When Boulder Creek began to swell with floodwater on the evening
of Sept. 11, Leroy Farias and his girlfriend were camping out in
their usual spot under the bridge where the Boulder Creek passes
under Arapahoe Avenue near Central Park.  Farias, who has lived
on the streets of Boulder for the past 14 years, said when the
water started rising they got out of there as quickly as
possible.  "I took my old lady out without any shoes," Farias
said. "She walked for two days without any shoes. I lost
everything. Three backpacks, four sleeping bags. I had no gear.
No jacket."  The couple took cover with about 20 other homeless
people at the Central Park bandshell that night, Farias said,
and have been using the structure's limited shelter every night
since.  Farias on Friday said he was grateful he and his friends
lived through the flood. He said of the 30 or so homeless people
he personally knows in Boulder, all of them are safe. He's not
sure everyone was so lucky.  "The good thing is we survived.
We're still here,"