Colorado Skiing & Snowboarding Telluride The Rockies: Colorado Skiing & Snowboarding Telluride The Rockies
by maribeth
2 comments
It’s Snowing in Colorado
A Much-Welcomed Snowstorm Today in Colorado
Hooray! It finally feels like winter today. It’s hard to say how much we’ll get out of this storm but whatever it is, we’ll take it. Yes, I’m addressing that big white elephant (mastodon, perhaps?) in the room. Yes, I’m writing about the ski situation in the U.S. so far this season. Yes, I’m finally posting a blog after more than a month away!
Posing with Rich, My Supervisor, My First Day Back to Work in December (Yes, we all have lots of fun together and make sure that our clients do, too)
And guess where I’ve been? I’ve been skiing my butt off here in Telluride, Colorado. Actually, my butt’s still there albeit a bit tighter. Although boy, is it sore—it is the biggest muscle in the body, isn’t it? Enough about my derrière. Obviously the skiing has been more than acceptable for me to be out so many days this past month. Granted I’m a ski instructor yet outside of the super busy period around the holidays, January typically slows down a lot. Ski and snowboard instructors only have work if there are people to teach. Despite the usual January lull and a less than stellar ski year, the mountain still buzzes with skiers and boarders of every level. And they all seem to be having a great time.
Colorado Food & Wine Shopping The Rockies Travel: Colorado Food & Wine Shopping The Rockies Travel
by maribeth
Comments Off on More Lovely Wines for Making Merry
More Lovely Wines for Making Merry
Colorado Warmth: Talon’s Aquila Dessert Wine
I had so much interest in my Favorite Reasonably-Priced Wines for the Holidays story that I decided to post another piece about newly-discovered sips. I’m savoring a delicious Merlot Port from St. Kathryn Cellars and an Aquila Dessert wine from Talon Winery with a creamy Stilton as I write this. I’m fearful this combo will turn into my latest après-ski or after dinner nibble during these cold Colorado days and evenings. (Oh dear, that Dukan Diet is already looming. Thankfully I’ll be out on the slopes on a regular basis from now on.)
These truly delicious nectars also make great gifts. Order them by calling 877-858-6330. They’re Colorado wines, from Palisade, so they’ll ship anywhere within the state and also to seventeen other states around the U.S. Note that the Talon Aquila Dessert wine resembles Port, sweet with a nice spice. The St. Kathryn Merlot Port, also delightfully cloying and mellow, tastes more fruit forward. Yum, I’m licking my lips as I write this—I just might bypass eggnog entirely this year.
Unexpected Goodness with Un4seen
Colorado Cycling Podcasts Skiing & Snowboarding Telluride The Rockies Travel: Colorado Cycling Podcasts Skiing & Snowboarding Telluride The Rockies Travel
by maribeth
Comments Off on Telluride, Colorado: A Real Winter Wonderland
Telluride, Colorado: A Real Winter Wonderland
Main Street, Telluride
It’s that time of year again, the frosty season when you stand on main street in Telluride, Colorado and feel like you can reach out and touch the massive, snowy peaks in front of you. Sure, this view is nothing short of spectacular all year long yet in winter, the light and the snow render these looming monoliths even more awe-inspiring. Add to that old Western and Victorian buildings blanketed in snow, folks trudging through the streets with ski gear in tow, puppies and people practically skipping down the street—and suddently you realize it’s a Norman Rockwell scene like none you’ve ever taken in before.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Colorado Denver Fashion & Style Hotels & Lodging Restaurants Shopping The Rockies: Colorado Denver Fashion & Style Hotels & Lodging Restaurants Shopping The Rockies
by maribeth
Comments Off on Cherry Creek: One of America’s Top Spots for Chic Shopping, Lodging and Dining
Cherry Creek: One of America’s Top Spots for Chic Shopping, Lodging and Dining
City Sidewalks, Busy Sidewalks, Dressed in Holiday Style. It’s Christmastime in the Mile-High City.
Where are you shopping this weekend? With only two weeks left until Christmas, I’d say there’s a good chance you might find yourself in a store. Many Americans will be hitting the mall, a dreaded chore for some unless you’re lucky enough to experience the Cherry Creek Shopping Center in Denver, one of the world’s premier showcases for quality goods from sunglasses to kitchen accessories to classic and up-to-the-minute fashions. Think Tysons Corner and Bal Harbour Shops—if you’ve been to either of these renowned shopping areas you have a good idea of what to expect at the Cherry Creek Shopping Center. From Burberry to Juicy Couture to Montblanc to Keihl’s and many more, the finest American and European brands reign here in great force. Macy’s, Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus anchor this alluring complex where even during this busy retail season, shopping is a delight. You’ll also find an Apple store among the mall’s 160 retailers, reason alone to hit this celebrated shopping place in Denver. Their jewel-like Ice Palace where Santa Claus holds court distinguishes itself by having a Santa that signs to deaf and hearing impaired children. Indeed, this is not your ordinary mall.
I suggest you plan to spend at least a couple of days in this most gentrified part of Denver. You’ll also want to take in Cherry Creek North, a lively shopping district next to the Cherry Creek Shopping Center, comprised of over three hundred upscale boutiques, galleries, restaurants, salons and spas within a sixteen-block area. I love the leisurely feel of this area where you can shop at big and small emporiums such as Crate and Barrel, Eileen Fischer, Loro Piana, Lands’ End and many more. Why, there’s even an Hermès.
Being Green Colorado Food & Wine Podcasts The Rockies: Being Green Colorado Food & Wine Podcasts The Rockies
by maribeth
1 comment
Seasonal and Savory: A Delightful Blog Chockfull of Recipes for All Seasons
Saffron and Honey Rolls
I began following Angela Cooks on Facebook a couple of months ago and found myself constantly clicking through her FB links to posts on her Seasonal and Savory blog. I haven’t made a single recipe but I have enjoyed many heartwarming culinary moments through her sharing.
I came to discover that Angela Cooks is actually Angela Buchanan, a professor at CU Boulder where she teaches rhetoric. I didn’t even know that was a course. “It’s a Communications Class,” Angela explains to me in the below Travel Fun interview. And yes, there is a connection with food, this enthusiastic cook’s passion both in and out of the classroom. In the first part of our chat, she talks about a Food & Culture class that she teaches in which students must do a food memoir. Tune in to hear what she says. Aren’t some of our best memories, especially travel-related ones, associated with the memory of certain foods?
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Colorado Hotels & Lodging Restaurants The Rockies: Colorado Hotels & Lodging Restaurants The Rockies
by maribeth
Comments Off on Hotel Boulderado: A Beautiful Destination for the Holidays and All Year Long
Hotel Boulderado: A Beautiful Destination for the Holidays and All Year Long
Christmas at Hotel Boulderado: A Grand Coloradan Tradition
Well, it’s here. Now that I have my turkey carcass boiling on the stove I feel comfortable embracing the holiday season. (I’m not one to rush things—I like each season to be experienced fully before approaching the next.) But now the countdown is on and it’s up to us not to let ourselves get all crazy with the cooking, decorating, celebrating and oh yes, the shopping.
I try to be like the French and adhere to quality, not quantity. I apply that to everything from what I consume to where I choose to spend my time. So let me suggest you buy less but do it in a more memorable manner. That applies to eating as well and even how and where you spend time away from home.
Relishing a moment—whether it’s a few hours or a few days—at Hotel Boulderado, one of Colorado’s most historic properties, will surely make your holidays special. Call it Christmas central. Festooned with holiday decorations from its stained glass ceiling to its tile floor and all around its hand-carved wooden railings, this more-than one-hundred year-old landmark becomes even more splendiferous at this time of year. This glittering Victorian gem draws people from all over and to me, I can think of no other Coloradan establishment that exudes as much charm as the Boulderado during this festive season.
Colorado Outdoor Adventures Skiing & Snowboarding The Rockies: Colorado Outdoor Adventures Skiing & Snowboarding The Rockies
by maribeth
Comments Off on Vail Resorts: Fun of Epic Proportions
Vail Resorts: Fun of Epic Proportions
One Epic Pass: Tons of On-Mountain Adventures
It’s that time of year again. Ski areas are opening up one after another here in Colorado and one of the first questions on people’s lips (right after what are the conditions) is what’s new?
It seems as though Vail Resorts might be out-doing the rest of our best-loved Colorado ski resorts this year, at least in terms of high-tech fun. Yeah, you no longer head to the mountains to get away from it all—especially in terms of communication—since smartphones and social media make staying in touch an inevitability.
And then comes the EpicMix, an application launched last season by Vail Resorts that features technology embedded into a card that does just about everything to enhance your on-mountain experience except carry your gear. The card—which is provided just as easily for season passes as for day lift tickets—allows the ski company to scan passes through jackets without the hassle of needing to make them visible. Add to this a ton of other special features that allow you to track vertical feet, number of days on the mountain, noteworthy feats and other achievements and you’ve got a whole lot of stats about your snowsports experience at the ready.
Art & Culture Colorado Hotels & Lodging Shopping Telluride The Rockies The Southwest Travel: Art & Culture Colorado Hotels & Lodging Shopping Telluride The Rockies The Southwest Travel
by maribeth
2 comments
Touring the Southwest with My Parents
A Great Facebook Profile Picture: Dad at the Grand Canyon
Are you familiar with those digital photo frames that display a continuous stream of select images? Well, I was back east in October visiting my parents and brought one of those frames to them as a gift. We had to enlist outside help (thanks Brian) to transfer my images onto the frame (I’m so eighteenth century), but once it started to flash our faces across the screen, we all beamed. My father especially glowed since he was finally able to see himself backdropped by a parade of images from the Grand Canyon and other notable sites in the Southwest. It was like bringing him back to the South Rim of the Canyon to gaze over the vastness and grandeur of what is most certainly our country’s greatest treasure.
We embarked on our two-week Western Jamboree just about a year ago. Fall and even winter are two fantastic seasons for visiting many of our National Parks, especially the Grand Canyon. During these times the wondrous play of light combined with a lack of crowds make these sites even more enchanting. The focal point of our trip was to be the Grand Canyon, a place my father always dreamed of seeing. At the age of eighty-four, we were ready to grant him his wish.
