Colorado Review

In the November 2007 edition of SKI magazine, two Colorado resorts are named to the list of “7 Great Mountains to Ski with Your Kids.”

One is Beaver Creek, and my regular readers know how much I love this exclusive high-alpine resort. (Catch up here, and read more about why it’s so great for kids in the wintertime here.)

The other is Durango Mountain Resort, a.k.a. Purgatory, which I also give high marks to, although I’ve only been there in the summertime, when the mountain morphs into a family-friendly playground with an alpine slide, climbing wall and mini-golf course. So, I guess it’s no wonder it comes recommended for families in the wintertime, as well.

In the article, Purgatory is hailed for its “rolling steps that are roller-coaster fun, but never intimidating.�

The resort is pinpointed as being a great location for kids because of the family-friendly atmosphere at both the resort and in town. “With the one-two combo of town and resort, families find great skiing, comfortable digs and an authentically Western experience,� says the magazine noting Mesa Verde and the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad as excellent side vacations for families.

One factor placing Durango Mountain Resort on this elite list of great mountains to ski with kids is the Mountain Master Plan that includes new condo accommodations, swimming facility, restaurants and retail outlets and more family-friendly amenities. Purgatory Lodge is the resort’s largest development in history and is currently taking shape in the heart of Purgatory Village.

With an expected completion of phase one in winter 2008-09, Purgatory Lodge will feature new skier services, including a ticket office, rental and retail outlets, bathrooms, lockers, a swimming pool and spa area and a new Purgy’s Day Lodge; perfect for parents watching their children come down the mountain.

Purgatory at Durango Mountain Resort is scheduled to begin the 2007-08 winter season December 1 with the 15th annual Benefit Day. (An earlier opening date is possible as winter weather moves into the area.) Benefit Day features $15 lift tickets with all proceeds going to local non-profit organizations; this year’s benefactors are Durango Nature Studies and the Durango Winter Sports Foundation. Season Passes and daily lift tickets begin December 2.

Photo by Scott W. Smith.

skiing, Durango, Colorado

As I mentioned in previous posts, my family and I have a season pass to the Hot Springs Pool in Glenwood Springs. We love it there; after all it is the world’s largest natural hot springs pool. But it is just a rectangular-shaped pool.

This srping we visited the natural hot springs at The Springs Resort in Pagosa Springs. These pools have a bit more to offer in the scenery and ambiance department

Eighteen soaking areas of various sizes are stacked terrace-like on the banks of the San Juan River. Each has a different, often irreverent name (Lobster Pot, Clouds in my Coffee) and they vary in temperature from 83 to 114 degrees Fahrenheit. A non-mineral swimming pool that’s set back a bit from the river is packed with families on the weekends, and some soaking pools are designated for adults only.

After a family hike, the warm water felt heavenly on sore muscles; the kids had a ball sampling all the different pools. You can even plunge into the frigid river. Though, I wouldn’t recommend a cold plunge after a day of skiing at nearby Wolf Creek Ski Area. Instead, head directly to the soothing temperatures of pools like Tranquil, Overlook and The Cliffs. We found the Sunset Social Club offering the best views of the river and the pools below.

The pools are open to the public, and you can visit for the day. It’s $17.25 for adults, $9 for children. Or stay at the resort overnight, and you can soak for free. My family had a suite, which had two double beds and a small galley kitchen.

During our one-night stay in Pagosa Springs, we had breakfast burritos to go from the Pagosa Baking Company, as well as yummy gooey cinnamon rolls from the River Point Cafe, just across the river from the Springs Resort. We had a tasty meal at Isabel’s (fish, seafood, steaks), but would have walked over to the nearby Alley House Grill, had it been open on Sunday evening when we were there.

Pagosa Springs, Colorado, hot springs

A few days ago I posted a photo of the Hot Springs Pool in Glenwood Springs. My family and I went swimming here on Saturday and had a ball. It wasn’t nearly as crowded as summer Saturdays (though it was busy). My favorite time to visit the pool is in the fall — when there’s a nip in the air, the warm water feels so good! And the smaller “therapy pool” (about 104 degrees F) feels amazing on sore muscles.

And I got word that construction is set to begin in October on a brand-new spa in the historic 1888 bathhouse building. This is a boon to visitors and locals who love pampering massages (um, me!). There has long been an athletic club in the bathhouse (you pay extra for the fitness center’s membership) and I’ve received massages there before, but it’s got such a sporty vibe. I’m into peacefulness and relaxation when I get pampered. I’m hoping this new spa will deliver that.

The spa will have eight treatment rooms and one specialized wet treatment room (for something like a Vichy shower perhaps?). Manis and pedis will be available, too. Plans call for the spa to open in summer/fall 2008.

We’ll see how much competition this new spa will give the Yampah Spa and Vapor Caves, just down the street. I’m a fan of this spa, even with its rustic atmosphere. It’s just so unusual, with its underground hot mineral steam baths known as the “Vapor Caves.” This is an all-natural steam treatment in caves that the Ute Indians used for healing centuries ago.

Unfortunately, the 50-minute massages at the Yampah Spa have increased in price — they’re now $75, which is a far cry from the $49 I paid 10 years ago. So, I haven’t been there recently for treatments, but would recommend the caves to anyone visiting the area. Spend as much time as you’d like below ground for $12; add the caves onto a treatment for $9. More unusual treatments include the Chocolate Bliss Wrap and the Rose Petal & Cream Body Masque, as well as herbal mineral baths in private Jacuzzis (nice to share with your significant other!).

Colorado, spas, Glenwood Springs, Hot Springs Pool

You wouldn’t know it from its low-key, strip-mall-like location on a main street in Montrose, Colorado, but The Climbing Tree Children’s Museum is a gem.

Designed for children from newborns to ten-year-olds, my kids (then ages 4 and 6) didn’t want to leave the museum–after we’d already spent nearly two hours there!

Building blocks, a play kitchen, a huge art room, dress-up area, treehouse-style book nook, puppet theatre and much more keep kids occupied. Scheduled programs like storytime allow local parents with young kids to meet each other. A resource room for parents of infants has parenting reference books and a nice rocking chair for feeding.

The storefront locale makes it appear as if there is only one large room to the museum–be sure to head back through the hallway to the other rooms. There’s so much to see and do!

Visit The Climbing Tree at 413 N. 1st Avenue in Montrose. Call for hours of operation: The Climbing Tree Children’s Museum: 970-240-TREE (8733)

Here are some photos of my family’s trip to the museum: (more…)

School’s back in session in Aspen & Snowmass (and downvalley in my neck of the woods: Basalt, Carbondale & Glenwood Springs). Thoughts are turning here - already! - to the winter ski season. I’m marking the dates of local ski swaps on my calendar, and I’m searching in vain for an inexpensive pair of snowpants for my 5-year-old. (They grow so fast!)

But there’s plenty more fun to be had in the Aspen area in the winter besides skiing the world-class slopes. Here’s my article on the recently re-launched website Grandparents.com titled “Winter Fun in Aspen/Snowmass.”

One favorite spot of mine is the Hot Springs Pool in Glenwood Springs (a bit farther afield than some of the other winter activities I suggest). My family and I have a season’s pass and we visit the soothing waters all year round.

Aspen, Snowmass, Glenwood Springs, Colorado

Continuing on the brew theme, my family and I were shopping the outlets in Silverthorne yesterday (nothing like waiting til the last minute to buy school clothes), and ate lunch at the Dillon Dam Brewery. I love this place.

Free Wi-Fi, kids’ menu, pool tables and video games are much appreciated. It’s a working brewery, so there’s a little self-guided tour you can take past the vats and “mill room” and such (you can’t miss the scent of hops, yeast and barley). The American menu includes burgers, sandwiches (”sammies”), salads, pastas, ribs, fish ‘n’ chips and more.

I had the yummy Tuscan Wrap (fresh grilled chicken, balsamic-roasted eggplant, tomatoes, red onions, red peppers, cilantro pesto and jack cheese all tossed together and wrapped in a red chile tortilla; dipped in Sundried Tomato Vinaigrette) and a chile-infused beer (it must be a seasonal brew; I don’t see it on the online menu).

The Dam Brewery is a cool place to stop with the kids for a break from shopping or if you’re passing through to or from the ski slopes along I-70.

On Little Dam Street across from Christy Sports in Dillon. Get directions here.

It’s not even officially autumn here in the Rockies, but I’m thinking ahead to those first flakes of snow. The mornings are certainly crisper, the resorts have unveiled their lift-ticket pricing ($87 for a daily ticket in Aspen; buy multi-day passes for the best deal), and I’ve got my kids trying on their snow jackets and pants to see if they still fit from last year.

If you’re thinking about taking your family to Vail’s slopes this season, check out this amazing deal from Destination Resorts Vail: Four people for four nights in a two-bedroom condo anytime between December 1 and April 8 for only $600 (plus taxes and fees). Depending on availability, you may stay in one of the following properties: The Landmark, Westwind, Vantage Point (pictured at left), Vail 21 or Village Inn Plaza.

Plus, with this family package you get some nice perks: a complimentary recyclable disposable camera for fun family photos, free grocery delivery service and/or groceries stocked in advance of arrival, and a souvenir snowman-making kit.

Check out the specific amenities of each condo complex online and use the code FUN to book this four-night package. Or call 866.831.3222.

Vail, Colorado

Yesterday my family and I were invited to our friends’ new home on the main drag in Redstone, south of Carbondale, along Highway 133. It had been a while since I’d spent some time in this tiny town along the Crystal River, and it was a treat to walk along the .75-mile-long Redstone Boulevard in the early evening. Here, tourists browse in the antique shops, families buy ice cream at the General Store, and kids frolic on the play structure in Redstone Park.

Weekends in the summertime bring community events at the park. The Summer Concert Series fuses “music, art and nature.” My seven-year-old daughter and her same-aged friend were delighted to see a “real Indian” sharing her tribe’s sign language and storytelling with the audience gathered on the grassy lawn next to the river. Artisans showed and sold their wood carvings and jewelry. The final community event held at the park this summer is a concert this Sunday, September 2, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., with country and bluegrass music. Daily throughout Labor Day Weekend also find the annual art show at the Redstone Inn.

When the aspens start turning colors (soon in the high country!) a particularly pretty drive is south of Redstone up to McClure Pass. We drove this route in the third week of September last year, just as the autumn foliage peaked. Gorgeous golden orange hues!

(Thanks to Steve at ColoradoGuy.com for the images of Redstone above: the historic town’s welcome sign and the red cliffs above the boulevard.)

Redstone, Colorado

I fell in love with the little town of Ridgway (population 800) on a family trip to the southwest Colorado town last September. We traveled right at the peak of the gorgeous fall colors (third week of the month). The San Juan mountain range was covered in fiery hues of gold and orange.

My family of four stayed in one of the two-bedroom condominiums at Chipeta Sun Lodge & Spa, so we had plenty of room to spread out and make ourselves at home. We enjoyed the complimentary lemonade, iced tea and cookies in the lodge’s great room each afternoon. The on-site eatery, Ashe Restaurante, was just being built; we look forward to returning sometime soon to sample the “healthy, Southwestern fare.”

We did dine at the Ridgway’s downtown Adobe Inn, where the Mexican-inspired menu is all natural. My favorites were the Enchiladas Suiza and the Chimichangas, as well as the tasty and light, homemade salad dressing on the mixed greens and the hearty corn casserole.

Other highlights of our Ridgway trip:

- Browsing the antique shops on and just off Main Street (which is charmingly unpaved).

- Playing in Town Park with its playground for kids (and where there’s in-town access to the miles of paved bike trail leading to Ridgway State Park).

- Soaking at the nearby Orvis Hot Springs (where clothing is optional and visitors take advantage of that option! We spent most of our time in the indoor clothing-required soaking area).

- Eating hearty food at the True Grit Cafe, where some scenes of John Wayne’s movie, True Grit was filmed.

The town honors John Wayne’s 100th birthday this fall with True Grit Days, September 8 and 9. What better time to walk the dusty roads just like John Wayne did in his famous Western decades ago.

John Wayne, Ridgway, Colorado, Family Travel

We recently discovered the Junior Ranger programs at Colorado’s National Parks and National Monuments. (Don’t ask me to explain the difference between the two; something to do with Congress or the President nominating a park for the distinction.)

These programs are really cool for preschool- and school-age kids; they help engage children who otherwise might not be interested in yet another rock formation or archaeological site. Typically you pay 50 cents or $1 for a pencil and a booklet, which has questions the children have to answer. The number and difficulty of the questions and activities depend on the child’s age.

At Capitol Reef National Park, my children had the choice of three activities to complete, such as Park Bingo, where they marked off five things they viewed in the park; Orchard Walk, where they unscrambled fruit-tree names and checked it off if they saw one; and Rock Art, where they drew their own ancient petroglyph). The kids also had to clean up litter and interview a friendly forest ranger.

After kids complete the activities, they hand their booklets in to the Forest Ranger on duty, who reviews their work and proclaims them Junior Rangers (they actually announce it to the crowd nearby and bystanders break out in applause).

For their efforts, children usually receive a nifty iron-on or pin-on badge. At Capitol Reef, the ranger handed over the pin-ons, which my five-year-old son loved. We splurged $4 for an iron-on patch at the gift shop for my daughter, who added it to her collection of patches she received at Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico and the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve in southern Colorado. I figured, helping to support a national treasure like Capitol Reef is well worth it.

National Parks, Colorado