Dear Diary,

Strange things are happening ...

1. The Last Frontier

I did find Bon Jovi at Frontier Days in WY (which, incidentally, is neither toward nor away from the Jersey shore, but instead, is so far north of Denver it's in the heart of Cowboy-land.) Although Jon Bon was as hot as ever, I had a rather erie feeling throughout the show as I most certainly did not have my NY-NJ-Philadelphia home turf advantage. Instead, I was in a sea of Wrangler jeans. Never have I been so flooded by a brand of jeans -- that I thought was long extinct. Accompanying the jeans were cowboy hats and cowboy boots -- worn not in an ironic way, but, in a way that suggested horses were waiting in the parking lot. And I thought cowboys were only in the movies!

2. Summer Skiing

I'm sure you think I've just made a typo; but, I do in fact mean summer skiing. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it for myself. While hiking St. Mary's Glacier, I did a double take when I saw someone hiking toward the glacier wearing ice shoes (probably not their technical name but I don't fashion myself an REI salesperson) and carrying a pair of skis. Shortly thereafter, the ice shoe-wearing dude was sprawled out on his butt at the bottom of the glacier as one of his skis lay midway between he and the top of the large ice mass. Thinking this to be the tale of one crazy ski-a-thoner, I headed back to the trail only to see a foursome wearing the same silly ice shoes and also carrying skis. Later that week I read a story in the newspaper about an older gentleman who skis every weekend no matter what the calendar reads. Only in Colorado.

3. Labor Day Weekend Ski Sales

Oh I bet you're thinking of the mall shop-a-thons that jump start the school year. No, this is NOT the kind of sale I'm talking about. What happens here, in Denver, is BARGAINS spelled backwards: SNIAGRAB. I still have no idea how the hell to pronounce it but basically it's a whole lotta ski crap -- cheap! Evidently, Labor Day weekend is the time for locals to stock up on ski apparel and lift tickets. Who was I to question the system? By the end of the three-day holiday I had purchased more than $1,000 of gear and lift tickets. Let it snow! Too bad now I can't afford the gas to get me to the slopes. Maybe I need a third job to subsidize the ski habit. Hmmmm...I'll have to report back when the slopes actually open.

4. "Real" Running Sneakers

I bet you're wondering what the heck could be said about sneakers. Well you must not be following the sneaker controversy in Colorado. There's a sneaker company based out of Boulder that's making a sneaker for "real runners." The story is that local "runners" who wear "other brands" are merely hobby runners but don't in any way meet the real deal qualifications. The only "real runners" I knew in Philly were those running down the back alleys trying to get away from the police -- no special shoes required.

5. Colorado-Style Yoga

I always looked forward to my weekly yoga class in Philadelphia. It was a way to relax, get in touch with my inner child and wear a cute pair of yoga pants around town. Here, this cavalier attitude is non-existent. First of all, you must have a complete yoga ensemble that includes matching pants, top, mat and mat cover. (The mat cover captures the sweat -- more on that later.) All must be not only high quality; but, be from the stylish yogi's closet. And, besides looking damn cute with your matching ensemble, you must be prepared to sweat, to bust into a succession of pain-inducing poses and to twist into positions that are not natural to creatures walking on two feet. Here, in Denver, yoga too is a "thon." A yoga-thon is any walk-in yoga class. There are no provisions for beginners -- or for those cursed with tight hamstrings. You must twist, you must stretch and you must perform calisthenics that are on par with the capabilities of any advanced yoga practitioner, like for example, my cat, who does down dogs like nobody's business. Just last week, my yoga-thon hurt my lower back so bad that I had to sit out a week. Once on the mend, I ventured into another yoga-thon only to stretch out my abs so badly that I have yet to be able to stand erect. Perhaps I need to look to my inner-yogi for strength and realize that, in Colorado, yoga is like climbing a 14-er. Unless you're willing to climb all the way, it's not worth the sweat pouring onto the mat cover -- the thing that captures the pools of sweat before they seep onto that cute -- and very stylish -- mat. Wouldn't it be terrible to slip -- and fall -- in your own pool of sweat??

6. "I came to CO and climbed a 14-er"

I suppose I need to explain this one to you city slickers that may be reading this. A 14-er is a mountain that is 14,000 feet tall. So what, you say? Well, in Colorado, those crazy climb-a-thoners climb these things just to be able to say, "I climbed a 14-er." The irony is that no one living outside of the Colorado state line knows what a 14-er is ... or cares. If by some miracle, my no-longer-fat-Philadelphia-butt makes its way up a 14-er, and, I write home to tell the tale, I'll be asked if this in any way has any bearing on the Eagles scoring a touchdown. If it does not, then I can shove my 14-er up ... well ... you get the picture.

7. Ski in/ski out

You know how when you have a whole lotta beers, and it's late at night, and you want some greasy food? So, you drive in and drive out of a fast food joint to get your french fry fix? Well that's not at all what I'm talking about. This phenomenon refers to ski towns such as Breckenridge or "Breck" as some of the locals say. Here, in the Disneyland of ski towns, you can stay in a condo which has a ski lift -- literally -- outside the front, or back, door. You may then ski out your door, ride the lift up the mountain and then ski in to your condo for a snack, for a nap or for whatever else needs doing in the middle of a ski day. I have vowed to one day sell my car so as to be able to afford this ski in/ski out experience -- during snow season.

8. Mile High World Series

Are there any Rockies fans out there? Attention thoners, come out of the mountains, come off the trails, take off your "real" sneakers. Save your thoning and your down dogs for after baseball season. Your team is in the world series. Red Sox fans, please teach these cowboys a thing or two.

9. Shorts -- not just a hot weather necessity

The weather finally turned cold this week. One day it was 78 degrees and two days later it was snowing. Typical Colorado I'm told. Also typical to Colorado is the inability to change out of one's warm weather garb into one's cold weather garb. As temperatures plummet, crazy Coloradans are bundled in their fleece jackets and accessories -- and their shorts. There ought to be a law.