping had become one of the most important activity wherever you go. Fort Collins is not an exception to this. Some of the best restaurants and shops are located at the Old Town, east of College Avenue. My favourite shops are the Old Town spice shop where you can buy spices from all over the world at a cheaper price and the Tea House from where you can buy a huge varieties of tea with different flavours.

Note: There are even more possible ways to explore the city. Watching a show at Carmike cinemas or other cinema theatres, spending time shopping at Walmart or King Soopers are some of the ways which I have not included here. I believe these are common ways to spend time anywhere in the US. If you own a car, you can drive to some of the popular places around Fort Collins that includes Estes Park and Colorado Springs among other places.

Photo courtesy: Western Easty.