A Colorado gal’s first winter in Wisconsin
Stephanie Hardi is a guest blog contributor who moved from Denver, CO to Wausau six months ago.
My husband and I enjoy mountain biking and are excited to experience the great trail networks by CWOCC in Central Wisconsin.
It can be hard to explain to people why we moved our family from Denver, Colorado to Wausau, Wisconsin. Colorado, and Denver specifically, has a reputation as being an incredible place to live – evidenced by the 140,000 new residents the state has gained in the last few years.
Living the Colorado dream – and the grind
In the early years of our marriage, my husband and I were living the Colorado dream – we were climbing the ladders at our perspective careers, enjoyed the city life Denver offered during the week, and flocked to the mountains on the weekends to ski, mountain bike or hike depending on the season and the weather.
When our son came along, we experienced the same slow down that all new parents do. And, when I went back to work after my maternity leave, the weekly grind was heavy. Both my husband and I were battling nearly hour-long commutes one way – giving us barely any time at home with our new baby. On the weekends, when we did muster up the energy to get outside – it was a trek to get to somewhere that wasn’t teeming with other people. We both craved a slower lifestyle that allowed for more time outside and with each other.
An opportunity to adventure
When my husband received an invitation to interview at a company in Wausau, Wisconsin, I laughed him off. I said “sure, go interview.” I knew there was no way I was leaving Denver unless he pried it from my cold, dead hands.
We have taken our young son to the slopes of Granite Peak several times already!
But life is funny. My husband came back from his Wisconsin visit excited about not only the job (which was a great opportunity for his career) but also excited about the area. If you know my husband, he is a dreamer. When he gets excited about something, he’ll generally convince you to go along with whatever has caught his eye.
That’s how I ended up on a flight to Wausau, Wisconsin in April of 2019. During that weekend we explored the area and tried to answer the question, “Could we be happy here?” It was a huge decision, but my husband and I really felt pulled to the area by some sort of unseen force – the proximity of outdoor activity was incredible – literally a state park and ski hill within the city limits and an incredible network of trails for mountain biking, hiking, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. Not to mention word-class kayaking. As we talked to other Wausau residents, we could feel that there was a strong outdoor culture similar to Colorado, but Wausau folks are more deeply rooted to the area, which makes for a deeper sense of pride in their outdoor areas.
Trading mountains for woods
In the summer of 2019, after my husband accepted his job and my company agreed to let me work as a telecommuter, we moved our little Colorado family to the Midwest. It was an incredibly difficult decision to leave not only the state that we loved so much, but also all of our friends and family. But in the end, we knew our relationships with our family and friends would stay strong, and we felt we couldn’t pass up an opportunity to slow down our life – giving us more time with our family and exploring an outdoor community unlike any other we had been a part of.
We showed off Nine Mile County Forest.on snowshoes to family and friends.
Winter adventures
I’ve been a Wausau resident for a little over six months, and although moving is always a huge adjustment, it has been such a thrill to explore the area. Our son has several ski days under his belt at Granite Peak – his first ski day was on Christmas Day. We just walked out our door and 10 minutes later we were at Granite Peak.
When our dear friends and family were in town, we couldn’t wait to show off Nine Mile County Forest. We took them snowshoeing through the idyllic snow-flocked forest – and ended our trip drinking hot chocolate and building a fire at one of the daytime firepits.
And in addition to downhill skiing, both my husband and I have begun to learn to cross-country ski. All of this has been made possible in our busy lives because of our decision to leave Denver to discover an area with much of the same outdoor activity – but in a much more accessible and family-friendly situation.
So I’ve decided that our first winter in Wausau has been a success. It hasn’t been perfect – we are still getting used to the cold and we miss the 300 days a year of Colorado sun! But it’s been an adventure. In a prior blog post, I shared some of my favorite things I discovered to do here in Wausau during the winter months.
I’ll be a guest contributor on the IRONBULL blog this year, chronicling my experience of moving from Denver to Wausau. If you’re interested in following along (and giving me any tips!) be sure to subscribe!