Four Corners Outdoor Adventures The Rockies The Southwest Travel: America's national parks Black Canyon of the Gunnison camping Ken Burns Mesa Verde national parks anniversary southwest Colorado
by maribeth
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Celebrating 100 years of Our National Parks at Mesa Verde
Spruce Tree House Cliff Dwelling at Mesa Verde
Me Overlooking Spruce Tree House
Touring Mesa Verde National Park
You’ve probably heard that 2016 marks the one-hundred-year anniversary of the National Park Service. Often referred to as America’s Best Idea, there are more than four hundred parks within our beautiful country and I think fall is one of the best times to visit them. In celebration of this milestone, there’s one more entrance-free day left and I find it appropriate that this one takes place on Veteran’s Day, November 11.
To me, it feels like I’m living within a national park in my home of Telluride, Colorado. I believe that Ken Burns, renowned filmmaker of America’s National Park series and many other inspiring documentaries, feels similarly. Perhaps this is why he spends so much time in our little box canyon mountain town. I did an interview with him a while back on our national parks that is still very pertinent today. Do check it out here.
Even so, I love venturing out and exploring the real deal. Fortunately, we have a couple national parks in Colorado within about an hour-and-a-half drive of Telluride: Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and Mesa Verde National Park. (The latter is also a World Heritage Site.) I visited the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park with my parents six years ago toward the end of a big southwest tour that also showcased Monument Valley and the Grand Canyon. Click here to read Touring the Southwest with My Parents, which features those two world-renowned destinations. At the end of that trip, I also visited the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park with them and I highlight this amazing national park in Part Four of a series of stories I did about rafting in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. After you read about this little-known national park, check out Rafting and Roughing it on the Black Canyon of the Gunnison Part One, Part Two and Part Three–it was a big outdoor adventure that I hope to do again some day. You just might want to plan a similar trip there yourself.
Speaking of world famous sites, it always strikes me that at America’s National Parks I see an overwhelming number of foreigners. Sometimes I think they value what we have more than most of us. Possibly. In any event, I hope this story and the photos herein will prompt you to break out and savor what we are so blessed to behold within our nation’s borders. I also think it might be a great way to blow out some election overload!
Arizona Hotels & Lodging Outdoor Adventures The Southwest Tours Utah: Goulding's Lodge Monument Valley Monument Valley Tribal Park Tours
by maribeth
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Touring Iconic Monument Valley
Deep Within Monument Valley
We’ve delighted in exceptionally warm and sunny weather these past five to six weeks here in Colorado. And the colors have been glorious. A cold front blew in over the weekend, however, and now most of the trees are bare. It’s been raining a lot these past twenty-four hours and although the peaks are capped in white, our mountain landscapes appear ready for a big snowstorm. Let’s hope the fluffy white stuff starts piling up from here on out and that we have a great ski season in Telluride and the rest of Colorado.
Until that happens though, many Coloradans will be heading to the desert; it’s not far for most of us and it’s a great way to extend summer. Plus, the crowds of tourists have dispersed, which makes experiencing these wondrous places of nature more enjoyable. I’ve taken some of my best trips to Utah, Arizona and New Mexico during the fall and spring and I’m sure I’ll hit the road to one of my favorite Southwestern destinations within the next few weeks as well.
Monument Valley Is Calling Me
Touring Monument Valley with Goulding’s
Less than a four-hour drive from southwest Colorado, Monument Valley, one of America’s most spectacular sites, is one of my top choices. Situated both in Arizona and Utah, the panoply of sun-baked reds, russets, ochres and golds of the monuments appears even more magical beneath the burnished glow of autumn. In Touring the Southwest with My Parents, you can read about a trip I took to this part of the West with my parents during fall a while back. My parents loved it although I think they might have thought I was a little crazy with all my oohing and aahing. But at least I didn’t let my commentaries interfere with the solitude one feels at such an awe-inspiring place.
Colorado Girl Talk Outdoor Adventures Romance & Relationships The Rockies Travel: breast cancer camping Colorado Deepak Chopra Fruita Grand Junction mind/body health My Stroke of Insight REI Telluride Integrative Wellness The Joy Potential
by maribeth
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Glamping Through Breast Cancer Fears
Doing the Two-and-a-Half-Hour Drive to Grand Junction for My Mammogram First Time Around
Serving Myself a Wine in Fruita, Colorado
My world shifted into a surreal-like state of uncertainty three weeks ago when I learned that I needed a second mammogram after my first one revealed troublesome findings. I was called back for a second mammo a year and a half ago, so at first I wasn’t overly concerned.
This time though I could clearly see the area that the radiologist told me appeared suspicious. “Your breasts look like chocolate milk, so it’s hard to see clearly,” she continued. I studied the section she indicated and thought that indeed the spot in question looked like flecks of cream clumped upon my frothy chest.
My heart rate quickened despite the fact that I exchanged casual small talk with her as she performed the second mammogram. Calm down, I said to myself. There’s nothing to worry about. Don’t automatically think about breast cancer.
Colorado Outdoor Adventures Telluride: Colorado No Barriers Women's Summit Outdoor Adventures Telluride
by maribeth
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No Barriers Women’s Summit Kicks Off in Telluride
Yoga: A Vital Part of Any Healing Practice
Female Warriors
Telluride in Fall: A Great Place for Healing
Who doesn’t have obstacles in life? We all do! Whether they are mental, physical, emotional or material, we all have challenges. Thankfully there are organizations such as No Barriers that help us face them head on in a fun, supportive environment.
Today, Telluride welcomes the first-ever No Barriers Women’s Summit to our beautiful Colorado mountain town. A group of some thirty women from as far away as Europe is coming together to participate in a roundup of activities and adventures with the goal of empowering themselves like perhaps never before. In addition to activities such as horseback riding and hiking, the ladies will also be gathering for morning yoga, an afternoon of painting and wine, a networking cocktail and a variety of other inspirational programs and social events.
Outdoor Adventures Skiing & Snowboarding The Adirondacks: Adirondacks Lake George summer fun summertime memories waterskiing
by maribeth
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Summer Fun at Lake George, New York
Early Morning Waterskiing on Lake George, New York
It’s My Turn
I’ve been at Lake George, New York the past couple of weeks. With the exception of a stay in New York City, largely to attend the BlogHer 2015 Conference, I’ve been parked at my family’s camp on the east side of this thirty-two-mile-long body of water. Although I’m still spending inordinate amounts of time on my laptop, it has been delightful being at the lake and visiting with family and a few old friends.
My parents’ house, situated on the east side of Lake George, the predominantly residential part of this magnificent Adirondack lake, holds countless memories for me. I have spent many summers here over the past forty-four years and will always feel a very special connection to this place. It had been seven years since I had been here during this blissful season when the days are long and hot and the temperature of the lake is at its peak, so this visit has touched off an overwhelming sense of nostalgia in many ways. Water-wise, from jumping off the boathouse into the silky depths of the lake, to paddling around the bay in a canoe, to enjoying a sunset boat cruise with my parents, my heart has swelled in reliving some of my favorite summertime activities at LG these past weeks.
I didn’t realize that one of my most memorable moments from childhood would be recreated this summer. I never imagined that this summer’s big adventure would occur on Lake George with an adrenaline surge the likes of which I haven’t experienced in years. Twenty-five years to be exact. I’m talking about waterskiing as you’ve likely gathered from the photos at the top of this post. Phew–what a rush! I last waterskied two and a half decades ago in the Mediterranean, however, I hadn’t skied much on water ten years prior to that–in truth, I had hardly skied since I was a kid. Even then, I didn’t do it a whole lot.
Hotels & Lodging Outdoor Adventures Restaurants The Outer Banks Travel: #AffordableTravel #BeachVacations #CapeHatterasNationalSeashore #OuterBanks #SummertimeFun
by maribeth
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Another Wonderful Visit to the Outer Banks
The Outer Banks of North Carolina
I recently spent a week at the beach with my boyfriend, Steve. We were on the Outer Banks of North Carolina (OBX), one of the most alluring surf side destinations in the world, and a spot he has been frequenting for almost three decades.
So Pretty
Almost There
Steve’s an avid beach enthusiast and I love the fact that he can just as easily appreciate lounging in a sun-baked dune as catching a ten-foot wave in the surf. Depending on the season and the weather patterns, you can find big swells in the waters off of Nags Head, Rodanthe, Hatteras, Frisco, and a slew of other OBX surf spots revered by surfers and beach aficionados from around the world.
Colorado Hotels & Lodging Outdoor Adventures Telluride: discounted price Inn at Lost Creek KOTO fundraising Telluride Golf Telluride Golf Getaway
by maribeth
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Terrific Telluride Golf Getaway at a Great Deal
Telluride Golf Course
How would you like to play a round of golf at Telluride Golf Club, one of the world’s most drop-dead gorgeous golf courses for half price? And to make your Telluride golf experience even sweeter, you can stay–also at half price–just a zinger away from the course at the Inn at Lost Creek, Telluride Ski & Golf’s boutique hotel. A golf cart will pick you up in the morning from this lovely property located in the heart of Telluride Mountain Village and bring you back at the end of the day in time for a frosty drink on the deck to toast your après golf. (How about that for coining a new phrase?)
Both the round of golf for two at the Telluride Golf Club and the night at the Inn at Lost Creek can be yours for $300.–that’s half the $600. value. Whoa, if you’re not going for it–tell your friends! Best of all, all proceeds go to KOTO, Telluride’s homegrown community radio station. Thank you Telluride Ski & Golf Resort for your most generous donation to our fundraising efforts.
Art & Culture Colorado Mountain Living Outdoor Adventures Telluride Telluride Festivals The Rockies: Blue Lake hike Eric Moore fall foliage viewing Mt. Sneffels photography festival Colorado Ralph Lauren's Ranch Telluride Photo Festival
by maribeth
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The Gold Season in Colorado: A Festive Time for Professional and Amateur Photographers
America the Beautiful
Oh Say Can You See
It’s unfair that the northeast of America is most often credited for its fabulous fall foliage. I’m from upstate New York and know well the glorious riot of colors that typically explodes there and–in New England–in autumn. But here in Colorado, I’m doubly awed–not only by our fabulous flourish of yellows, golds, orange and rust–but also by the majesty of our mountains, magnificent peaks which appear even more awe-inspiring as the low-lying autumnal sun casts its brilliant light on our dramatic panoramas.
I gobbled up an eyeful of this magnificence yesterday when my boyfriend and I embarked on a hike to Lower Blue Lake off of Dallas Creek Road, situated beneath Mt. Sneffels, one of the area’s most iconic Fourteeners, measuring 14,150-feet in elevation. This is God’s–and also Ralph Lauren’s Ranch–country, made accessible to all thanks to an easement by Ralph. It also takes a sturdy, vehicle to handle the bumpy half-hour drive into the trailhead and a strong will and steady athleticism to hike the 3.3-mile ascent up to dazzling Lower Blue Lake. I’m proudly sporting the blisters today that I earned from yesterday’s effort; there’s no doubt that it was my best hike of the season.
