Being Green Colorado Mountain Living Outdoor Adventures Telluride Telluride Festivals Travel: Being Green Colorado Mountain Living Outdoor Adventures Telluride Telluride Festivals Travel
by maribeth
Comments Off on Right to Play, Learn and Inspire at Mountainfilm in Telluride
Right to Play, Learn and Inspire at Mountainfilm in Telluride
Mountainfilm Telluride
Here it is Friday afternoon and plus it’s almost summer. Many people in the United States are gearing up for the weekend, starting it full-on actually. This is the time when most of us exercise our God-given right to play. Recreation, sport, play—have you ever contemplated how important this is in our lives? Most of us first learned to play when we were little kids. Play teaches us so much—how to get along, how to compete, how to follow rules and more. It’s not just about fun although fun is a key component to any game.
Right to Play
So imagine being a child in a war-torn country where play of any kind is nonexistent. Frank Marshall, part-time Telluride resident, renowned Hollywood producer and director of the ESPN movie “Right to Play,” talked about his film and the necessity of play last weekend at a coffee talk at Mountainfilm Festival here in T-ride. Mr. Marshall told the story about how one kid in a far flung, ruined country became popular because he had a long sleeve shirt that could be rolled up into a ball and used for play. Contemplate that when you’re out on your boat this weekend.
Thank goodness there are heros like Johann Olav Koss, an Olympic speed-skating champion from Norway that used his drive and influence to create the global organization Right to Play. Now over 700,000 children in about two dozen countries are benefiting from the joy and discovery of play made possible by Johann Koss, a score of other Olympic athletes and teams of workers from around the world. Frank Marshall captures the indomitable spirit of this Olympic champion and the hope and love he brings to the children touched by Right to Play. Best of all: You can watch the forty-two minute “Right to Play” film tomorrow afternoon, Saturday June 2nd, on ABC. Check your local listings for the correct time in your zone. It’s such a wonderful film that I’d guess it will be played again on other outlets at other times. more »
Art & Culture Colorado Podcasts Telluride Travel: Art & Culture Colorado Podcasts Telluride Travel
by maribeth
Comments Off on Sharon Shuteran: Telluride’s Traveler Extraordinaire and So Much More
Sharon Shuteran: Telluride’s Traveler Extraordinaire and So Much More
Sharon
Telluride, Colorado, my home base for nearly nine years, is a community of travelers. It’s funny since it’s such a drop-dead gorgeous place you’d think no one would ever leave. Plus our remote location requires a good effort for exploring faraway destinations. (The nearest major airport is a six-hour drive away.)
We do, however, have two so-called off-seasons, one in the spring, the other in the fall. During these periods our awe-inspiring scenery might not show the full measure of its glory and most activities—tourist and other-wise—experience a lull. Plus intrepid travelers and adventuresome types of every ilk—from well-to-do trust funders to starving lifties—populate the town and these people give “being on the go” new meaning. (If they’re not out climbing a mountain at home, they’re likely surfing in Nicaragua or helping the needy on the other side of the globe.)
Indeed, Telluride and travel go together like skis on snow.
So it’s with tremendous sadness that our community is dealing with the loss of one of its most beloved residents, Sharon Shuteran, a longtime Tellurider in every sense of the word, a traveler extraordinaire. Truly Sharon embodied the spirit of Telluride like no one else. And there’s no doubt that she served as an excellent ambassadress of the United States and our little mountain town wherever she went on this planet. Officially she worked as the judge of San Miguel County for many years, something that I always liked telling others since that information and one look at Sharon—whether in her Bohemian-inspired dresses or in her style-y ski outfits—spoke volumes about the outdoorsy, fun, open and warm zest for life of our community.
Sharon on the Road
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Colorado Outdoor Adventures Podcasts Shopping Travel: Colorado Outdoor Adventures Podcasts Shopping Travel
by maribeth
Comments Off on Bootdoctors Offers Further Adventures
Bootdoctors Offers Further Adventures
Rollicking on the River with Further Adventures
Did you know that most of our mountain towns attract more visitors in the summer than in the winter? Heck, yeah. As the saying goes, “I came for the winter and stayed for the summers.” Our hills are alive with all kinds of great outdoor activities. Actually our mountains, valleys and streams furnish glorious backdrops for fair weather fun of every stripe.
I chatted with Bob Gleason, owner/operator of Bootdoctors and Further Adventures, in a recent Travel Fun interview and he provided me with a fantastic overview of the rafting, fly fishing, hiking and biking in Telluride, Colorado and the outlying area. Between the lush alpine landscape and the rugged red rock of southwestern Colorado, the whole region offers many stunning experiences both on the water and off.
“I like to play on those H2O molecules all year round,” Bob says. It’s true that as the snowpack melts, the level of fun rises on our rivers and streams. This year’s flow will be rather thin, yet there are still good times to be had. Further Adventures arranges rafting trips on two different rivers in southwestern Colorado: the San Miguel and the Uncompahgre. This year the season is super short on the San Miguel (only through early June), although most years you can run the river through the end of July. Bob and his band of river guides will be conducting float trips on the Uncompahgre all summer long.
“There’s nothing like floating thru a river canyon to see the geology of the area,” Bob says when talking about some of the highlights of river rafting in the West. “Any time you spend on a body of water is a time of peace. The Native Americans called the river system the veins of our mother,” he adds.
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Hotels & Lodging Restaurants Travel: Hotels & Lodging Restaurants Travel
by maribeth
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Fun for All in Florida at Tradewinds on St. Pete’s Beach
Tradewinds Island Grand Waterway on St. Pete’s Beach
Off-season is drawing to a close in most of our mountain towns here in the Rockies. Locals are heading home after trips to all kinds of exciting hot spots. Most appear tanned and well-rested and eager to take on the busy summer season in our resort communities. I rarely travel far in the spring since there’s so much catching up to do at my desk after the busy ski season. I do, however, enjoy hearing everyone’s tales about their time away.
Many head to exotic locales in Central and South America, others opt for more genteel destinations, such as Florida, within the United States. I’m more of a fan of the latter, especially when it comes to enjoying fun and relaxation at a resort in a safe, scenic part of my own country.
Tradewinds Island Grand, on St. Pete’s Beach in Florida, appeals to me the most out of all my friends’ sun-soaked travel tales this off-season. First of all I love the sugar-sand beaches of the Gulf Coast of Florida and with twenty acres of beachfront playground, Tradewinds Island Grand ranks as one of the best.
DC Hotels & Lodging Restaurants Shopping Travel: DC Hotels & Lodging Restaurants Shopping Travel
by maribeth
Comments Off on Appreciating Tea in D.C.
Appreciating Tea in D.C.
Park Hyatt Washington D.C.: Where Proper Tea Pouring Reigns Supreme
If you’re a tea drinker, you know what it means to delight in a perfect cup of tea. Whether you’re alone or in the company of one or two special people, at home or out, the perfect cup of tea occurs when both taste and ritual come together to create a memorable moment.
That moment is taken to new heights at the Tea Cellar at the Park Hyatt Washington, D.C. Here the centuries-old custom of sipping tea may be savored by connoisseurs and amateurs alike. Case in point: This die-hard aficionado and daily tea drinker took her brother to teatime, a guy who has never consumed a cup of tea (or coffee!) in his life. Yet Frank, my oldest brother, embodies an adventuresome spirit and I was certain he’d enjoy sampling tea with me in such a renowned establishment. And that he did!
Colorado Mountain Living Podcasts Telluride Travel: Colorado Mountain Living Podcasts Telluride Travel
by maribeth
Comments Off on From Telluride to Maui: Alan Bradbury’s Garden of Eden
From Telluride to Maui: Alan Bradbury’s Garden of Eden
Where Water and Sky Create Lovely Waterlilies
A Special Kind of Paradise
With off-season officially underway here in Telluride, there’s a stillness that hasn’t been felt in this world-renowned resort since before ski season began. Empty parking spaces, a smattering of closed restaurants, hotels, bars and boutiques punctuate the landscape both in town and in Telluride Mountain Village. Needless-to-say the mountain is no longer illuminated at night with snowcats, snowmobiles or slopeside condos. It’s so windy and dry today that we’re apt to see tumbleweed blowing across the Valley Floor, a Western image that would not seem out of place in our now emptied out mountain town.
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Outdoor Adventures Podcasts Travel: Outdoor Adventures Podcasts Travel
by maribeth
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MedjetAssist: A Smart Way to Protect Yourself and Your Loved Ones
MedjetAssist Arranges Medical Transfers
As ski season winds down, many people in our mountain towns are hurriedly formulating their travel plans for off-season. Whether you’re planning to heli-ski in Canada or loll on the beach in Florida, you definitely should consider what kind of protection you have in case of accident or illness when away from home. All travelers should pay attention to this post, in fact, since no matter your age or your level of adventure, you never know when you might be knocked down with some unfortunate medical emergency.
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Valentine for a Lovely Lady One Hundred Years Young
Aunt Rose and Me During One of Her Many B-day Celebrations
“Work hard. Be busy doing something. Keep your mind going. Keep interested in things.”
Rose Cronin, on the eve of her 100th birthday
I’ve been thinking about these words of wisdom a lot lately. I believe on some level, we’re all looking for the secret to life, the magic formula that will help us to live long, happy and productive lives. So these days if I feel a bit woeful or underwhelmed by what I’ve accomplished in my day, I think about my Aunt Rose, my Dad’s older sister. I consider what has been motivating her all these years.
Aunt Rose turned one hundred early this month. She still lives alone although an array of devoted family members and friends look in on her daily. And when I rang her up on the eve of her milestone birthday, she informed me that she planned to go back to work at the hospital a few days a week come March. (She takes a breather during the dead of winter since driving in the northeast where she lives can be dicey during this time. Rose gave up driving two years ago yet is still considerate of others.)
Since 1978, Rose Cronin (née Clemente) has devoted more than 83,500 hours of community service to St. Mary’s Hospital in Troy, NY, mostly at the hospital’s gift shop which was recently renamed Rose’s Gift Gallery. She worked more than twenty-two years as the shop’s manager and now enjoys a hopefully less stressful position selling raffle tickets to passersby outside of the Gallery. Who could refuse a sweet, little old lady? In the last ten years, my Aunt Rose has raised over $100,000 to help with the purchase of much-needed equipment for the hospital’s emergency room from the sale of raffle tickets alone.
