Don’t let cold, snowy weather keep you from getting away. Say goodbye to the winter blues, gather the gang and head for Grand County, Colorado.
When a friend, who’d landed in Grand County twenty-five years ago and stayed, called to invite me to join her there for a winter girl’s getaway, I jumped at the chance.
Situated only 67 miles from Denver’s highlife, come-as-you-are Grand County bundles a world class ski resort, spas, yoga, alpine pursuits, and stunning mountain scenery into one of Colorado’s hometown favorites.
Take a little inspiration from these Grand County discoveries and launch your own escape.
WINTER PARK
Local knowledge
For 30 years, Winter Park residents have fueled up on hot coffee and breakfast at Carvers Bakery Cafe. Rustic and relaxed, the homey eatery boasts the convivial sounds and baked-goods aroma of a small town favorite. Try the sumptuous cinnamon rolls and homemade bagels. 93 Cooper Creek Way.
Home sweet vacation home
Buying a vacation home might be out of the question (damn the recession), but renting someone else’s luxury mountain house, is not only budget friendly, it’s fun! You may think you’ll be missing out on hotel services. Not true. From arranging welcome meals and in-home grocery stocking, to lift tickets and rental equipment, The Grand Concierge service by Destinations West will coordinate your transportation, plan special activities, and customize an all-inclusive vacation that IS all about you. www.mtnlodging.com
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".
bodacious: adj. excellent, admirable, or attractive. ORIGIN: Boldacious. Blend of BOLD and AUDACIOUS.” - Oxford English Dictionary, 11th edition.
“I’m off to the Bugaboos.” Just saying it, feels bodacious; though I am neither bold nor audacious by nature. What I am, unfortunately, is heavier than I’d like (thanks to a love affair with chocolate), and I can rationalize my way out of a morning run faster than you can say Mocha Grande. So why am I traveling solo to the Canadian Rockies for a Bodacious Girlfriend Getaway heli-hiking and yoga vacation. Why not?
The simple purity and intense beauty of the West has long been a place where dream seekers can indulge such brazen fantasies unfettered by the hard facts of reality. Turning intimidating concepts into inspiring life-enhancing adventures, in fact, is what Canadian Mountain Holidays (CMH), has been doing since 1965 when they first started ferrying skiers by helicopter into the remote mountains of British Columbia.
“Welcome to my office,” says Lyle Grisedale, a professional CMH hiking guide and designated ‘bodacious bro’ on our women-only getaway. A courteous bon vivant with enough Irish devilment in him to fit right in with the girls, Grisedale is equal parts superhero, spiritual guru and mountain goat. Beyond his outstretched arm, tower the wild and jagged peaks of the Bugaboos –a granite mountain range in the Purcell Mountains of eastern British Columbia. A stunning land-sea of serrated ridges, turquoise lakes, lush meadows, and blue-tinged glaciers surround us.
Only a few hours earlier, I’d scrambled aboard a twin-engine Bell 212, 14-passenger helicopter at the CMH helipad (near Radium Hot Springs) after a scenic two-hour drive from Banff. The ten-minute flight to the Bugaboo Lodge, one of 11 self-sufficient, eco-sensitive lodges run by CMH, provided a thrilling, IMAX view of snow-capped peaks, evergreen forests, glistening snowfields, and wildflower-filled valleys sandwiched between rocky ridges. By comparison, it would have taken two full days of hard walking to cover the same distance.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".
It’s day two at Red Mountain Spa in southwestern Utah, and I’m hitting the wall. My quads are exhausted from a six-mile morning hike and my abs screaming from three hours of afternoon exercise classes. I am tempted to bag tomorrow’s dawn patrol trek and afternoon mountain bike ride for downtime snuggled up with a good book in the villa’s plush furniture or deep-soaking in the oversized Jacuzzi tub, but the staff’s contagious energy and enthusiasm – and yoga bodies – inspire a change of heart.
I have come to Red Mountain with my friend Jan for a girl’s getaway weekend to jumpstart a new, healthier version of me. Nothing much, just a fifty-pound-slimmer, fitness-loving, adventure-goddess-beautiful, calmer version of me. The spa’s 4-day/3-night Girlfriends Spa Road Trip Package includes all the necessary components: welcome gift & spa treatment; accommodations in a stylish villa suite; healthy yet delicious gourmet meals; complimentary bike; daily guided morning hikes; unlimited fitness classes; cooking demonstrations and nutrition classes; healthy living lectures; and full use of the resort’s pools, whirlpools, walking trails, strength training and cardio equipment.
A new breed of adventure spa, Red Mountain focuses as much on perspiration as relaxation. Outside, it’s red rock fantasyland; a primordial landscape of crimson cliffs, black lava and big blue skies where daily guided hikes, rock climbing outings and canyon-hugging bike rides exercise my body. Inside, it is pure seduction; where fluffy bathrobes, soothing spa treatments, healthy living and self-discovery classes expand my mind and recharge my spirit.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".