Art & Culture Colorado Four Corners Hotels & Lodging Podcasts The Rockies: Art & Culture Colorado Four Corners Hotels & Lodging Podcasts The Rockies
by maribeth
Comments Off on Durango, the San Juan Skyway and the Western Movie Culture of the Four Corners Region According to Fred Wildfang
Durango, the San Juan Skyway and the Western Movie Culture of the Four Corners Region According to Fred Wildfang
The Marquee-Lined Hallway of The Rochester Hotel, the Hollywood of the Rockies
Writer and historian Frederic B. Wildfang has made Durango and the outlying area his passion for nearly two decades. Author of a handful of books about this colorful corner of southwestern Colorado, Fred clearly loves the San Juans, the most striking mountain range of the Rockies. “It’s an interesting area historically and scenically,” Fred says in a recent Travel Fun interview. And certainly its geological richness has left an indelible mark on the region from mining and ranching to tourism and western-movie making and much more.
Preserving Durango's Heritage: Fred Wildfang and Family
As for Durango, a dynamic town where Fred lives and works, Fred feels it’s a very friendly place filled with a great mix of the old and the new from weather-worn cowboys to fresh-faced outdoor enthusiasts from the nearby college. He hikes everyday in the Weminuche Wilderness, the largest road-less area in Colorado, which lies just outside his door. Fred also loves to use Durango as a base for visiting other great western destinations such as Creede, Colorado and Lake Powell, Utah. In his most recent book, “Images of America: The San Juan Skyway,” Fred features this unbelievably scenic 236-mile loop that wends through glacial valleys and over high ice-sculpted peaks, traversing the old mining towns of Silverton, Ouray, Telluride and Durango. It’s one of the most renowned drives in America and one that you’ll want to take with Fred’s book in hand.
With such spectacular scenery and a wealth of remnants from the Old West, it’s no wonder so many western movies were filmed in the Four Corners area. Fred’s wife, Diane, and her son, Kirk, took over The Rochester Hotel, an historic hotel in Durango a number of years ago and renovated it to a heartwarming place to stay, one of my favorites in this fun-loving western town. A must-see tribute to the history of western movie making in the region, the rooms and hallways of this cozy enclave showcase western movie memorabilia from Fred’s collection. Each of the rooms is named after the movies filmed in and around the San Juans, beginning with “A Ticket to Tomahawk,” a western classic made in 1949 starring Marilyn Monroe. Fred talks about this movie and others in our interview. You’ll discover that most of the westerns were filmed in the fifties and many boast a connection with the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railway, a national treasure that provides reason enough to travel to Durango.
Click on the play button below to hear my interview with Frederic Wildfang.
The Rochester Hotel, 721 East Second Avenue, 970-385-1920 or 800-664-1920, RochesterHotel.com
The Rochester Courtyard with an Old Rail Car
Book Picks
In addition to “Images of America: The San Juan Skyway,” mentioned above, if you’re going to Durango, you’ll also enjoy “Images of America: Durango,” authored by Frederic B. Wildfang as well. Go to ArcadiaPublishing.com to find out about these books and more.
Colorado Mountain Living Outdoor Adventures Romance & Relationships The Rockies: Colorado Mountain Living Outdoor Adventures Romance & Relationships The Rockies
by maribeth
Comments Off on Rafting and Roughing It on the Black Canyon of the Gunnison: Part One
Rafting and Roughing It on the Black Canyon of the Gunnison: Part One
Black Canyon of the Gunnison River
Only a handful of experiences in life—at least ones that occur over a forty-eight hour period—may be considered transformative. The below is one of mine. My journey on the Gunnison River gripped me with so much passion and awe that I’ve chosen to share it with you in its unabbreviated version. I’m posting this story in four parts. I hope you’ll be with me and enjoy it throughout.
I looked in the mirror and dabbed mascara onto my remaining lashes. I peered at myself and sighed about how much grey belied my younger-than-my-years appearance. Oh, what the heck, I thought. I carefully pulled the mascara wand through the patches of grey at my temples and along my hairline right at my part. I knew this was chance-y. Tomorrow I’d be on the river and I’d surely look ghastly with streaks of brownish-black running down the side of my face. Too bad I didn’t have waterproof mascara. Too bad I hadn’t had time to have my hair colored before it got this bad. Too bad I had to pack vanity along with me on a wilderness adventure.
Food & Wine Podcasts Restaurants The Rockies: Food & Wine Podcasts Restaurants The Rockies
by maribeth
Comments Off on Top Chef’s Kelly Liken: Making Colorado Proud
Top Chef’s Kelly Liken: Making Colorado Proud
Chef Kelly Liken: Frontier Spirit Meets Eastern Know-How
I chatted with cheftestant extraordinaire, Kelly Liken, yesterday, during a Travel Fun interview. It was the day after Bravo’s Top Chef finale and Kelly was finally able to breath a sigh of relief and talk openly and candidly about her Top Chef experience. Right off she revealed to me that Bravo’s newest Top Chef, Kevin Sbraga, was her choice for winner—aside from herself of course. Throughout the interview, Kelly sounds exhilarated by her whole Top Chef experience. And why wouldn’t she? She emerged from a pool of seventeen cheftestants to make her way among the final four (and the only woman to boot!) to the penultimate episode in Singapore. Indeed she has made Colorado proud.
Back in April I had the pleasure of dining in Kelly’s namesake restaurant in Vail. I was told at the time that she was away. When she showed up on Top Chef D.C., I realized that that’s where she was, a T.V. adventure that lasted over thirty days, concluding with some ten days in Singapore. When asked what she liked most about the experience, Kelly expressed her contentment with working so closely with the other chefs, revealing to me that they actually got along quite well. As for what she liked least, it comes as no surprise that she felt sleep deprived for the better part of the month.
Click on the play button below to hear more about what Kelly has to say about her Top Chef participation and her special relationship with Colorado.
Kelly's Signature Rocky Mountain Trout
If you’re anywhere near Atlanta next Friday, September 24, consider attending the Celebrity Chef Tour, an exciting event benefiting the James Beard Foundation. Kelly will be putting on a fine meal along with Kenny Gilbert, another Top Chef contestant that also has ties to Colorado. Go to Likin’ Kelly Liken to read more about Kelly and Kelly Liken, her Vail Village restaurant.
Kelly Liken, Vail, Colorado
Food & Wine Mountain Living Shopping Telluride: Food & Wine Mountain Living Shopping Telluride
by maribeth
Comments Off on Summer Sipping
Summer Sipping
Harvest Time at Sutcliffe Vineyards in Southwestern Colorado
I’m trying not to feel sad about summer’s end. As much as I love each season, it’s always hard to let them go—at least that’s the case for summer and winter here in Colorado. I’m already nostalgic about my summer. Yet I’m also determined to extend it, something that’s not so hard to do when the desert beckons just a short distance away. (I’m in the throes of planning a trip to Monument Valley, Grand Canyon and southern Utah for October, so I’m not putting my cotton T-shirts and flip flops away just yet.)
Almost more than anything else, I often identify my seasons with the food and wine I’ve savored during that time. (Indeed I am a gourmand.) And this summer more than before, I find myself associating certain wines with certain events. In some cases the wine was most memorable; in other cases it was the event. In all cases, both seemed to have a synergistic effect that has prompted me to remember both the event and the wine all the more intensely. My reminiscing of summer sipping goes as follows:
Sunset Concert Series
Encantado: A Mouthful of Summer All Year Long
Like many cities across America, almost every mountain town holds a weekly summer concert where locals and visitors alike can enjoy great music—from bluegrass to rock—against the backdrop of spectacular mountain scenery. In Telluride, our Sunset Concert Series takes place annually in Mountain Village all of July and August on Wednesday nights from six to eight p.m. People cart in their lawn chairs, spread out a picnic and enjoy the alpenglow, serenaded by all kinds of fun music. I wasn’t much on preparing a picnic this year and instead ordered up fine European pizzas from the nearby Italian restaurant. I did bring some delightful wines though including Concannon’s Righteously Rosé that I picked up at a local wine shop. What a way to kick off the first concert and what a find! Modestly priced at just over $10., this wine ranked as high as some of my most memorable rosés de Provence. This set me off on a Concannon spree which included most notably a creamy, buttery Chardonnay from Livermore Valley, just the sort of oaky California Chard that’s perfect year-round. At least for me anyway. Summer means rosé, so of course I celebrated the last Sunset Concert of the year with Encantado, a beautiful, salmon-colored nectar. This delicious rosé from California left me singing its praises while the sky also turned an exquisite peachy-pink as the sun set over the mountains.
Pine Ridge: A Sure Bet
The Tour de France
How I love to watch the Tour de France. And it’s sometimes more fun to take in the big mountain stages with friends. I brought a bottle of Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc-Viognier over to a friend’s place for one of the Pyrenées stages. We all marveled at this delicious wine that combines the honeyed fruit of Chenin Blanc with the light floral aromas and fruit notes of Viognier. It served as both an impressive gift and the perfect accompaniment to a mid-summer’s repast of cheese, salad and assorted hors d’oeuvres. My friend smiled approvingly at my choice of wine, reminding me that Pine Ridge, a Napa Valley Winery, is a much-appreciated sponsor of the Telluride Film Festival, a crowd that consistently shows good taste. Upon hearing this, I picked up two more bottles of Pine Ridge whites to enjoy throughout the rest of the Tour: a Chardonnay and a Sauvignon Blanc. What a Champs-Elysées finish!
Dinners at Home
I love enjoying a nice meal at home whether I’m sharing it with a friend (usually my hunny) or relishing one on my couch before I pull out my laptop to write. The French in me makes sure that I always serve up something tasty, a relatively easy feat in summer when fruits and vegetables delight the palate with full and luscious flavor. Monsoon season besieged us with a spate of chilly evenings, welcome relief nonetheless from some super hot days. And suddenly we had more good reasons to drink red wine! One remarkable dinner at home consisted of a plate of pasta buried beneath a thick mantle of homemade Bolognese sauce (made from ground buffalo). A Colorado wine, a superb Cabernet Sauvignon, from Sutcliffe Vineyards, accompanied it magnificently. Located in southwestern Colorado, this vineyard consistently produces memorable wines that embody all the sunshine and might of the Rocky Mountains. Good news: You can book a stay at the vineyard and make it your base for visiting renowned sites such as Mesa Verde in the region. Or, you can just kick back and gaze out over the vines.
A Picnic with Friends
Octavin Home Wine Bar
In Colorado, people are big on potlucks, a totally new concept to me up until I arrived here nearly nine years ago. In France, people take turns giving dinner parties. It’s rare that they join together to offer up the components of a meal—such a disorganized approach to assembling a feast is almost unthinkable to the French. When I don’t have time to cook, I’ll usually bring a couple of bottles of wine. I found a terrific “bottle” that ended up being the talk of the party. Have you ever heard of Octavin Home Wine Bar? Have you ever seen wine in a cardboard box? Well these eight-sided nifty cardboard packages stand out amongst the ranks of boxed wines. (I got thirsty, however, trying to pull out the spout. But then again, I never was very mechanical.) The Octavin I came across contained a crisp, Sauvignon Blanc from Silver Birch World Wines in Marlborough, New Zealand. Its attractive turquoise-blue box made an impression from the get-go. (Better yet, I learned afterward that Octavin’s innovative packaging prevents oxidation. This means that you can enjoy a glass, as fresh and flavorful as the first served, up to six weeks after opening it. Also, Octavin contains the equivalent of four bottles of wine yet you usually end up paying the price of just three. Wow!)
My Birthday
O.K., so now you know. I like my wine to have a little cache, especially when it comes to the packaging and label. It just makes it fun. I learned this summer—I think on a Today Show episode—that the oh-so fabulous Biltmore estate produces wine. With a facade of equal grandeur of the most renowned châteaux of the Loire, my curiosity piqued. Then I discovered that a Frenchman, a certain Bernard Delille, works at the Biltmore as winemaster. Mon dieu! Say no more. I procured a bottle of their bubbly (their Biltmore Estate Blanc de Blancs Méthode Champenoise – Brut, to be exact) and popped it on my b-day at the end of August. Délicieux, nice and dry and slightly floral with notes of lemon and apricot. Now I just have to find my way to this incomparable establishment in North Carolina sometime soon. Vive l’influence française en Amérique!
The Biltmore Winery
Summer Harvest
I had earmarked a bottle of Sutcliffe Chardonnay to accompany one of my best meals of the summer, composed of chanterelle fettucine, sweet Olathe corn, a tomato and mozzarella salad and a peach/raspberry combo. (We have some of the best mushrooms, corn and peaches in Colorado.) At the market I spotted a bunch of fresh clams in the fish case, a rarity in our remote mountain town. With a guarantee they were fresher than fresh, I snatched them up, steamed them and uncorked my bottle of Sutcliffe Chard the night before my summer harvest dinner. The rich, full-bodied taste of this wine perfectly accompanied my briny clams dipped in melted butter. I felt in heaven at more than 9,500 feet. Fortunately I’m not much of a lush, so there was enough left over to go with my last special meal of the summer. (Thankfully I shared it with just one other person and my leftover wine worked out since we served gin and tonics beforehand.) It’s hard not to finish off a good bottle of wine, but you always have to think about getting up in the morning.
So there’s my summer for you. I surely missed some special nectars and memories in the above account, but you get the gist of it. I certainly had fun. This weekend Telluride will be going off with the Blues & Brews Festival. I only plan to attend the last day and as the festival suggests, I’ll be happy with the hops at that event. It doesn’t look like I’ll be imbibing in any more memorable wines before the close of the summer.
Thank goodness I have fall and all those jammy reds, fruity Beaujolais and dry pinots to look forward to in my sipping program. One thing’s for sure though: I know I’ll carry on with some light and bright summer whites as well as some dry rosés because they’ll continue to go well with many of the foods I enjoy.
Plus I’m determined to keep that summer mode going, at least a good ways into autumn.
This just in: The 17th annual Telluride Blues & Brews Festival will be putting on a free Sunset Blues Concert, featuring Matt Schofield and Gold Kings, in Telluride Mountain Village tomorrow, Thursday, September 16 from 5 to 7 p.m. Dang! I better round up a nice bottle of wine.
Podcasts Travel Writing & Books: Podcasts Travel Travel Writing Writing & Books
by maribeth
Comments Off on Terrific Travel Advice from Everett Potter
Terrific Travel Advice from Everett Potter
Everett Potter: The Guy in the Know When It Comes to Travel
I recently did a Travel Fun interview with top travel writer, Everett Potter, and boy did we have fun trading stories about the travel world. Everett, a travel writer for over twenty-five years, may easily be considered one of the country’s foremost authorities on travel. He’s a regular contributor to many illustrious travel publications including Ski Magazine, Forbes Life and Travel & Leisure. He launched an online newsletter and blog, Everett Potter’s Travel Report, a handful of years ago, a logical outgrowth to all the information he amasses from his freelance assignments.
So here we are—two bloggers that have been published in various outlets aside from the worldwide web. You’ve got to hear what we say about this new world of travel writing, a world largely dominated by the Internet where anyone can self publish their thoughts and opinions without the careful eye of an editor. “A lot of the blogosphere has stories completely unedited, not fact checked,” Everett points out. Facebook and Twitter are mentioned in the same breath as remarks about the constant changes of travel writing online and off.
We discuss TripAdvisor in far greater detail, weighing the pros and cons of this Internet phenomenon that often leaves hotel G.M.s and other hospitality industry heavyweights cringing with every other posting. Of course many of the critiques ring legitimate, others not so much. “There’s an awful lot of English people lamenting the fact that there’s not a tea kettle in their room,” Everett says. I chuckle and sympathize with these complaints since being a tea drinker myself, it’s truly awful to make tea in a coffee pot.
Everett also talks about how and where to find the most value for your travel dollars, how to book hotels and flights, today’s lodging and airline cutbacks and much more. Don’t plan your next trip without listening to this interview!
I bet Everett would be tons of fun to be with on a trip, especially to a place such as England. You can do just that September 26-October 3 on a Dartmoor to Exmoor Walk, a soft adventure walking tour, organized by The Wayfarers. There are still some places left, but act fast!
You’ll find a wealth of stories on food and wine, culture, adventure travel and more at Everett’s blog. There you can also toss your hat (or e-mail address) into the ring for a variety of contests he offers on a regular basis. They’re downright giveaways, in fact, where you can snag a hotel stay, cruise and more.
Sit down with a good cup of tea or a glass of wine and listen to all that Everett and I have to say about today’s wonderful and crazy world of travel. Click on the play button below to begin.
New York Podcasts Telluride Writing & Books: New York Podcasts Telluride Writing & Books
by maribeth
1 comment
Dear Money: An Interview with Martha McPhee
Dear Money: A Great Story of Our Times
Oh dear, I need money. Such is the plight of all writers, unless you’re independently wealthy or you’re among the few to achieve John Grisham-like success. There isn’t a writer on this earth—published or nonpublished—that couldn’t identify with the struggles of India Palmer, the main character and narrator in Martha McPhee‘s recently-released novel, “Dear Money.” And I’m one of them!
In this beautifully crafted fourth novel, Martha reveals the travails of India from the angst over paying bills, to the challenges of “keeping up with the Jones,” to the long hours a dedicated writer must log at her desk (sunny days and all) and much more. Clearly Martha, a highly-acclaimed writer that happens to live in New York city like her protagonist, has drawn from personal experience to spin this exciting tale of a cash-strapped writer that’s tempted by the allure of a more high rolling life in the Big Apple. India ends up doing the unthinkable: She trades her artist’s life to become a bond trader. Funnily enough the idea behind the novel comes from a real-life offer. A legendary bond trader did claim that he could transform Martha into a booming Wall Street success in eighteen months; fortunately for us she declined and wrote “Dear Money” instead. It’s not surprising to learn from the intricately-detailed passages written about the highly competitive and adrenaline-charged life among New York’s financiers that Martha shadowed a bond trader to learn the ins and outs of mortgage-backed securities during the height of its rise. I found the contrasts between the writer’s life and the financier’s life to be one of the most compelling parts of this book.
Sweet Martha
You may be wondering why I’ve taken such an interest in Martha and her work. As usual, serendipity played a hand in our connecting with each other. I actually skied with her, her family and some friends of hers last March in Telluride. We both shared that we were writers but little else about our work was discussed. Since it was the height of the busy season, I didn’t find a moment to Google her. I feel as though I really came to know Martha after she sent me “Dear Money” later on in the spring, especially because it’s a book that has resonated so much with my writer’s life (sans the bond trader dimension, of course). Now perhaps the next time we ride the chairlift together we’ll shed our squirrel-y shyness about our work (seemingly a classic character trait of writers) and get down to some real exchanges about the creative process.
It looks as though that just might happen since plans are in the works for Martha to give a presentation at the Wilkinson Public Library in Telluride next March. I’m vying for that program to include a writer’s workshop, too!
If you’re a writer, you must listen to the Travel Fun interview I conducted with Martha earlier this summer. Avid readers will love it as well. And how’s that pile of summer reading doing at your bedside? I bet it has dwindled but if you’re like me, you feel like you’re just warming up. Keep adding to the stack and continue that summer reading mode all year long. I provide some great reading suggestions at the end of this interview that will steer you toward more excellent book picks, both fiction and nonfiction.
Click on the play button below to listen to my interview with Martha.
Beauty Hotels & Lodging Pot Pourri Restaurants Spas Telluride The Rockies Travel: Beauty Hotels & Lodging Pot Pourri Restaurants Spas Telluride The Rockies Travel
by maribeth
Comments Off on Great Deals for Public Radio: Summer 2010
Great Deals for Public Radio: Summer 2010
Capella's Mountain Elegance
There are lots of travel deals out there these days but you won’t find any as enticing as the ones I’m presenting to you below. And best of all, by making a pledge for them you’re supporting KOTO community radio in Telluride, one of the few entirely community-sponsored radio stations in the country. More and more people tune in on the Internet as well during T-ride’s famed Bluegrass Festival (when KOTO broadcasts live) or just any ‘ole day of the year. It’s a great way to get the flavor of a happening mountain town along with some fine music and talk.
If you don’t know about my Travel Fun radio show, please tune in live one of these Tuesdays. Or you may listen to some of my past interviews that I’ve posted as podcasts.
Now for the good stuff. Here’s what you can snatch up in exchange for a pledge, just e-mail me through my Contacts Page to lock in your travel premium. (You can also go there to sign up for my RSS feed and/or to receive bi-monthly Travel Fun announcements. Be sure to provide all your contact information including phone and address (e-mail as well as snail mail, please) and your desired prize. Know that I’m accepting pledges on a first come, first serve basis, so act fast!
TELLURIDE TEMPTATIONS
First-Rate Dinner and Lodging at Capella
$150. pledge: a two-night stay in a standard room (pictured above—wow!) in this stunning hotel, valued between $200. and $500.
$75. pledge: dinner for two at Onyx, Capella’s signature restaurant, valued at $100. not including tax and gratuity.
Feeling sophisticated? It sounds like you need to spend some time at Capella, the newest bright star of Telluride’s hospitality offerings.
The Himmel Spa Relaxation Room at The Klammer
Gorgeous Health and Beauty Treatments from the Fairmont Heritage Place, Franz Klammer Lodge
$75. pledge: One-hour facial, valued at $130.
$75. pledge: One-hour massage, valued at $120. Note that both include access to the pool, fitness center and spa facilities for the day. How delightful, how de-lovely! Read what I have to say about The Himmel Spa at The Klammer in my story, Telluride’s Ultra Luxe Mountain Spas.
OUTSIDE OF TELLURIDE
Almost Like Home: Box Canyon Lodge
Great Getaway to America’s Little Switzerland
$50. pledge: Enjoy an overnight, valued at $100., at Box Canyon Lodge & Hot Springs, in Ouray. Read my Ouray story as a primer.
Art & Culture Food & Wine Podcasts Telluride: Art & Culture Food & Wine Podcasts Telluride Telluride Festivals
by maribeth
1 comment
Kenny Gilbert: Always a Top Chef
Chef Kenny Gilbert
Wow, did you watch Bravo’s Top Chef last night? Our Telluride favorite, Chef Kenny Gilbert, was voted off the show in a flash in the pan, all due to some kind of flub with beet and goat cheese dishes. I think that was it—it all happened so fast, I couldn’t keep track. I hate this part of Top Chef—how one bad dish can blow your whole chance. I wish they’d find a way of scoring cumulatively, especially since Kenny certainly shined throughout every episode. The other cheftestants even referred to him as The Black Lightening. At least the judges commended him in his final episode for his leadership abilities. It comes as no surprise when you hear about some of his philosophies. Scroll down to his Book Pick at Top Chefs to gain more insight into his approach.
I interviewed Kenny just about a year ago when he was still Executive Chef of a leading hotel here in Telluride. Click on the play button below to hear him chat about how he became a chef and what’s most important to him in the kitchen.
I had chatted with Kenny on the occasion of the Telluride Festival of the Arts: A Visual & Culinary Arts Festival that takes place annually in our lovely mountain town. This year it happens August 13-15. Yes, that means it begins tomorrow, so try to take in at least one event over this fun weekend.
As for me, I’m headed on a rafting trip. But I’ll keep all my favorite top chefs in mind, particularly since Kelly Liken is still in the running and I think she’s looking mighty fine.
