By Scott Shephard

Deb and I are spending a few days at the Aspen Institute in Aspen, Colorado. (She's attending a workshop; I'm along for the ride.) Not surprisingly, there are many Aspen trees on the Institute campus. The city of Aspen sits at around 8000' above sea level but there are certainly more signs of spring here than in our part of the world in South Dakota. The grass is starting to turn green, there are a few blooming daffodils if you know where to look and, as you can see here, the aspen trees are getting ready to leaf out. It's hard not to feel optimistic about all of the things to come.

Having said that, a winter storm warning has been posted for this part of the Rocky Mountains with more than 20" of snow predicted above 9000'. Along with that, an avalanche warning has also been posted. Avalanche! The good news is that we aren't likely to be affected and also that we will be heading out on Sunday for Moab, Utah. Forecast for our destination: sunny and high 60s!

We get back to South Dakota later next week. Will it finally be spring-like when we get there? As Andy Dufresne says at the very end of "Shawshank Redemption," "I hope . . . . "