Food & Wine Telluride The Rockies: Food & Wine Telluride Telluride Festivals The Rockies
by maribeth
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Wining and Dining in the Rockies
Pouring the Beloved Nectar
For years I had heard about the Food and Wine Classic in Aspen, the big foodie event that just took place in Aspen last weekend. It wasn’t until I moved to Telluride six years ago that I learned about the Telluride Wine Festival, the gastronomic extravaganza that has drawn food and wine connoisseurs to our more subdued mountain town for almost three decades. Steve Olson, aka Wine Geek, plays a pivotal role in both of these happenings. In Telluride, he’s our Master of Ceremony for our food and wine celebration that’s taking hold of our town this weekend. Clearly Steve loves these festivals like a father who loves two very different children.
“Aspen Food and Wine Classic is truly one of the most important food and wine festivals in the world,” Steve said in a recent Travel Fun interview. “It draws some of the biggest chefs, vintners and food and wine enthusiasts from all over the globe and it continues to grow every year. We handpick experts that fit Telluride. There’s not a bone of pretense here. These professionals come to share, not preach. Telluride is more low key, more intimate,” Steve continues. “It’s more one on one—you can find yourself having a cup of coffee with a chef on Main Street.”
Chef Bertrand Bouquin
That chef might very well be Bertrand Bouquin, Executive Chef at The Broadmoor of Colorado Springs, the Grande Dame of resorts in the Rockies. As one of the culinary experts invited to the festival, Chef Bouquin will be preparing a special lunch tomorrow, Saturday, at Allreds where he’ll be serving up carrot soup with lime and cilantro, followed by veal tenderloin wrapped in bacon. All will, of course, be paired with exceptional wines.
Steve Olson and Bertrand Bouquin enjoy a professional relationship outside of the Telluride Wine Festival since Steve consults for the beverage program at The Broadmoor. He has, in fact, concocted a great variety of cocktails that serve as the perfect accompaniment to Bertrand’s innovative cuisine. Indeed all kinds of beverages from mezcal to lager are showcased at the Telluride Wine Festival along with a cellar-full of wines from near and far.
And like so many of the other beverage and culinary experts participating in the festival, Steve and Bertrand began in the hospitality industry at a very young age. Steve started out as a waiter and quickly caught the fever for the need to make others happy. Bertrand was working in a restaurant kitchen in Burgundy in his native France at the age of fifteen.
Thank goodness we have festivals that encourage us to celebrate the passions of these dedicated oenophiles and gastronomes. These events allow us to spend entire weekends learning, tasting and savoring. Once again, the world comes to us in our little mountain town. Maybe someday I’ll break out and attend the Aspen Food and Wine Classic.
A Scrumptious Salad from Summit at The Broadmoor
Hot Topics According to Wine Expert Steve Olson
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(Steve is largely known in the industry as the guy who is going to show you the next cool thing.)
Steve Olson, aka Wine Geek
-”Spain has emerged as a great wine-making country,” Steve says. Their wines are a good bet overall for great value and quality.
-”Greece is exploding now. There’s a whole renaissance of winemakers,” he says.
-”Colorado wines are taking their rightful place among the hierarchy of American wines,” he emphasizes. Some of his favorite wineries include Stone Cottage, Snowy Peak, Holy Cross Abbey, Boulder Creek and Canyon Wind.
Hot Topics According to Culinary Expert Chef Bertrand Bouquin
–Molecular gastronomy. “This is when chefs break down ingredients and reconstruct them,” Chef Bouquin explains. “You have the flavor of a food in a different form.” An example of this would be a carrot flavored gelée (a sort of Jello, but more refined). Apparently there’s a lot of this going on in the big cities. Sounds rather Sci Fi to me.
The Broadmoor: Where You Can Sample the Creations of Steve and Bertrand Year-Round
Cheers!
Aspen Colorado Skiing & Snowboarding Spas The Rockies: Aspen Colorado Skiing & Snowboarding Spas The Rockies
by maribeth
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Skiing and Spa Going: Part Two in Aspen
Pond Skimming at Aspen Highlands
Some nights ago I tuned into some pond skimming from Mammoth. I took a double take since we are almost in summer. Then I remembered that Mammoth Mountain doesn’t typically close until mid June; I also realized that I had switched on to RSN, or Resort Sports Network, a local’s favorite here in T-ride, a cable station that can satisfy a sports enthusiast’s hankering for outdoor adventure with the push of a button. The show that followed tracked some of the world’s most harrowing expeditions at both the North and South Poles. The channel was all about snow, risk taking and fun. And here it is mid June. Boy, do I love living in a ski town.
Pond skimming. The words themselves conjure up a variety of curious images. But I’m talking about some of the best end-of-season fun that can be had on skis and boards. I witnessed some impressive pond skimming late April of this year, the last weekend at Aspen Highlands. Crazy kids young and old challenged themselves and wooed the crowd by plunging from atop the hill onto a manmade pond hoping they had gauged their speed and balance enough to carry them across the water. Plouf! Inevitably a few unlucky souls didn’t quite make it. The audience howled.
I’ve since carefully stowed my skis away but thoughts of skiing and the upcoming ski season aren’t too far out of mind. The season ended on a particularly sweet note, so I can’t help looking forward to what next season will bring.
It has become a tradition of mine to ski Aspen once Telluride closes and I willingly obliged to this rite of spring again this year. I actually had been staying in Aspen a good part of off-season with my dad, so it was a given that I’d close the season much as I had in the past, especially since the Highlands opened for an additional two weekends. (Let’s hope they’ll do it again next year.) This year though I was going to be with Steve, my sweetie, and I knew that our last day would mark the end of a very full ski season spent as much happily together as apart. My brother, David, and his wife, Geri, also planned to join us, so it seemed we’d all strike a celebratory chord together throughout our last turns.
Colorado Hotels & Lodging Restaurants Romance & Relationships Skiing & Snowboarding Spas The Rockies: Colorado Hotels & Lodging Music & Dance Restaurants Skiing & Snowboarding Spas The Rockies
by maribeth
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Skiing and Spa Going: Part One in Vail, Colorado
Après Ski Necessities at Vail Plaza Hotel & Club
What? Don’t tell me you’re tired of hearing about skiing. While most die-hard skiers are still plowing through mashed potatoes and corn snow at ski areas such as A-Basin in Colorado and Mammoth Mountain in California, most of us ardent ski buffs have finally resigned ourselves to hanging up our skis for the season. But smart travelers should begin contemplating next season.
If any of you out there (devoted readers, for example) have been waiting with bated breath to read about my weekend with Steve (see Weekend Expectations blog below), I can tell you our time together scored exceedingly high marks. We, in fact, spent two weekends in a row together in April experiencing end-of-ski-season bliss. Plus we learned that spring is a great time to ski and spa go without dealing with the crowds. Bargains are excellent during this time as well. (The same, of course, holds true for early season in November and the first half of December.)
Vail and Its Fairytale-Like Village
We zipped off to Vail after Telluride officially closed to experience the fun and fanfare of their closing weekend. A spring storm dumped impressive amounts of snow on the mountain beginning the Thursday before. Had it not been for Steve nursing an extremely sore back (from apparently having skied too hard the previous weekend in T-ride which had also benefited from an outstanding snowfall at its closing), I would have feared more powder day problems. Instead we carried on like two lovers on a weekend getaway where skiing and mountain fun entered into only part of the equation (wink, wink).
I had only been to Vail once before many years ago for my PSIA (Professional Ski Instructor of America) certification, so this time I was eager to discover it for real. Steve gladly toured me around Vail’s renowned back bowls and I was thrilled to find myself cruising on black terrain considerably softer than what we have in T-ride. (Of course I love our steeps but they do require more effort.) After just a few hours of skiing, however, Steve declared that his back had had enough. That was fine with me since by then I felt as though I had a good grasp of the mountain and looked forward to the day when I could return and really wear myself out at this world renowned resort.
This left us with time to explore Vail Village, a pedestrian-friendly assemblage of shops, restaurants, bars and places of lodging that truly made us feel like we were on vacation. One might look at this Bavarian-inspired hamlet as hokey (I have in the past), but it really does transport you to a faraway land and we jumped on for the ride. Steve, with his family ties to the Italian Alps, pointed out how authentic these alpine chalets really were in their construction and interpretation. This enchanted me even more, so I suggested we stop for a coffee and a strudel at Hotel-Gastof Gramshammer, one of the more charming wooden establishments in the area, founded in 1965 by Austrians Sheika and Pepi Gramshammer.
It was a good choice. We sat at their German beer garden terrace and then later discovered that this classic alpine establishment also housed two other restaurants, a particularly animated bar and hotel rooms above. I wasn’t sure whether I was more wooed by its charm or Steve’s attentiveness.
Hotels & Lodging Restaurants The Rockies Travel: Hotels & Lodging Restaurants The Beach The Rockies Travel
by maribeth
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Grace and Grandeur on Florida’s Gold Coast
Florida's Gold Coast
I’ve been hanging out in Aspen for nearly two weeks now. I often spend a part of off-season here with my dad in his condo where he resides part-time. We both enjoy this in-between time when the crowds have gone home and life is no busier than the patio of Mezzaluna on a bright, spring day. (Still totally manageable.) There’s also more to do and see here than in Telluride during the shoulder season, especially with Aspen Highlands remaining open an extra two weekends in April. (More on that later.)
As our high-altitude sun melts the winter snow, however, I can’t help thinking about how nice it would be to find myself on a beach. Thankfully I’m able to live many wonderful travel experiences through friends and contributors that dutifully report back to me. So when I can carve out the time to travel some distance, I know exactly where I want to find myself.
A Colorful Cozy Nook at The Colony Hotel & Cabana Club
I recently sent my friend Peter, from Resort Maps, to The Colony Hotel & Cabana Club in Delray Beach, Florida. He selected Delray Beach; I zeroed in on The Colony. Both proved to be winning choices. (Resort Maps exist in some of the most charming travel destinations in the U.S. and Peter was headed there on business which proved to me that Delray Beach was a place to report on.) Known as an artists’ colony during the 1940s, Delray Beach is still considered to be a hip, trendy destination today. I recommended Peter stay at The Colony Hotel & Cabana Club, an historic landmark built in 1926 that is a member of Historic Hotels of America (a clear sign of distinction!). I didn’t know that this part of Florida’s Gold Coast exuded so much history and grace, but clearly there’s a surplus of it in Delray Beach as well as at The Colony where Old Florida meets today’s sunny chic. One of the highlights of The Colony is lunch at the Cabana Club, an unpretentious haven of calm along the Atlantic where lunch is served to hotel guests and club members only. Peter enjoyed a hamburger there with friends while I drooled over the pictures.
Boca Raton Resort & Club
He experienced an even more elevated culinary experience at Morimoto, a stunning sushi restaurant, headed by Masahuru Morimoto (of Iron Chef fame), located within the tony confines of the Boca Raton Resort & Club. Boca—like nearby Delray—is steeped in history and the Boca Raton Resort & Club radiates all the glamour and glitz of its roaring Twenties era. And then some. Built the same year as The Colony by legendary architect Addison Mizner, this icon of elegance blossomed from a 100-room hotel (the most expensive ever constructed at the time) to a 1,000 plus-room resort now part of The Waldorf-Astoria Collection. Modeled after a Spanish castle, I liken this impressive assemblage of buildings and outcroppings to The Broadmoor, the Grande Dame of the Rockies in Colorado Springs. Fortunately I can speak about the Broadmoor from firsthand experience, although my Boca Raton Resort & Club information has come from a variety of sources including Carole Boucard, P.R. Director of the resort. Carole recently chatted about Boca and her fine property on Travel Fun and the feedback from members of my audience was remarkable. Both the radio interview and its announcement prompted many people to write in about their memorable experiences at the resort and its environs. Clearly the Boca Raton Resort & Club ranks as one of America’s more treasured places of lodging. And their selection of dining options places them as an important culinary destination along Florida’s Gold Coast as well.
Morimoto: One of Many Superlative Restaurants at the Boca Raton Resort & Club
Carole rounded out our program by informing me about some of the hotel’s great summer deals, many of which must be booked by May 10th. I quickly thought about the often chilly string of days that typically occur here in the Rockies during July and August, the period so aptly named monsoon season. For me, the current so-called mud season is just a small puddle to cross compared to those months. I’m happy to hole myself up in Aspen as the warm days of spring emerge between a torrent of wet, snowy days. But I’m thinking about more balmy locales nonetheless and Delray Beach and Boca Raton, both just a short distance from easy-to-get-to Miami, have recently been added to my must-see list of destinations. And, of course, I’m a sucker for historic properties every time.
Porch Days Are Calling at the Boca Raton Resort & Club
The Colony Hotel & Cabana Club, 525 East Atlantic Avenue, Delray Beach, 561-276-4123, www.thecolonyhotel.com
Boca Resort & Club, 501 East Camino Real, Boca Raton, 888-491-2622, www.bocaresort.com
More Colony Quaintness
Suggested Reading
“Boomtime Boca: Boca Raton in the 1920s,” by Susan Gill and The Boca Raton
Historical Society
“The Boca Raton Resort & Club: Mizner’s Inn,” by Donald Curl and The Boca Raton Historical Society
“Skinny Dip,” by Carl Hiaasen
Boca Resort Dressed for a Wedding
Thank you to Bob Biener, one of my Travel Fun readers and listeners, who passed on the above photo (and many more fabulous shots) to me. His cousin was married at the resort just recently.
Hotels & Lodging Restaurants Romance & Relationships Skiing & Snowboarding The Rockies Travel: Hotels & Lodging Restaurants Skiing & Snowboarding The Rockies Travel
by maribeth
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Weekend Expectations
It’s often recommended not to have any expectations. But how can you not when it comes to a weekend getaway? I’m sure even guys think (O.K., fantasize) about what they want out of a romantic weekend away. That’s part of the fun. Call it another form of travel planning.
I’m trying not to think too much about my plans for this weekend. Yet still little glimmers of mostly romantic moments keep popping into my mind. Let’s face it, even if it’s not fireworks it darn well had better be good. And how do I define good? Nothing short of blissful togetherness. Perfect harmony where the mere thought of it all coming to an end makes both of our hearts sink.
Vail is closing for the season this weekend and I thought it would be great to take in the festivities with Steve, my new love. Normally I wouldn’t question (even remotely!) if all would go well but there’s a big storm in the forecast and Saturday is looking like a powder day. There are no friends on powder days as the saying goes, and I found this out for real back in January when we took our first weekend away.
We both were incredibly psyched about discovering Crested Butte, a spectacular Colorado destination known for its rugged terrain, authentic spirit and quaint Victorian town. Neither of us had spent any real time there, so it was uncharted territory for us both. Truly though I think it was the idea of spending forty-eight hours together that appealed to us the most.
The Pearl Room at The Crested Butte Retreat
The drive there couldn’t have been more perfect since we talked nonstop, sharing thoughts, dreams and ideas that we hadn’t yet revealed in previous conversations. We tiptoed in to The Crested Butte Retreat, a high-end bed-and-breakfast that I had located on the Internet. Our meeting with our gracious hosts would wait until morning. We pushed open the door to the Pearl Room (also known as the Honeymoon Suite) and sauntered into an immense, milky-colored space, twice the size of my apartment back home. We savored a glass of red wine on the loveseat before falling into bed, totally smitten with each other and our surroundings.
We Could Ski Right Outside the Door of The Crested Butte Retreat
After an elegant breakfast together, we left practically hand in hand for the slopes the next day. It was a perfect day, punctuated by many fun runs together on Crested Butte’s craggy slopes and one long break at the Ice Bar, a popular gathering spot on the mountain where we gulped frosty beers and snuggled up to each other at a wraparound bar made entirely of blocks of ice. We cooed some more over an après-ski hot chocolate and then rushed back to the Retreat for a quick change for dinner. (We even endured a goof up with the public transportation which resulted in us missing a bus and having to wait a near eternity for another. We didn’t care much though; we were one with each other.)
We opted out of a romantic dinner à deux to dine with Ken and Kim Stone, two incredibly warm and enthusiastic people that both Steve and I knew from their time in Telluride. As the CEO of Crested Butte Mountain Resort, Ken provided us with the full rundown on this once rough-around-the-edges mountain town that is morphing into a more sophisticated destination for outdoor enthusiasts in the know. We chatted about this evolution over cheese fondue and juicy steaks in the uber sleek setting of the newly opened Prime in Elevation Hotel at Mt. Crested Butte. No one, of course, could have asked for a better introduction to the Butte.
We fell asleep in each others arms, professing our utter contentment with each other and openly stated that something had to bring us back to reality. It was almost dizzying to feel so high up in the clouds.
Be careful what you wish for—I’ve been warned of that many times, too. Our fluffy white haze turned into a big, dark thunderhead that rained upset and grief upon us by mid Sunday afternoon. The day started out excitedly: Steve was pumped about skiing powder with Ken and Kim and I felt proud of myself for giving him space to knock himself out since I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep up with them on Crested Butte’s renowned double diamonds. The plan was that I would go on a Meet the Mountain tour and meet him for lunch. All was well in honeymoon land.
By almost 2 p.m., however, I was a wreck. He never showed up for lunch. “What? How could you forget?” I cried in between sobs.
“I don’t know, I just spaced it. I’m sorry. I screwed up.”
High Drama Hot Tub
Our weekend was irretrievable. Even a late check out and a long soak in the Honeymoon hot tub, couldn’t take us back to the soft space we had created together the first 3/4 of our weekend away. It took more time than that for both of us to fully recover.
Now here we are on the eve of another ski weekend away, another powder day. It would be silly for me not to expect to have it go well. But if there is a glitch, maybe now I wouldn’t take it quite so personally. Travel, after all, always brings out the best and the worst in relationships.
The Crested Butte Retreat, 970-349-1701, www.crestedbutteretreat.com ; please note that since this story was posted, The Crested Butte Retreat is no longer operating as an inn. You may, however, rent out the entire property for special retreats.
Crested Butte Mountain Resort, 800-810-7669, www.skicb.com
Prime in the Elevation Hotel at Mt. Crested Butte, 970-251-3030, www.skicb.com/cbmr/things-to-do/dining-mtcrestedbutte
Crested Butte is known for its proliferation of wildflowers in the summer. I have never seen this spectacular display but hope to some day soon. Maybe it will provide me with the opportunity to rewrite our ending in the Honeymoon Suite.
Hillside of Flowers in Front of The Crested Butte Retreat
Colorado Hotels & Lodging Skiing & Snowboarding Telluride The Rockies: Colorado Hotels & Lodging Skiing & Snowboarding Telluride The Rockies
by maribeth
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Togethering in the Rockies
Mountain Lodge at Telluride: A Great Place for Spending Time Together
Togethering. Certainly there was a lot of that this past weekend. Thanksgiving kicks off the season—especially here in the Rockies—when friends and family gather in houses, condos and cabins to share their vacation time together.
Togethering is the term coined not too long ago by travel agents and other travel industry experts to refer to the tendency of vacationing together as a family unit, often with extended family members and/or relations from previous marriages. “This coming together of combined families and friends has been more of a trend the past few years,” says Steve Togni, General Manager of Mountain Lodge at Telluride, a handsome property skirted with ten well-appointed slopeside cabins and an alluring lineup of condos, all perfect for families looking to settle into the mountains for an extended stay. “It has become less about skiing,” Steve adds. “It’s more about shopping, spa going, dining and just being in the mountains. I would describe these stays more as winter vacations rather than ski vacations. There’s definitely more of it going on in the winter than in the summer.”
A lot of people choose to rent large homes out West and many families return to the same house year after year. Clearly there’s beauty in having your own special hideaway without being encumbered by the expense and hassle of owning it yourself. “We have people coming back to the same property year after year,” says Maité Daguerre, Director of Operations at Elevation Vacations, a company that specializes in luxury rentals in Telluride. “People love the personal touch and great service we provide,” Maité continues. “It’s all about relationships. When someone checks in to a big luxury home—or even a small guest cottage—we meet them at the door, show them how to use the stereo, help them out however possible.”
I’ve togethered a number of times with my family in Aspen where my parents have a large condo. It’s always different there than being reunited at other locales; it seems the mountain and the lively town of Aspen provide the foundation for all. Both, of course, are good to escape to when the togethering element becomes a bit too much. My favorite times togethering in Aspen have been when it has just been my dad and me. Can togethering be about only two people?
When our family isn’t occupying our condo, it’s rented out and managed by Frias Properties of Aspen, the biggest rental company in Aspen that offers a variety of lodging possibilities in Aspen and Snowmass. “Our bookings are looking good for the season,” says co-owner Chuck Frias. “The international guests will be down from the Australian and Brazilian markets and also from Europe since the euro is weaker than it was last year, but we’re pricing more aggressively to make up the difference.”
A Family that Skis Together Stays Together
Unless you’ve been squirreled away the past few weeks, you know that the travel bargains are better than ever, so this is the time to take advantage of savings of up to thirty percent off on lodging and some airfares. Certainly if people are considering travel, they’re going to put a premium on time with their families. Folks will still want to get together and often it’s easiest to meet in a fun destination in the Rockies when families are spread out between Denver, Phoenix and New York.
Word has been that the outlook is more tenuous for Steamboat Springs this season, but the Sheraton Steamboat Resort isn’t complaining. They’re set to reopen December 4 after a $20 million renovation and bookings are full. The makeover transformed this fine Starwood property from a 350-room hotel to a 200-plus establishment composed of a good number of luxury condos. They offer several different possibilities for families looking to find a living situation that meets their taste and budgetary needs. Their two- to three- bedroom villas are more high-end, but all are ski in/ski out and freshly decorated in their new modern mountain look.
Trapper’s Cabin at Beaver Creek
You can find all kinds of lodging options throughout the Rockies for your togethering. No matter what the price tag, you’re sure to save some on dining expenses if you make use of the glorious kitchen facilities that appear to be at the heart of the accommodations best suited for families.
But what about those truly extraordinary reunions such as a very special wedding anniversary or a landmark birthday when money is no object? The gem in the RockResorts crown is most definitely Trapper’s Cabin, a magnificent four-bedroom, four-bath hideaway in Beaver Creek that sleeps up to ten people. Renovations on Trapper’s Cabin were completed last winter and the amenities such as a sleek professional kitchen and a game room complete with a pool table, poker table and large flat screen T.V. are enough to keep the whole gang happy for days.
The Tempter House in Telluride
There’s no fear whatsoever of catching cabin fever at the Tempter House, the Hope diamond of high-end lodging in the Rockies, situated right here in Telluride, perched at 12,200 feet at nearly the summit of Telluride Ski Resort. The Tempter House is one of the most secluded and romantic destinations you will encounter with 360-degree panoramic views that will make you feel like you’re floating on a mountaintop cloud. A couple’s massage or private catered dinner can be arranged or you can just relax with a glass of wine in front of the master bedroom’s wood burning fireplace and focus on your hunny. This must be why it’s referred to as the Tempter House! (Actually the name is inspired from Temptation Chute, a gnarly couloir that plunges down the mountainside on the out-of-bounds side of the house.) The Tempter House is, however, totally ski in/ski out. Many more glorious amenities are also offered. Expect to pay about $5,000. a night. Now that’s what I call topnotch togethering.
Great Views to Wake Up to at the Tempter House
Mountain Lodge Telluride, 866-368-6867 or 970-369-5000, www.mountainlodgetelluride.com
Elevation Vacations, 888-728-8160 and 970-728-8160, www.elevationvacations.com
Frias Properties of Aspen, 800-633-0336 and 970-920-2000, www.friasproperties.com
Sheraton Steamboat Resort, 866-716-8134 and 970-879-2220, www.sheraton.com/steamboat
Trapper’s Cabin, 970-754-5788, www.trapperscabincolorado.com
Tempter House, 866-888-7197, www.tellurideskiresort.com/TellSki/info/tempter-house
Special Travel Tips for Telluride and Steamboat Springs
There are many great deals for kids to fly for free to Telluride and Steamboat. Click on the below links to find out more.
Art & Culture Four Corners Hotels & Lodging Restaurants Spas The Rockies Travel: Art & Culture Four Corners Hotels & Lodging Restaurants Spas The Rockies Travel
by maribeth
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Going to Gateway
Red Rock Grandeur
“Now why did you say you wanted to come here again?” I asked my friend, Paula, as we stopped in this middle-of-nowhere place called Paradox, squinting beneath the beating sun in search of a gas station, a store or some other significant sign of life. My head pounded fiercely by now and both our car and I were positively parched.
“I wanted to take some pictures of Paradox Valley, you know for that contest I told you about, the one to raise awareness about possible uranium mining in the area,” Paula replied as she drove across verdant plains framed by cliffs the color of buff, sandstone and ochre. This contrasting display of nature must be the paradox, I blithely thought to myself as my head throbbed and we rolled through this shadow of a town, Paula clicking her camera like a sniper in a passing S.U.V.
We realized by now that there was no easy way to cleave our way through these rocky walls to Gateway, our ultimate destination, normally just a two-hour plus drive northwest of Telluride. Our detour to Paradox had proved scenic enough, but now we needed to speed up our travels. We had no choice than to turn around and drive back to Bedrock, the little speck we passed through on our way to Paradox Valley.
Colorado Mountain Living Telluride The Rockies: Colorado Mountain Living Telluride The Rockies
by maribeth
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Fall in Telluride: Riding the Gondola
Me Sightseeing on the Gondola
Boy, am I glad to be back! I’ve survived my technical difficulties and will try to catch up with my blog postings this week. (Give me a plume and a few sheets of parchment any day!)
If you think I appear somewhat like a Bond girl in the photo on the left, it’s because I’m riding the gondola that connects Telluride to Mountain Village. Yeah, I thought I’d go for more of a slick Europhile look here since a lot of people conjure up hair-raising scenes from a 007 flick when they first ride our gondola. Two systems builders, one from Salt Lake City, the other from Switzerland (not surprisingly!) collaborated to create this fine example of modern technology, a veritable air-born shuttle that spans three miles as it sails above the slopes at treetop height. A super green transportation choice that operates the better part of the year on wind-powered electricity, the gondola has greatly minimized the amount of air and noise pollution in Telluride while keeping vehicular traffic at a minimum. It always promises an exciting ride as well as safe delivery to the next station. Visions of heart-racing adventures become dashed when you learn that in the twelve years of its existence, only one evacuation was required and that was on the intercept gondola, the four-minute spit that goes between the core of Mountain Village to the parking area. (Rescuers do, however, regularly train for such missions, just in case.)
