Beautiful Fall Drives!

In your quest to find the most beautiful fall drive, don't forget to get out of the car too! Look for “scenic viewpoints” and trailheads so you can smell the pines, listen to the wind and water, and hear the crackling of leaves beneath your feet!

CENTRAL ARIZONA

Try Oak Creek Canyon and Red Rock Crossing near Sedona.

MICHIGAN’S UPPER PENINSULA

Try Highway 41 from Menominee on Lake Michigan to the Keweenaw Peninsula on Lake Superior.

THE OZARKS, ARKANSAS

Try State Hwy 7 from Lead Hill to Hot Springs through Ozark National Forest and secluded Ouachita Range.

WEST ELK LOOP, COLORADO

Just about any highway through the Rockies will put on a show. Try West Elk Loop, a 6-8 hour, 205 mile drive through historic wild west towns.

BLACK HILLS, SOUTH DAKOTA

Try either the 68-mile Peter Norbeck (Custer, SD) or the 20-mile Spearfish Canyon (Deadwood, SD) that trek you on either side of Mt. Rushmore.

GREEN MOUNTAINS, VERMONT
Try Route 100 which runs north-south along the spine of the Green Mountains. Or try Highway 89 that cuts through the Green Mountains.

Source: http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interests-29634433

Winter Wonderland: Tops for Skiing & Snowboarding

TOP 5 SKI RESORTS WESTERN US
Vail, Colorado
Aspen, Colorado
Alta, Utah
Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Snowbird, Utah

TOP 5 SKI RESORTS EASTERN US
Stowe, Vermont
Lake Placid, New York
Smugglers’Notch, VT
Mt.Washington, NH
Burke Mountain, Vermont

TOP 5 SKI RESORTS for BEGINNERS
Buttermilk, Colorado
Bretton Woods, NH
Sunday River, Maine
Sorthstar/Tahoe, California
Solitude, Utah

TOP 5 SKI RESORTS for Snowboarding
Mammoth Mtn, California
Breckenridge, Colorado
Park City, Utah
Big Bear Lake, California
Mt Bachelor Bend, Oregon

TOP 5 SKI RESORTS Black-Diamond Trails
Teton Village, Wyoming
Squaw Valley, California
Taos, New Mexico
Crested Butte, Colorado
Stowe, Vermont

TOP 5 SKI RESORTS for FAMILIES
Smugglers Notch, VT
Snowmass, Colorado
Northstar/Tahoe, CA
Winter Park, Colorado
Okemo, Vermont

TOP 5 SKI RESORTS Best Off-Trail Skiing
Squaw Valley, California
Alta/Snowbird, Utah
Teton Village, Wyoming
Mammoth Mtn, California
Mount Marcy, New York

TOP 5 SKI RESORTS for SINGLES
Vail, Colorado
Aspen, Colorado
Mtn Creek Ski Resort, NJ
Winter Park, Colorado
Stowe, Vermont

Source: www.americasbestonline.net

Crazy Weather!

Yesterday, Colorado flexed its amazing weather muscles for us and we were literally polarized for a moment in time!

We started with a partly cloudy day that lasted until mid-afternoon.

As I headed home at about 3:30, I began my journey with a wall of weather headed my way. Maybe you have seen one of these - they are pretty ominous and you are guaranteed to get wet and worry about potential damage to your car.

Then, the wind hit with gusts up to 45mph, tossing leaves and other debris around, that had quietly gathered over the past several months.

Then came the rain, then snow, and then heavy snow, then rain again.

And as I got closer to the foothills, the clouds parted and showed me a beautiful new layer of snow mingled with the pinetrees on the mountains.

All of this happened during my 30 minute commute.

I have to say, I truly love Colorado! She keeps us on our toes, constantly gives us beautiful things to look at, and makes us appreciate the warm days she bestows upon us at random times.

Are you Hot?

I am hearing through the news and also from friends disbursed throughout the country that a very hot, sticky and miserable heatwave is gripping most of the US.

Funny thing is, I have actually been CHILLY the past couple of days here in Colorado. This is why I love this state! Every season we get a nice repreve from the typical seasonal weather. It was literally in the 60's this week! Our trip to the mountains over the fourth of July weekend netted us a few mornings of 30 degree weather - I could see my breath!

Every winter, we can pretty much count on a few days of 50-60 degree weather right smack in the middle of January or February. Its as if the carefree, be-who-I-want-to-be attitude in Boulder has rubbed off on Mother Nature. (For those of you unfamiliar with Boulder, CO, it is the granola eating, Subaru driving, recycling, organic, hemp and hippie capital of our nation - there is always something that makes you cock your head to the side and go "huh")