If it was your first time visiting Colorado, what would you want to do? This is the question I had to ponder a few months ago as I read a friend’s flight itinerary and started to formulate a week’s worth of Rocky Mountain fun. I’ve lived in Colorado my entire life, this should be easy….
After four years of non-stop travel and being hosted by the best strangers-turned-friends, it was exciting to be the host instead of the host-ed. Most of our friends live within 5 minutes to two hours of our front door, so we tend to repeat our favorite adventures. The thought of having to come up with ‘new material’ was a little daunting at first and let’s face it, the Kehmeier winter activities are not necessarily mainstream. As it turned out, the planning was almost as fun as the visit itself. And we finally discovered why the best place to live in the world is truly that…the best.
So the next time you have Colorado newbies coming to visit, think about some of these activities:
Ice skating in Carbondale – the rodeo grounds location is so Western Slope.
Glenwood Spring Pool – this is a no-brainer, especially around the holidays when the steam rises above the pool and you can see the lights decorating the Hotel Colorado.
Vail and Beaver Creek – not the best year for snow, but it is winter…
Gypsum Rod and Gun Club – aka The Gypsum Shooting Range. C’ mon people, get over it, the Kehmeiers come from ranching families…
Town of Eagle trails – Eagle has a pretty stellar community trail system. From most places in town it’s possible to be on singletrack in a matter of minutes.
Ice Skating in Leadville – if Eagle doesn’t work out for us, then we’re moving to Leadville. They have a regulation sized rink with an amazing mountain skyline.
Tennessee Pass Cookhouse – Elk dinner in a mountain yurt at 10,800 feet on the Continental Divide. It doesn’t get any more Colorado than that.
Bonfire Brewery – Eagle has everything a person could ask for; trails, coffee, and….great beer!
New Year’s Eve Fireworks in Vail – couldn’t believe that we’d never been to see these before. Vail does it right with a torch-lit ski parade followed by fireworks.