Dorado Magazine - November/December 2016 by Ballantine Communications

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THE

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TAOS SECRETS, REVEALED “Taos always gives you what you don’t expect. It’s in the middle of a desert, it’s steep and it has all the terrain you could ever want. Once you’re here, there are a hundred ways to ride the same line. The surprises don’t stop.” JUSTIN BOBB 2X TAOS FREERIDE EXTREME CHAMPION AND SNOWBOARD PATROLLER

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TABLE of CONTEN TS

FEATURES

The Peace of the Peaks

How the West Was Reborn

Trek into the quiet solitude of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, where the 10th Mountain Division Hut system connects 350 miles of backcountry ski routes.

Balancing conservation, ranching and tourism, billionaire Ted Turner is restoring fragile land and bringing back native species on his vast New Mexican ranches.

by Katherine Mast

by Aaron Gulley

The Season of Good Things

An Affair to Remember

As family and friends gather to enjoy the holidays, celebrate the Southwest afield — with regionally inspired recipes, festive tabletops and classic traditions.

Chic eveningwear and modern Southwestern details are all part of planning a festive evening around the dinner table with family and friends.

by Susan L. Ebert

photography by Steven Visneau

DORADO • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: STEVEN VISNEAU, MICHAEL CLARK, JEN JUDGE.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 â&#x20AC;¢ DORADO

DEPARTMENTS 26 Role of the Ice

In this small Colorado town, if you make ice, the climbers will come.

36 4 Corners, 2 Kids, 1 Mom

The family national park road trip is practically a rite of passage.

IN TOWN

32 A Taste of Paradise

For 20 years, live music and the smoky, tangy pleasure of barbecue have converged at Stubb’s in Austin.

PA N O R A M A

ON THE ROAD

AT HOME

71 Inside, Out

A Tucson couple envisioned an oasis where family and friends could enjoy the outdoors. Plus: Forest inspirations

A SNA P SHOT OF T HE SOU T HWEST ’ S EV ENTS, C U LT U R E & P E O P L E PROFILE

13 Avalanche dogs have

become a critical part of search and rescue at ski resorts.

DESIGN

20 Neon still shines in

the Southwest. Take a midcentury drive through our most iconic roadside signage.

GEAR

16 Warm, rugged

outerwear and welldesigned tools give any chilly winter expedition a sure footing.

CRAFT

22 Distilleries in New

ART

80 M Y

DORADO

A group of friends recharge by hiking through slot canyons and scrambling over rocks on the Grand Canyon’s Bright Angel Trail.

18 Renowned fashion

photographer Kurt Markus is turning his lens closer to home.

on t h e c ove r : Photography by Steven Visneau. Wardrobe styling by Stephanie Quadri.

DORADO • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

Mexico are capturing the flavor of the Southwest by making desert-aged, mesquitesmoked whiskeys worthy of Billy the Kid.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: MALIA REEVES, KURT MARKUS, DAN CHEHAYL, MATT VACCA , KELLY VAUGHN, MERRICK ALES

OUTDOORS

DORADOMAGAZINE.COM

MOUNTAIN THRILLS. TOWN CHARM.

Sandwiched between 6 world-class ski resorts. VAIL

COPPER MOUNTAIN

BRECKENRIDGE

townoffrisco.com KEYSTONE

ARAPAHOE BASIN

LOVELAND

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 â&#x20AC;¢ DORADO

L ET T ER FROM THE E DITOR

Party Season! Who doesn’t love a party? The prospect of throwing one, though, can inspire a very different kind of emotion. In fact, it can trigger stress, anxiety and a lot of questions. What should I serve? Whom to invite? Is there enough time to plan, shop and clean my house? Not to fear. We at Dorado have you covered — and just in time for the fun (and chaos) of the busy holiday season. In this issue, we offer our favorite tips, menus, recipes and ideas for entertaining. Outdoorswoman and cookbook author Susan Ebert shares why she loves creating special Southwestern dinner parties afield for her friends and family — and more importantly, how to relax and actually enjoy the experience (The Season of Good Things, page 55). Can’t decide what to wear for your next event? Our fashion spread An Affair to Remember (page 60) highlights chic eveningwear perfect for a cocktail party or holiday get-together. We also spotlight one of the unique winter pleasures of the desert Southwest: entertaining outdoors (Inside, Out, page 74). In Tucson, we tour a backyard oasis with stunning mountain views and beautifully designed spaces for cooking, dining, chatting — and even swimming. Ready to begin? Well, if you’re anything like me, you’ll need a stiff drink to kick things off: Try Whiskey, With a Western Attitude (page 22). Cheers and happy entertaining!

READY FOR COMPANY Dinnerware? Check. Centerpiece? Check. Festive menu? Check out page 55 for ideas.

Jeff Ficker

MATT VACCA

e di t o r i n ch i e f Dorado magazine

DORADO • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

99 PENNINGTON PLACE Mountain Village, CO 81435

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C A L L F O R P R I VAT E S H O W I N G 917-494-2261 www.99pennington.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 • DORADO

ROW CANYON CARCHAEOLOGICAL CENTER E D I TO R I A L

Editor in Chief

The past

Jeff Ficker Creative Director

just got closer

Caroline Jackson Crafton Design Director

Marc Oxborrow Associate Editor/Digital Editor

Ellen Ranta Olson Online Design

Aaron Heirtzler editorial inquiries: editor@doradomagazine.com P R O D U CT I O N

Creative Shared Services Director

Christy Pollard Senior Design Manager

Todd Bartz Production/Pagination

Suzanne Duke Vice President of Enterprise Marketing

Travel with archaeologists and American Indian scholars

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Aani Parrish production inquiries: customerservice@doradomagazine.com ADVERTISING

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Chad Rose chadr@bcimedia.com Account Executives

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Katy Walker kwalker@bcimedia.com Marketing & Audience Development Manager

Brittany Cupp Chief Executive Officer

Summer camps for teens

Douglas Bennett Vice President of Finance and Operations

Bob Ganley To subscribe to Dorado magazine, visit doradomagazine.com. Dorado magazine is published by Ballantine Communications. Creative services provided by Casual Astronaut (casualastronaut.com). Dorado magazine will not assume any responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or materials.

Give the gift of archaeology! Treat someone to an experience they’ll never forget.

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CONTRIBUTORS

Nigerian-born, Santa Fe-based writer Aaron Gulley (How the West Was Reborn, page 46) has spent his career traveling the world in search of pristine and wild places. His work has appeared in Outside, Men’s Journal, and National Geographic Adventure. But no locale keeps calling him back like New Mexico. Early this year, he and his wife took up residence in a 23-foot Airstream and have been traveling and working remotely across the West, but he says he’ll never sell his home in Santa Fe.

Susan L. Ebert (The Season of Good Things, page 54) has served on the staffs of Texas Monthly, Organic Gardening, and Texas Parks & Wildlife magazines. She’s a lifelong hunter, angler, forager, organic gardener, and cook and lists wing shooting, fly-fishing, kayaking, foraging and trail riding among her favorite endeavors. In The Field to Table Cookbook, she brings together all of her pursuits in a seasonal guide studded with essays, photography and recipes.

FAVORITE PLACE IN THE SOUTH W EST

Big Bend Ranch State Park, Texas “Oft-overlooked by those visiting Big Bend National Park, this isolated treasure of a state park encompasses more than 300,000 acres spanning two counties, holds rich biodiversity, and features the spectacular Madrid Falls.”

Gila Wilderness Reserve, New Mexico “Empty rolling hills, vast herds of elk and pronghorn, and blessed isolation. It’s as close as you can get to Ted Turner’s private ranch experience on public lands.”

FAVO R I T E PL AC E I N T H E S O U T H W E ST

SMALL BATCH BOOTS

Born and raised in upstate New York, photographer Steven Visneau (An Affair to Remember, page 60) is now based in — and inspired by — Texas. He has shot for Condé Nast, Texas Monthly, Neiman Marcus and Texas Ballet Theater, and taught at the Dallas Center for Photography.

Michael Clark (The Peace of the Peaks, page 40) has been working as an adventure photographer for more than 20 years and loves capturing athletes pushed to their limits. He has photographed for National Geographic, Sports Illustrated, Apple, Nikon, Adobe and Red Bull.

FAVORITE PLACE IN THE SOUTH W EST

FAVO R I T E PL AC E I N T H E S O U T H W E ST

Marfa, Texas “My favorite spot in the Southwest is an obvious choice. Marfa’s small-town vibe mixed with modern art and food culture is a utopian community.”

Ouray Ice Park, Ouray, Colorado “Ouray is mecca for ice climbers from around the world. It is a winter wonderland and an amazing place to climb a lot of ice with easy access.”

ONLINE PURVEYOR OF MEN'S AND WOMEN'S HANDCRAFTED BOOTS. Ranch Road Boots was started out of love— for freedom, West Texas and a hell-bent determination to craﬅ good-looking, well-made footwear.

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PANORAMA A S N A P S H O T O F T H E S O U T H W E S T ’ S E V E N T S , C U LT U R E & P E O P L E

PROFILE

Rare Breed Avalanche dogs and their handlers have become a critical part of search and rescue at ski resorts. Meet Taos’ newest team

MALIA REEVES

B Y J AY M E M O Y E

PLUS:

| Gear

| Art

| Design

| Craft

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 • DORADO

PANORAMA trail-running partner in the Sangre de Cristo mountains. She sleeps on a plush cushion in Osterman’s bedroom and plays tug of war. But from the time she was 6 months old, Juniper, now nearly 3 years old, has been going to work with Osterman at Taos, a Class A avalanche resort due to its steep terrain. Juniper, along with the four other “avy” dogs at the resort, is capable of riding chairlifts and snowmobiles. She doesn’t spook when the ski patrol detonates explosives to clear the mountain of the type of snow that could slide. Most importantly,

Juniper (aka June) is one of four avalanche rescue dogs who patrol the slopes of Taos.

Juniper wags her tail. The avalanche-dog-in-training has just recovered her first burial — using only

In a remote corner of New Mexico’s Taos Ski Valley resort, a dog watches her owner. With the exception of this man and his colleague, who are both members of the area’s ski patrol, there is not another person in sight. Beyond stretches a vast snowfield, a seemingly endless sea of white. The man, Jordan Osterman, looks at his dog. “Juniper,” Osterman commands. “Search!” Juniper springs into action. The golden retriever barrels through chesthigh snow for some 200 yards and then skids to a stop. She darts right, then stops again. Juniper lifts her muzzle, sniffs the air and begins to circle. “She’s got it,” Osterman whispers.

DORADO • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

Within seconds, Juniper starts to dig, a rapid-fire motion that sends snow flying. The men ski over to watch. Juniper’s front end disappears into the hole, and they hear muffled laughter from within as she makes contact with the “victim.” “She’s slobbering all over me,” the victim says, laughing as he crawls out of the hole. The ski patrollers high-five. Juniper wags her tail. The avalanchedog-in-training has just recovered her first burial — using only her nose to lead the way. In one sense, Juniper is a typical pet. She is sweet and goofy, an avid swimmer and Osterman’s frequent

Juniper is learning to locate a person buried in an avalanche, with a level of precision and speed that’s not possible for her human counterparts. Osterman chose Juniper for this line of work based on her laid-back demeanor, which helps her stay calm inside the busy ski patrol cabin, and also for a trait he calls aloofness. “She never mobbed me like the other puppies in the litter,” he explains. “She seemed more independent.” That kind of independence, specifically nonattachment to her owner, is critical in an emergency situation when Juniper may be required to follow a command from a ski patroller other than Osterman. Along with her natural abilities, Juniper has also responded exceptionally well to the training that hones her hunt drive, which is the ability to search based on smell, not sight. “She’s better at this than I had ever hoped or thought she’d be,” Osterman says, “and she makes me a better ski patroller, with more to offer the team.”

MALIA REEVES

her nose to lead the way.

AV E N D E R S . C O M

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 â&#x20AC;¢ DORADO

PANORAMA

GEAR

Snow Patrol

Warm, rugged outerwear and well-designed tools give any chilly winter expedition a sure footing BY DINA MISHEV

Warm & Woolly

White Sight

The limited edition CL Companion Polaris binocs from Swarovski Optik are specifically designed for snowy landscapes: Expect details, colors and wildlife to be crisper and clearer with a 372-foot field of view and 8x magnification. From $1,388, swarovskioptik.com

DORADO â&#x20AC;˘ NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

Based in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, VOORMI is the first company to use merino wool on the exterior of waterproof, technical outerwear. The AN/FO jacket and pants are as rugged and weatherproof as they are stretchy and soft. From $499, voormi.com

H E L P ING H AND

Known for great products at a good value, Seirus has done it again with the SolarSphere Brink Glove. Stuffed with an animalfriendly alternative to down, it absorbs heat from the sun to naturally warm up by 10 degrees. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re also waterproof, breathable and touch-screen capable. $50, seirus.com

A Puffy Without the Poof

Watch Your Step

Garmin’s Fēnix 3 is the only wristwatch with navigator GPS and ABD (altimeter, barometer, compass) and the capability to track ski runs. Its ski/board mode measures speed, vertical drop, distance and number of runs. $550, garmin.com

The Wool Aire Hoody (Wool Aire Jacket for men) has the warmth of a traditional down puffy, without the bulk. Ibex’s patented Wool Aire insulation — made from lightweight wool — keeps the jacket slim and cozy. $275, ibex.com

Blaze Your Own Trail

The Fischer Outback 68 ski fits in groomed classic tracks, but with its early rise tip, steel edges, lightweight wood core, and Offtrack Crown climbing technology, it’s happiest when adventuring off-trail. $269, fischersports.com

Ski & Stay 4 NIGHTS LODGING 3 DAYS LIFTS TICKETS AIRPORT SHUTTLE

$749* TA K E A H I KE

If you agree Chaco does summer sandals better than anyone, check out its weatherproof hiking boots. The women’s Fields boot looks great, with a leather upper and brass hardware, and handles snowy trails with ease, thanks to its rugged sole.

STEEPED IN THE SOUL OF TAOS Infused by the diverse cultural mash-up that is Taos, unexpected curiosities are around each corner, balanced by thoughtful amenities that make each stay feel like a little indulgence is only natural.

$190, chacos.com

Shoe Shine

Whether conditions are powder or ice, reach for Crescent Moon’s Gold 9 snowshoes. Stainless steel crampons combine with climbing toe claws under the ball of each foot for extreme traction. Hypalon bindings ensure the straps will never freeze or loosen. $269, crescentmoonsnowshoes.com

Pole Position

The ultralight aircraft-grade aluminum shafts of MSR Flight 3 poles are nice, but it’s the freeze-resistant, no-slip locking mechanism, hydrophobic foam grips and pack-friendly collapsibility that make them our fave for snowshoeing. $130, cascadedesigns.com

* PER PERSON

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 • DORADO

PANORAMA

ART

A Cowboy and His Camera Photographer Kurt Markus brought a modern Western aesthetic to the world of fashion and film. Today, he’s turning his lens closer to home

KURT MARKUS

BY WILL GRANT

DORADO • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

urt Markus doesn’t buy into the oftquipped belief that the Wild West ended with barbed wire or the coming of the railroad or any other damn thing. Markus — originally from Whitefish, Montana, and now 69 years old — has a career’s worth of photographs to prove otherwise, namely a book of his work published in 1985 called After Barbed Wire: Cowboys of Our Time. “You hear people say that there’s no fun left out here, that all the danger and excitement is gone,” he says. “I completely disagree.” After Barbed Wire stripped the romance from the cowboy and laid out the modern West in gravure prints that many considered to be the truest depiction of life on the range since photographer L.A. Huffman published Before Barbed Wire in 1956. Both books portray the West in austere, workaday reality. Markus’ book ended up in the hands of a Japanese designer who liked what he saw. That eventually led to a wide-ranging career that included, among other lines of work, a major stint in fashion photography that ended two years ago. Markus’ photographs have appeared in many major U.S. Kurt Markus publications, including Vanity Fair, GQ and Rolling Stone, as well as several European magazines. He’s shot advertising campaigns for Levi’s, Wrangler and Calvin Klein, and directed and filmed music videos for Jewel, Tori Amos and John Mellencamp. In 2010, he wrote a screenplay called Deep Six that won two awards in the Los Angeles film world. In 2014, when Markus more or less hung up his spurs in the fashion world, he moved to Santa Fe. After more than half a dozen trips in a U-Haul truck between Montana and New Mexico, moving irreplaceable, cumbersome negatives, he and his wife, Maria, have converted an old garage into a studio and darkroom. This summer, Verve Gallery in Santa Fe hosted a show of his fashion work. “Over the years, I’d been through Santa Fe and knew that I liked it here,” he says. “There are a lot of creative, smart people here, and that can lead to opportunities and interesting things happening.” Markus, about to enter his 70s, is willing to let the dust settle around him a bit these days. Far-flung trips to places like the Middle East and Africa, both sites of extended projects of his, don’t have the allure they once did. Now, his ambitions are closer to home. And while he may have idled down his output, he will continue to photograph the West as it is. His next project is a study of New Mexico rodeo queens. “That’s what attracted me to photography early on: that no one could force you into retirement,” he says. “But I have absolutely no desire to use a GoPro camera — at all.” NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 • DORADO

PANORAMA ART: Just one of the many neon treasures highlighted in the new book Route 66 Roadside Signs and Advertisements.

Chasing Neon

In 2014, photographer Stefanie Poteet traveled 26,944 miles across the United States. The four-month Chasing Neon trip resulted in photos of more than 1,000 signs, many of them in the Southwest, like the Valencia Bar in Albuquerque and Tucson’s Hotel Congress. Poteet’s motto? Save the signs. etsy.com/shop/retroroadsidephoto FILM:

Sign Painters

Before neon signs, businesses across the world relied on sign painters for storefront advertising. While the trend may have slowed down during neon’s heyday in the 1920s to ’60s, today hand-painted signage is, unsurprisingly, seeing an artisanal resurgence. The 2013 documentary (and its book counterpart) travel across the country to different sign painters balancing art and trade, including truck driver-turnedtypography lover Norma Jeanne Maloney of Red Rider Studios, just outside of Austin. signpaintersfilm.com Sign Painters

Route 66 Roadside Signs and Advertisements BOOK:

Signs of the Southwest Take a midcentury drive through our most iconic roadside signage

BY CELESTE SEPESSY

hey were everywhere. Looming over hotels, theaters, and honkytonks, visible before the towns themselves. In the first half of the 20th century, signs — especially of the neon variety — ruled the Southwest road, dwarfing the businesses they were built to advertise. “Such shapes! Such colors! And such signs!” Tom Wolfe wrote of the region’s signs that were so bold you could see them from an airplane. “They tower. They revolve, they oscillate, they soar in shapes before which the existing vocabulary of art history is helpless.” See them for yourself in this quick list of entertainment and art, featuring some of the Southwest’s best signs.

DORADO • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

FILM:

The Man Who Fell to Earth

Forty years later, this sci-fi classic is still as oddly dazzling as the late David Bowie himself. The Nicolas Roeg film follows Bowie — an alien in human form — across New Mexico in search of water for his home planet. Enjoy unworldly desert views and smalltown cameos alike, as the film pans from Albuquerque to Artesia, where you’ll notice old-school signs like the one at Hotel Artesia. amazon.com

TOP: JIM HINCKLEY. RIGHT: SIGN PAINTERS FILM

DESIGN

Neon signs exist for a reason: to get patrons into businesses. Cruise down Route 66 in its heyday — especially at night — and drivers had countless neon-lit bars, diners and motels to choose from. Let the brightest, biggest sign win! In this new book, Route 66 historians Joe Sonderman and Jim Hinckley share their favorite vintage (and modern) signs from the Mother Road, including stops in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. amazon.com

DAYDREAMS, delivered. Get your dose of big adventures sent straight to your inbox every other week with the Dorado e-newsletter. VISIT DORADOMAGAZINE.COM TO SIGN UP NOW.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 â&#x20AC;¢ DORADO

PANORAMA

CRAFT

Whiskey, With a Western Attitude Distilleries in New Mexico are capturing the flavor of the Southwest by making desert-aged, mesquitesmoked whiskeys worthy of Billy the Kid

At KGB Spirits in Alcalde, New Mexico, barrels full of whiskey are deliberately left outside overnight, the better to interact with extreme temperature swings — intense heat during the day, colder at night — and fresh air currents that sweep down from Colorado, along the Rio Grande. “People are very surprised when they find out I have containers outside,” says John Bernasconi, owner and distiller at KGB Spirits. “I equate it with the cowboys who would rather be sleeping outside, under the stars.” Sure, it sounds romantic. But it’s also an approach that’s creating great whiskey. Just as Scotland and Kentucky are famed for climates that create best-in-breed Scotch and bourbon, New Mexico’s distillers are utilizing the region’s uniquely dry, high-altitude climate to build whiskey with local terroir and plenty of Western swagger. For example, KGB’s offerings include a trio of rye whiskeys, including the bold Turley Mill Cask Strength Single

DORADO • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

LEANDER NARDIN/STOCKSY

BY KARA NEWMAN

DRINK UP These New Mexican whiskey cocktails pack a flavorful, Southwestern punch:

Blood & Thunder A riff on the classic Blood and Sand cocktail, courtesy Natalie Bovis at The Liquid Muse. .75 oz. Taos Lightning rye .75 oz. Naranjo orange liqueur .75 oz. sweet vermouth .75 oz. freshly squeezed orange juice Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with orange zest.

Barrel, a 6-year-old bottling that explodes with vanilla, orange peel and spice cake flavors, and the Taos Lightning line, a brisk, pleasant sipper with plenty of spice plus a surprising, delicate violet note not typically seen in whiskey. In addition to the climate, local ingredients are part of the mix. Although KGB’s first bottlings relied on distillate made by a contract producer in Indiana, it’s now distilling its own whiskey on-site using local Colorado grain. Meanwhile, New Mexico’s Don Quixote Distillery in Los Alamos uses organic New distillers are Mexico blue corn for its Blue Corn Bourbon, which also building whiskey relies on the hot, dry climate to age the whiskey for about with local terroir five years — a deliberately shorter aging time than most and plenty of Kentucky-made bourbons. In addition to bourbon swagger. and rye, keep an eye out for an American-made single malt whiskey similar to Scotch: Santa Fe Spirits’ Colkegan Single Malt Whiskey has quickly garnered a fan base. The distillery was started by an Englishman who moved to New Mexico two decades ago and started making spirits in 2010. “It’s a Southwest interpretation of a scotch,” explains Santa Fe Spirits’ Adam Vincent. Compared to peat, which gives Islay Scotch its famed briny smokiness, Santa Fe uses mesquite wood for a sweeter, meatier smoke that’s reminiscent of cookouts and barbecue. Compared to bourbon, which is required to age in new oak barrels that impart lots of vanilla sweetness to the whiskey, most of Santa Fe’s single malt ages in more neutral used oak barrels, similar to how Scotch whisky is made. “Used barrels allow the mesquite to come through,” Vincent notes. Taken all together, these sips of the Southwest are pushing boundaries, creating a Western whiskey style that’s ideal for cocktails or sipping neat during the season’s holiday festivities.

INTRODUCING A NEW LUXURY, BY DESIGN

Nut Job A sipper accented by piñon nut liqueur and walnut bitters. 2 oz. Colkegan Single Malt Whiskey 1 oz. Santa Fe Spirits Atapiño liqueur 1 oz. sweet vermouth 2 dashes Black Walnut Bitters 2 dashes Regan’s Orange Bitters

Draped in the magnificent splendor of the Sonoran Desert, The Canyon Suites is Arizona’s premier Forbes Five Star and AAA Five Diamond luxury resort-withina-resort. Introducing a fresh, contemporary elegance that honors the destination as well as the guest, it now opens its doors to a stay anew in style and experience. Discover the beauty within.

Stir ingredients with ice and strain into a rocks glass over a large ice cube. Garnish with orange zest.

CANYONSUITES.COM 800 888 8234 2016

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 • DORADO

SPECIAL SECTION

OUR FAVORITE THINGS While we can’t promise raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens, our partners have pulled together their top gift recommendations — perfect for wearing, paring, and, above all else, sharing.

Walk This Way Handcrafted quality and impeccable western style meet in this water-resistant calf suede boot with vintage tanned pullup leather. Also available in the steel and river rock grey Angelina County boot. Archer County, $449 ranchroadboots.com

All Around Impression This brown leather bracelet is tough in all the right places, with resistant outer leather and a sterling silver S-clasp. From Kenton Michael’s collection for men, it looks gorgeous on its own, but plays nice with others too. Leather Strap and Sterling Triple Clasp Bracelet, $165 pintoranch.com

Hang Time Festive, elegant and versatile, these lanterns will light up your life with the romantic glow of candles or add a touch of whimsy with a display of seasonal decorations. Available in three sizes and antique copper or stainless. Governor Pool House Lantern, prices range from $400-$600 bevolo.com

You Dig?

Cut And Dried

DORADO • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

This titanium frame inlaid with fossil Russian cedar wood is a looker — and that’s just the handle. When opened with the smoky-quartz gemstone thumb stud, a wave-pattern Damascus steel blade just shows off. It’s not fair, really. Lancet Penza, $850 williamhenry.com

Crow Canyon helps “citizen scientists” channel their inner Indiana Jones on archaeological digs in southwest Colorado. While you won’t spot the Ark of the Covenant — or a pit of snakes — you will work alongside archaeologists to help understand a defining time in Pueblo Indian culture. Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, prices vary crowcanyon.org.com

SPECIAL SECTION

Old is New Again

As stylish and elegant as it is practical, this classic riding boot hearkens to old-world equestrian sophistication. Fifth-generation bootmakers in Spain have handcrafted a beauty — with leather outsole, rubber forefoot and heel tap for slip resistance. Two24 Pamplona, $599 ariat.com

As the Spur Stirs A 272-page collection of recipes from Jacqueline Cavender’s family and celebrity supporters, such as Celine Dion and First Lady Laura Bush, this cookbook also feeds a good cause. Proceeds benefit the American Cancer Society and cystic fibrosis research. As the Spur Stirs, $39.99 cavenders.com

In The Bag Brown leather lacing accents this fully lined, smartly styled Juan Antonio handbag that can do double duty as a travel or overnight bag. Two solid stitched leather handles measure 9½ inches tall for easy over-the-shoulder or in-hand carry. Juan Antonio Axis Hide Tote, $540 acowgirlspromise.com

When sculptor Tammy Lynne Penn was riding her own mare at day’s end, Shadowwalker was born. The low sun and long shadows inspired her cast aluminum creation, which the artist describes as “more stylized than my representational work.” Shadowwalker, $2,200 ghosthorsegallery.com

Big Picture Artist John Lowery used to illustrate missions to the moon and Mars for NASA. Today he focuses on another larger-than-life locale: Texas. From creeks and wildflowers to longhorns — and, of course, donkeys — Humble Donkey art brings the Lone Star State to life one stroke at a time. Living Large, 36 x 36 oil on canvas original artwork, $3,600 humbledonkeystudio.com

Time to Chill With a mobile device stand, telescoping handle, dual bottle openers and dry storage, this 70-quart cooler is tricked out with creature comforts. But make no mistake, it’s built to handle dirt roads, wooded trails and pretty much any other terrain that comes between you and the party. Trailmate, $299.99 igloocoolers.com

Shadow Dancing

Base Glamp Nothing ramps up glamping like this Arizona-built bell tent. With sturdy canvas material, bug-screened doors, sewn-in windows and groundsheets with military grade zippers, this tent keeps the outdoors out. Oh, and you’ll be the center of attention at the campground too. Ultimate 5000, $855-$967 stouttent.com

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 • DORADO

OUTDOORS

ROL E OF THE ICE What’s a small Colorado town to do when summer fun draws to a halt as the temperatures drop? In Ouray, you make ice. Jen Murphy finds that if you build it, the climbers will come

inter can be approached with a glass-half-empty or glass-half-full attitude. You can either hibernate indoors and binge-watch Netflix, or you can figure out how your favorite summer sport translates to cold-weather fun. If you’re a hardcore climber, you’ll happily get your fix crawling up a sun-kissed rock face with bare hands or using crampons and an ice pick to spider up a frozen waterfall. In the 1970s, ice climbing was almost exclusively a sport of the hardcore, and Colorado’s San Juan Mountains were a playground for daredevil ice pioneers. The town of Ouray started to attract curious climbers when whispers swirled of an old hydroelectric pipeline that leaked 80-foot icicles in the Uncompahgre River Gorge. After the mining industry went bust in the 1980s, Ouray relied on summer tourist draws, like jeeping, to keep its economy afloat. But in the winter, Ouray turned into a ghost town. Bill Whitt and Gary Wild, both avid climbers and owners of the Victoria Inn, saw the gorge’s potential to drum up winter business.

DORADO • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

DAN CHEHAYL

JUST ADD WATER

With a little help from a network of pipes and hoses, the city of Ouray transforms Colorado's Uncompahgre River Gorge into a thrilling, man-made ice-climbing park each winter.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 â&#x20AC;¢ DORADO

in a year says a lot about the types of people now passing through. One chilly weekend, I experience the winter renaisan extreme sport far beyond my abilities. sance for myself. By 7 a.m. there’s already a quiet buzz along Main Street and a line at Roast & Toast, a yearI’m daunted by the sharp gear, foreign old café that serves strong coffee and hearty dishes like the bacon-and-ham-stuffed Box Canyon Burrito. climbing lingo and perilous heights. It’s not unusual for the Ouray Ice Park to draw 400 visitors on a busy weekend, but this morning I find a half-dozen climbers ranging in age from 16 to 76. The two men had the crazy idea to run hoses down I’m both terrified and mesmerized as I stare up at the gorge and started “farming” ice to create a manthe glowing blue wall of ice. At first glance, ice climbmade ice-climbing park. Today, what many had ing seems like an extreme sport far beyond my abiliwritten off as a harebrained scheme is credited with ties. I’m daunted by the sharp gear, foreign climbing not just reviving Ouray, but putting the town on the lingo and perilous heights. But the accessibility of the global climbing map. ice park, which is both free to the public and within “Before the ice park the town was almost nonwalking distance from town, combined with local existent,” recalls Matt Wade, president of Peak outfitters like Chicks Climbing & Skiing, have made Mountain Guides, an Ouray-based outfitter that runs the sport attainable for people of all ages and fitness climbing courses in the park. “Now, it’s the driver of levels. And with nearly 200 different climbing routes our winter economy. Businesses that used to close and 17,000 vertical feet of terrain along the mile-long for the winter stay open and flourish, and residents gorge, both newbies, like myself, and professional are able to stay in the area year-round.” This year climbers can find a challenge in the park. alone, Ouray saw the opening of a buzzy new “The park exposed ice climbing to a ON THE ROCKS farm-to-table restaurant, Brickhouse 737, a whole new audience,” Wade tells me. “People Since residents began experimenting with ice new taco spot from Two Rascals Brewing and with zero outdoor experience are captivated farming in the 1990s, a new distillery. For a town with a population by the uniqueness of the sport.” An estiOuray has become a mecca for climbers. just over 1,000 to get three city-worthy spots mated 13,000 people come to the ice park

DORADO • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

MICHAEL CL ARK

At first glance, ice climbing seems like

ou’ll never, ever forget the magical moments of winter in Pagosa Springs. The feeling of exuberance as you ski through the deep, untouched snow at Wolf Creek Ski Resort. The quiet solitude of the perfect cross country trail. The giggles from the kids sledding. And the bliss of a rejuvenating soak in one of our famous hot springs. Slow down and enjoy living life to its fullest.

Discover Colorado’s Secret at VisitPagosaSprings.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 • DORADO

DORADO • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

L-R: MICHAEL CL ARK, KENNAN HARVEY

each year, many during the annual Ice Festival. The three-day event was founded in 1996 to help cover the park’s operating costs. Today, the festival’s climbing competitions attract world-class athletes, and its 100-plus educational clinics accommodate every skill level. Unlike some sports, ice climbing isn’t something you can just figure out. “It requires the knowledge of specific skills and techniques,” says Angela Hawse, one of the five female owners of Chicks. In the ’80s and ’90s, Kim Reynolds, one of the sport’s pioneering women, noticed how few ladies were on the ice. “It was rare to see a woman leading a climb. If you saw a woman, she was usually belaying her boyfriend,” recalls Hawse. In 1999, Reynolds founded Chicks with the hope of empowCLIMB, DRINK, BE MERRY ering more women to pick up a pick. glued daggers to the bottom of a pair of After a full day of training, “Being able to do a pullup isn’t a Yaktrax. “There’s an art to walking safely beginning climbers join the pros for a celebratory beer. requirement for climbing,” says Dawn in crampons,” says Wade. “You want Glanc, a Chicks co-owner who has placed your feet wider apart to keep the spiky first in the women’s division of the Ice Festival. points away from your ankles and pants.” Next, I “That’s the biggest misconception, especially among learn how to swing my ice pick. “People try to put a women. This isn’t an upper-body sport. It’s more lot of muscle behind the swing, but it’s really about about body awareness, balance and power.” finesse,” says Wade. The trick is to penetrate the ice Hawse assures me that if I can swing a hammer without shattering it. “Aim for depressions in the ice,” overhead and walk up steps, then I’m fit enough to he instructs. “Convex areas tend to break.” climb. The first hour of instruction takes place safely After a bit more talk of ropes and safety, I’m ready on the ground, where I learn to use the equipto tackle the ribbons of ice that pour down from ment. The harness and helmet are similar to what above. It takes a few minutes, but I find my rhythm. I I’ve worn rock climbing. The crampons, however, swing the pick high, position my body, kick my cramtake some getting used to. They look as if someone pon, repeat. In rock climbing, every move is dictated by the holds that are available. But ice, I discover, is like an open canvas with no limitations. I just TAKE TO THE ICE IN OURAY execute the same movements over and over. Instead of fear, the repetition puts me in a meditative state. Chicks Climbing Peak Mountain Guides The Ouray Ice Festival When I return to the ground I feel like a total badass. & Skiing offers two- to offers courses in the ice takes place Jan. 19-22. The only way to celebrate my accomplishment is like four-day women’s clinics. park and backcountry. ourayicepark.com chickswithpicks.net peakmountainguides.com the locals: with a beer at Ouray Brewery followed by a soak in the town’s steamy hot springs.

Lifetime Memories Made Here

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ADAM TRENT: THE NEXT GENERATION OF MAGIC

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A CHRISTMAS CAROL THE BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA

THE TEN TENORS

Dec 3 Dec 16 Dec 17 Dec 23 Dec 25

Crystal Bowersox The Blind Boys of Alabama Kevin Smith A Christmas Carol The Ten Tenors Home for the Holidays Dec 28 The Beach Boys Dec 29 Adam Trent: The Next Generation of Magic Dec 30 New Year’s Eve at the Wheeler featuring The Doo Wop Project

GET TICKETS NOW at www.wheeleroperahouse.com or call 970.920.5770. NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 • DORADO

A TASTE OF PAR ADISE What could be better than live music and the smoky, tangy pleasure of barbecue? Stubb’s Bar-B-Q has hosted greats from Willie to Johnny. John Nova Lomax finds the iconic spot is still the place to go for a sinfully good time in Austin P H OTO G R A P H Y BY M E R R I C K A L E S

DORADO • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

here’s a certain bewitching magic to the city of Austin, an ineffable feel you can find nowhere else on the planet. The craggy, cedar- and cactus-studded hills, crowned in violet by dusk. The chain of lakes in the western hills that flow all the way downtown, fed by the ravined creeks that streak downtown Austin. The breezes, so welcome on scorching summer nights, that carry both the sweet smell of hundreds of slow-smoking beef briskets from mesquite-burning pit barbecues all over town and the sounds of face-melting guitar licks from hundreds of venues in a city that claims the title of Live Music Capital of the World. Maybe there are venues in Austin that offer better sound and sightlines, and more intimacy, and there may be better barbecue to be had mere blocks away, but Stubb’s Bar-B-Q, the anchor of the city’s Red River Strip music district, best captures and bottles every element of the pure essence of Austin in one sprawling, labyrinthine, 19th-century package.

THIS PAGE: PHOTO OF UMPHREY'S MCGEE PERFORMING ON 4/22/16 BY MERRICK ALES

IN TOWN

SMOKE AND LIGHTS

Part classic barbecue joint, part rockin' music venue, Stubb’s Bar-B-Q is the king of Austin's Red River Strip music district.

Catching a show under the stars outside is akin to a scaled-down version of Denver’s Red Rocks experience. No, the geography is not as dramatic, but you do get a feel for Austin’s dry and hilly environs — the 2,000-capacity, standing-room-only audience area slopes upward from the low-stage, offering somewhat better sightlines than similar venues on flat land. A single, somewhat obtrusive oak tree typifies Austin’s flora, while the barracks-like, tin-roofed limestone structure opposite the club feeds a sense that you are behind the walls of Fort Apache. It’s oddly pastoral, given that you are smack-dab downtown in a city of 885,000 people. (A few pro tips: Wear sensible shoes; you are going to be standing on dirt or maybe mud all night long. Arrive on time, or early, because Austin’s noise ordinances force the stage to fall silent by midnight on weekends and earlier than that during the week.) The multilevel club-restaurant — its brick walls festooned with posters of the bands that played there over the past 20 years — has a small stage and a cramped viewing area. If you need to get right with God after a sinful Saturday night, Stubb’s indoor stage jumps every Sabbath morn with a gospel brunch, a revival

for body and soul featuring a Southern/Southwestern buffet (garlic cheese grits, migas, nopalitos, fried catfish, spinach enchiladas and barbecue), a build-your-own Bloody Mary station, and the sanctified, joyful sounds of Texas gospel groups. Church with barbecue and a bar? You can’t beat that, especially at the price of $25 for the best seats. In that sense, Stubb's reverts to its original holiness. Co-founder John Scott believes that the structure at 801 Red River St. was built by Mormons in the 1850s. But if you zoom ahead to the 20th century, the stories these walls would tell would definitely be NSFW, even if they are of vital importance to the development of Austin’s now world-famous music scene. From 1970 to July 4, 1976, the building housed a rowdy blues dive called The One Knite, the earliest nexus of Austin’s roots music milieu. It was on that same stage you see today inside that the likes of Jimmie and Stevie Ray Vaughan and the Lubbock Warblers Mafia (Joe Ely, Butch Hancock and Jimmie Dale Gilmore) honed their chops in a thick haze of marijuana smoke, playing only for tips, girls and the sheer devilry of it all. NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 • DORADO

DON'T MESS WITH TEXAS BBQ

The former Mormon settlement turned roughand-tumble shantytown retains a bit of the tough character that greeted Christopher B. “Stubb” Stubblefield when he first toured the 1850s building.

“Boys, this is hell’s half-acre,” said founder “Stubb” Stubblefield of the venue's once-unsavory location. “But it’s the perfect place for Stubb’s.” The One Knite closed when the motley clientele — law students, outlaw bikers, flower children and often LBJ’s Secret Service detail — were ready to go home and not one minute before. And that was not midnight, then Austin’s official last call. “Once an hour, they’d open the coffin-shaped door and let people in or out,” remembers Eddie Wilson, who was then running the Armadillo World Headquarters and fostering the Cosmic Cowboy scene across downtown Austin. “There were a few times I would miss the cattle call and get stuck there all night.” After the One Knite shuttered, 801 Red River re-emerged as an antiques store. By the 1990s, that respectable facade concealed Austin’s version of The Wire’s Hamsterdam. Behind the building, in what is

DORADO • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

now the amphitheater area, sprawled a drugfueled, clapped-together village of cardboard box huts and tents made of mattresses. That was the scene that greeted Scott and the restaurant’s namesake, Lubbock-bred barbecue chef Christopher B. “Stubb” Stubblefield, when they first assessed the place back in 1994. By then, his nowrenowned sauces had started to sell, but Stubb, a former cook and artilleryman in America’s last all-black army unit, had tried and failed to resurrect his famous Lubbock barbecue joint in Austin on several occasions. He was ready for one more try and in spite of the medieval squalor behind 801, Stubb saw only potential. “Boys, this is hell’s half-acre,” he told his fellow investors in his famed rumbling bass. “But it’s the perfect place for Stubb’s.” And as the venue closes out its 20th year, it’s clear that Stubb was right. (Sadly, Stubb passed away just before the club opened and decades before his line of sauces, rubs and marinades sold to McCormick Foods for a cool $100 million.) Since then, his visage, that million-dollar smile underneath that 10-gallon hat, has looked down on shows ranging from James Brown to Iggy Pop to Chance the Rapper to Of Monsters and Men, his having restored that old Austin magic to the backyard stage in what was once hell’s half-acre.

You Don’t Have To Own A Ranch, To Live Like It.

LUBBOCK, TEXAS

W W W. H AT C R E E K . U S

( 8 0 6 )N O7V9E M 4 B- E5R4/ D0E4C E M B E R

2016 • DORADO

FLORA, FAUNA AND FUN

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: NPS (2), YINYANG/ISTOCK, KELLY VAUGHN, NPS.

Clockwise from top left: The otherworldly Petrified Forest; late blooms near Walnut Canyon; the Four Corners Monument; rock-spotting in Arizona; a bull elk near the Grand Canyon’s South Rim.

DORADO • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

ON THE ROAD

4 CORNERS, 2 KIDS, 1 MOM (AND THE TRIP OF A LIFETIME) It’s practically a rite of passage: the family national park road trip. Kelly Vaughn and her children make a five-day, 1,400-mile odyssey that inspires a new appreciation for life

y the time the elk go to find water, the campground is nearly full, early evening light filtering through tents and trees. That it is a Monday doesn't matter — the Grand Canyon’s South Rim, including Mather Campground, swirls with tourists and language and noise. This is our first stop on a five-day tour of the Four Corners area. My children — Jack, 7, and Vera, 5 — and I make day one a short one, traveling from our home in Phoenix to what many call the crown jewel of the National Parks System. We set up camp and wait for sunset, eating spaghetti I’d made the night before and laughing at the way the ravens dance and squawk and joust for remnants. When we walk to wash our dishes, we spot the elk at the waterspout, his antlers in full velvet, his massive body flanked by the people of the campground. Once the kids realize he isn’t a statue, he becomes their favorite part of the canyon — better than sunset and sunrise, or the climb up the stairs at Desert View Watchtower. More fascinating than the distant view of the Colorado River or the talk of geology and strata and time. And as we drop into the Painted Desert the next day, I try to explain why it was important for people to leave the elk alone, to let it drink without interference, to let it leave. We make our way north and east, detouring to Navajo National Monument. We load our water and make the short hike to the

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 • DORADO

READY FOR THEIR CLOSE-UP

Betatakin ruins overlook, tracing with our eyes the architecture of a people who walked away from it more than 700 years ago. “The trees,” my daughter says. “They’re so green, and the walls are so orange-red. I love the colors in this space.” And as we walk away, she keeps looking behind her, followed, she thinks, by the ghosts of the people. It is only a breeze. Up and over to Four Corners Monument, where the crowds don’t do much for our hunger or fatigue. This is the tourist stop we knew we’d race through and cross off our list, hurrying to the state line, stopping to photograph the “Welcome to Colorful Colorado” sign. Counting clouds, we near Cortez, the spine of the San Juan We have traveled Mountains in the distance. Jack more than 500 miles and Vera drift in and out of that sweet, muddled road sleep as I that day, with more pull into Mesa Verde National Park. There, we spend a second night in our tent, the three of us to go. But, as the huddled against the chill that in after an evening storm. sun slips toward the crept The next morning, the world is orange and pink, leftover rain horizon, magic. casting crystals across the grass. The kids run through a meadow as I break up camp and wonder how much longer their patience will last. We hike to Step House ruins, chasing lizards on Wetherill Mesa, then make the slow amble past overlooks and informational signs. By late morning, the kids lose interest, and I make a mental note to return. We drive up Highway 550 from Durango through the San Juan National Forest to Ouray, spend the night in a hotel and rest for the return trip, across the Animas River and into New Mexico. Tonight, we soak in natural hot springs the Ute Indians once used to heal themselves. We eat well, and as I sleep, I dream of the road again, the

DORADO • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

white-knuckle winding trip in rain and wind that we’d made just a few hours before. Clear sky the next morning means that we cross easily into New Mexico, stopping for a tour of Anasazi ruins National Monument. Then, ahead of schedule, we make the slow drive through Navajo Nation land, past Shiprock and back into Arizona. That’s when it falls apart a little. At a rest stop, I build a wall of sleeping bags in the back seat and lay down a maternal edict: “Not another peep — or I don’t know what I’m going to do.” At Petrified Forest National Park, I check the odometer. We have traveled more than 500 miles that day, with more to go before we sleep. But, as the sun slips toward the horizon, magic. Jack and Vera become friends again, running past the park’s fossilized logs, and stopping to hold hands and swallow the magnitude of the space. We had all learned our limits today, and, to some degree, I realized that I can probably go anywhere alone with my children and be OK. The single-motherhood I feared had made me stronger than I imagined. The next day, we hike to the ruins at Walnut Canyon National Monument and dart through the volcanic landscape of Sunset Crater and the Wukoki and Wupatki ruins. There, at our last stop, a butterfly finds my son’s orange shirt. It crawls down his arm to his wrist, and he shakes it free, its yellow wings floating out of sight against a bright blue sky. As we near home — 1,396 miles of road behind us — I ask Jack why he didn’t let the butterfly rest awhile longer. “It was a living thing so I had to leave it alone,” he says. “Like the elk, remember?”

NPS (2); KELLY VAUGHN (INSET)

From left: Sunset at the Grand Canyon; family photo time; making new friends at Wupatki ruins.

W I L L I A M H E N R Y. C O M NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 â&#x20AC;¢ DORADO

THE

PEACE OF THE PEAKS Ten-hut! Named in honor of the soldiers who trained during World War II at nearby Camp Hale in Colorado, the 10th Mountain Division Hut system connects 350 miles of backcountry ski routes. Katherine Mast treks into the quiet solitude of the Rocky Mountains PHOTOGRAPHY BY MICHAEL CLARK

DORADO â&#x20AC;¢ NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

PEAK PERFORMANCE

At 11,600 feet, Colorado's backcountry Summit Hut system sits close to the tree line, offering magnificent views and pristine winter adventure.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 â&#x20AC;¢ DORADO

he temperature in the cedar-lined sauna has risen steadily over the past half-hour as four friends and I stoke a thin wood-burning stove. The humid air was soothing at 90 degrees when we entered, chilly after the short walk from Francie’s Cabin just up the hill, but as the thermometer inches toward 140, I’m feeling a little lightheaded. Maybe it’s partly the altitude — Francie’s, one of four cabins in the Summit Hut system, sits close to tree line at 11,600 feet just 5 miles south of Breckenridge, Colorado — or partly the CapRock gin that my friend Mollie has been passing around. But as I grab a handful of snow from a bucket near the stove and rub it on my skin, I feel instantly revived. We all agree: This is the cleanest we’ve ever felt after three days in a hut. For the past eight winters, my friends and I have entered an early lottery drawing for one of the 34 backcountry cabins managed by the 10th Mountain Division Hut Association along 350 miles of trails between Leadville and I-70. The hikes can be long and strenuous, and we haul in our own food and

DORADO • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

outdoor gear, but once we arrive, we have relative luxury for the backcountry. The cabins boast solarpowered lighting, gas-burning cookstoves and kitchens stocked with pots, pans, plates and even percolating coffee makers. The more rustic 10th Mountain Division Huts — named after the men of the World War II Army troop that trained in these ridges — have outhouses and rows of mattresses lining platform beds in large open rooms. We feel spoiled this year; it took less than an hour to hike the short trail to Francie’s, which has room for 20 in its six bedrooms, indoor composting toilets and, perhaps most exciting, this sauna. Regardless of the amenities, weather can dramatically shape the backcountry experience. While

WINTER WARMER

Unlike the more rustic 10th Mountain Division Huts, the backcountry cabins feature a bit more luxury: solar-powered lighting, gas-burning cookstoves and kitchens stocked with essentials.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 â&#x20AC;¢ DORADO

SNOWPACK

The backcountry experience means hauling in food, making water from snow and sleeping in simple accommodations.

winter began with gusto, fulfilling forecasters’ predictions, little snow fell in the month leading up to our trip. As I stretch sticky orange skins over the bottom of my skis at the trailhead to the cabin, two day hikers with snowshoes strapped to their backpacks step onto the snow-covered trail. Their feet don't leave a print in the hard crust. With temperatures nearing 40 degrees, I wonder where in my already overstuffed pack I can squeeze my warm outer layers for the hike in. On trips with longer approaches, we arrive at the huts too tired to play. Those of us on skis pull off the skins and hang them to dry on dowel rods suspended from the ceiling near the wood stove. But this hike felt like a warmup. Our short, gentle hike left us with ample energy, so we claim our beds, drop our packs and venture farther up the mountain to ski the crusty snow. The wind has worked the snow into sandstone-esque sculptural layers — beautiful to look at but challenging to ski.

DORADO • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

The higher we hike, the more the trees display a permanent wind-swept look — bare on the windward side, branches arced in a gusty flow. But any snow — even icy — is the critical water source for winter hut trips. “Snowmelt is the quintessential flavor of winter hut trips,” says Mollie. And it’s true — it’s such a particular flavor, infused with pine needles and bark and carrying the tones of atmospheric dust, that Mollie’s CapRock gin made with snowmelt on Colorado’s western slope was like a toast to the experience. Keeping the large steel pots that sit atop the castiron stoves filled with snow — and enough water so the snow doesn’t burn as it melts — is a constant chore. We take turns throughout the day shoveling untrampled snow into the dedicated trash cans that sit, covered, as a stockpile. If snowmelt is the quintessential taste of winter huts, then the hiss of water hitting hot cast iron is its quintessential sound. Our first trip in 2008 was quite the opposite of all

ver the years, we’ve all seen our share of personal struggle. As we’ve learned to forgive or just let go, the quiet solitude of the snowy mountains has been a balm amid turmoil. this. As I packed all the food I knew I would need, then more for just in case, as I gathered my rented snowshoes and minus-10-degree sleeping bag, I knew I didn’t have a clue about the challenge and danger involved. Few of us did, it turned out, as we naively set out on what turned into an 8-mile hike through knee-deep powder, losing the trail several times. Cold, haggard and hungry, we reached Margy’s Hut just as the last light of dusk was fading. Margy’s is known for its stunning views of the nearby Elk Mountains, but we never had the chance to see for ourselves; a steady, heavy snow fell the entire time. When we returned to our cars two days later, we had to dig them out with shovels. Despite the challenge — or maybe in part because of it — when the 2009 lottery opened days after we returned, we signed up for Round 2. “We’d gone through so much,” says my friend Travis, who resolutely broke trail up the mountain that first year. “We felt invincible.” But more than that,

we’d seen each other through a challenge, and our friendships were stronger for it. Over the years, we’ve all seen our share of personal struggle. As we’ve learned to forgive or just let go, the quiet solitude of the snowy mountains has been a balm amid turmoil. Though I see some of these friends only once a year, our conversations seem to pick up right where they left off, full of surprising and comforting depth as we pull out board games and whiskey in the evening, hustle for space in the tight kitchens or stay warm knitting by the fire. By morning, the fires die and the main cabin gets brisk. For me, the quintessential peace of the mountains comes when the hut is quiet in those early hours, just as the sun winks over the surrounding peaks. I like to pull strips of tiny kindling from the larger logs to revive the dimming coals and bring the fire back to life, then warm my hands on a cup of coffee, nestle into the cushioned windowsills and watch the mountains glaze from pink to orange to white as the day begins. NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 • DORADO

HOW THE

WEST

DORADO â&#x20AC;¢ NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

WAS

REBORN Ted Turner has amassed 2 million acres across the West, restoring the fragile land and bringing back native species. AARON GULLEY explores the billionaireâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vast New Mexican ranches, where his latest venture balances conservation, ranching and tourism

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 â&#x20AC;˘ DORADO

n the pre-dawn of a sharp December morning, the house at Ted Turner’s Ladder Ranch is still buttoned up and dark for the night, but the surrounding land is teeming. I’ve risen early for a walk, and even though the high-desert meadows are fuzzy charcoal sketches in the wan morning light and wrapped in cords of dissipating cloud, I can make out a group of does grazing, then a scrum of elk filtering across the road. Wild turkeys bawl and scatter as I approach. And when I crest the ridgeline that sits to the north of the ranch house, I can make out bison on the hillside milling like listless linebackers in the Midas light of sunrise. Stretching out before me are 156,439 acres of land in the Black Range of southern New Mexico’s Gila Mountains. Thanks to Ted Turner Expeditions (TTX), the latest venture from the famously brash billionaire philanthropist, it’s all mine for a few days. Turner owns 25 properties around the world, and TTX, the year-old program that opens a few of his choice lands to high-end ecotourism, is now operating on his three New Mexico ranches: Ladder, Armendaris and Vermejo Park. There’s an eye toward other properties, depending on the venture’s reception. “I own so many places, and I love and enjoy them,” Turner tells me when

DORADO • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

BUFFALO TED

LEFT, AND TOP RIGHT: JEN JUDGE. RIGHT, BOTTOM: TURNER ENTERPRISES. PREVIOUS SPREAD, JEN JUDGE (2).

Ted Turner's year-old expedition company offers high-end ecotourism adventures on the billionaire's three sprawling New Mexico ranches: Ladder, Armendaris and Vermejo Park, which has more elk and bison per capita than Yellowstone National Park.

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THE GRASS MENAGERIE The Turner Endangered Species Fund — the secondlargest organization of its kind in the country after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — has helped bolster the Rio Grande cutthroat trout, Mexican gray wolf, Chiricahua leopard frog and desert bighorn sheep.

DORADO • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

TURNER ENTERPRISES (4)

Turner’s land stewardship is a fascinating fusion of RANCHING AND CONSERVATION, pursuits that are often at odds.

I meet him at the Ladder a few weeks after my first visit to the ranch. “But I can’t get to all of them all the time, so I thought, ‘Let’s let people come and see what we’ve been doing.’ I hope people will come and have the same sense of wonder and relief that I get when I’m here.” It’s hard not be awed by the Ladder. Rising from scorched chaparral west of the quirky town of Truth or Consequences and climbing through sandy arroyos and valleys into the ponderosa pines of the neighboring Gila Wilderness, the ranch is breathtaking for both the scale and pristine quality of its land. On Interstate 25, it takes nearly threequarters of an hour to drive past the property, which, as I discover on my first morning stroll on the property, is loaded with deer, elk and other wildlife. “It is one of the finest examples of wildlife diversity in the state,” says Steve Dobrott, the wildlife biologist-turned-ranch manager who for 24 years has helped Turner restore the Ladder to its natural state. “There’s nowhere else you can go to see open spaces like this — except for his other properties. They’re like national parks, without all the people.” Dobrott tells the story of driving from the Ladder, the smallest of the three New Mexico ranches, to another of Turner’s properties in Montana, a route that passes through Yellowstone National Park, and the only wildlife he saw on the weeklong round trip was behind Turner’s private gates at both ends. In addition to the indigenous species, Ladder also has, courtesy of Turner, 1,300 bison. These animals, which hover genetically between cattle and African buffalo, are the signature of Turner’s properties. He says they are emblematic of the West and sees bringing them back as a return to the natural order. They are lighter on the land than cattle, require less tending and produce leaner, healthier meat. “When I was a boy, I read how we exterminated the bison down from 30 million when Columbus discovered America. I always thought if I could help bring ’em back, I would do it,” he says. “The main reason I bought so many places was to increase my herd.” Since he began the endeavor in 1976, the global population of bison has grown from 70,000 to half a million, 10 percent of which belong to Turner. Turner’s land stewardship is a fascinating fusion of ranching and conservation, pursuits that are often at odds. Not only has he spearheaded restoring the population of bison, which he musters on 15 of his properties in part to supply his Ted’s Montana Grill restaurant chain, he’s simultaneously rehabilitating endangered species on his lands. “Ted has demonstrated that you can be a rancher and still have wildlife in abundance. It’s an example to others,”

says Dobrott. The Turner Endangered Species Fund (TESF) is the second-largest organization of its kind in the country after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It has worked to bolster Rio Grande cutthroat trout at Vermejo Park, desert bighorn sheep on the Armendaris, and Mexican gray wolves, Chiricahua leopard frogs and the Bolson tortoise on the Ladder Ranch. A few days after my visit to the Ladder, I come face to face with a dozen of these animals on the Armendaris, following an hourlong TTX hike to the summit of the Fra Cristobal Mountains. Bighorns were extinct in this parched massif prior to 1995, when TESF collaborated with the state to release 37 of the animals here. Since then, the numbers have climbed to over 250, the most in New Mexico, and the state has removed desert bighorns from its endangered list. “It all started with Ted’s vision to bring back native species,” says Tom Waddell, the ranch manager at the Armendaris. “The land is a lot cleaner since he took it over 20 years ago. It’s a much better place now.” The Armendaris, which is a little bigger than the Ladder at nearly a quarter of a million acres, is the place Turner calls home when he visits southern New Mexico. The historical cowboy bunkhouse where he lived during his visits up until 10 years ago is still there, but he now stays in a four-bedroom, Territorial-style hacienda that he built in the Chiricahuan grasslands, with soaring views up to the high peaks. The house, whose walls are hung with trophy deer and oryx, isn’t yet open to the public, but there’s a sense among staff that it’s only a matter of time. On our excursion on the ranch, which included a TTX hike up the limestone-girded Spellmeyer Canyon to inspect 300 million-year-old fossilized crinoids and shells, we saw several groups of deer and a herd of oryx, the lissome, mask-faced African antelope whose numbers have swelled from 93 in 1969 to more than 5,000 today. Like the bighorns, they have flourished on the Armendaris. As impressive as Turner’s two southern New Mexico ranches are, they pale next to Vermejo Park, a swath of Sangre de Cristo mountain range on the Colorado border that is bigger than the Ladder and the Armendaris combined. I visit the ranch in June, when Turner is on property for the reopening of Casa Grande, the meticulously renovated 1909 stone mansion that will serve as the centerpiece of TTX operations here. Out the door, there’s trail riding on horseback, hiking and summit-bagging in the surrounding 13,000-foot peaks, fly-fishing on 16 lakes and 30 miles of creeks, and, of course, wildlife viewing. The land is home to the mule deer, pronghorn antelope, bear, mountain lion, and more NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 • DORADO

K ATE RUSSELL

BLAZE OF GLORY

Vermejo Park, a swath of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range on the Colorado border, is bigger than the Ladder and Armendaris ranches combined, with 13,000-foot peaks, 16 lakes, 30 miles of creeks and wildlife galore.

DORADO â&#x20AC;¢ NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

elk and bison per capita than Yellowstone. On one early morning driving tour of the property, the animals are so profuse and unafraid that more than once I have to stop the vehicle to allow elk to pass. Turner likes to tell how, after being caught and fined as a child for hunting squirrels on a neighbor’s land, he vowed to work hard and make money so he could one day have a place to go hunting and fishing. “And, by God, that’s what I did!” he always says at the end of the tale. That, of course, is not the end of the story. Lots of wealthy people buy land and keep it for their own personal use. Turner is unique because, through a canny combination of good business sense, personal responsibility and basic altruism, he is using his money for the greater good. Worth $2.2 billion according to Forbes, Turner has no need to start another business. So TTX is more than just a tour company on private wildlife sanctuaries. It’s an expression of the billionaire’s belief that not only can we all try to make the world a little better, we have a responsibility to do so. “If we mess up this planet, it’s going to be the end of us,” Turner tells me during my visit to Vermejo. “I hope that by opening the properties up and showing off what we’ve been doing, it will inspire people.” The next day, on a tour of Vermejo, we heave rainbow trout from Merrick Lake faster than we can string our lines, spot mule deer with racks so big they almost look prehistoric, and even run into a brown bear, which lolls in the shade for us as if on cue. Later, while walking in a silent aspen grove at the top of Leandro Creek, I discover a gleaming white elk shed, which feels like a secret present from the land. The guide says it’s mine to take home, but after admiring it, I place the slender antler back in the hiphigh grass. I have a feeling that’s how Turner would want it.

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SEASON THE

GOOD OF

THINGS A S F A M I LY A N D F R I E N D S G AT H E R T O E N J O Y T H E

H O L I DAY S , E N T E R TA I N I N G TA K E S C E N T E R S TAG E . S U S A N L . E B E R T S H A R E S H O W T O C E L E B R AT E T H E S O U T H W E S T A F I E L D — W I T H R E G I O N A L LY I N S P I R E D W YATT MCSPADDEN

R E C I P E S , F E S T I V E TA B L E TO P S & C L A S S I C T R A D I T I O N S

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 • DORADO

espite mild temperatures — it’s Texas, after all — impending winter announces itself in a multitudinous tumble. Hurricane season succumbs to the north wind, on which skeins of migrating ducks and geese surf southward. The harvested remains of summer’s emerald fields of corn and milo now serve as amber-hued quail coverts. In the meadows and on demanding full-time jobs, becoming totally immersed the prairies, crimson cactus pears — “tunas,” as we call in the natural world together allows us a cherished them — festoon the rims of nopales like showy garbreather before the onslaught of the holidays. net-hued Christmas lights. Neon-magenta American As the dogs bound ahead, we walk and talk, somebeautyberries and fiery scarlet chile pequins dot times with arms around each other’s waists, shotguns bushes rimming the woodlands, while deep within, a-shoulder, with the knowledge that soon our own oaks, pecans, hickories and walnuts rain down fat-rich days will shorten as does this gold-glazed autumnnuts. Orion, the mighty hunter, awakes from his slum- to-winter day afield — much too short, but burning ber to rise in the eastern evening sky. forever in the crucible of our hearts. The shoulders from a fat feral My love of the culinary arts has sow shot earlier this year now fill a shown me that that same exacting square dozen tamales in my deep preparation when given to wild, freeze. Several flounder from a recent organic ingredients can result in a night-gigging expedition, scaled, lavish yet effortless supper afield. gilled, gutted, and vacuum-sealed, Better yet, it allows the cook plenty lay in the freezer as well. The bushel of time to enjoy some camaraderie basketfuls of prickly pears my husover cocktails and treasured memband and I harvested from our Hill ories of fine friends, beautiful dogs, Country deer lease have been prowild birds, and those special slivers cessed into stained-glass clear juice, of time in the places where they jelly and syrup. Alongside them in converge. the pantry, a dozen or so jars of beauBeing a single parent throughout tyberry jelly and canned homemade my children’s frenetic, sports-fuSusan L. Ebert's The Field to red chile sauce await their appointed eled high school years in a home Table Cookbook: Gardening, Foraging, Fishing & Hunting openings. Now, as Orion beckons, my we shared with an ever-shedding thoughts turn to hunting. Sheltie and two Siamese cats taught With gatherings of family and friends being me that if I waited to entertain until my house was another hallmark of the season, I like to combine my immaculately clean, I would never have anyone over girlfriend get-togethers with a little old-fashioned at all. Blessed with Austin’s temperate climes and a grocery shopping before we share a repast of our wild backyard pool shaded by huge live oaks and encircled harvest. Fortunately, a number of my friends enjoy by a spacious yard, I developed a knack for outdoor quail hunting as much as do I, which gives us a great entertaining. Conjuring up the warmth and hospitality excuse to catch up on each others' lives. Whether of my Mamaw Grace’s farmhouse kitchen and endless stalking bobwhites through prairie corn stubble with summers studded with backyard barbecues and fish Rebecca and Kim, strolling the majestic pecan botfries, I mastered the backyard, then leapt farther afield tomlands along the Red River with Charlotte or trato state parks, vacation cabins, duck camps, forests versing the vast Trans-Pecos in west Texas with Karen, and meadows. these shared stolen days afield take on a spiritual, From Miss Grace, I learned to focus on two near-sacred significance. As we’re sisters, girlfriends, things: the food and the guests. When each wives and mothers juggling busy personal lives and guest feels treasured and the food’s phenomenal,

DORADO • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

SOUTHWESTERN CORNUCOPIA

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: W YATT MCSPADDEN, SUSAN L. EBERT, SHANNON TOMPKINS (2)

Ebert's passion for cooking and entertaining begins with wild, organic ingredients, which she gathers, hunts and fishes from the diverse, bountiful Texas landscape.

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SEASONAL EARTH, SKY AND SEA SUPPER Thunderbird Prickly Pear Margaritas American Beautyberry Jelly with Homemade Baguettes Beet and Blood Orange Salad Holly Jolly Tamales with Guajillo-Árbol Sauce Chicken-fried Quail with Cilantro Dipping Sauce Crab-stuffed Flounder Prickly Pear Ice Cream

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: SUSAN L. EBERT (3), SHANNON TOMPKINS

Recipes at doradomagazine.com

DORADO • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

everything else will work out — even when someone inevitably steps on the cat’s tail. One simple step will elevate your outdoor party from ordinary to elegant: Ditch the paper and plastic. Not only do frugal finds such as the ones shown here allow you to repurpose discards while not risking damage or loss to your at-home tabletop goods, they’re far more environmentally friendly, to boot. First, “shop” your home — not just the kitchen and dining room but throughout the house — for items that can withstand the outdoors with aplomb. Those lovely valances at the back of the closet, sun-aged and paint-stained but “too good” to throw away? Stitched together and tea-stained overnight, they’re reborn as a rustic table runner. The metal canister used for fireplace ashes becomes an outdoor vase, wreathed with shed antlers from a spring turkey hunt. Leave the good barware in the cabinets, and use jelly jars with festive paper straws instead. Once you’ve taken inventory at home, head out a-thriftin’ and a-fleain’! Mismatched, so-called “orphan” plates and silverware have a shabby-chic appeal. I also hunt for vintage aluminum-ware serving pieces; they can handle the fridge or freezer, can be warmed to 350° F, are virtually unbreakable and often cost $5 or less. Hitting the flea markets and thrift shops makes for a great rainy day activity, and it’s made all the better when your newfound treasures are both eye-catching and economical. Don’t fret yet about going for “a look.” As you collect, your own personal style will evolve organically into a look your guests will recognize as uniquely yours. Choose a menu, such as the one on page 58, without a good deal of last-minute prep so that you

can lavish attention on your guests. Most of the time-consuming prep can be done weeks ahead, such as making the jelly, the tamales, and the chile sauce. Even the ice cream can be made several days in advance. The day before, mix the bread dough and let it rise in the bowl while you roast the beets, wash and dry the greens, and make the salad dressing and remoulade. In the morning, remove the dough from the refrigerator, shape it into loaves, let it rise again and bake the bread. Stuff the flounder, marinate the quail and mix the margaritas — then, stash ’em all in the fridge. Finishing up supper will take less than 30 minutes. Steam the tamales and bake the flounder for 15 minutes or so while you fry the quail. When the flounder comes out of the oven, crank it up to 425° F to warm the bread for about five minutes. Let’s pour the margaritas! Now that you’ve set the stage and prepared the food, remember to enjoy your own party. My late mother Ruby Jewel was renowned for being a great conversationalist. When I watched her to see how she did it, I discovered her secret: Miss Ruby was a great listener, and completely focused her attention and 1,000-watt smile on each guest in turn. Do this, and not only will your guests have a great time, you will, too.

PREPARE YOUR OWN FEAST AFIELD Visit doradomagazine.com/entertaining for Susan L. Ebert's recipes and more.

4 IDEAS FOR BUILDING A TABLESCAPE 1. REFINISHING TOUCHES

2. TAKE A BOUGH

3. AMP THE LAMPLIGHT

4. DYE HARD

My best junk store find of all is a distressed wooden farm table with screw-on legs that I sanded and refinished. Legs off, the upturned top slides into the bed of our pickup where coolers of food and crates of linens, plates, and silverware can be transported on top of it, and the table sets up easily afield.

In lieu of a trip to the florist, consider fashioning a centerpiece from native plants such as pine boughs, pinecones, grapevines, and fall fruits and berries.

I like to fill a metal tray with assorted sizes of Mason jars and jelly jars, with a bright-colored votive candle in each. When an electrical outlet’s handy, count on me to pull out a few strings of Christmas mini-lights — I hot-glued spent shotgun shells over the bulbs on one of the strands.

For tired table linens that need more “oomph” than tea-staining, I like to use the fiber-reactive tub dyes from Dharma Trading Company, which result in brilliant Southwestern colors that won’t run or fade.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 • DORADO

AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER Chic eveningwear and modern Southwestern details are all part of planning a festive evening around the dinner table

P H OTO G RA PHY BY

ST E V E N V I S N E AU WA RD RO B E STYL IN G BY

ST E P H A N I E Q UA D R I

DORADO â&#x20AC;¢ NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

Dress by Atlein, earrings by Oscar de la Renta; both available at Neiman Marcus, Dallas. Bracelet by Claudia Lobao, available at Tootsies, Dallas.

DORADO â&#x20AC;¢ NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

THIS PAGE: Dress by Roksanda, available at Canary, Dallas. Necklace by Gas Bijoux, available at Tootsies, Dallas. Shoes by Sanayi, available at TTH Forty Five Ten, Dallas. OPPOSITE: Top by Brunello Cucinelli, available at Neiman Marcus, Dallas. Skirt by Cédric Charlier, available at TTH Forty Five Ten, Dallas. Earrings by Lizzie Fortunato, available at Elements, Dallas. Vintage Lanvin necklace, stylist’s own. Vase available at GRO Designs, Dallas.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 • DORADO

DORADO â&#x20AC;¢ NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

Top by Alice + Olivia, available at Neiman Marcus, Dallas. Turquoise ring by Claudia Lobao, available at Tootsies, Dallas. Stackable rings by Jamie Wolf, available at Market in Highland Park Village, Dallas. Ring by Jen Collection, available at Elements, Dallas. Bracelets by Lele Sadoughi, available at TTH Forty Five Ten, Dallas. Tablescape and floral design by GRO Designs, Dallas. NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 â&#x20AC;˘ DORADO

DORADO â&#x20AC;¢ NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

THIS PAGE: Dress by Odeeh, available at Canary, Dallas. Earrings by Dannijo, bracelet by Nocturne; both available at Elements, Dallas. Cocktail shaker available at UrbAna, Phoenix. OPPOSITE: Dress by Costarellos, available at Tootsies, Dallas. Earrings by Kacey K, available at Elements, Dallas. Bracelet by Lele Sadoughi, available at TTH Forty Five Ten, Dallas.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 â&#x20AC;¢ DORADO

DORADO â&#x20AC;¢ NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

THIS PAGE: Pants by Cushnie et Ochs, available at Tootsies, Dallas. Top by Anne Fontaine, available at Anne Fontaine Highland Park Village, Dallas. Earrings by Marc Jacobs, available at TTH Forty Five Ten, Dallas. OPPOSITE: Sweater by Ralph Lauren, skirt by Rachel Zoe, feather earrings by Gas Bijoux; all available at Tootsies, Dallas. Model: Kiersten at Kim Dawson. Hair and makeup: Lisa Williams at IA Agency.

We Make ake

ELECTRIC ...Too.

DORADO • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

bevolo.com • (504) 522-9485 • 521 Conti • 318 Royal • French Quarter • New Orleans

AT HOME

REFINED SOUTHWESTERN LIVING AND STYLE

From the Forest Floor

Bring the outdoors in with these 5 inspiredby-nature pieces B Y E L L E N R A N TA O L S O N

Into the Woods

FAWN DEVINEY

The perfect scent for a holiday home, the Forest Collection candles were inspired by treks through the old-growth forests of northern Arizona. Fireside Candle, $36, standardwax.com

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 â&#x20AC;¢ DORADO

AT H OME

Naturally Modern

Dramatic in scale, this rack has a rugged yet sculptural appeal. Molded from steer horns, this horned skull is crafted from resin and aluminum, hand-colored and -finished for impressive realism. Steer Horns in Cast Resin and Aluminum, $195, restorationhardware.com

Q&A

Heather Scott Heather Scott Home & Design, Austin

Interior designer Heather Scott explains how to imbue your space with nature’s best.

Encyclopedia Botanical

Photographer and blogger Mary Jo Hoffman (stillblog.net) creates arrangements of found objects from nature, resulting in works of art that are begging for a spot on your wall. Still Acrylic Wall Art, $269, westelm.com

Fired Up

No fireplace? No problem. Southwest nights aren’t always chilly enough for an actual fire, but you can create a cozy hearth in any space with this porcelain firewood set. Klein Reid Porcelain Wood Fire Set, $330, forthepeoplestore.com

Trunk Show

Waste not, want not — all the products from Moab-based Triassic’s furniture line are crafted out of wood salvaged from the company’s tree-trimming business. Case in point: This trunk has been trimmed and sculpted into a unique end table, perfect for a rustic living space. Arborvitae End Table, $985, shop.triassicstone.com

DORADO • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

What’s one must-have item to help bring a bit of the outdoors in? Greenery, whether it is real or faux, can bring a space to life. Lush tree branches provide a sense of well-being and can quickly transform your space with very little effort. I want to work natural, rustic elements into my modern home — what’s the best way to do that? Pay attention to finishes. Furniture pieces with reclaimed wood finishes or natural stone are essential to achieving this look. It seems effortless when compared to glossier veneered finishes and it can be just as sophisticated. How do you keep things from feeling overly styled or cliché? Give your home a more collected look by mixing styles, textures and finishes. If you incorporate too much of the same style or trend it can make a room look too matchy or themed. Also, try to select pieces that are timeless rather than trendy. Minimal accessorizing gives a refined and collected look. How can color be worked into an organic, nature-inspired décor? Calming blues and greens always provide a soothing color palette against a neutral, nature-inspired décor scheme. These colors are already found in nature and are soft enough to pair with any other neutral, organic elements that you have in your space.

You’ll never forget your first time.

Unforgettable is just a flight away with daily flights to Montrose-Telluride (MTJ) from Dallas and Houston this winter.

Start planning today! TellurideSkiResort.com/flights 844.388.2379

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 • DORADO

AT H OME

inside,

A TUCSON COUPLE ENVISIONED AN OUTDOOR OASIS WHERE FAMILY OUTDOORS YEAR-ROUND. SAM MITTELSTEADT ADMIRES THE

RED, RED LINES

The pool and spa at this Tucson home are positioned to maximize the view of the Catalina Mountains — especially from the ledge lounger chairs that seem to float in a dreamy “lagoon."

DORADO • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

AND FRIENDS COULD ENJOY THE

out

COLORFUL SPACE AND DESERT MOUNTAIN VIEWS

PHOTOGRAPHY BY MATT VACCA

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 â&#x20AC;¢ DORADO

AT H OME

TAKE IT OUTSIDE

In southern Arizona, residents love to live outside year-round. This backyard provides ample space for swimming, cooking and entertaining.

he view certainly didn’t hurt. Beyond an expansive arroyo, the Santa Catalina Mountains loom impressively and imposingly at Tucson’s north perimeter, and toward sundown their saw-toothed westernmost point, Pusch Ridge, burns bright with shades of cinnamon and fiery sienna. But for the owners of this home in Oro Valley, another major selling point was its backyard, which, at the time of purchase, was just a contractor-grade blank canvas. “There was a large perimeter wall, a couple of desert plants and then a lot of granite,” says Tim. “For a guy who’s all about doing projects, that was irresistible.” A job relocation brought the couple from the Midwest to Tucson, where they quickly found themselves enchanted by the area’s character and high-desert climate. “There’s a sense of relaxation in north Tucson — and in the Southwest in general,” Tim says. “You’re truly connected to the outdoors. We love the fact that you can be outside and do something 365 days of the year here.” To maximize that principle at home, the couple embarked upon an ambitious outdoor project with local landscape and interior designer Kathryn Prideaux. The lot would be regraded and scraped of its decorative gravel to accommodate a pool and ramada, creating linked spaces where family and friends could swim, cook, dine and socialize. “The environment is fantastic eight months of the year,” Tim says. “Why would we want to be indoors? I’d rather stand outside with a glass of wine or a beer, cooking a steak and looking at the views.” The pool and spa are positioned to maximize the sight of the Catalinas — and not just from the ledge lounger chairs that sit half-submerged in the pool’s “lagoon” section, where Sara likes to relax while reading. Thanks to three large living room windows, “even when you walk in the front door of the house, the first thing you see is this beautiful pool framing the mountain vista,” Tim says. “And when you walk out the back door, you have a full 270-degree view.” Prideaux wedged rows of colorful tiles against the pool stair risers, and their motif of stripes recurs throughout other elements of the ramada

DORADO • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

“WE PREFER THE TRADITION — flanking the cooktops and grill in the cooking area, poised atop the steel mantel of the massive fireplace in the lounge area. “I love that little band of color, but it was important to use it in a way that’s not expected or obvious,” she says. It’s also one of the few uses of vivid color in a “rustic modern” palette that otherwise accentuates seasoned hues and elements: An oxidized wovensteel screen serves as both privacy screen and backdrop to the cooking area; rustic doors above the fireplace mantel conceal a wall-mounted flatscreen television. “We prefer the tradition behind weathered materials, the character they bring,” Tim says. “There’s a sterility that can come with straight modern.” In each of its tableaux, the Pusch Ridge project balances the graphic and modern with the weathered and rustic. Encaustic cement tiles on the base of the fireplace are emblazoned with a starburst

BEHIND WEATHERED MATERIALS, THE CHARACTER THEY BRING. THERE’S A STERILITY THAT CAN COME WITH STRAIGHT MODERN.” pattern in charcoal and white — a palette that’s repeated in soft goods such as pillows and seating poufs, as well as the umbrellas that shade the pool lounges. The gridding of the tiles, meanwhile, is writ large in the pavers that form the floors of the kitchen, lounge and dining areas. “There’s an expanse of hardscaping in the whole structure, but I didn’t want it to feel commercial, like a sea of concrete,” says Prideaux. “The etched-finish pavers also offer a lot of traction, which is important when you’ve got kids running back and forth.” At such a grand scale, a typically solid-roofed ramada would be overwhelming, Prideaux says, effectively contradicting the purpose and pleasures of an outdoor experience. Her unexpected alternative offers a semi-exposed dining area that’s covered

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 • DORADO

AT H OME Santa Fe, New Mexico

STARS AND STRIPES

The cozy ramada epitomizes the backyard's “rustic modern” palette, with bold pops of color, graphic patterns and natural materials such as the wooden doors above the fireplace mantel that conceal a flat-screen TV.

SANTA FE SUMMIT | $1,190,000 4 br, 3 ba, 2,950 sq. ft. | MLS: 201504440 Meticulously maintained home customdesigned to take advantage of mountain views. Laurie Hilton, ABR, CRS | 505.780.3237

210 PICTURESQUE ACRES | $935,000 3 br, 2 ba, 210 acres | MLS: 201604745 Spectacular and rare 210-acre parcel South of Santa Fe off the Scenic Turquoise Trail. Cindy Sheff | 505.470.6114

by oversized slats of weathered redwood. “It really harks back to a Southwest tradition of having a center courtyard,” she says. “As you leave the house, you first experience this area that’s partially open.” For the material, “we first considered slats of steel, and even old ocotillo branches,” says Tim. “But the redwood provides such good texture and good shade.” Additionally, the solid portion of the ramada faces east, which means the dining room benefits from afternoon shade — a welcome respite from Tucson’s routinely sunny climate. “We’re out here year-round,” says Sara. “In triple-digit summertime, we’re in the swimming pool. Last Thanksgiving, we hosted a dinner with 10 guests and did the whole thing outside. When we have work dinners for Tim’s colleagues, everyone’s out here the entire time, using the different areas — people around the dining table, people on the couches, people gabbing on the grass.”

CHARMING EASTSIDE ESCAPE | $699,000 3 br, 2 ba, 1,824 sq. ft. | MLS: 201500714 Charming renovated Casa Sombra condo. Main level living and extra rooms upstairs. MaryJoy Ford | 505.577.0177

RARE OPPORTUNITY | $679,000 2,400 sq. ft. | MLS: 201404652 Prime downtown location near the Plaza. Charming building with off-street parking. Stefan Lark | 505.501.6100

231 Washington Ave. | Santa Fe, NM 87501 505.988.8088 sothebyshomes.com/santafe Sotheby’s International Realty and the Sotheby’s International Realty logo are registered (or unregistered) service marks used D O R Operated A D O •byNSotheby’s O V E MInternational BER/DEC E M BInc. ER with permission. Realty,

2016

Prideaux, a landscape architect as well as an interior designer, was careful to maximize the outdoor space, using desert plants such as agaves and ocotillos minimally and purposefully. The project also contains a strong turf element that begins with ribbons of Bermuda framing pavers near the pool, then spills and expands as it wends its way down the grade toward the wash. “We have two young boys who have friends running around, and dogs, and we wanted an area that was natural, even if it takes a little more maintenance than typical desert landscaping,” says Tim, who grew up working on golf courses. “If you know what you’re doing with grass in the Southwest, it’s not difficult to do something wisely.” Near the house, the watering system eschews sprinklers in favor of a network of underground tubes that minimize evaporation and maximize the hydration of the lush Bermuda grass. (The subterranean system also eliminates slippery overspray on the pavers that serve as a walkway from the ramada to the pool.) Eventually, soft plantings of brittlebush will grow to visually break the fence line that separates the home from the arroyo just steps away. “It’s important to realize what’s beyond your own space, to make it flow,” Prideaux says. “If you walk out our back gate and into the wash, you’ll see something new every day,” Tim agrees. “We love the wildlife — quail, bobcats, javelinas and coyotes. You’re surrounded by nature.”

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M Y DOR A DO BRIGHT ANGEL TRAIL, GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, ARIZONA

Picture a bunch of dudes hiking through slot canyons, scrambling over rocks and tromping around in uncharted territory at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. You’re out there slogging it out for hours with a heavy backpack, but it’s really energizing. After weeks and weeks of working, I just get itchy. I need to get out and recharge the batteries. The diversity of Arizona does that for me — you’ve got urban and remote, high elevation and parched desert, ‘Old Westiness’ and wildlife. D . J. F E R N A N D E S , P H O E N I X A R C H I T E C T A N D R E S T A U R A N T O W N E R

Photograph by Jill Richards

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Family Values

Treasures found here.