Colorado Denver Health & Fitness Mountain Living Restaurants Telluride: a community coming together cancer Colorado Colorado pack trips David Clemente Dennis Huis fundraising raffle heart transplants Shaboomee Telluride Telluride Ski School The Village Table Wagner Skis
by maribeth
Comments Off on So Much Heart
So Much Heart
David, Joanna, Dennis and Me at UC Health Denver in Early March
One of the best parts about being sick is seeing how much it brings people together. Amid all the pain and suffering, there is so much love. And, of course, love promotes healing.
I have been living this since early January when my brother, David, was diagnosed with Stage 4 laryngeal cancer. (I’ll post more on this at a later date.)
This story, however, is mostly about my friend and fellow ski instructor, Dennis Huis. Dennis is the lucky recipient of a new heart and although he has a long way to go in terms of healing, he’s already doing so much better.
I saw Dennis, one of Telluride Ski Resort’s top instructors, in December and I could tell right away he was not well. Next thing I knew I learned that he was in Denver awaiting a heart transplant! Wow–you can bet that created a lot of buzz in the locker room. I found out about this about the same time that I began to help my brother sort out his diagnosis and treatment.
Europe Food & Wine France Hotels & Lodging Restaurants Shopping Surfing: Auto Europe Bar Jean Basque Country Biarritz dining France Hôtel du Palais La Fonda La Pizzeria des Arceaux Les Halles de Biarritz lodging Maison Arostéguy Miremont romance Shopping Sofitel Miramar southwest France Spa Impériale surfing Thalassa Spa
by maribeth
1 comment
Bodacious Biarritz
Biarritz: Breathtakingly Beautiful
La Grande Plage
Bobbing Heads in the Surf Capital of Europe
Steve & Me
I took a trip of a lifetime with my boyfriend, Steve, a while ago and now seems like the right time to write about it.
It was stunning and dramatic, sweet and endearing, intense and oh-so memorable–all very much like our relationship. It left us in awe and amazed and full of desire for more.
We both chose the destination; I chose France and Steve narrowed it down to Biarritz, an oceanside resort in southwest France in the Basque region that I had only visited once–very briefly–on a cold winter’s day during the research phase of my book The Riches of France: A Shopping and Touring Guide to the French Provinces. At that time, I did just a cursory tour of the town, one that was more focused on the boutiques of Biarritz than its spectacular coastal scene and its sensational surf.
Biarritz Beauty
Gorgeous
With Steve, it was all about the surf. No surprise there, since this is where the waves roil in with the greatest, most consistent force in all of Europe. And Steve is big on surfing. It sounded like the perfect fit to me; he had the surf and I had France. What came as a surprise, however, was how he became so taken with the whole French experience and the French themselves.
Art & Culture Colorado Denver Four Corners Hotels & Lodging The Southwest Trip Planning: Denver Art Museum Goulding's Lodge Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Western Art Westerns
by maribeth
1 comment
The Western: An Epic in Art and Film
The Western: An Epic in Art and Film
Denver Art Museum Entrance
Love this Remington
A Great Synopsis of Westerns
Symbolism in Art
I love Westerns. I love the Denver Art Museum. I love the exhibition The Western: An Epic in Art and Film. Sorry for gushing but I think it’s wonderful!
I saw it in Denver a few weeks ago and I had a smile on my face as I walked through every room of this beautiful show–once again DAM has done a magnificent job with this installation, which creates a setting that makes you feel as though you just stepped into the wild, wild West.
Tune into KOTO.org at 6:30pm MST tonight to listen to my Travel Fun interview with Thomas Brent Smith, co-curator of the exhibition The Western: An Epic in Art and Film. Even if you’re not able to attend the show in Denver, which runs through September 10, you’ll learn much about Westerns and why we love films and artwork that depict the great American West. Thank you, Thomas, for such an eloquent and articulate conversation about the show and why Westerns conjure up such an array of emotions for so many.
Beaver Creek Colorado Denver Hotels & Lodging Mountain Living Restaurants Spas Telluride The Rockies: Beaver Creek Broadmoor Colorado Colorado Springs Denver Mountain Lodge Telluride Park Hyatt Beaver Creek pools Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch Spas Telluride The Peaks Warwick Denver Westin Beaver Creek
by maribeth
Comments Off on One Sensational Colorado Spa and Six Perfect Pools
One Sensational Colorado Spa and Six Perfect Pools
Warwick Denver Hotel
Many people come to Colorado in the summer to hike, bike, jeep, fish and sit outside to enjoy great concerts amid breathtaking scenery. Yes, Colorado ranks supreme for all that, however, this Rocky Mountain state also boasts some of the best pools and spas in the country. They’re terrific because of the mountains.
Mountain Lodge Telluride
Most of the pools highlighted below are backdropped by scenery eloquently described by Katharine Lee Bates in “America the Beautiful.” And because of the purple mountain majesties where we work our bodies to near exhaustion, it’s important to have glorious pools and spas where we can relax and rejuvenate. We have a good amount of them in Colorado, all of which are attached to prized hotels and resorts.
The Peaks Pool in Telluride
See the photos and my blurbs below to begin your journey through some of the best hydrotherapy offerings in Colorado. Whether you’re going to these establishments for a stay, a treatment or a day pass (often in conjunction with poolside dining), go ahead and plan your travels around them. The benefits you derive from these mountain oases will carry you well past the end of your vacation. And best of all: Most of these pools are open year-round because they’re heated.
The Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch Resort
The Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch Pool and Spa in Beaver Creek
My boyfriend, Steve, and I experienced The Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch Spa a while ago during a spring ski getaway. I wrote about it at Pick a Spa, Pick a Ski Destination. We loved it then, however, recently we had an even more extraordinary experience, since we logged some delicious pool time as well.
Ritz-y Pool
Poolside Offerings
Oh, the pool. Drawn in by its black lines, we knew this stunning, infinity pool was the place for us. We arrived at lunchtime on a busy Friday and were thrilled to see that there was still a designated lane where we could do laps away from the din of Marco-Polo and all the other activity that characterizes a day at the pool in summer.
Steve diligently knocked out his sixty lengths while I bronzed, something I rarely find the time to do. I decided to forgo my workout because I had already sunk deeply into a lolling around mood, one enhanced by a stack of magazines and my phone turned off. (It actually went dead because of the heat.)
Bottoms Up
Food tastes best when eaten outside, particularly in the summer when salty chips and fries are de rigueur. We feasted on fish tacos and a grilled chicken wrap served in large Bento-type boxes that far exceeded your average poolside chow. (My phone had died by the time the food arrived, however, I did take a snapshot of the menu!)
Since this is Colorado, the clouds rolled in practically on cue by mid afternoon. Pas de problème. We just snuggled up to their poolside bar and sipped a frothy one, a beer that we found very amusing because it was a perfect pour by Bottoms Up. Many guesses later, we discovered that a magnet holds the key to the beer not bottoming out. You might have seen these beers at stadiums and now it appears they’re gaining popularity at certain mountainside resorts. (Just think après ski/large volumes of beer served/perfect every time.)
Steve and Me at the Poolside Bar of The Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch
Travel: bad travel experiences Basic Economy Fare poor customer service stressful travel experiences Travel United United Airlines
by maribeth
6 comments
Basic Stupidity from United Airlines
The Supervisor and the Checkin Agent at United
With all the traveling I’ve been doing these past eighteen months–mostly going back and forth between upstate New York and Colorado–I guess I was due for a bad airline experience. Sure, I’ve had upsets this past year and a half, at least two that forced me to stay over at a connecting city because of a flight cancelled due to supposed mechanical problems. (I’m told that’s what airlines say and do these days when a plane isn’t packed to the gills.) But yesterday, I felt the full brunt of lousy customer service.
I arrived with some trepidation at the airport to check in at United for my Albany to Chicago to Denver travel itinerary. I had already received a few updates stating that my flight was delayed due to thunderstorms in Chicago. OK, that’s acceptable, that’s an act of nature that has forced me to be grounded in Chicago several times before. That’s not the fault of the airlines. These storms goofed up the arrival of the inbound flight to Albany, so I just had to take a deep breath and hope for the best.
But the real trouble began when the checkin agent told me I had to check my rolling carryon at checkin. “Are you serious?” I exclaimed. “That’s not at all what I was told.”
United’s Basic Economy
“You have a Basic Economy ticket and that’s what you have to do,” the agent replied without a hint of an apology.
I proceeded to explain to him that I knew I had a Basic Economy ticket and that’s why I packed the way I did. I booked it two months ago and checked the restrictions four times over with the agent I spoke with on the phone. (I always do check, double check to practically ad nauseam. My father was in WWII and he said that was the rule of the land–no one could afford any mistakes. And I learned well from Dad.) Since this is a new reduced fare that United recently launched, I questioned the agent up and down and then planned my strategy accordingly.
It was my understanding that I was not allowed to check a bag although I could check a carryon at the gate at the cost of $50. each way ($25. for the bag; $25. for the handling fee). I thought it odd that I’d be paying for anything at the gate but the agent I spoke with was insistent upon that. (She did have a thick accent, so in retrospect, I can only think something was lost in our ability to understand each other.)
Colorado Health & Fitness Hotels & Lodging Mountain Living Telluride The Rockies: altitude sickness Colorado Diamox Don Bowie Dr. Peter Hackett Institute for Altitude Medicine lodging Telluride Mountain Lodge New Sheridan oxygen therapy traveling to elevation
by maribeth
Comments Off on Dealing with Altitude Issues at Our High Mountain Destinations
Dealing with Altitude Issues at Our High Mountain Destinations
Almost Summer at Mountain Lodge Telluride
The Town of Telluride, Colorado: Fun at 8,750 Feet
Me Feeling Happy and High at the Delightful Rooftop Bar at the New Sheridan Hotel
I’m long overdue in talking about how to combat the effects of high elevation with you. I apologize. Please forgive me.
In some ways, I’m new to the game myself. Although I’ve lived at heights as great as almost 10,000 feet for fifteen and a half years, I’m somewhat new to a magical little pill that has made a world of difference for me: It’s a diuretic called Diamox.
It was just a year ago that I began taking Diamox, a prescription medicine long touted to me by my ski clients but somehow I was lax in asking my doctor for a script. I finally did last spring and have used it many times this past year as I’ve traveled in and out of Telluride many times. At the risk of sounding like a drug pusher, ask your doctor about it and see if it’s good for you.
In other ways, I’m not at all new to the effects of elevation on my body. I think I first felt them when I went to the Alps during the time I was living in France. I was slammed with a headache that carried all the force of an avalanche down Mont Blanc. Ever since then, I take precautionary aspirins when I first arrive at elevation, even before the head pounding sets in.
But the Alps are nothing–at least in terms of height–to the Rockies. And I found that out when I moved here. Sure, after a few days I adjust to our thin air (about 30% less oxygen when you’re at over 9,000 feet), but if I leave a high destination for over a week, I have to reacclimatize each time, sometimes with effects worse than other times.
It’s no wonder I was fascinated with a Travel Fun interview I did many years ago with Dr. Peter Hackett, a world renowned high altitude expert and director of the Institute for High Altitude Medicine here in Telluride. I am rebroadcasting that interview on KOTO at 6:30pm MST today. Dr. Hackett, a leading authority on altitude illness with years of experience on big expeditions in Colorado, the Himalayas, Denali and South America, talks about his experiences along with, Don Bowie, one of the world’s top climbers. Don also shares sketchy elevation issues he has succumbed to during some of his adventures. It’s important to note that elevation sickness is genetic; it has nothing to do with what kind of shape you’re in.
Colorado Hotels & Lodging Restaurants Telluride Travel Trip Planning: Bootdoctors Colorado free air fare Holiday Prelude Inn at Lost Creek Mountain Lodge Telluride New Sheridan Hotel special deals Telluride Telluride lodging Telluride Resort Lodging Telluride Ski Resort The Peaks Resort & Spa
by maribeth
Comments Off on Yay for Skiing, Riding & Holiday Making in Telluride
Yay for Skiing, Riding & Holiday Making in Telluride
Telluride, Colorado
Telluride Town All Wrapped Up for the Holidays
Yay, it’s December! Yay, the ski area is open! Double yay, we have a good amount of fresh snow–a season total of over fifty inches so far! Yay, it’s the most beautiful time of the year in the most picturesque mountain town in America. Really. Telluride, Colorado gives festive new meaning all winter long and most especially right now and throughout these upcoming weeks.
Driving Toward the Mountain
Getting Closer
After a super warm and dry November, the Telluride Ski Resort lifts are finally powering us up to the tops of the mountains we love so dearly.
Do you remember how you felt on Christmas Eve when you were a child? Well, that’s how many of us have been feeling lately. The excitement is palpable; it seems that just the thought of cruising down the hill basking in the fun and freedom that’s part of most every on-mountain experience has half the town giddy. I woke up at 5:30 in the morning on opening day in anticipation of the thrill of being out on the hill.
Beaver Creek Colorado Restaurants Telluride Vail: Beaver Creek Colorado Restaurants Telluride Vail
by maribeth
Comments Off on Summer Dining Picks for Vail, Beaver Creek and Telluride
Summer Dining Picks for Vail, Beaver Creek and Telluride
Fabulous Grilled Chops from Elway’s Vail
Wow, Colorado’s mountain towns are going off right now. Every year the summer tourism scene seems to grow as people realize that Colorado’s resort towns are the place to be to have fun, cool off and enjoy terrific dining. There’s so much to choose from, often your toughest decision is where to go. And it should come as no surprise that the culinary scene of our swanky mountain towns rivals the dining options offered in the world’s most cosmopolitan cities.
In this story, I’ve outlined some of my suggestions of where you’re sure to enjoy a delicious meal in a great setting. These are the busiest weeks from now through Labor Day, so I suggest you plan ahead and reserve as much in advance as possible at these and other fine restaurants.
