Colorado Review

Why do I blog about travel in my home state of Colorado? Let me count the ways. (Ten to be exact.)

10. I’m a longtime journalist — 17 years in the biz — and I’ve covered everything from babies to buffaloes, muffins to mayors, for magazines, newspapers and online outlets. But until three short months ago, I hadn’t blogged. So, when an opening here at Colorado Review came up, taking on this travel blog seemed like a natural way for me to get my proverbial feet wet in the blogosphere. The timing was perfect; I’d decided toward the end of 2006 that I wanted to do more travel writing — really focus my efforts on this genre.

9. My family and I travel regularly outside of the state — Hawaii, California, Mexico, New Hampshire, Utah in the past year. But the bulk of our getaways happen in-state, naturally, since a) it’s cheaper to travel by car and b) we just got a new pop-up camper we wanted to try out LOTS this summer.

8. Colorado rocks. Literally. The first time I saw the Rocky Mountains, I was road-tripping from N.H. to Aspen, where I was going to live for the summer (*just* the summer, then I was going to return to the East Coast; yeah, right). It was 13 years ago, and I still remember the feeling I had when my friend’s Saab crested a hill as we were leaving the Front Range outside of Denver. I had this phenomenal view of jagged, snow-covered mountains stretching as far as the eye could see. I was blown away. The Rockies were nothing like the mountains “back home.” (No disrespect to New Hampshire’s White Mountains, but really, there’s no comparison.)

7. Colorado is so easy to write about. Need a romantic angle? How about a soak in some remote hot springs with your honey or a fancy night on the town in Denver. Adventure travel? Um, how many outdoors sports can you take part in here: kayaking, mountain climbing, skiing, backpacking, hiking, river rafting, snowshoeing…. the list goes on. Family vacation? Hit the Denver Zoo, the ski resorts or Elitch Gardens amusement park.

6. If I blog about travel in Colorado, that means I need to get out there and experience it as much as possible (i.e. screw the housework or the lawn care; let’s stick the kids in the car and go climb a mountain)

5. Okay, the mountains again. To say, “I’ve stood at 14,000 feet above sea level” is REALLY cool. There are 54 mountains over 14,000 feet in elevation in Colorado. Most of them can be climbed in a day trip. A pair of them are connected by a saddle (ridge) so you can actually summit two in one afternoon (Grays & Torreys, and I bagged those, thank you very much).

4. As a travel writer, I get the scoop from various hotel PR departments and the media folks at city visitors’ bureaus on all the goings-on in the state. Usually it’s news about hotel deals, off-season discounts at the mountain resorts, new restaurant openings or annual festivals. I like being in the know.

3. Colorado is the best state to live in, and I like showing it off to visitors. California is too populated. New Hampshire is too uptight. Florida is too humid. Montana is too cold. Indiana is too Midwest. Yes, Colorado *is* landlocked, but it’s not devoid of water–river rafting, fly fishing, swimming, boating (visit the Aspen Yacht Club) and kayaking can all take place on its rivers, lakes and ponds.

2. Colorado is full of quirky sights (the gator farm) and funky festivals (the annual celebration for Mike the Headless Chicken).

1. Yep, I’m back to Colorado’s glorious mountains again. Just a few miles from my home, I get to go biking and hiking and I’m rewarded with views like this:

Photo by Tom Stillo

By the way, my idle chatter about my adoration of Colorado isn’t just babble. I’m competing in Project Blog. Read about this week’s challenge (our first) here, and feel free to cast a vote for me!

Here are the other blogtestants:

1. Kate, Babylune: “The Blog I Write and the Woman Who Writes It”
2. Randi, Brad Pitt Watch: “The First Challenge”
3. Jodie, Gossip on Sports: “Project Blog: Week One Challenge”
4. Cynthia, TV of the Absurd: “The Five TV Shows that Changed My Life”
5. Winnie, Watching the View: “Project Blog: Why I Blog the View”
6. Sally, Style Fix: “The Fashionable Child Who Writes Becomes the Fashion Writer”
7. Mark, Get Incensed: “Project Blog. Bravo”

Colorado