Vail Colorado

 Vail Colorado is a mountain ski town in America. It has possibly the best groomed skiing in the world. It has scores of chair lifts and over 100 runs. At the base of this mountain is Vail valley where the city of Vail has developed. There isn't a lot of room for development because there are steep mountains on both sides. But there are some small housing developments. Driving through the streets in the residential area it became apparent that the people living there were not happy. Somehow their dream had been betrayed. Because of the vast numbers of people that come their vacationing the streets are crowded parking is difficult to come by, taxes are high, and it doesn't really feel like a mountain getaway; it feels more like a crowded City in the mountains. And here they are with Aspen trees and pine trees growing in their yards many of them backing up to a small stream. If you took photographs or videos of it you would think it was some pristine mountain setting. Just a few miles away there are still places that are relatively uncrowded, because everybody wants to be close to the skiing. But people move to Vail because of the status and because of the dream. And in the mountains the conveniences of a normal City are hard to come by. For instance in Vail there's only one grocery store, that's all there's room for. So when you move out to the small towns you have to stock up and be prepared to spend two or three weeks at a time close to home. The winters are not long and the roads are well maintained so generally you can get out, but not always. People see pictures of the mountains and think living there will be like being on vacation permanently. But there is a hardness to it and then the crowds.