Winter Park Resort is known as “Colorado’s Favorite”. Located only 67 miles northwest of Denver and 90 miles west of Denver International Airport (DIA), it’s the closest major ski resort to DIA. Winter Park has the most annual snowfall of any major resort in Colorado and typically receives over 30 feet of snow annually. During the 2010-2011 ski season, they received 378 inches of the fluffy white stuff! The…
A shotgun start on Jan. 22, 2013, will signal the start of the annual International Snow Sculpture Championships in Breckenridge, Colorado. Sixteen snow-carving teams from around the world will create works of art from frozen blocks of snow, to be on display from Jan. 27 through Feb. 3, weather permitting. The teams of four hail from such countries as Australia, Austria, Canada, China, Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands, Sweden and…
Fruitcake has been around for centuries, but nowadays it’s often the butt of many jokes. Some of us still love fruitcake even though we may find it difficult to find in the supermarket. Others would rather toss it instead of eat it, like the Colorado folks who gather for the Great Fruitcake Toss festival in Manitou Springs, Colorado. This Colorado mountain town will host this year’s 18th annual event…
The ranch compound lies about a half-mile below. It would take two minutes to drive, but right now no vehicles are allowed on the roadway. This route to the ranch is reserved for us sledders. I center my Flexible Flyer on its snow-packed crown. A ranch hand’s foot chocks the sled while I drop on top, belly down, face forward, legs up. “Ready?” he asks. Away I fly, eyes…
Deck the halls… and the city buildings, and the light posts, and every tree near an outlet. Denver goes all out for the holidays, so it’s easy to find a pretty display as you wander through town. However, there are a few that are definitely worth seeking out. The City and County Building, downtown at 14th Avenue and Bannock Street, is a can’t-miss vision. It’s been a decorating tradition…
With its small-town charm, Golden, Colorado, celebrates the quintessential Christmas with festive events during December. From lighting the town to providing a convivial shopping atmosphere, the Olde Golden Christmas offers a variety of opportunities to join in the holiday cheer. One of the highlights is the annual Candlelight Walk along Washington Avenue (Nov. 30 at 6pm), starting at the Foothills Art Center and continuing into historic downtown. The walk…
No matter the season, slipping into natural hot springs is a relaxing, rejuvenating way to while away the hours. Heated by the planet’s interior, water bubbles up through cracks and fissures, typically gathering a load of minerals along the way. When the water finds its way at the surface, it’s Mother Nature’s hot tub. For all the talk about the lack of water in Colorado, we have an abundance…
We live in a state that proudly proclaims itself to be “Colorful Colorado,” and it certainly is. From purple mountain majesties to amber waves of grain, summers here treat our eye’s color-receptor cones to a good workout. It only gets better in the fall when autumn alchemy transforms leafy hillsides into mother lodes of gold. That’s when the state truly earns its nickname. It’s hard to miss fall brilliance…
Colorado, once inhabited by the stegosaurus and other oversized giants, has proved to be a paleontological jackpot. One place to take a prehistoric journey is, of course, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Another is the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History on the University of Colorado Boulder campus. Although not quite as spectacular or large as the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, the Boulder museum…
“This is a fantastic exhibit — brilliant! There’s Pee-wee Herman!” We were in the Denver Art Museum’s Frederic C. Hamilton Building, standing in front of “Headless” by Michael Joo — 28 identical terracotta headless Buddhas, a few feet high, meditating in neat rows. Twenty-eight heads from old action figures and dolls suspended from the ceiling by nearly-invisible strings replaced the Buddha heads: X-Men’s Wolverine, Doc, one of the seven…