At Home in Steamboat Springs spring 2011

spring 2011

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3,172 VOTERS • 131 CATEGORIES • 1 GREAT TOWN

COLORADO

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larry pierce

Contents

Rabbit Ears Pass was voted Best Place to Snowshoe and Best Place to Snowmobile.

It’s not bad in summer, either.

60 Real Estate

14 Quick Hits

A Steamboat business heads to Sin City; a local mother and businesswoman helps toddlers get some shut-eye; and a new wave of urban lines show up across town.

20 We love the Boat

An inside look at our Best of the Boat survey and how its results exemplify precisely what it is about Steamboat that makes us fall in love with this place we call home.

23 By the numbers

Some of the Best of the Boat survey’s funniest responses, most and least popular questions and other random survey factoids.

26 Cooking With

Kate Rench, of Cafe Diva, shares the secrets of her corvina sea bass, shedding light on why she was voted the town’s Best Chef.

Old Town is one of the most quintessential neighborhoods in Steamboat, within walking distance to schools, pubs, restaurants, trails, creeks, parks and Howelsen Hill. Tom Ross delves into what makes Old Town Steamboat’s Best Neighborhood.

92 Staying Fit

Size it up correctly and your bike becomes part of you — at least until you go over the handlebars. Best Physical Therapy Office SportsMed fits At Home’s Matt Stensland to his Moots frame.

114 Tom Ross Remembers The Best of the Boat through a veteran townie’s eyes.

121 Road Trip

A Steamboat family travels to Italy to bike, hike and revel in all things italiano.

128 Final Frames

At Home photographer John F. Russell and readers share their best Steamboat shots.

Categories 25 Dining 59 Community 79 Shopping 91 Services 105 Outdoors 116 Complete results Spring 2011 | At Home

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970.879.7800

12 | At Home | Spring 2011

Visit our Ski-In/Ski-Out Offices at Torian Plum on Ski Time Square Drive

John F. Russell

From the editor

Suzanne Schlicht Chief operating officer Scott Stanford General manager Brent Boyer Editor in chief Eugene Buchanan Magazine editor Nicole Miller News editor Meg Boyer Advertising director

Signs of Spring: Editor Eugene Buchanan breaking out his Bermudas.

A Few of My Favorite Things Scoring the trifecta of schussing spring corn, pulling a streamer across an eddy and kayaking the swelling C-Hole all in the same day. Watching the snow recede from Little Toots Park and kids flow into it like a bore tide, swings squeaking happily once again.

Watching snowmelt course into grates, seeing bike shops booked with tuneups and overhearing riders’ plans for the desert (and making my own). The scent of barbecues wafting over from neighbors’ yards. Crust skiing Rabbit Ears Pass, going wherever your skate glide takes you.

With apologies to Julie Andrews, these are a few of my favorite things about springtime in Steamboat. And while I’m not about to don a dress and skip around Emerald Mountain singing their praises, I’m not afraid to admit to them here.

I’m far from alone in my Yampa Valley yearnings. Everyone here has things they love about our town, which is why we’re devoting this issue to our Best of the Boat survey. It’s a way to let the rest of you trumpet your opinions to the community, heralding everything from restaurants to ski runs. And trumpet you did — more than 3,000 of you took the survey.

Let’s hear it Like what you see? Hate it? Let us know by e-mailing ebuchanan@SteamboatToday.com.

Like swans in spring, we have some of our own trumpeting to do, ushering in a few changes to help At Home in Steamboat Springs magazine bloom and grow. We’ve added a new section called Quick Hits and reintroduced our Road Trip travel section, which this issue takes you on a family bike trip to Italy.

It’s a good time for such changes.

Emerging from a winter that saw a record month of snowfall and temperatures shivering at a beetle-killing and schoolcanceling minus 40 degrees, we could all use a breath of warm, fresh air. And that’s what we plan to provide in every issue.

You might not share my sentiment for spring swings, seeing exposed canine land mines instead. And that’s fine. As this issue’s Best of the Boat section shows, everyone has their own likes and dislikes about this place we call home. Our job is to make sure that the magazine becomes one of your favorite things, as well.

— Eugene Buchanan

Mail your comments, criticisms or ideas to: At Home in Steamboat Springs, Attn: Eugene Buchanan, P.O. Box 774827, Steamboat Springs, CO 80477. You can also e-mail ebuchanan@SteamboatToday.com.

Suzanne Becker Creative services manager Steve Balgenorth Circulation manager Photographers John F. Russell, Matt Stensland, Joel Reichenberger, Tom Ross, Larry Pierce Writers Eugene Buchanan, Tom Ross, Brent Boyer, Mike Lawrence, Matt Stensland, Trish O’Connell Advertising design and production Meghan Hine, Jessica Lobeck, Rachel Girard, Adam Redmon, Justin Hirsch, Fran Reinier Advertising sales K. Crimmins, Karen Gilchrist, Deb Proper, Emma Scherer, Matt Charity, Amy Ingram

At Home in Steamboat Springs is published three times a year, in November, March and July by the Steamboat Pilot & Today.

At Home magazines are free.

For advertising information, call Meg Boyer at 970-871-4218.

To get a copy mailed to your home, call Steve Balgenorth at 970-871-4232.

E-mail letters to the editor to ebuchanan@SteamboatToday.com or call Eugene Buchanan at 970-870-1376 Spring 2011 | At Home

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Rock-a-Bye Baby: Kristen Race’s company is designed to help kids relax with animal tales.

Better Than Counting Sheep Smart Dreamzzz helps kids get shut-eye Sometimes, necessity is the mother of invention ... especially when mothers can’t get their kids to sleep.

Steamboat local Kristen Race knows this better than anyone. She recently put her Ph.D. in child, family and school psychology to use to help parents win the bedtime showdown with their brood.

The result: “Animal Dreamzzz,” a three-story CD from her company Mindful Life, designed to help kids relax via a soothing, animal-based tale.

“It was a business developed out of desperation,” Race says.

“I have two young kids who weren’t good about going to

bed and sleeping through the night.”

The light bulb struck after she received a nighttime meditation CD. “I decided, ‘What the heck, I’ll try this on my kids,’” says Race, who has since released two more CDs, “Day Dreamzzz” and “Dino Dreamzzz.”

“It was like magic,” Race says.

The stories have children imagining they’re a giraffe, baby elephant or bear and teach skills to help them calm down and change the way they breathe. The effect also is said to enhance attention, concentration and memory.

Her company, which she runs with husband Kenny Reisman,

also offers other products and services for families, including a new yoga curriculum for kids and a Hang Up and Hang Out program, culminating with a recent Family Fun Night at Soda Creek Elementary School.

She also has conducted faculty workshops at Steamboat’s elementary schools to help create more mindful classrooms and has done the same with parents to create more peaceful homes.

The market is sizable.

According to the National

Sleep Foundation, 75 percent of parents with preschool-age kids cite their child’s sleep as one of the most stressful parts of their parenting. Further, just 15 minutes of sleep can spell the difference between a whole letter grade.

“Sleep is imperative to a child’s growth and development,” Race says. “Adults have options, but children are expected to develop these relaxation skills on their own.”

More info at www.smart dreamzzz.com.

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Matt stensland

Quick hits

Dig this

& SODA FOUNTAIN Vegas, Here we Come: Dig This founder Ed Mumm at the controls of his earth-moving empire.

Dig This Heads to Vegas, Baby Visitors to Las Vegas are used to digging deep into their pockets. Now, thanks to a Steamboat Springs entrepreneur, they can dig dirt, too.

Dig This owner Ed Mumm, who founded his recreational earth-moving company beneath Sleeping Giant in 2007, is taking his super-sized sandbox from Steamboat to Sin City.

“Las Vegas is the perfect home for our second operation,” says Mumm, whose business has garnered media attention from CBS, NBC, The Wall Street Journal and USA Today. “We perfected our business model here, finding that people feel empowered throttling up a powerful engine and sculpting mounds of earth, and Vegas should be an even better market.”

Mumm received approval from the Las Vegas Planning Commission to operate Dig This Las Vegas on a 5-acre site just minutes from the strip. As in Steamboat, the service lets customers operate heavy equipment like Caterpillar D5G bulldozers, 315CL hydraulic excavators and skid steer loaders in a controlled, recreational environment, complete with

radio-monitored cabs and remote-activated kill switches should an operator’s dirtdigging get carried away.

Beginning April 1, Dig This Las Vegas will offer its threehour Big Dig program daily as well as its successful corporate team building programs.

Just ask Steamboat secondhome owner Chris Cummings, owner of Peoria, Ill., ad agency the Marquette Group, who recently brought 20 employees out to Dig This for a teambuilding program. The group divided into five teams of five, each charged with completing exercises as well as an engineering task.

“It was one of the best ones we’ve ever done,” says Cummings, also the owner of an Atlanta incentive sales company whose employees frequent Las Vegas. “It did exactly what we hoped: Build the process necessary to illustrate the importance of teamwork and communication.”

And in showing that playing in dirt isn’t just for the XY chromosomed, an all-women’s team took top honors. “And they haven’t let the rest of the gang forget it,” Cummings says.

More info at www.digthis.com.

Tahnee

Wendy

Come find out for yourself why we are Steamboat’s hometown drug store!

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Face to face personal attention from your pharmacist 840 Lincoln Avenue ❄ 970-879-1114 Downtown Corner of 9th & Lincoln

Spring 2011 | At Home

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John F. Russell

Quick hits

City Schussing: Katie Furnizall sets some fresh tracks on a hill west of downtown Steamboat Springs in February.

Urban Lines Mucho snowfall spells new ski slopes around town The week of Feb. 6 to 13 might go down as one of the whackier ones in Steam­ boat’s ski history. While most people were schussing 44 inches of fresh powder atop Mount Werner and Buffalo Pass, others chose to leave their marks in a more urban setting.

Thanks to a snow year that saw the resort eclipse 300 inches by February, ski and snowboard tracks appeared on almost every ridable slope surrounding town — much like the clandestine mark of Zorro. And locals could only surmise who was behind them.

“It was the best season for DORK lines that we’ve seen in years,” says Johnny St. John, a pioneer in the movement who bestows urban riders with the acronym for Dads on ReKon. “Someone, or group, was getting after it huge.”

Nothing was sacred, and no slope was 16 | At Home | Spring 2011

left unscathed. On the morning of Feb. 9, drivers coming into town on U.S. Highway 40 were greeted with a slew of tracks on the Cherry Slushy Line on the Big Gulp Face behind 7-Eleven. The next day saw tracks grace the Steamboat 700 Road to Nowhere Arete, the James Brown Bergschrund, the Depot Couloir and the Double Z French Fry Face. Even the new beetle-kill lines off Spring Creek, the power line off Emerald Mountain and the notorious Hamburglar Couloir behind McDonald’s fell prey to the rogue slashers.

At its peak, connoisseurs of the craft could see as many as 40 tracks trickling down slopes from town, some — like the fields off a ridge high above Spring Creek — more audacious than others.

“The mountain had such flat light this year

that I started doing lines downtown where it was sunnier,” says Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club big mountain coach Kerry Lofy, who gravitated toward the unconventional shots this season largely for his video portfolio. “We did urban lines and rails, and even a few houses, gapping sidewalks onto snowbanks. There’s a great line on the library roof I’d love to do but probably shouldn’t.”

Whether they’re the work of a lone ranger like Lofy or a posse of like-minded poachers, the lines all share common traits: a modicum of turns, high visibility and fleetingness that sees them Zamboni’d after the next storm. “You can’t get too attached to them,” St. John says. “But the dorkier they are the better.”

— Eugene Buchanan

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. . .

N I E R A S T L U S E R E TH

hamburger best • a z piz ine run • best • best w y ski mar y fries • best • best blood french spot • best best • picnic bachelor Best store • Best margarita view • most eligible hike • best est B • clothing • best women’s • Best spa • best hike best shop • • best place gift shop skis best bike to rent park • place list • best best • best beer selection • event best • best italian • spot • best burrito to dance camping place est bartender B • est • best dentist chef • B est best service B • • best artist e • u J salad en D v • best wedding sushi • best caterer to work best • best • ich y • best w ican x sand baker me best • best best • Best •

DINING

COMMUNITY

SHOPPING

SERVICES

OUTDOORS

Pages 25-57

Pages 59-76

Pages 79-88

Pages 91-103

Pages 105-113

Larry pierce

Champagne Smile: Olympic bronze medalist Nelson Carmichael showing why he loves the Boat.

20 | At Home | Spring 2011

We love the

boat

Best of the Boat contest yields record entries H

ow do we love the Boat? Let us count the ways. More than 204,700 of them, in fact, which is how many votes were cast in 131 categories in this year’s revival of our Best of the Boat survey.

It’s not just us here in the editorial trenches who like everything there is about the Yampa Valley. What really matters is how you feel. And that’s why we put this contest together — to find out just what it is about Steamboat that makes residents and visitors fall in love with this place we call home.

We can talk among ourselves all we want about how much we like a certain ski run, hamburger or even flower shop.

But like casting a Barbie rod into Casey’s

Pond, that only goes so far. They’re just our opinions. But add the entire populace to the equation — or at least the 3,107 full-time, part-time and wannabe residents who took the time to vote — and a truer picture gets painted of what businesses, people and even ski and bike trails rise to the top of the podium.

In all, our survey encompassed 131 categories, from best pizza to best picnic spot, divided into five segments: Dining, shopping, services, outdoors and community. We gave readers a month to vote — Dec. 15, 2010, to Jan. 15, 2011 — and that they did, turning out in droves to make their unique opinions heard.

We know they’re unique because we

used Constant Contact to track it all and eliminate the ballot-stuffing that resulted in naming the James Brown Soul Center of the Universe Bridge.

“It’s just a great way to engage the community,” says Steamboat Pilot & Today Editor Brent Boyer. The Best of the Boat effort was initiated by Advertising Director Meg Boyer, who led a team that spent hundreds of hours devising and sorting through the survey categories, promoting the survey and tabulating the results.

The Pilot & Today last conducted a Best of the Boat survey in summer 2002. A little more than 300 paper ballots were cast, and no doubt many of them were filled in by the same people. This time around, Spring 2011 | At Home

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handed them out to all our customers,” Moose Mountain owner Jenny Wall says. “The legitimacy of how the contest was handled this go-around made it really viable.”

She said that if her store won — and with the release of this issue of the magazine, she’ll know it did — she’d even create a Best of the Boat flag to fly high over her building.

“If even one visitor stops in because of it, it’d pay for itself,” she says.

In keeping with the spirit of the survey, it was all in good fun. But the outcome is likely to carry with it some serious street cred.

“If we’re able to say we’re best in the ’Boat, you can bet we’re going to get some mileage out of it,” Wall says. “It’d be fantastic for marketing purposes.”

But all that marketing hoopla is secondary to the survey’s real purpose: to let you, our readers, identify the ski runs, restaurants, retail shops and more that you feel best serve and represent Steamboat Springs. So use this as your year-round, go-to guide to the best of everything Steamboat has to offer. And take notes for next time when the contest is likely to be as heated as the pools at Old Town Hot Springs, winner of Best Place to Get a Massage and Best Fitness Center/Gym. — Eugene Buchanan

Larry Pierce

even with double-voting safeguards in place, the result was 10 times the number of responses received a decade ago.

The survey also led to a surprising flurry of activity from potential companies in the hunt for top honors.

“A lot of companies took some pretty creative initiative with it,” Brent Boyer says. “They did a lot of little things to help get the word out and persuade people to vote for them.”

Case in point: Rex Brice’s Steamboat Restaurant Group, which posted YouTube videos of President Obama and Oprah Winfrey with voice-overs encouraging people to vote for its four Steamboat Springs eateries.

“We just decided to have a little fun with it,” Brice says. “We were looking for ways to engage our social media fans anyway, so this was a great way to do it. I don’t know if it made anybody vote any differently, but we certainly had a lot of fun with it.”

So did Moose Mountain Trading Co., which printed up Best of the Boat fliers with its company’s logo and dropped them in customers’ shopping bags. Yampa Valley Bank and Freshies employed similar tactics, placing Best of the Boat brochures and business cards in the hands of their patrons.

“We made in-house slips with instructions on how to vote and

Best of the Boat by the Numbers W

e didn’t know what to expect when we decided to bring back a Best of the Boat community survey. If done well, we knew folks would enjoy it — and take the time to fill it out.

But we’d be lying if we said we weren’t absolutely blown away by the tremendous response from readers. A total of 3,172 readers took the 131-question survey online between Dec. 15, 2010, and Jan. 15, 2011. We feel confident in saying it’s the most representative readers’ choice survey ever taken in Northwest Colorado.

Following are some fun facts and figures from the 2011 survey:

By the numbers

Best Sushi: Saketumi Liquor Store: Central Park Liquor ■ Best Hardware Store: Ace at the Curve ■ Best Fitness Center/Gym: Old Town Hot Springs ■ Best Place to Dance: Ghost Ranch Saloon ■ Best Movie Theater: Wildhorse Stadium Cinemas ■

3,172 voters in 2011 survey 305 voters in 2002 survey 204,744 total votes 2,680 answers to most popular question: Best Breakfast Spot

678 answers to least popular question: Best Place to Rock Climb No contest These categories had the largest margin of victory: ■ Best Sandwich: Backcountry Provisions

RISTORANTE

■ Best

Closest calls

■ Best Hair Salon: Seventeen salons received 30 or more votes, and nine received 70 or more votes.

■ Best Place to Nordic Ski: Only 23 votes separated the top three.

■ Best Place to Fish: Only three votes separated second, third and fourth place.

Funniest responses Most Eligible Bachelorette: “Wish I knew because I’d look her up.”

■ Most Eligible Bachelor: “Find me one!”

■ Best Lawyer: “No such thing.”

■ Best Place for a Men’s ■

These categories had the smallest margin of victory: ■ Best Cocktails: Ten places received 100 or more votes.

■ Best Coffee Shop: Only 68 votes separated the top three.

Haircut: “Don’t know, I’m bald.”

■ Best Place to Get a Massage: “Well, Bob, that would be my back and shoulders.”

■ Best Snow Removal Service: “My husband.”

■ Best Place to Dance: “On a pole.”

■ Best Place to Walk a Dog: “Wherever the leash law is enforced” and “Your neighbor’s yard, late at night.”

■ Best Tree Ski Run: “The one least skied.”

■ Best Beginner Ski Trail: “Wherever I’m not.”

■ Favorite Local Olympian: “The building downtown” and “They’re all great!”

The Best in the Boat!

oat!

B e h in t f f a St Best

879-9010 • 1106 Lincoln Ave • Downtown Spring 2011 | At Home

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A Real Family Mexican Restaurant Cantina and Cocktails

445 Anglers Drive . Suite 1A Sundance at Fish Creek Plaza 970.871.6999 24 | At Home | Spring 2011

John F. Russell

Fancy Fare: For a ski town, Steamboat Springs is filled with fine-dining options.

L

et’s see ... what’ll it be?

Seafood? Ribs? Perhaps a medium-rare rib-eye? Or maybe pasta primavera or just a bucket of wings to take in the game? Lord knows you work up an appetite subsisting in Steamboat, so it only follows that there be ample dining establishments to refuel those active, outdoor engines.

But Steamboat’s dining patrons are a discerning lot. They’re picky about everything from their fries to pizza and happy hours to sushi. As one of our most contested categories, the Best of the Boat dining questions drew more responses than nearly all others categories combined, which can lead us to only one conclusion: After a day on the slopes or a spin on the trails, when it comes to replenishing those lost carbs or cutting loose into the wee hours, opinions are as varied as Steamboat’s terrain.

Spring 2011 | At Home

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COOKING WITH

Bon Appétit: Cafe Diva chef Kate Rench’s corvina sea bass with grape salsa fresca, zucchini salsa verde and chickpea cakes is just one of the delights that can be found at the Steamboat Springs restaurant.

Best Chef: Kate Rench Community votes Cafe Diva best for fine dining, service, chef, wine list

I

t’s 10 a.m. on a frigid Thursday morning in February and Paul Underwood is bustling around the tables he left about 10 hours ago, after the previous night’s dinner service at Cafe Diva.

Putting away washed glasses, wiping the bar and dodging chef and co-proprietor Kate Rench in the close-knit kitchen, Underwood moves steadily and constantly while he talks. It’s a manner familiar to longtime restaurant professionals, construction foremen or anyone who routinely has too much to do and too little time.

This particular morning is only a few days before Valentine’s Day, an event that at Cafe Diva — known for its fine dining and romantic atmosphere at the base of Steamboat Ski Area — is akin to Super Bowl Sunday at a sports bar.

“It’s absolutely insane,” Underwood says of the mid-February rush. “The phone rings

off the hook every day. It maxes out our answering machine.”

Are you full for Valentine’s Day? “Oh, god,” he says with a quick laugh.

“We were booked two weeks ago.”

Underwood owns the restaurant with Beth Fadel and Rench. Asked about key components of Cafe Diva’s success, Underwood — in a rare moment of stillness — pauses to think.

“Locals are everything,” he finally says.

“One of the most important aspects of a marketing plan is word of mouth by locals.”

Like Underwood, that marketing plan is working overtime. In our Best of the Boat survey, Cafe Diva won top honors in four categories: Best Fine Dining, Best Service, Best Chef (for Rench) and Best Wine List. The restaurant took second place in the Best Steak and Best Seafood categories. Underwood credits his staff for the successes.

Story by Mike Lawrence ❘ Photos by John F. Russell 26 | At Home | Spring 2011

DINING “They show up to work every day and commit themselves to excellence,” he says. “It goes back to not taking anything for granted and making every day a new challenge.”

Cafe Diva opened 13 winters ago as a wine bar with heavy appetizers.

Underwood and Fadel have been there from the start.

Rench arrived in spring 2001, bringing on souschef Andy King. The restaurant has grown from its small beginnings to a base area icon known for outstanding food in a cozy, personal and elegant setting. Offseason Date Nights and other specials are a highlight for locals.

Rench graduated from The French Culinary Institute in New York City and brings a high-end style to down-home staples.

“I consider myself (as cooking) rugged American fare with a twist,” she says. “There’s a lot of love in my food.”

Much of that love stems from her childhood in Connecticut. Rench says she’s likely best known at Cafe Diva for her peanut butter and bacon sandwiches and crab tomato bisque. The sandwiches actually are Asian-braised pork belly with Thai peanut sauce and

Sriracha chili sauce on raisin nut toast, but the idea comes from exactly what the appetizer’s name describes.

“That’s my father’s favorite thing to eat on Sunday mornings,” she said.

On the February morning that has Underwood bustling, Rench prepares corvina sea bass with zucchini and grape salsas and chickpea cakes. She says Cafe Diva’s seafood comes from Seattle Fish Co. and is shipped to the restaurant three times a week. Fish and vegetarian dishes are among her favorite to cook and eat, but meat dishes are subject to the same scrutiny and standard.

“We constantly do taste tests with our beef tenderloin,” she says.

Underwood adds that while the Best of the Boat honors are flattering, they come amid a rising culinary trend in Steamboat Springs. Numerous local restaurants are “giving it their all every day,” he says, creating a high-quality dining scene that benefits everyone.

It also means patrons can expect continual excellence from Cafe Diva.

“It really makes us focus and refocus again on what we’re doing,” Underwood says. “We’re continually working to enhance our experience.”

“There’s a lot of love in my food.”

Rench hard at work in the Cafe Diva kitchen.

Thanks from the FRESHEST bunch in town!

Come see us at FRESHIES… for the love of food

879-8099 Your place for breakfast & lunch Open from 7am-2:30pm Daily, Sun. 7am-2pm Convenient Location between Town and Mountain on Hwy 40

Spring 2011 | At Home

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DINING COOKING WITH

Rench slices grapes for grape salsa fresca.

What pizza should look like!

- Popeye’s Pesto -

- The Big Dog -

This one will put hair on your chest! Pesto Sauce, Real Pepperoni, Fresh Spinach, Fresh Roma Tomatoes, Feta and Mozzarella Cheese.

Take a bite out of the Dog! Real Pepperoni, Italian Sausage, Fresh Mushrooms, Black Olives and Red Onions

871-1111 call

Making th in the ‘B e best pie o more tha at, now for n 12 yea rs!

- Snow in Texas What would a white pizza be like in Austin?

Chopped Garlic with Olive Oil, Mesquite Grilled Chicken, Fresh Roma Tomatoes, Artichoke Hearts. Ricotta & Mozzarella Cheese.

Find link to order online at www.facebook.com/sodacreekpizza or at www.sodacreekpizza.com 28 | At Home | Spring 2011

DINING

What’ll it be?

Corvina sea bass, pistachio grape salsa fresca, roasted zucchini salsa verde and chickpea cake

Chickpea cake

Zucchini salsa verde

Grape salsa fresca

Corvina sea bass

8 cups water 6 cups chickpea flour 1 cup white wine salt and pepper, chopped thyme and oregano 1 Tbsp. cumin 1/4 cup chopped, fresh, flat-leaf parsley and basil 1 cup grated Manchego 1 cup Parmesan extra virgin olive oil

4 cups diced, de-seeded zucchini, roasted until golden brown with olive oil, salt and pepper, then chilled

1 finely diced red pepper 1 finely diced onion 5 finely diced Roma tomatoes 1 lemon, juiced 1 lime, juiced 1/4 cup garlic confit oil 2 Tbsp. cilantro chiffonade salt and pepper dash Tabasco 1/2 tsp. Ancho chili powder 1/2 tsp. cumin 1 finely diced jalapeño 1 cup sliced green grapes 1 cup sliced red grapes 3/4 cup verjus 2 Tbsp. Agave nectar 1/4 cup Champagne 1 cup roasted pistachios, chopped

Sear or grill until cooked.

Cut out chickpea cakes, dredge in flour and sear off in clarified butter until golden brown (both sides).

Place chickpea cake on top of zucchini salsa verde on plate. Top with grape salsa fresca and garnish with mache greens.

Serve with a crisp Chardonnay.

Whisk together water, wine, chickpea flour, salt, pepper, herbs, spices and 1⁄4 cup olive oil in a heavy saucepan until smooth.

Cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly with wooden spoon (to prevent lumps) until thick and mixture pulls away from side of pan (20 to 25 minutes). Mix in Manchego and Parmesan. Transfer to sheet pan with parchment (place olive oil on top of parchment). Cool uncovered; then chill with surface of mixture covered with plastic wrap, until firm (at least three hours).

Purée with: 1 cup parsley 1 cup basil 1 cup mint 4 garlic confit 1/2 cup capers, drained and washed 1 Tbsp. sherry vinegar 1 Tbsp. Dijon 1 lemon, juiced 1 Tbsp. brown sugar salt and pepper 1 cup blanched currants 2 Tbsp. agave nectar Blend, add 2 cups extra virgin olive oil.

Source: Chef Kate Rench, Cafe Diva ■

Mix together in bowl.

970.879.0849 1124 Yampa St. Downtown

Double Z is located on Yampa Street across from the river and the bike path.

Delivery-To Go-Happy Hour Daily

Open 7 Days 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

Serving up quality BBQ for 16 years!

Thanks for you loyalty!

Spring 2011 | At Home

| 29

DINING

Best Happy Hour: Mahogany Ridge Brewery and Grill Call it a clean sweep — which is what owner Charlie Noble has to do to patrons to get them out the door come closing time. But while Mahogany Ridge Brewery and Grill, at Fifth Street and Lincoln Avenue downtown, also won the late-night fare, beer selection and cocktail categories hands-down, it’s the happy hour accolades that are closest to locals’ hearts.

Half-price drinks and $1 tapas have a way of stacking the deck.

“We pretty much raised the bar in Steamboat when it comes to happy hours,” Noble says. “Everyone else had pretty lame ones, so we upped the ante a bit, offering good quality food at a great price and applying the discount to all our drinks. The food isn’t just a buffet of leftover items from the night before.”

Not in the least. Its most popular tapas are “money bags,” a sort of mini-eggroll shrimp purse, followed by its smoked pulled-pork tacos. Many patrons, in fact, opt for one of everything, washing it all down with one of seven homespun microbrews, including the uber-popular, buzz-inducing amber Alpenglow, with a 6 percent alcohol content.

Happy hour runs from 4 to 6 p.m. in summer and 4 to 5:30 p.m. in winter, with a variation from 9 to 11 p.m. each night offering half-price apps (try the tuna ceviche), $2 pints and $4 wells. With all this, it’s no wonder why it also earned Best Late-Night Fare accolades and second place in the Best Bar category.

Matt stensland

Also Best Late-Night Fare, Best Beer Selection, Best Cocktails; second place Best Bar

Après Alpenglow: Happy hour patrons enjoying the ambers, appetizers and ambiance at Mahogany Ridge Brewery and Grill.

PROUD TO BE A STEAMBOAT TRADITION!!!

879-7070 Happy Hour 3-5 DAILY $2.50 Pints

Choose from 9 beers on tap ½ Price Selected Appetizers

Doors Open at 11:30 am Lunch & Dinner Burgers • Steaks Pastas • Salads

30 | At Home | Spring 2011

Ski Time Square

Also second place Best Grab-and-Go Lunch Want to be in the know? Order it “the good way.” That’s one of the hungrypleasers at Best Burrito winner Azteca Taqueria, 116 Ninth St. downtown. The good way, of course, includes cilantro rice, black beans, chipotle sauce and — favorite of co-owner Jonas Gabriel — picante salsa with tomato and corn.

And that’s not even Azteca’s most popular order. Honors for that go to the traditional fish burrito.

Whatever you order, you’ll get it served the same way the company has been slinging south-of-the-border fare since its founding in 1999.

“We totally cater to locals,” says Gabriel, adding that using fresh ingredients and keeping things affordable are cornerstone to its success.

“We’re a true locals’ spot. We’re here to play hard just like everyone else.”

The made-to-order Azteca Burrito has become a staple of downtown dining.

John F. Russell

Best Burrito: Azteca Taqueria

Best Happy Hour 1. Mahogany Ridge Brewery and Grill 2. Rex’s American Grill & Bar 3. Slopeside Grill

Best Beer Selection 1. Mahogany Ridge Brewery and Grill 2. The Tap House Sports Grill 3. Big House Burgers and Bottle Cap Bar

Best Cocktails 1. Mahogany Ridge Brewery and Grill 2. Harwigs/L’apogee 3. Sweetwater Grill

Best Late-Night Fare 1. Mahogany Ridge Brewery and Grill 2. Ghost Ranch Saloon 3. Slopeside Grill

Best Burrito 1. Azteca Taqueria 2. Fiesta Jalisco 3. Qdoba

Spring 2011 | At Home

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John F. Russell

DINING

Mazzola’s general manager Tod “JJ” Johnson also is pretty good behind the bar.

Best Bartender: Tod ‘JJ’ Johnson, Mazzola’s Best Bartender 1. Tod “JJ” Johnson, Mazzola’s Majestic Italian Diner 2. Scott Erickson, Ghost Ranch Saloon 3. Kris Cannon, Sweetwater Grill

Most Scenic Place to Dine 1. Hazie’s 2. Sweetwater Grill 3. Cottonwood Grill

Best Fine Dining 1. Cafe Diva 2. bistro c.v.

3. Ore House at Pine Grove

Best Italian 1. Mambo Italiano 2. Riggio’s Ristorante 3. Mazzola’s Majestic Italian Diner 32 | At Home | Spring 2011

Also third place Best Italian, Best Family Restaurant Steamboat’s favorite barkeep should look familiar to anyone who’s ventured down the stairs at 917 Lincoln Ave. Tod “JJ” Johnson has been at Mazzola’s Majestic Italian Diner since February 1989. He’s worked for two owners, through at least one major remodel and during 400-inch ski seasons. And he still loves his job.

“I love it,” Johnson says. “It’s why I’m still here. I love the social aspect of the whole business, and I love working nights. It means I never have to wake up to an alarm.”

Johnson, originally from Rochester, N.Y., came to Steamboat Springs via Boulder, where he was a student at the University of Colorado. He had a short stint as head of security at the former Clock Tower Bar and Grill before he was hired as a delivery driver at Mazzola’s. By 1991, he was the restaurant’s night manager. And when Rex Brice’s Steamboat Restaurant Group purchased Mazzola’s in 2004, Johnson was named general manager.

He’s never relinquished his role behind the bar.

“It’s cost-effective for the operation,” he says. “I

can do both jobs for the price of a manager, which means we have more money to spend on other staff and improving the business.”

For Johnson, being a good bartender — and general manager, for that matter — means being prepared. He wants everything to be within arm’s length when he’s behind the bar, including the organic blood orange soda that forms the backbone of his two favorite signature cocktails.

The Tramonto — which means “sunset” in Italian — is Stoli vodka, blood orange sparking soda, a splash of orange juice and an orange garnish. The Bere Liscio — “smooth drink” in Italian — is Stoli raspberry vodka, Amaretto Disaronno, blood orange sparking soda, a splash of OJ and a squeeze of lime.

Whether it’s pleasing his regulars or entertaining first-time guests, Johnson feels at home in Mazzola’s cozy space. It works for his customers, too.

“I’ve had customers tell me that when they come into Mazzola’s it feels like home,” he says. “It’s a small, intimate space, and it’s very easy to feel like family when you’re down there.”

We’ll toast to that.

Spring 2011 | At Home

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34 | At Home | Spring 2011

Matt stensland

DINING

Clean Sweep: Ghost Ranch Saloon was voted Best Bar, Best Music Venue and Best Place to Dance.

Best Bar: Ghost Ranch Saloon The Ghost Ranch Saloon cleaned up in this year’s Best of the Boat survey, with Best Music Venue and Best Place to Dance.

“We focus on music,” says owner Amy Garris, who opened the downtown nightclub at 56 Seventh St. in May 2009. “We’re zoning in on what type of music bar-goers like to hear in Steamboat.”

It’s an eclectic mix, ranging from Tab Benoit and Tony Furtado to Reverend Horton Heat and the Swollen Members. And Garris gets them all with a great stage and a 32-channel soundboard, complete with EAW speakers. “There’s a recipe that goes behind getting high-quality national acts,” she says. “It’s one of the highest-quality sound systems you’ll find in a room that small.”

The trick, she adds, is appealing to Steamboat’s wide mix of musical tastes. “I’ve never heard of another place that tries to cover the musical gamut like we do,” she says. “It keeps the business on its toes.”

Keeping bar-goers on theirs is a large dance floor downstairs and a lava lamp floor upstairs, as well as a refurbished, 1893 Brunswick Majestic bar carted in from Miles City, Mont. It’s there that patrons choose from umpteen beers on tap and mojitos made from Yampa Valley mint to wash down the best sliders in town (try the pork or buffalo). And you can get grub from its new menu into the wee hours when the janitors begin cleaning up to do it all over again.

Matt stensland

Also Best Music Venue, Best Place to Dance; second place Best Late-Night Fare, Best Bartender Scott Erickson

Spring 2011 | At Home

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36 | At Home | Spring 2011

Matt stensland

DINING

Where's the Wafflelaughagus?: Creekside Cafe & Grill employees Caroline Fisher, right, and Haven Thomas.

Best Breakfast Spot: Creekside Cafe & Grill Also Best Bloody Mary; second place Best Sit-Down Lunch Matt stensland

In a town where good breakfast joints are a dime a dozen, it takes something special to stand out from the crowd. For Creekside Cafe & Grill owners Kelly and Jason Landers, the secret to success is fresh, homemade ingredients and a bloody mary recipe that is shared only with a non-disclosure agreement.

Well, the NDA may be an exaggeration, but Creekside’s loyal following isn’t. The cozy, brick-walled restaurant on 11th Street rode the popularity of its corned beef hash, breakfast burrito and eggs Benedict to the top of the breakfast food chain in this year’s Best of the Boat survey.

That isn’t to say folks don’t love its lunch; Creekside finished second in the Best SitDown Lunch category.

If it were still the early 2000s, the restaurant might have had a shot at

Best bloody in the Boat.

winning one of the dinner categories, too.

Creekside opened in December 1999, and Kelly became part of the operation a few months later. She and Jason have owned it outright for the past eight years. They stopped serving dinner after the birth of their first child, Caroline Roze, now 6.

“We needed to have a family life at some point,” Kelly says, referring to the 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. workdays that accompany a three-meal restaurant.

Jason is the executive chef, and no formal training was required. He transitioned nicely from his role as the family cook to the cook who prepares unique breakfasts such as the Wafflelaughagus and 14 varieties of eggs Benedict year-round.

“We love it,” Kelly says. “It’s a great business for us and our family.”

The love is mutual.

Best Breakfast

Best Bloody Mary

Best Wine List

1. Creekside Cafe & Grill 2. Freshies 3. Winona’s

1. Creekside Cafe & Grill 2. Freshies 3. Johnny B. Good’s Diner

1. Cafe Diva 2. Harwigs/L’apogee 3. bistro c.v.

Spring 2011 | At Home

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Matt Stensland

DINING

Best French Fries: Double Z Bar & BBQ Also second place Best Hamburger, Best Wings Come on, is there really any question? The secret: Double Z uses fresh potatoes, slices them daily and soaks them to get the starch out to keep them from sticking together. “It actually takes a lot of man-hours,” says owner D.K. Kane, adding that the restaurant goes through 100 to 300 pounds of spuds a day. “That’s why a lot of people don’t do them that way.”

The process works. More people order them than anything else on the menu — even though they don’t even come fancied-up with chili, cheese and other artery-clogging accoutrements. “Most people order them as their sides, unless they’re really watching their weight,” Kane says. “But then again, if they’re watching their weight, they probably wouldn’t be in here anyway.”

Best French Fries

Best Chef

1. Double Z Bar & BBQ 2. Rex’s American Grill & Bar 3. Big House Burgers and Bottle Cap Bar

1. Kate Rench, Cafe Diva 2. Brian Vaughn, bistro c.v.

3. Vicki Connacher, Rex’s American Grill & Bar

Best Sushi

Best Restaurant Service

1. Saketumi 2. Noodles & More Saigon Cafe 3. Spostas Sushi

1. Cafe Diva 2. Rex’s American Grill & Bar 3. bistro c.v.

The Double Z Secret: Daily slicing and soaking.

Fast Fresh Affordable Homemade Free Delivery at 5:00pm 57 10th Street

Your Taste Buds Will Thank You! 38 | At Home | Spring 2011

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DINING

Best Family Restaurant: Rex’s American Grill & Bar John F. Russell

Also second place Best French Fries, Best Happy Hour, Best Service; third place Best Salad, Best Hamburger, Best Place to Watch the Game

Family Man: Rex Brice has built Rex’s into one of the best family restaurants in Steamboat Springs.

Ah, the age-old question of where to take the kids. Well, now you know. Founded in December 2006 at 3190 S. Lincoln Ave. in the Holiday Inn of Steamboat Springs, Rex’s American Grill & Bar is the restaurant to hit with the rugrats.

“We’re very accommodating to families,” says manager Chase Thomas, citing such events as a scarecrow-building contest every fall. “In fact, we like taking care of the kids almost more than the adults.”

Consider such kid desserts as its Worms and Dirt special, consisting of gummy worms and homemade chocolate pudding with cookie crumbles. The younger set also goes gaga over items on Rex’s well-rounded kids menu, most notably its homemade mac and cheese and kids burgers.

“We really consider kids as customers and put a lot of thought into what they eat,” says owner Rex Brice, whose 5-year-old daughter, Grace, is a restaurant regular. “We don’t just serve food they want to eat, but food they should eat.”

And don’t worry about kids getting too wired on the custom desserts. In the kid-friendly yard outside are hula hoops, a bean bag toss, a Frisbee golf hole and plenty of room to burn off calories before they head home.

Winona’s

Everyone is sure to leave happy!

Open Over 20 years Home of the world-famous cinnamon roll

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Open 7am-3pm Monday to Saturday • 7am-1pm Sunday Ser ving dinner 4pm-9pm in the winter & summer Located on Lincoln Avenue bet ween 6th & 7th street

40 | At Home | Spring 2011

John F. Russell

DINING

Fire in the Hole: Find Big D’s Ring of Fire at Big House Burgers and Bottle Cap Bar.

Best Burger: Big House Burgers and Bottle Cap Bar It’s all in the beef. Sweetwood Cattle Co. beef, that is, which makes up every Big House burger on the menu. And there are a lot of them.

“If you build your own, we have literally thousands of burger combinations,” says general manager Chris McKenzie, who likes his medium rare. “We have more than 50 different toppings.”

Opened at 2093 Curve Plaza in June 2008, the establishment has quickly made its mark among meat lovers. Favorites include the bacon cheeseburger with homemade ranch and the mushroomswiss burger with homemade garlic aioli sauce. “Trying to operate an affordable burger joint with local beef is an important mission for us,” says owner Rex Brice.

But the restaurant prides itself on far more than its all-natural meat. Joining each patty are buns from Harvest Moon bakery, fresh vegetables and sauces made from scratch. Adjacent to each are a mound of shoestring fries, with patrons washing it all down with one of 63 beers, as many as possible from Colorado.

“We’re Colorado-proud,” McKenzie says. “We source everything we can locally, from our beef and bison to honey and goat cheese.

It really makes a difference.”

John F. Russell

Also third place Best French Fries

The Single Sloppy Texan is one of the most popular burgers on the Big House menu.

Spring 2011 | At Home

| 41

DINING

John F. Russell

Best Pizza: Brooklynn’s Pizzeria

A Steamboat dining tradition for over 40 years.

This historic barn was converted into a restaurant in 1971.

Our steaks are hand cut Certified Angus Beef® and the Prime Rib is slow roasted daily.

Serving jet-fresh seafood, chicken, ribs and lighter fare. Our famous cinnamon rolls and endless salad bar included with every dinner.

Reservations Recommended • 970-879-1190 On the bus line at the corner of Pine Grove Road & Hwy 40 1465 Pine Grove Rd. • www.orehouse.com 42 | At Home | Spring 2011

Helping local families save money so they can live better.

Spring 2011 | At Home

| 43

John F. Russell

lity Q ua

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44 | At Home | Spring 2011

Third Time’s a Charm: Is that salt on the rim or aspirin?

Best Margarita: Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant Any place that ordains a three-margarita limit on its patrons is bound to win a booze category. Such is the case with Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant, 628 Lincoln Ave., whose parent company has made the same secret recipe for 25 years. “They’re strong,” says manager Carmen Welch, adding only that they’re made from Cuervo Gold and a “proprietary” mix. “And pretty legendary.”

Slurp down the limit and you’ll know why. The Rio sells more than 5 million of the 12-ounce, salt-lined concoctions a year at its six Colorado restaurants. The most common way to get juiced? On the rocks. Or try it with a dash of blended mango, which is what Welch likes. Or take them up on the Big Tex made from Herradura, or the Agave Martini. “You’ll leave a little worse, or better, for the wear either way,” Welch says.

Best Margarita

Best Family Restaurant

1. Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant 2. Cantina 3. Fiesta Jalisco

1. Rex’s American Grill & Bar 2. Johnny B. Good’s Diner 3. Mazzola’s Majestic Italian Diner

Best Fast Food 1. Qdoba 2. Hungry Dog 3. Subway

Best Hamburger 1. Big House Burgers and Bottle Cap Bar 2. Double Z Bar & BBQ 3. Rex’s American Grill & Bar

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Spring 2011 | At Home

| 45

Best Coffee Shop

Best Delicatessen

1. Amante Coffee 2. Starbucks 3. Steaming Bean Coffee Co.

1. Steamboat Meat & Seafood Co. 2. Bamboo Market 3. City Market

Best Après Ski on the Mountain

Best New Restaurant

1. Slopeside Grill 2. The Tugboat Grill & Pub 3. T Bar

Best Place to Watch the Game 1. The Tap House Sports Grill 2. Slopeside Grill 3. Rex’s American Grill & Bar

Best Grab-and-Go Lunch 1. Backcountry Provisions 2. Azteca Taqueria 3. The Drunken Onion Get & Go Kitchen

Best Caterer 1. The Drunken Onion Get & Go Kitchen 2. Steamboat Meat & Seafood Co. 3. Marno’s Custom Catering

Matt stensland

DINING

1. Sweetwater Grill 2. Truffle Pig 3. Routt County Roadhouse

Best Sandwich 1. Backcountry Provisions 2. Freshies 3. Steamboat Meat & Seafood Co.

Best Bar 1. Ghost Ranch Saloon 2. Mahogany Ridge Brewery and Grill 3. Sunpie’s Bistro

Best Salad 1. Freshies 2. Ore House at Pine Grove 3. Rex’s American Grill & Bar

Best Bakery 1. Chocolate Soup Pastry Cafe 2. Winona’s 3. Freshies

Coffee Connoisseur: Brent Langevin and his lattes at Amante.

Best Coffee Shop: Amante Chalk this one up to coffee, plain and halfcaf-double-decaf simple. “We order our coffee directly from a family in Bra, Italy, that has been roasting coffee for three generations,” says Amante owner Brent Langevin, who acquired the shop in Wildhorse Marketplace from Jamie Temple in 2008. “They have a time-tested method for bean selection and roasting that makes a perfect cup of Old World Italian coffee. And we’re very careful to deliver it that way.”

The shop also delivers a venue for private and public parties as well as nonprofit fundraisers, thanks to DJs, live music and an alcohol license (try the tiramisu martini). Throughout it all, Langevin goes out of his way to appeal to locals, who he realizes are his bread and butter. “Locals keep us in business,” says Langevin, who, in another life, ran a health care consulting firm.

“I’ll never make a fortune churning out coffee, but I sure do enjoy my life.”

Auto • Truck • 4X4 • Foreign • Domestics

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Your community car dealership Steamboat Motors is committed to a community partnership.

In 2010, Steamboat Motors supported: Routt County United Way • Steamboat Springs Pro Rodeo Series • Partners in Routt County • Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation • Toys for Tots • Race for the Cure • Routt County 4-H • Hayden trade school • Home Builders Association • Nordic Ski Council • Steamboat Springs Chamber Resort Association • Steamboat Springs High School’s After-Prom • Steamboat Springs Economic Development Council • Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club • Steamboat Springs High School athletics • Ride 4 Yellow • Routt County Humane Society • Healthcare Foundation for the Yampa Valley • Rally for the Cure • Ski Town USA Golf Classic • Steamboat Springs Boys & Girls Club • Young Professionals Network • and more!

S t e a m b o a t m o t o r S . c o m

Spring 2011 | At Home

| 47

DINING

John F. Russell

Best Sandwich: Backcountry Provisions

What'll it be, Pilgrim?: The Pilgrim is one of the best-selling sandwiches at Backcountry Provisions. The sandwich shop has been featured on Food Network.

Also Best Grab-and-Go Lunch Call it serendipity that Backcountry Provisions co-founder Peter Boniface was born and raised in a town called Sandwich, Mass. Yet that’s the background of the town’s favorite sandwich shop, which has anchored Old Town Square at 635 Lincoln Ave. for more than 10 years.

“Most of our specialty sandwich ideas were designed around stuff we came up with around my mom’s table in high school,” says Boniface, who founded the company with friend Dave Pepin. “It’s definitely a part of us.”

The company has become an integral part of Steamboat as well, with outdoor types stopping by regularly for such signatures as the Fourteener, Bushwhacker, Dolomite and Pilgrim, featured on the Food Network and voted one of the best sandwiches in America

by Esquire magazine.

Its fare has caught on so well that Pepin and Boniface also own shops in Jackson, Wyo., and Fort Collins, and recently opened their first franchise in Denver with another slated for Park City, Utah. “The whole key is starting with the best, all-natural products possible,” says Boniface, whose shop also won the Best Grab-and-Go Lunch category. “Everyone here takes great pride in what we serve.”

Bamboo Market Health Foods Featuring Steamboat’s Favorite Organic Deli Private Label Supplements Certified Herbologist Organic Produce Organic Coffee Fresh Baked Goods Locally Produced Items

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48 | At Home | Spring 2011

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MOXIE

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Steamboat’s largest home furnishing consignment & design store!

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1855 Shield Drive (behind the Pilot and Today building)

879.9866 • steamboatmoxie.com

Mon.-Sat. 10-6, Thurs. 10-7 & Sun. 12-5 • Moxie@steamboatmoxie.com Spring 2011 | At Home

| 49

Best New Restaurant: Sweetwater Grill Matt stensland

Also second place Best Scenic Restaurant; third place Best Cocktails, Best Chef Kris Cannon

SWG_background.pdf

1

2/14/11

12:17 PM

New Kid on the Block: Sweetwater Grill is making all the right moves.

Modern, casual elegance is what Sweetwater Grill at 811 Yampa Ave. hangs its hat on, and that’s what you get every time you saunter in for suds, ceviche and everything in between.

From a year-round, stainless-steel, outdoor fireplace filled with crystals to a bar that would make Norm from “Cheers” feel at home, expect good times, good food, good tunes and possibly a hangover.

“The whole concept is to have people come for dinner between 6 and 8 p.m., and then walk by the lounge and stay for music afterward,” says owner Kim Haggarty. “It’s more than just dining; it’s the whole Sweetwater experience.”

As well as bands, that experience includes such family-friendly activities as igloo- and snowman-building contests and a 45-person, multimedia upstairs meeting room for rehearsal dinners, private parties and company conventions.

The formula works. As well as appeasing locals and visitors, Sweetwater also has become fundraiser central, hosting benefits for such groups as The Lowell Whiteman School, Friends of the Yampa and a rowdy one for the Free Summer Concert Series. “We’re all about bringing a new vibe to the Yampa River,” Haggarty says.

More than great dining... it’s a Sweetwater experience!

Thanks to everyone who voted for our new restaurant and continue to support us!

811 Yampa St. • 879-9500 • Reservations Welcome • Open daily at 4pm 50 | At Home | Spring 2011

DINING

Best Mexican: Fiesta Jalisco Also second place Best Burrito; third place Best Margarita It’s a family affair at Fiesta Jalisco, right down to the recipes that have made the restaurant Steamboat’s favorite for authentic Mexican food.

It starts at the top, with owner Jose Rodriguez. His brother, Mario, manages Fiesta’s Steamboat location, tucked into the back corner of the Sundance at Fish Creek shopping center. Mario’s wife, sisters-in-law and a cousin also pull shifts at the restaurant and cantina that boasts a menu with an eye-popping 120 options.

And although you won’t find her at the restaurant, the Rodriguez brothers’ grandmother has a big hand in the operation — her Old Mexico recipes form the backbone of Fiesta Jalisco’s success.

Natives of the Mexican state of Jalisco, the Rodriguezes have been appeasing the appetites

of Americans for more than a decade. Jose Rodriguez has 10 Colorado locations as well as his original restaurant, Rancho Viejo, in Spokane, Wash.

The secret to their success?

Homemade quality at reasonable prices, Mario says.

“People like the service and the food, and I think we have good prices for the portions we serve.”

The restaurant’s specialties are its carne asada, “Crazy Donkey” burrito and chicken molé. The dishes are as flavorful as the restaurant is colorful — traditional Mexican tile work and brightly painted chairs and accents keep the atmosphere light and upbeat.

It must be working. Eight years after it first opened its doors in the Boat, our readers chose it as Best Mexican Food.

“I’m happy with the reputation,” Mario says.

Aye, Caramba!: For town’s Best Mex, fiesta at Fiesta.

Best Mexican

Most Vegetarian Friendly

1. Fiesta Jalisco 2. Cantina 3. Tequila’s

1. Bamboo Market 2. Freshies 3. Healthy Solutions

Best Asian

Best Wings

1. Noodles & More Saigon Cafe 2. Saketumi 3. Canton Chinese Restaurant

1. The Tap House Sports Grill 2. Double Z Bar & BBQ 3. Steamboat Smokehouse

2

To the 3,17 voters who

d in participate est the 2011 B t of the Boa to survey and ners the 393 win for making such Steamboat ce to a great pla it. live and vis

FULL RESULTS ALSO AVAILABLE ON EXPLORESTEAMBOAT.COM Spring 2011 | At Home

| 51

Worldwide Representation.

Local Commitment.

Thank You Steamboat for the Vote of Confidence!

Feldmann nagel, llC

970-879-8616

feldmann-nagel.com

attorneys at law 52 | At Home | Spring 2011

DINING

Best Après Ski on the Mountain: Slopeside Grill Ski up to live music, southern exposure and an ice bar made out of 70, 300-pound blocks of ice. It’s no wonder aptly named Slopeside Grill won this coveted category.

Throw in the “beach,” a pint pass and fire pits and you won’t want to leave until after the late night happy hour that serves up $7 pizzas and $3 brewskis.

“We pride ourselves on our live music seven days a week,” says general manager Chad Gagliano, who used to own the nightclub Levelz. “And we plan to raise it up a notch moving forward.”

Look for the first signs this summer, when Slopeside becomes even more of an après hot spot thanks to the daylighting of Burgess Creek and the newly opened promenade. Revelers might not be able to ski up to their wings, pizzas, best-selling sausageand-pepper plates and Mount Werner-size nachos, but mountain biking to your snacks and suds isn’t bad, either.

Matt stensland

Also second place Best Place to Watch the Game; third place Best Happy Hour, Best Late-Night Fare

Ski to Your Suds: Slopeside Grill at the base of Steamboat Ski Area was voted Best Après Ski on the Mountain.

Steamboat’s Sports Grill 21 BEERS ON TAP 50 HD SCREENS OPEN 11AM-2AM LATE NIGHT MENU AFFORDABLE FAMILY DINING 970-879-2431

729 Lincoln Ave, Steamboat Springs, Downtown and Downstairs Spring 2011 | At Home

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DINING

Best Sit-Down Lunch: Freshies Also Best Salad; second place Best Breakfast, Best Sandwich, Most Vegetarian Friendly, Best Bloody Mary; third place Best Bakery

Matt stensland

Why settle for just one? That’s been the mindset of Kristy and Scott Fox, owners of Freshies, when crafting the lunch menu at their uber-popular eatery between downtown and the mountain.

Enter the Dynamic Duo, the Freshies menu item that lets diners choose two options among a cup of soup, a half-salad and a halfsandwich. It’s the most popular selection at Steamboat’s best place for a sit-down lunch. Best of the Boat readers also chose Freshies for Best Salad.

“We all get in a rut and order the same thing, but the Dynamic Duo helps people get out of that cycle,” says Kristy Fox. The recently renovated restaurant quickly established itself as Steamboat’s lunch hot spot after opening in summer 2003.

The Foxes previously owned and Fresh Sesh: Server Jaila Benjamin brings Sheila Crawford and operated Winona’s in downtown daughter Julie classic Freshies fare.

Steamboat.

54 | At Home | Spring 2011

“We just try to do our best to create an upbeat, lively, healthy atmosphere with good energy,” Fox says. “Providing people with good, healthy, creative food can send them off into their Steamboat kind of day.”

Organic and locally produced foods highlight Freshies’ breakfast and lunch menus. The idea is that you can eat out without feeling like you over-indulged. The menu offerings change seasonally, often including new employee-created dishes. It’s the employees’ sense of ownership in the business that propels Freshies to its success, Fox says.

“Scott and I are not the heartbeat of the restaurant,” she says. “They are. We enjoy working there, but we’re just employees. We’re on the schedule like everyone else.”

Speaking of schedules, look this summer for Freshies to begin offering dinner.

John F. Russell

Rare Treat: Server Trent Kolste with an Ore House steak.

Best Steak: Ore House at Pine Grove Also second place Best Salad; third place Best Fine Dining confident that when they come to the Ore House, they know what they’re getting,” Burns says.

The Steak Ore House — a baconwrapped center-cut filet topped with crab meat and bearnaise — is the most popular menu item, but don’t count out the prime rib, Santa Filet and Black’nd Rib Eye. And whatever you do, make sure to order the house potato, a ball of shredded red potatoes fried in oil and topped with homemade cheese sauce.

It’s that kind of unique Ore House touch and Old West flair that make the restaurant housed in a historic barn a perfect match for Steamboat’s romanticized Western mystique.

“It’s the natural ambience that attracts people here,” Burns says. “And they all Pete Grove cooks a steak to order at Ore House. leave happy.”

John F. Russell

Some things simply work well together. Steak and potatoes, for example, particularly at Ore House at Pine Grove.

One of Steamboat’s oldest continuously operating restaurants also remains one of its favorites. And according to the Best of the Boat survey, there’s not a better place in town to order a steak.

Diane Burns, part of the Ore House’s ownership and management team, says a great steak requires only two things: a cut of certified Angus beef and a chef who knows how to cook it to the perfect temperature.

The Ore House has both, and consistency throughout the decades has been key to its continued success.

“What we do is make people

Best Steak

Best Pizza

Best Sit-Down Lunch

Best Seafood

1. Ore House at Pine Grove 2. Cafe Diva 3. Old West Steakhouse

1. Brooklynn’s Pizzeria 2. Soda Creek Pizza 3. Blue Sage Pizza

1. Freshies 2. Creekside Cafe & Grill 3. Winona’s

1. Steamboat Meat & Seafood Co. 2. Cafe Diva 3. Saketumi

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DINING

Best Seafood: Steamboat Meat & Seafood Co.

John F. Russell

Also Best Deli; second place Best Caterer; third place Best Sandwich

Steamboat Meat & Seafood Co. owner Bill Hamil holds a plate of cowboy steaks in the downtown Steamboat Springs store.

Full-service delicatessen.

Home­made pasta factory. Cater­ ing service. Wholesale meat and seafood provider. Custom game processor. Sandwich maker.

Twenty-nine years since it first opened its doors, there’s not much Steamboat Meat & Seafood Co. doesn’t do.

“It takes a lot to keep everything in order,” owner Bill Hamil says matter-of-factly.

What started as Steamboat Seafood Co. in 1982 has grown into Steamboat’s favorite full-service deli and seafood provider. With trucks that make biweekly trips to Denver to haul in fresh seafood, and a meat counter that offers everything from organic poultry to locally harvested elk, Hamil and his staff work hard to keep discerning palates satisfied.

“We denote ourselves by our specialty meats — homemade sausages, brands like Boar’s Head — and making that extra

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effort to get things like Denver’s Custom Corned Beef or Greek gyro meat or imported cheeses from around the world,” Hamil says.

Hamil says folks still appreciate a deli where specific cuts of meat and fish are done on request and hand-wrapped in front of the customer. The wild-caught salmon, for example, arrives whole and is filleted on site.

That customers can also buy homemade pasta from the on-site Guido’s Pasta Factory or made-toorder sandwiches like the Guido’s Sausage Sub — Hamil’s favorite — gives it that neighborhood market kind of feel. Which makes sense, given that Hamil remembers those markets well from his days in Philadelphia.

But don’t worry, Steamboat, he doesn’t plan to go back anytime soon.

“I like what I do,” Hamil says.

“It would be nice to slow down, but I don’t know when.”

Best Wings: The Tap House Sports Grill Also Best Place to Watch the Game; second place Best Beer Selection Most guys are happy with one large-screen, high-definition TV. Gary Saxe has more than 50, and he’s always looking to upgrade.

Saxe, co-owner of The Tap House Sports Grill, swears there’s not a bad seat in the house. With so many TVs, how could there be?

The Tap House has come a long way since Saxe first took over the space in August 1998. The downstairs location on Lincoln Avenue between Seventh and Eighth streets was a Buffalo Wild Wings at the time. Saxe kept the wings but spent the ensuing years building a restaurant and bar with a reputation of being family friendly and affordable.

He and business partner Melissa Baker ensure that their staff keeps even the most passionate sports-viewing customers in mind. “We worry about getting them a table first,” Saxe says. “The TV is the

easy part.”

With subscriptions to NFL Sunday Ticket and the March Madness package, Tap House is the place to be on Sundays each fall and for those special couple of weeks of college basketball every March and April.

But there’s a sport that takes place 52 weeks a year that keeps Tap House busiest: Wing Day. Each Tuesday, the restaurant offers its wings with nine varieties of locally made sauces for 33 cents apiece. Wing Day has evolved into a social event in Steamboat, with the restaurant going through 6,000 wings every Tuesday — 2 to 3 tons of wings a month.

Wash them down with any of the 21 beers on tap — the largest draft selection in Steamboat. It’s little wonder why Tap House was voted Best Wings, Best Place to Watch the Game and runner-up for Best Beer Selection.

Great Place to Bring a Wing Man: A tray of Tap House’s most popular fare.

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2011©

Joel reichenberger

Noel Keeffe flies off the donkey jump during Winter Carnival.

“I

came for the ski season and never left.”

Track down any local on the street and that sentiment surfaces like a cutthroat slurping a caddis in the Yampa River. And the most cited reason for not leaving is the community. Plain and simple, our little mountain town nestled snug at the base of Mount Werner is as quintessential as they come. Postal workers know your name, cars stop to let you cross the road, and the entire town turns out to wave flags at parades. “The sense of community here is huge,” says local mother Paige Boucher. “It’s like you have the whole town watching over your kids, with everybody pitching in. This is our family — if something goes wrong, the community is there to help you out.” Here, then, are a few pillars of this place we call home.

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Signs cover a shed along one of Old Town’s many alleys.

Best Neighborhood: Old Town At home in Steamboat Springs’ original neighborhood

C

huck Abbott grew up in England and has traveled all over the world, but he wouldn’t trade his home on Park Avenue in Old Town Steamboat Springs for any place on Earth.

“I’ve been everywhere and there’s no place else I’d choose to live,” Abbott says.

What makes Old Town so special to Abbott and his wife, Lynn? It’s the morning ski report.

“I can look out my window and see the full mountain,” Abbott says. “I can tell if the light is flat and choose the day I want to ski. We only go when it’s perfect.”

Best of the Boat voters chose Old Town as their favorite neighborhood, and it’s no surprise. But Old Town — from its puzzling street layout surrounding Crawford Hill to the classic grids on Pine and Aspen streets

to high-character alleys and meandering creeks on Logan, Spruce and Missouri streets — is many neighborhoods in one.

Steamboat’s historic Old Town neighborhood on the north side of Lincoln Avenue lacks the unabashed funk of Crested Butte’s original downtown, and it can’t match the Victorian charm of less celebrated towns like Ouray and Lake City. The historic homes here weren’t funded by gold and silver, but by coal and cattle and mercantile stores.

Some of the oldest homes in Old Town weren’t built there, but instead laboriously moved into Steamboat from the coal mining town of Mount Harris, now barely more

“There’s no place else I’d choose to live.”

Story by Tom Ross ❘ Photos by Matt Stensland 60 | At Home | Spring 2011

than a historic marker on the side of U.S. Highway 40 on the way to Hayden.

Sandy Conlon knew almost instantly when she and husband, Fran, moved into their home on Eighth Street, that she was welcome.

“Florence Nash came over and brought us a chocolate cake,” Conlon recalls. “It had fallen in the center, but it sure tasted good.”

That was 42 years ago, and Nash has since passed away, but Conlon will never forget that she became a grandmother figure to her son, Fred.

“One of the things I like best about living in Old Town is the open space” in the former school playground next to the

COMMUNITY George P. Sauer Human Services Center, Conlon says.

Old Town has its pockets of open space, but the real Old Town can’t be spied while driving by in a car. One has to park the Subaru and prowl the alleyways to detect its true personality. It’s there you spy some of the best fences made out of skis and remarkable collections of canoes and kayaks.

The alleys are where everybody once kept a dairy shed for either one or two cows. It’s where stoker coal was delivered to keep the little houses toasty through the never-ending winters.

Don Schwartz thinks his house on Missouri Street is ideally located for fitness enthusiasts.

“I biked, walked and skied to work (at Strawberry Park Elementary School) for 22 years,” Schwartz says.

One of his favorite routes for a run is to catch the Butcherknife Creek Trail and Stehley Park for a flat jog through the little stealth canyon before linking up with the Spring Creek Trail that leads to the lower flanks of Buffalo Pass — for anyone ambitious enough to take it that far.

Easy access City engineer Ben Beall grew up in the country, but he prefers Old Town living.

“I’m a Routt County boy, but I live in

Sights like this at Laurel and Hill streets are not unusual during heavy snow years in Old Town.

the city,” Beall says. “I like not having to drive anywhere. I take the SST (bus) to the mountain. It’s easier to go right to the Gondola Transit Center than it is to drive to the Meadows Parking Lot.” Many a resident will tell you they like living in Old Town because their children

can walk to school — whether it’s Soda Creek, Strawberry Park, the middle school or the high school. And that observation is sincere. But they also can finish an entire bottle of wine at one of Steamboat’s best restaurants and hold hands on the short walk home without worrying about getting

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COMMUNITY

Old Town, Older Skis: Heirloom skis line a fence at Third and Pine streets.

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COMMUNITY their names published in the newspaper.

Beth and Wendell “Wendy” Hicks have lived in the same house on Ninth Street for 45 years.

“I would never want to move,” Beth says. “Our bedroom window backs right up on Soda Creek, so we have the window open. In the spring, it’s so loud you can hardly hear the TV.” Even better than having a creek in the backyard is having easy access to the younger generation.

“This is where our grandchildren come after school,” she adds. “It’s the hub of everything. I love being able to walk into town, and I like watching other people go by.”

Barb and Bob DeVries have enjoyed their neighborhood on Pine Street for 41 years and always treasure the summer when neighbors walk door to door sharing freshly picked lettuce, or maybe a flowering perennial plant that has begun to dominate their own garden.

But recently, the importance of neighbors took on added significance for the DeVrieses.

“I woke in the night with chest pains, and we called the ambulance,” Barb says. “Our neighbors (Tom and Jeanne Whiddon) brought Bob to the hospital to be with me, and they stayed up until after 10 and brought us home and thought

nothing of it. People come and go, but we’ve always had good neighbors.”

Oasis of value There’s a reason why Old Town real estate is sought after: it’s the real Steamboat Springs, where you can walk to soak in natural hot springs or shoulder your skis and head to where champions were made at Howelsen Hill.

Just ask Scott Wither, a member of one of Steamboat’s oldest families and a Realtor with Colorado Group Realty. Noting the staying power of the neighborhood’s home values — and crediting that to its quaint feel and charm — he understands and appreciates the neighborhood’s allure as much as anyone.

“I own my grandma’s (Frances Wither’s) house on Eighth Street,” says Wither, recalling going to his grandma’s house for lunch almost every day during school.

“That’s what people like about Old Town. You get to know the guy on the other side of the alley. You can walk to a restaurant for breakfast. It’s close to schools and playgrounds. Location-neutral professionals who move here are looking for that. It’s quiet, and it’s safe.”

It’s also where neighbors have learned to count on one another, many of them for half a century. Now that’s staying power. ■

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COMMUNITY

Favorite Local Olympian: Johnny Spillane John F. Russell

With more than 119 Olympians having ties to Steamboat Springs (depending on who’s counting), narrowing one down as a favorite is a daunting task. But ski hats off to Steamboat’s born-and-raised Johnny Spillane, who brought home three silvers in Nordic combined from the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Perhaps it’s his recent hardware, which included our country’s first Olympic medal in Nordic combined. Or his easygoing, approachable demeanor.

Or that he might show you a secret fishing hole from his work as a fly-fishing guide.

Or perhaps that he embodies everything we all love about living in Steamboat, a town whose play-hard, work-hard ethos is part of us all.

In likelihood, it’s all that and more from someone who gives back even more than he receives.

“I love Steamboat because you can do everything that an outdoor person loves moments from your front door,” he says.

“I also like Steamboat because even though it’s becoming more and more of a resort town, it still feels like a small community. Having traveled extensively to ski towns, you don't see that much.”

He also likes Steamboat’s support system. “The town has been incredibly supportive of all its athletes,” says Spillane, now also the proud father of daughter Hadley. “I think the town takes great pride in providing an atmosphere where you can succeed if you work hard. There aren’t many places in the world like Steamboat.”

Hometown Hero: Johnny Spillane with one of his three silver medals from the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Favorite Local Olympian

Best Music Venue

Best Radio Station

Best Artist

1. Johnny Spillane 2. Todd Lodwick 3. Moose Barrows

1. Ghost Ranch Saloon 2. Strings Music Pavilion 3. Howelsen Hill amphitheater

1. 105.5 KFMU 2. 96.9 KBCR 3. 88.5 KUNC

1. Susan Schiesser 2. Sandy Graves 3. Nancy Jeffrey

Best Place for Free Wi-Fi

Best DJ

Best Art Gallery

Best Annual Event

1. Bud Werner Memorial Library 2. Amante Coffee 2. Steaming Bean Coffee Co.

1. Brian Alpart (DJ Also Starring) 2. Tony Counts (Kat-N-Tha-Hat) 3. Kip Strean

1. Artists’ Gallery of Steamboat 2. K. Saari Gallery 3. Steamboat Art Museum

1. Winter Carnival 2. July 4 parade and fireworks 3. Art in the Park

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COMMUNITY

You Gotta Love Steamboat: Three-legged races and three-wire winters.

66 | At Home | Spring 2011

Matt stensland

Best Annual Event: Winter Carnival Two years shy of its 100th anniversary, Steamboat’s annual Winter Carnival is the longest-running winter carnival west of the Mississippi.

While them could certainly be braggin’ words, that goes against the whole concept of the event, whose purpose is to bring the community together to have good, old-fashioned fun while raising money for the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club.

And how could you not have fun watching and participating in more than 22 events, including bike races on snow, horse-pulled shovel and slalom races, dog and dad dashes, and the crowd-pleasing donkey jump? Throw in a manure-filled parade, gelande contest (which this year saw a new world record), a visit from the Lighted Man and social services turning the other way so kids as young as 6 can ski down Howelsen’s face carrying torches, and you have the makings for a weekend of sheer mayhem.

“It’s a great event for everyone and a great way to raise money for the club,” says Winter Sports Club Executive Director Rick DeVos. “We can’t wait for the 100th celebration.”

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John F. Russell

Spin to Win: Brian Alpart, better known as DJ Also Starring.

Best DJ: DJ Also Starring Wedding, bar mitzvah and raging birthday bash at Olympian Hall. There’s one go-to guy in town who can spin for it all, playing everything from polka to the latest hits in hip-hop, reggae and rock: DJ Also Starring.

“The name’s kind of a double entendre,” says music mixer Brian Alpart about his alter-ego. “It comes out of respect because I’m playing other people’s music.”

But plenty of locals respect Also Starring’s talents, as well. He got his start DJing while messing around with his record collection at home. Then, in 2000, he started getting asked to play at parties and bars. Through his company, Campfire Productions, he now plays weekly at The Tap House Sports Grill and has shared the stage with the likes of Anthony B, Blackalicious, Black Sheep, De La Soul, DJ Logic, KRS ONE, Souls of Mischief, Yellowman and more.

Offering video and photography services as well, he plays special events and anything else that needs livening up.

“When the stage is all set up and people are looking to have a good time, I love to be the person controlling the pulse of the party,” says Alpart, who still uses turntables as controllers but has the majority of his mix on MP3s. “People like to have fun in this town. It’s a great place to be.”

68 | At Home | Spring 2011

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John F. Russell

Missed the Boat band members, clockwise from left, Bryan Joyce, Peter Hall, Ryan Cox, Pat Waters, Jon Huge and Andrew Henry.

70 | At Home | Spring 2011

COMMUNITY

Best Local Band: Missed the Boat Best Local Band

Most Eligible Bachelor

1. Missed the Boat 2. Loose Change 3. Worried Men

1. Mike Flynn 2. Michael David Bauk 3. Sam Spillane

Best Musician

Most Eligible Bachelorette

1. Randy Kelley 2. Steve Boynton 3. Mark Walker

Best Wedding Reception Venue 1. Catamount Ranch & Club 2. Steamboat Ski Area 3. Perry Mansfield Performing Arts School and Camp

Best Wedding Ceremony Venue 1. Steamboat Ski Area 2. Yampa River Botanic Park 3. Lake Catamount

Best Public Park 1. Yampa River Botanic Park 2. Howelsen Hill 3. Lil’ Toots Park

1. Mindy Mulliken 2. Harper Louden 3. Natalie Simmins

Best Neighborhood 1. Old Town 2. The Sanctuary 3. Fairview

Best Playground 1. Lil’ Toots Park 2. Whistler Park 3. Strawberry Park Elementary School

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When drummer Pat Waters, harmonica player Peter Hall, mandolin player and singer Andrew Henry, and guitarist and singer Ryan Cox formed Missed the Boat in 2007, it was like Fish, Soda and Butcherknife creeks joining forces to flow as one on the Yampa. Something just clicked, with the confluence of sounds and styles more powerful than the parts and belonging together every bit as much as water drops heading seaward.

“It’s pretty much Americana bluegrass folk-rock,” says bass player Bryan Joyce, who rounds out the band with John Huge on dobro and banjo. “The best way to describe it is Colorado music.”

That style, combined with a get-yer-groove-on original song list, has earned the band rave accolades and two albums, “Rollin’” and last summer’s self-titled “Missed the Boat.” It also earned them a gig last summer at Arkansas’ Wakarusa Festival alongside such stalwarts as Blues Traveler and Widespread Panic as well as acts throughout Colorado, including marquee venues in Denver, Boulder and Belly Up in Aspen.

While all members work other jobs to support their music habit, everything gets put on the back burner when it comes time to play bluegrass.

“We all do whatever we can do to keep playing,” says Joyce, who also works as a cabinet maker. “We’d all certainly like this to be our full-time job, and I think we’re getting there.”

The band plans to tour this summer as well as head to Chicago to record its third album. But it enjoys playing in its hometown of Steamboat Springs as much as anywhere else.

“We absolutely love playing here,” says Joyce, who moved here from the music hotbed of New Orleans. “Steamboat’s a great community, and both it and Colorado in general have a great music scene.”

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COMMUNITY

Most Eligible Bachelor: Mike Flynn

John F. Russell

Watch out, Brad Womack. There’s another bachelor in town.

The honors go to Mike Flynn, 26, a strapping 6-2, brown-haired customer service rep at Alpine Bank.

While he admits that gals he works with might have been liberal with their voting — and perhaps even coaxed bank customers into filling out ballots — he’s not shying away from the stardom.

“That 250 pounds is pure muscle,” says Flynn, whose last steady relationship was 2 1/2 years ago.

Flynn enjoys snowboarding and longboarding, having moved to Steamboat in September after spending a summer teaching English in Prague. An employee for Wells Fargo in Fort Collins for three years before that, he now brings his international flair to Steamboat, a town he loves for its down-toearth attitude.

“I love it here because no one is too high class or low class for anybody else,” he says.

“Plus, all the girls are adventurous and outgoing, which is great.”

Humble, good looks, well-traveled, athletic and capable of holding down a job — sounds like a catch for the right person in Ski Town USA. But you first have to get through the harem that helped put him on the podium.

“The girls I work with make town just that much better,” he says.

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Most Eligible Bachelorette: Mindy Mulliken

COMMUNITY

John F. Russell

When eighth-grade math and science teacher Mindy Mulliken moved here 2 1/2 years ago from Crested Butte, she wasn’t overly psyched. An avid Telemark skier and downhill mountain biker, the terrain just didn’t hold a torch to the adrenaline-pumping steeps of the Butte.

How quickly a community can change one’s perception.

“At first, I didn’t really want to move here,” she says, adding that the job offer at the middle school swayed her. “But the community here is amazing. I absolutely love it.”

Apparently, the community feels the same way about her, voting the brown-haired, green-eyed, 5-6 transplant from the Elk Range the town’s most eligible bachelorette.

And for good reason. Joining her good looks, athleticism and general likability is her academic ambition; this summer she starts a three-year doctorate program at the University of Colorado at Denver in mathematics education, which she’ll pursue while teaching at the middle school.

“It’s a little embarrassing, actually,” she says about the bachelorette accolades, pinning the balloting blame on her girlfriends. “No guy goes in there and votes for you. I guess it’s better to be best at something than worst at something, but it’s still embarrassing.”

If all this sounds too good to be true, alas she admits to one crucial bachelorette shortcoming: new boyfriend Bo Randolph.

“I’ve been here 2 1/2 years without a boyfriend,” she says. “When all the voting was going on, I was still single.”

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Best Local Musician: Randy Kelley 8,000 acres of fun!

John F. Russell

Randy Kelley’s first gig in Steamboat came on July 3, 1976, when he drove over from Craig to enter a fiddle contest. A last-minute cancellation saw him play at The Tugboat Grill & Pub for a raucous Fourth of July celebration the next night, and he’s been picking and strumming in Steamboat ever since, moving here permanently in 1979.

“The music scene here has changed a lot since then,” says Kelley, a local favorite who plays fiddle, guitar and mandolin. “Back then, all you had to do was hang a shingle and people would come to hear you play.”

That’s not to say he doesn’t have a loyal following. From his early days with Red Shoes and playing Jazz Night at The Cove, he now spends most of his time with Sundog, playing with Chris Koebnick, Deanna Webb and Ron Wheeler as well as its rock alter-ego band, Off the Chain, which tears up the après ski scene at Bear River Bar & Grill. He’s also done stints with Worried Men, playing alongside Jon Gibbs and Willie Samuelson as well as the late Greg Scott, and Celtic Baroque trio Common Ground with Mary Beth Norris. “I’ve learned a lot from all the local musicians I’ve played with here,” says Kelley, 57, who also teaches guitar and mandolin.

“There are a lot of great musicians here. We’re competitors, but we also all depend on each other. The fact that we’re relatively far away from Denver gives us our own musical identity.”

Experience the Real West!

Multifaceted Musician: Randy Kelley with the tools of his trade.

Best Recurring Event 1. Free Summer Concert Series 2. Steamboat Springs Pro Rodeo Series 3. Bud Light Rocks the Boat free concert series

Best Place to Work (large employer) 1. SmartWool 2. Yampa Valley Medical Center 3. Steamboat Ski & Resort Corp.

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COMMUNITY

John F. Russell

Best Artist: Susan Schiesser

Painter Susan Schiesser’s art caught the eyes of Best of the Boat voters.

76 | At Home | Spring 2011

Local artist Susan Schiesser says she’s a contemporary realist, but her paintings can’t be pigeon-holed that easily.

“My paintings sometimes appear tangled and complex, and like life, offer interrupted views,” she explains.

“There’s a lot of abstraction in them but also realism.”

Influenced by such Fauvists as Andre` Derain for their vibrant use of color, she studied painting (and welding) at the San Francisco Art Institute from 1989 to 1992 under the likes of Joan Brown, Carlos Villa, Chester Arnold and Julius Hatofsky, especially enjoying her time learning abstract expressionism from Hatofsky.

Moving to Steamboat Springs in 1997 after a film production career in San Francisco, she changed her artwork along with her environment. “My style changed dramatically when I left the city and urban environment,” she says.

“My work before was more edgy, urban and desolate. Now it relies heavily on landscapes and objects.”

Making the style switch wasn’t easy.

“I wasn’t very successful at packing up my box and going out into the woods to paint a landscape,” she says, adding that her first time out she was chased off a field by a cow. “But then I started flying around in a helicopter photographing landscapes and working off of those.”

The tactic, and others, has paid off.

Her works, including the oil paintings in her popular Temptation Series, have appeared in showings from Los Angeles to Santa Fe. She also was named an Artist to Watch by Southwest Art magazine.

All this puts her in the perfect position as a co-owner of RED Contemporary gallery in the Sheraton Steamboat Resort and an active member of the Artists’ Gallery of Steamboat and local Artists Guild. “The art scene has come together really well here over the last few years,” says Schiesser, whose artwork can be seen online at www. susanschiesser.30art.com. “We’ve worked hard to make something cohesive and vibrant, and it’s now getting some quality, respect and notice behind it.”

Noting that bigger isn’t always better, her most recent project, www. reallysmallart.com, showcases four artists per month, each offering six pigmented dye prints measuring only 3.25 inches.

“It’s a great program,” she says, adding that 10 percent of sales goes to charities.

“It keeps the costs down, allowing customers to collect as many as they want throughout the year.”

Congratulations

Best of the Boat Award Winners

Locally owned – Locally operated COME BANK WITH US! 970.879.2993

600 South Lincoln Avenue Spring 2011 | At Home

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Over 85% of Best of The Boat winners are Chamber Members

“HealtHy Hair is Beautiful Hair” Personal Hair Care Professional, Kassandra Collins can demonstrate how to style your hair to reflect your own personal unique style.

ARE YOU? - Reasons To Join • Over 250,000 website visits annually

Complete, personal and thorough consultation Highlighting, Coloring, Grey Coverage & special effects full range of hair cutting services exclusive retailer for framesi Hair Care Products lash enhancing products including lash extensions Makeup for weddings and stage performances laser teeth whitening

702 Oak st. unit

Off7thstudio.com | 970-846-2175 | info@off7thstudio.com

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• The Visitors’ Center helps over 50,000 visitors & locals annually with community and member information • Over 850 active Chamber members • Over 50 networking events, expos and mixers annually

Contact Shelly Bisbee, Membership Director at 970.875.7004 Shelly@SteamboatChamber.com

www.SteamboatChamber.com

John F. Russell

Florida residents Trey and Kat Clark stroll past the many shops that line Lincoln Avenue through downtown Steamboat Springs.

S

teamboat Springs might not be Vail or Aspen when it comes to gaudy gowns and PETA-maddening furs. And that seems to be fine by everyone who lives here — and, in large part, it’s why many of us do.

But that’s not to say our town doesn’t have a wealth of shopping options geared more toward the real person than the rich and famous. From art galleries and clothing stores to ski shops and sunglass kiosks, shops exist for whatever you need, be it your home, health or desire to huck Hell’s Wall.

Sure, people will always head to the factory outlets and Super Targets in Silverthorne, and even the boutique stores in fashion-heavy Cherry Creek, to spice up their shopping sprees. But the bulk can be found right here in Routt County where you can park right outside the store — or better yet, leave your bike in the rack and dog tied to a bench, waiting patiently for the treat the store owners keep behind the counter.

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Matt Stensland

SHOPPING

Kinder Grinder: Ski Haus wax technician Andy Baker resurfaces a ski.

TIMELESS MEN’S APPAREL HOWELSEN PLACE 7TH AND LINCOLN STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, CO (970) 871-1137 WWW. ZIRKELTRADING.COM

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SHOPPING Best Sporting Goods Store

Best Sporting Goods Store: Ski Haus Also Best Ski/Snowboard Tune, Best Ski/Snowboard Rental; second place Best Women’s Clothing; third place Best Children’s Clothing, Best Men’s Clothing Head to Ski Haus on your birthday and you get a discount percentage equal to your age (sorry all you over-active octogenarians — it caps out at 30). The store is doing some celebrating of its own by racking up top honors in the Best of the Boat survey’s sporting goods store, ski tune and ski rental categories.

“It boils down to service and selection,” manager Greg Danziger says. “That and a great staff.”

How great? Many of its 50 to 70 yearround employees have been there more than 30 years. Michael Paul, the store’s longestrunning employee, has been there a whopping 41.

Add a great product mix to its people component and it shines even more. “We carry a lot of stuff you don’t see in other

shops, which tends to separate us from the crowd,” Danziger says. “We also put a lot of emphasis into the soft goods side. Apparel has been moving really well.”

While that explains the store’s high rankings in the men’s, women’s and children’s clothing categories of the survey, it’s also known for its rentals and repairs. “I’ll put our repair team against any other tuners in town,” Danziger says.

Its tunes recently got even better with the store benefitting from a new infrared Montana WaxFuture machine and Montana Crystal R tuner, one of only a few in the entire country.

“We tune for all sorts racers in town — Nordic, Alpine and snowboarding — and do a lot of special tunes for the Winter Sports Club,” shop manager Gary Dickerson says. “These new machines are pretty cutting edge.”

1. Ski Haus 2. Sports Authority 3. Steamboat Ski & Bike Kare

Best Ski/ Snowboard Tune 1. Ski Haus 2. Steamboat Ski & Bike Kare 3. Christy Sports

Best Men’s Clothing Store 1. Allen’s Clothing 2. Zirkel Trading 3. Ski Haus

Best Women’s Clothing Store 1. Moose Mountain Trading Co. 2. Ski Haus 3. Kali’s Boutique

Best Children’s Clothing Store 1. Walmart 2. BAP 3. Ski Haus

®

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SHOPPING Best Place to Buy a Book 1. Off the Beaten Path Bookstore 2. Epilogue Book Co. 3. Bud Werner Memorial Library

Best Nursery/ Gardening Store 1. Windemere Landscape & Garden Center 2. Gecko Landscape & Design 3. Tall Tulips Flower Shop

Best Liquor Store 1. Central Park Liquor 2. Arctic Liquors 3. Steamboat Discount Liquor

Best Grocery Store 1. City Market 2. Safeway 3. Bamboo Market

Best Home Decor Store 1. Annie’s Home Consignments 2. Ace at the Curve 3. Romick’s Into the West

Best Place to Buy a Book: Off the Beaten Path Bookstore Open the door to Off the Beaten Path Bookstore and it’s like taking a step back in time. Joining rows and rows of books is a reading area with a couch and cozy fireplace; a cafe offering homemade scones, chocolate chip cookies and panini sandwiches; and a friendly staff encouraging customers to browse and revel in all things readable.

“People love to hang out and linger,” manager Debbie Hoing says. “And our staff is great at recommending reads and putting the right book in customers’ hands.”

The blast from the past feeling comes with good reason — the company has been at it a long time. Current owners Ron and Sue Krall bought the business from Dick and Leslie Ryan in February 2008, moving it from its former location at 56 Seventh St. to its home at 68 Ninth St. The Ryans had run the operation since purchasing Boom Town Books 20 years ago.

Hoing says the store specializes in local-interest books, including guidebooks and works by local authors as well as national best sellers. It also has a designated children’s department, complete with a “treehouse” beneath the stairs where kids can climb and read on comfy

pillows. “It’s a very cozy spot for story time,” Hoing says.

The store also hosts poetry slams, author signings, a monthly Passport to Travel program, and even a wine and book discussion, pairing wines with different reads. It also hosts a Wild Wednesday author program in a newly opened outlet in the Sheraton Steamboat Resort.

All this gives it a customer base that’s as bound together as its books.

“We have some very loyal local customers who come in regularly,” Hoing says. “But tourists also really value us. ... They don’t have stores like this in their towns because they’ve all closed up. So they appreciate us all the more.”

Hoing says the bookstore game is changing because of e-books and the availability of products on the Internet, but the store is paging forward to keep up with the times.

“E-books are here to stay, but we’re making changes to stay on top of all the new trends,” she says, adding that people already can buy e-books for non-Kindle readers at the store’s website, www.steamboatbooks.com.

ANNIE’S home consignments It’s never the same store twice!

It’s our 4 year anniversary!!!

44,000 + Items Sold could the next one be yours?

870-1300 • 405 Anglers Drive • Tues. - Sat. 11-6

Pick up and delivery available!

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Matt Stensland

SHOPPING

Hooked on Books: Off the Beaten Path Bookstore owners Sue and Ron Krall.

Steamboat Home Auction

Thank you Steamboat!

5 Day Sale

Gary Fresques, DDS, PC

www.SteamboatHomeAuction.com Call Jim at 970-567-0936

879-3565

Previously listed for $750,000.

Online bids starting at $419,500!

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Matt Stensland

SHOPPING

Snooze You Lose: An employee at Annie’s helps keep someone from getting Annie’d.

Best Secondhand Store: Annie’s Home Consignments Also Best Home Decor Store Annie Tisch might be one of the only people in town who’s name is also a verb.

Miss out on the buying window at her Annie’s Home Consignment store at 405 Anglers Drive and you officially get “Annie’d.”

It happens to the best of them. After she helps people establish prices for their items, the price drops 15 percent after 15 days, 30 percent after 30 days and 50 percent after 50 days. Wait too long bargain-hunting for that vase and someone else might snag it, leaving you high and dry, or Annie’d.

And there’s plenty of competition. In four years, Tisch and her husband, Chris, have received more than 44,000 items from 3,000 Steamboat families. “A lot of people like playing the game of watching the price come down,” Tisch says. “But do it too much and you might get burned.”

Tisch started the company in February 2007 after selling items on eBay and at garage sales and estate sales. It was a sale

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for the latter that convinced her to start her own store. “I got so much stuff from one estate sale that I had an epiphany and thought, ‘I’m just going to start my own store,’” she says. “I opened the store with all the contents from this person’s house, and it was all really good. I’ve been going to flea markets and stores like this my entire life, so it was a natural thing for me to do.”

You never know what you’re going to find when you open its doors. Inside the 3,800-square-foot store in the Sundance at Fish Creek shopping center you might unearth home furnishings like antiques, tables, chairs, sofas, rugs and lighting and even jewelry and artwork. She takes a special interest in the latter as an art major from St. Lawrence University in upstate New York — so much so that someone once brought in a painting she had purchased for $25 and Tisch sold it at an auction for $4,000. She herself once bought a silver fish for $10 and sold it for

$10,000 at a Sotheby’s auction. “It’s never the same store twice,” she says, adding that her five full-time employees help her organize the consignment chaos. “It really has something for everyone.”All items are sold on a 50/50 split, and if it doesn’t sell after a two-month contract period, the merchandise is considered property of the store. That’s when she’ll slash the prices even more and often donate the proceeds to local charities such as LIFTUP of Routt County and the Boys & Girls Club of Steamboat Springs. She also regularly puts things outside in a free box. But 90 percent of the items sell, she adds.

“Steamboat is a great place for this kind of store,” she says. “The transient nature of a ski town means people are always coming and going and buying and selling.

Plus, people have lots of things in storage around here and many are just wanting to simplify. Cleaning things out makes their lives a whole lot easier.”

Matt Stensland

T H E L AW N L A D Y O F S T E A M B O AT

O F S T E A M B O AT

Far-Out Fuel: Space Station offers everything from late-night Ben & Jerry’s to out-of-this-universe unleaded.

Best Convenience Store: Space Station So you feel a bit like George Jetson every time you fill up your tank. That’s not such a bad thing. And trumping the Space Station insignia is the real estate mantra of location, location, location, giving the business at Seventh Street and Lincoln Avenue the most convenient convenience store placement in town. Plus, the rotisserie dogs are out of this world ... just like Astro.

LIKE A GOOD NEIGHBOR. STATE FARM IS THERE WE LIVE WHERE YOU LIVE.

For your insurance and financial needs see your local State Farm Agent Dax Mattox.

Dax Mattox, Agent 1915 Alpine Plaza Steamboat Springs, CO 80487 Bus: 970-879-7773 dax.mattox.nqxt@statefarm.com LIKE A GOOD NEIGHBOR

STATE FARM IS THERE.®

Providing Insurance and Financial Services statefarm.com®

State Farm® • Home Offices: Bloomington, Illinois

Landscape & Irrigation Installation

- Lawn & Garden Maintenance - Spring Aerates – Dethatching – Fertilizing - Irrigation Start Ups

Patios, Paths & Fire Pits Water Features & Lighting Annuals, Hanging Baskets & Containers - Cut Flowers & Arrangements Year Round

970-879-2914 LawnLadyofSteamboat@gmail.com • www.thelawnladyllc.com

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Ninety years in the same location is enough to make you rise to the top of anyone’s list. Such is the case with Lyon Drug Store at 840 Lincoln Ave., founded in 1920 as Chamberlain Gray before adopting the Lyon family name in 1946. Most recently, 37-year owners Tom and Nancy Clapsaddle brought on pharmacists Tahnee Miller, Jen Campbell and Wendy Lyon as partners, keeping ownership local.

But its longevity is second to its atmosphere and service, both of which make it the local favorite. You’ll find both at the old fashioned ice cream counter

where you can load up on ice cream floats, $1 single cones and old fashioned sodas made from a variety of syrups.

“That’s our signature,” Miller says. “It’s the thing to do after school.”

Indeed, while some visit the counter while their prescriptions are getting filled, others come solely for the sarsaparilla. And that’s something that’s not likely to change for another 90 years, even when Walgreens comes to town. “Nothing about Lyon’s is going to change,” Miller says.

“The people who like us aren’t going to go anywhere else.”

Matt Stensland

Best Pharmacy: Lyon Drug

Making Meds: Jill Bergman, from left, Amelia Flaharty and Tahnee Miller hard at work at Lyon Drug Store.

Best Pharmacy

Best Jewelry Store

Best Gift Shop

Best Secondhand Store

1. Lyon Drug Store 2. City Market 3. Walmart

1. Hofmeister Personal Jewelers 2. The Silver Lining 3. Steamboat Art Co.

1. All That Jazz 2. Lyon Drug Store 3. Steamboat Art Co.

1. Annie’s Home Consignments 2. Deja Vu Boutique 3. LIFT-UP of Routt County

Best Hardware Store

Best Convenience Store

Best Ski/Snowboard Rental

Best Pet Supply Store

1. Ace at the Curve 2. Steamboat Lumber 3. Harbert Lumber

1. Space Station 2. Loaf ’N Jug 3. Kum & Go, Curve Plaza

1. Ski Haus 2. Black Tie Ski Rentals 3. Steamboat Ski & Bike Kare

1. Paws ’N Claws ’N Things 2. Elk River Farm & Feed 3. Pet Kare Clinic

Alpine Floral & Atrium Established 1975

weddings, parties or interior floral designs

A

TRIUM EXHIBIT OF EXOTIC SPECIMEN PLANTS

F

RESH, DRIED OR SLIK FLORAL DESIGNS

U

NIQUES GIFT SELECTIONS - COPPER, CRYSTAL WICKER, POTTERY

879-2682

Our Customers are #1!

We promise to continue to bring you the Finest Selection of the Best Designers in Jewelry.

- Quality & Affordability for All - Service beyond your expectations -

W

E TAKE PERSONAL INTEREST IN CAPTURING YOUR CONCEPT

PINE GROVE CENTER | STEAMBOAT SPRINGS • WWW.STEAMBOATSPRINGSFLOWERS.COM

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On the Mountain in Torian Plum Plaza www.silverliningsteamboat.com 879.7474

SHOPPING

The Moose Mountain Trading Co. motto is simple: “We’re nice people selling nice things to nice people,” says owner Jenny Wall, who founded her clothing store at 822 Lincoln Ave. in 1994.

Celebrating its 17th birthday on March 1, the 2,000-square-foot store appeals to a lot more than just locals. It recently captured its 11,000th online customer, a category that has become an increasing part of its business. “We have a significant online presence and are very conscious about growing our business on the national and even worldwide stage,” Wall says. “Our products — a mix of timeless, classic clothing — are what define us. We try to put a twist on everything.”

Wall realizes that she owes it all to her loyal customer base and a great staff of eight that works well together. That, and the fun-loving attitude seen at its sweet 16 birthday party last year when it invited more than 125 customers to show up in their oldest sweater from the store. “It was amazing how many people still had them,” she says.

Matt Stensland

Best Women’s Clothing Store: Moose Mountain

Wardrobes for Women: Moose Mountain Trading Co. owner Jenny Wall.

Trees . Shrubs . Perennials . Annuals Pottery . Garden Accessories

Rosanne Iversen MD Millie Flanigan PA-C Phaedra Fegley MD

We thank you for your continued support! We value each and every one of you.

Helping Gardeners Grow Since 1999!

Your medical home for the entire family.

Open Spring, Summer, Fall for your gardening needs.

1801 West Lincoln Avenue

879-2403

www.windemereland.com 1801 Lincolin Ave. Steamnboat Springs, CO 80487

970-871-1323

www.steamboatfamilydoc.com 501 Anglers Dr. Ste 201, Steamboat Springs, CO 80487

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SHOPPING

Matt Stensland

Best Bike Shop: Steamboat Ski & Bike Kare

We Like Bikes: The shop at Fifth Street and Lincoln Avenue is responsible for getting residents riding.

Best Bike Shop

Best Place to Buy a Car

1. Steamboat Ski & Bike Kare 2. Orange Peel 3. Ski Haus

1. Steamboat Motors 2. Cook Chevrolet and Subaru 3. Denver

If ever there was a bike shop where people walk the walk — or rather, bike the bike — it’s Steamboat Ski & Bike Kare, 442 Lincoln Ave. “Our bike mechanics have anywhere from 10 to 40 years of experience,” six-year manager Derek Hudson says about a team led by Rich Takesuye. “The business is always changing and these guys know some pretty random information. Anything that comes in they can fix.”

The store opened on 11th Street in 1995 when co-owner and president Harry Martin moved to Steamboat from Jackson, Wyo., and saw an opening. He moved the store to its current location on Lincoln Avenue in 2001. “We’re a very service-oriented business that happens to sell a lot of gear,” Hudson says.

With 20 employees in the peak season, the store splits its operations pretty evenly between rentals, retail and repairs,

selling a lot of high-end bikes in the process. “We cater to all aspects of riding,” Hudson says, “from people wanting cruisers for the local mustache ride to avid cyclists who have been riding their whole life. Steamboat’s a fantastic bike town with an incredible amount of variety.

Who would have ever thought we’d have the Quiznos (Pro) Challenge come through town?”

The company is as active in the community as its employees are on local trails.

It’s a sponsor of the Town Challenge Mountain Bike Race Series, the Steamboat Springs Stage Race and Bike to Work Week, and it takes an active role in trail-building projects and the Routt County Riders bicycle club and advocacy group. “We have a very passionate staff,” he adds. “They love biking. They volunteer for things around town without any encouragement at all.

They do it all on their own.”

MONTGOMERY’S GENERal MERCHaNDISE

"A true, old-fashioned, general store."

Established in 1890 as a mercantile Montgomery’s is among the oldest, continually-operating, general stores in Colorado. We have what you need!

GroCEriEs • AMMunition LiCEnsEs • HArdWArE • MAps • Gifts sportinG Goods

24 MaIN STREET YaMpa, CO 80483

970.638.4531

www.montgomerysstore.com Established 1890

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Design • Resource • Solutions

3rd & Lincoln Avenue, Steamboat | 970.879.5667 | Open Daily Monday thru Sunday | www.davidchaserugsandfurniture.com

LIFT-UP

COMMUNITY THRIFT STORE Great Quality Merchandise - Lowest Prices in Steamboat Steamboat’s only nonprofit thrift store | All donations are tax deductible THRIFT STORE PROCEEDS PROVIDE OVER $100,000 OF SUPPORT ANNUALLY FOR CLIENT ASSISTANCE AND FOOD BANK PROGRAMS Namebrand clothing, children and baby items, household goods, linens, books, games and toys, videos & CD’s, electronics, jewelry, value showcase items

COME IN FOR GOOD STUFF AND THE THRILL OF THE HUNT! Monday thru Friday - 10 to 5:30 | Saturday - 10 to 4 Donations received Tuesday thru Friday, 10 to 3, or by appointment 2125 Curve Court, down the street from Cook Chevrolet | Phone 970-871-9327

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macranch.com • info@macranch.com 970.879.1270 Stop in to see us at 117 8th Street Downtown Steamboat Springs

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John F. Russell

At Your Septic Service: Ken Roche, of Total Service PHD, was voted the go-to guy for people’s plumbing problems.

L

awyers and doctors and banks, oh my!

From vets and hairstylists to plumbers and auto mechanics, Steamboat is rife with entrepreneurs and professionals making a living providing needed services. From the west end of town to the east, and even encroaching into Old Town on Oak Street, these business owners conduct affairs often with no more than a smile and handshake, all in the name of making our mountain-town lives complete.

Following is a look at the best of the best — as voted by readers like yourself — in a variety of categories, whether you’re looking for a pedicure, physical therapy or the best legal advice in town in town.

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SERVICES

Best Physical Therapy Office: SportsMed Scott Blair fits At Home magazine’s Matt Stensland to his Moots frame

A

ctive communities like Steamboat Springs spawn active people with healthy lifestyles. We’re a community of risk-takers — the type who willingly fly off the ski jumps at Howelsen Hill, pound their knees on the White Out bumps at Steamboat Ski Area, and bicycle on narrow shoulders along busy highways.

Injuries are inevitable, which also makes Steamboat a hub for physical therapy and rehabilitation services. But injuries are preventable, too, which makes SportsMed at Yampa Valley Medical Center’s Performance Enhancement program a must-do for serious athletes.

For example, Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club athletes are frequent users of SportsMed’s physiology assessments that measure performance indicators like lactate profile and VO2 max.

Physical therapists there also are trained to conduct biomechanical assessments such as a gait analysis to gauge the efficiency and technique of runners.

Scott Blair says many people do not have the seat height correct.

Perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise that SportsMed was named the Best Physical Therapy Office in the Best of the Boat survey. The office’s expertise is one reason why it’s one of the official providers of medical services for the U.S. ski and snowboard teams.

Customizing your fit The folks at SportsMed believe having the right equipment is a necessity for any sport. Adapting the equipment to your body and making sure you are using it correctly is where local athletes often drop the ball.

Take cycling, for example.

For $135, SportsMed offers a bike fit analysis to cyclists who want to reduce the risk of injury and get closer to their true potential.

“The more efficiently you are going to be able to situate your body on your bike, the more efficiently you are going to be able to transfer energy though your bike,” said Scott Blair, a physical therapist and SportsMed’s assistant director.

Adjustments of a few millimeters can drastically change a person’s position on the bike and help the rider transfer power more efficiently.

It sounded good to me, so I pulled my Moots road bike out of my closet, threw it on the roof of my SUV and headed to SportsMed. I got somewhat serious about road biking three years ago, and it became much more serious last August when I purchased the used Moots frame. I’ve logged about 600

Blair puts a shim on Matt Stensland’s shoe to compensate for a difference in leg length.

Story by Matt Stensland ❘ Photos by John F. Russell 92 | At Home | Spring 2011

miles on the bike, and riding had never felt so good. I somewhat suspected that Blair would tell me the bike already was a perfect fit.

But I would learn that adjustments of just a few millimeters can drastically change my position on the bike, thus helping me transfer power more efficiently.

Blair measures the bend in Stens­ land’s knee.

SERVICES

Staying fit

Blair checks Stensland’s knee position in relation to his pedals. SportsMed offers the bike fit analysis for cyclists wanting to reduce the risk of injury and improve performance.

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SERVICES Staying fit Time to get fit The fitting began with Blair checking the level of the seat, followed by me doing some light spinning on the trainer to warm up. Blair then went over my medical history and performed a physical exam to gauge my strength and flexibility. He didn’t miss the issues still caused by a cracked tibial plateau injury from snowboarding a couple years back. My hamstrings and hips are tight, and my left leg is now slightly shorter. He pointed out that my right foot pronates, or rolls in slightly, which translates into wasted energy as my pedaling force is displaced sideways.

After the exam, Blair put a shim under the cleat on my left shoe and had me get back on the bike. To compensate for hamstring tightness, he lowered the seat slightly and brought it toward the back of the bike to position my knees over the crank.

Blair repeatedly checked the

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angle of my knee bend to see if it was within 25 to 35 degrees.

He referred to this as setting up the power plant.

“The stronger you are here, the more force goes through the pedal and less goes through you,” Blair said.

Next, he looked at my posture on the bike and how I contoured to the handle bars.

Again, he took measurements, this time calculating the bend of my elbows. After some minor tweaks, Blair suggested I consider a slightly shorter stem so I don’t reach so much toward the handlebars.

The suggestions and modifications made sense, but the true test will come over the next several months as my Moots and I hit Routt County roadways. The custom bike fit took about two hours, and I look forward to it leading to exponentially more hours of smoother, faster and injury-free riding in Bike Town USA. Yampa Valley Medical Center, 1024 Central Park Drive, 970871-2370. SportsMed is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. ■

The fitting starts with an exam to determine a person’s strength and flexibility.

Farewell to our Founder We welcome the community to join us for

A Musical Tribute in honor of

Nancy Spillane, Head of School

Lowell Whiteman Primary School Founder of LWPS 1993 - Retiring June 2011

Wednesday, June 1, 2011 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. at the Strings Music Pavilion

Come share in celebrating Nancy’s 30 years of love and dedication to education in Steamboat Springs and wish Nancy and Jim farewell as they set off on their next adventure traveling around the world.

To include a message in Nancy’s Tribute Book, or to reserve your free tickets for the Musical Tribute, please contact LWPS at 970-879-8081 or email debbie @lwps.org.

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SERVICES

John F. Russell

Best Auto Mechanic/Repair: Bob’s Conoco

Exceptional Service: Bob Logan, center, and his crew of repairmen at Bob's Downtown Conoco. From left are Scott Maijala, Bobby Mason, Troy Bruggink, Mark Logan and Anthony Chavez.

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When Bob Logan founded Bob’s Downtown Conoco at 942 Lincoln Ave. in 1976, there were 13 other service stations up and down Steamboat’s main drag.

Now there’s only one — which has been at the same location for 35 years — and it certainly says something about Logan’s approach to business.

“We’re all about taking care of the customer,” says manager Don Hosman, who’s been there for 27 of those years. “Bob doesn’t need to advertise ... we stay busy because we take care of the customer. Word of mouth gets around in this town.”

Logan, who owns the station with his wife, Mary Jane, and runs it with his son, Mark, conducts his operations out of three service bays, helping his loyal following with everything from tire rotations and tunes to clutches, transmissions, brakes, alignments and complete engine replacements. And while customers leave knowing they can put on the miles, they also leave with Logan’s trademark smile. “That kind of service goes a long way,” Hosman says.

Matt stensland

Noah Bass watches veterinarian Kim Radway give a cat a vaccine at Pet Kare Clinic.

Best Vet Clinic 1. Pet Kare Clinic 2. Steamboat Veterinary Hospital 3. Mount Werner Veterinary Hospital

Best Auto Mechanic/Repair 1. Bob’s Downtown Conoco 2. Elk Mountain Automotive 3. Doc’s Auto Clinic

Best Dental Practice 1. Pine Grove Dental Arts 2. McCreight Progressive Dentistry 3. Sunny Lodwick Family Dentistry

Best Bank

Best Vet Clinic: Pet Kare Clinic Dog have worms? Cat have a hair ball? Our readers know who they’re going to call: Pet Kare Clinic at 102 Anglers Drive.

Founded in 1989 by Sam Taliaferro and purchased by Paige Jacobi and Susan Colfer in 2001, the business’s philosophy is simple: Provide the highest level of care it can, for both pets and people. “We try to be as compassionate as we can to both the animals and their owners,” says Colfer, who shares her South Routt home with chickens, pigs, a dog, a

1. Wells Fargo 2. Yampa Valley Bank 3. Alpine Bank

cat and “plenty of mice.” “We’re also developing a series of specialty niches, from dentistry to acupuncture, so we can offer a complete spectrum of services.”

There’s nowhere she’d rather ply these services than here in Steamboat — both for the quality of life the town affords her and her customers’ pets. “We really have an unbelievable clientele here,” she says. “People here are very passionate here about their dogs.

They’re part of their day-to-day lifestyle.”

Best Place to Get a Massage 1. Old Town Hot Springs 2. Rocky Mountain Day Spa 3. Waterside Day Spa

Best Real Estate Agency 1. Prudential Steamboat Realty 2. Colorado Group Realty 3. Steamboat Village Brokers

Hair | Nails

970.879.1222 690 Market Place Steamboat Springs, CO

w w w. S T E A M B O AT S A L O N . c o m

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SERVICES

1. Ken Roche, Total Service PHD 2. Mike Smith, Smith’s Plumbing 3. Jeff Herfurtner, Jeff’s Plumbing LLC

Best Child Care Facility (infant to pre-K) 1. Discovery Learning Center 2. GrandKids Child Care Center 3. Young Tracks

Best Local Insurance Agency 1. State Farm, Debbie Aragon 2. State Farm, Dax Mattox 3. Alpine Insurance

Best Computer Service/Repair 1. Northwest Data Services 2. Mac Ranch 3. Computer Support Guys

Best Physical Therapy Office 1. SportsMed at Yampa Valley Medical Center 2. Johnson & Johnson Physical Therapy 3. Kinetic Energy

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Best Plumber: Ken Roche, Total Service PHD When not plumbing new waters to fish, trails to dirt bike or pieces of wood to work into masterpieces, Ken Roche, founder of Total Service PHD, is racking up accolades as the town’s best plumber.

Roche moved to Steamboat from Amber, N.Y., in 1992, founding Roche Plumbing and Heating in 1994. Those nearly 18 years of local experience have helped him amass a client base encompassing everything from the residential market to resort properties.

“We offer highly diversified services, including plumbing, heating and sewer and drain,” says Roche, who bases his operation at 1280 13th St. “That’s the PHD, and that’s what’s helped us be successful.”

While he admits that business slowed a hair during

John F. Russell

Best Plumber

Drain Man: Ken Roche, of Total Service PHD, works to fix a frozen pipe.

the downturn, and that the market remains as competitive as ever, he wouldn’t change his business’s location for the world. “This town is a great place to work, with superfriendly people,” he says.

Still, even that doesn’t stop

him from calling a spade a spade — even if it’s in someone’s sewer — which is largely what has propelled him to the spotlight in Steamboat’s plumbing scene.

“I’m big and burly and I tell it the way it is,” he says.

Don’t knock your knees. When the creaks and tweaks from skiing, riding and running get too much to bear, locals vote for Dr. Eric Verploeg, of Orthopaedics of Steamboat Springs, to get them back on their feet.

And for good reason. Practicing in Steamboat since 1989 and completing a knee fellowship with Vail’s Dr. Richard Steadman, Verploeg specializes in the joint that takes the biggest beating in Steamboat. “I’ve always had a passion for knees,” says Verploeg, whose own first major malady was a knee injury at age 16. “I just like them.”

While he leaves town occasionally to travel with the U.S. Ski Team, he loves where he is based. “I was raised in a small town, so I’ve always been a small-town person,” says Verploeg, who operates on 300 to 400 knees a year in his office at 940 Central Park Drive. “I enjoy knowing my patients and seeing them face to face around town.”

He also enjoys the caliber of patient he gets here, most of whom aren’t your typical couch potato. “It’s pretty much an orthopedic dream here,” says Verploeg, who operates on everyone from elite Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club and high school athletes to regular Joes who get banged up while skiing. “Our patients are active, healthy, well-motivated and committed to get better as quickly as possible. And that makes it great. Surgery’s the easy part.”

Matt stensland

Best Surgeon: Eric Verploeg The Doctor Will See You Now: Dr. Eric Verploeg patching up another Steamboat-battered patient.

Best Surgeon 1. Eric Verploeg 2. Mark Hermacinski 3. Bryan Bomberg 3. Michael Sisk

Best Snow Removal Service 1. Native Excavating 2. Revelation Roofing 3. Shuv-It

Best Hotel 1. The Steamboat Grand 2. Sheraton Steamboat Resort 3. Rabbit Ears Motel

Yampatika’s Summer Camp provides children hands-on opportunities to explore their natural surroundings in a safe, professional and fun atmosphere.

Camp Dates…

• Yampatykes: (ages 5 & 6) Dates: June 20-24, July 4-8, July 18-22 and August 8-12 • Nature Explores Camp: (ages 7 & 8) Dates: June 27-July 1, July 11-15, July 25-29, August 1-5 • Junior Naturalist Camp: (ages 9-11 w/ a one night camping trip) Dates: June 20-24, July 4-8, July 25-29, August 8-12 • Wilderness Pioneers: (ages 12-14 w/ a one night backpacking trip) Dates: July 12-15, August 2-5 • Wilderness Pioneers II: (ages 12-14 w/ a two night backpacking trip) Dates: June 28-July 1, July 19-22

Yampatika also offers weekly adult education programs!

Visit our website for program descriptions & dates.

Or call 970-871-9151 • www.yampatika.org

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Matt stensland

If it Pleases the Court: Kris Hammond in a rare moment out of the courtroom and off the trails, slopes and stages of Steamboat.

Best Lawyer: Kris Hammond You might know him as Carl Howelsen from the town’s Olympic street celebrations or as the postman reading long-lost letters in the annual Cabaret show. Now you know Kris Hammond as the people’s choice as Best Lawyer in town.

“I’m one of the lucky people who get to practice law in Steamboat Springs,” says Hammond, of Hammond Law Offices at 2504 Riverside Drive. “After almost 25 years here, my wife, Becky, and I still think this is a fantastic place to live.”

Hammond began practicing law in Steamboat in August 1986 with Oliphant & Associates before founding his own firm in 2005, now consisting of attorney Adam Mayo, assistant Christie Hermann and office manager Susan Ellis. Specializing in criminal defense and civil litigation — “cases that involve going to court,” he says — Hammond adds that there’s more than enough work these days to keep him busy and, unfortunately, off the slopes and mountain bike trails, where he can be found when not in the courtroom.

You won’t find him in this year’s Cabaret, either; he is taking a leave from his postman and other local-heckling roles for only the second time since 1993. But if you need him, just look for the log show home at the west end of town, which he purchased for his law practice in November 2009. “I’m easy to find,” he says. “I’m the lawyer closest to jail.”

Best Lawyer

Best Pediatrician

Best Family Doctor

Best Accountant

1. Kris Hammond, Hammond Law Offices 2. Dave Nagel, Feldmann Nagel, LLC 3. Randy Klauzer, Klauzer & Tremaine, LLC

1. Steve Ross, Sleeping Bear Pediatrics 2. Sheila Fountain, Pediatrics of Steamboat 3. Ron Famiglietti, Pediatrics of Steamboat

1. Jim Dudley, Steamboat Medical Group 2. Lisa Harner, Yampa Valley Medical Associates 3. Roseanne Iversen, Steamboat Springs Family Medicine

1. Dana Tredway, Tredway, Henion, Palmquist & Kusy 2. Kari Nelson, Kari Nelson CPA 3. Bart Ingalls, Ingalls, Ingalls & Co.

WHERE DREAMS

MEET

REALITY.

AMARON FOLKESTAD General Contractors

Quality remodels, custom homes, & cabinetry www.amaronbuilders.com 970-879-9598 • Steamboat Springs, CO • Since 1992 100 | At Home | Spring 2011

Best Hair Salon: Hair on Earth To hear owner Jacque Horsch tell it, she has the best workmates you could ask for, who are all happy to style away in their “funky little house” at 437 Oak St. “We have a really talented crew and a great work environment,” says Horsch, who has had her hair stylist license since 1983 when she lived in Minnesota. “Everyone’s super-creative and energetic and has a great camaraderie with each other and our clients.”

Horsch bought Hair on Earth in 2002 after a six-year stint as a stylist and now works there with fellow stylists Brooke Engeseth, Dena Jarabek and Tracy Dickerman, a crew held together by perky office manager Laura Naczowski. All are Aveda-trained, making Hair on Earth the only salon in Steamboat with that designation. It all goes to help smooth over rough ends in their clients’ lives as well as their hair.

“We’re all about making people happy,” says Horsch, whose clientele is divided down the middle by gender. “That’s just how we do things.”

Matt Stensland

SERVICES

More Than a Haircut: The Hair on Earth headquarters at 437 Oak St.

Best Hair Salon

Best Guest Ranch

Best Movie Theater

Best Men’s Haircut

1. Hair On Earth 2. Bella Salon 3. Wildhorse Salon

1. Saddleback Ranch 2. The Home Ranch 3. Dutch Creek Guest Ranch

1. Wildhorse Stadium Cinemas 2. Carmike Plaza Theater

1. 10th Street Barbershop 2. Mountain Cuts 3. Prime Kuts

Best Floral Shop

Best Masseuse

1. Tall Tulips Flower Shop 2. Alpine Floral & Atrium 3. Steamboat Floral & Gifts

1. Erica Olson, Heartfire Massage 2. Kristi Castle, Rythmic Touch 3. Ali Boehm, Kneading Hands

Best Fitness Center/Gym 1. Old Town Hot Springs 2. Steamboat Pilates, Yoga & Fitness 3. Anytime Fitness

Best Spa 1. Waterside Day Spa 2. Rocky Mountain Day Spa 3. Life Essentials Wellness Spa

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Soccer Doctor: Dr. Jim Dudley feels at home with a stethoscope and on the soccer field.

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John F. Russell

Best Family Doctor: Jim Dudley Say aaahh! While local families say that aplenty to the Steamboat Medical Group’s Dr. Jim Dudley, they’re now singing him even higher praises by voting him Steamboat’s Best Family Doctor.

Practicing in Steamboat Springs for 30 years running — ever since moving here from Leadville in 1980 — Dr. Dudley approaches his practice the same way he coaches kids on the soccer field: with plenty of open communication. And that’s the way he likes it.

“I really have more of a partnership and teaching relationship with my patients rather than just treating them,” says Dr. Dudley, an avid runner and cross-country skier. “People here are generally very health conscious and very good about assessing all their options. They know, and are interested in, the pros and cons of different treatments, which is a great interaction to have.”

Admitting that his office sees its fair share of injuries because of Steamboat’s active populace, he also sees a lot of people come in for preventative care — another sign of a healthy community.

Of course, many families know him as much for his work on the soccer field as in the doctor’s office. After a long stint coaching the high school girls soccer team, he’s now coaching eighth-grade girls and having every bit as much fun.

He especially enjoys it now that his own Steamboat-raised kids are long gone from their own school-age sporting days. Sons Mark, 33, and Luke, 30, still are here in town, with his oldest son, Matt, 35, now a doctor in Anchorage. “I work in Cordova (Alaska) two or three times a year and see him whenever I go up there,” he says. “Cordova is a lot like Steamboat was 25 years ago.”

SERVICES

For the town’s best rub down after your beat down, head to Erica Olson, who’s been in the game long enough to know how to coax Steamboat-sore muscles back into the lineup. “I’ve wanted to do massage since I was 9 years old,” says Olson, who learned her trade at the Colorado School of Healing Arts before moving here in 2005 from Denver and starting Heartfire Massage. “I love what I do with a passion.”

It shows. Her office at 24 Fifth St. is packed with people seeking out her muscle-soothing charms.

“I like to pay attention to my clients,” Olson says. “I explain what’s going on and why a certain muscle group might be hurting and involve them in the process.” While she acknowledges Steam­boat has its fair share of masseuses, she says that just adds to its overall appeal. “I’ve never lived anywhere where there are so many massage therapists,” she says. “It’s great to live somewhere where it’s so accepted and where people understand and appreciate it.”

Matt Stensland

Best Masseuse: Erica Olson, Heartfire Massage

Magic Palms: Erica Olson relaxing between rubdowns.

Naturally the Best 970-846-0595 • naturesdesignsteamboat.com Spring 2011 | At Home

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Thanking you, Steamboat Springs, I thank my clients, co workers, opponents and judges who have, for the past 25 years, given me the perfect combination of support, guidance, encouragement and well-placed kicks.

Steamboat Springs, CO

The Hammond Law Building, 2504 Riverside Drive, Steamboat Springs, CO 80487 klh@yampalaw.com 970-879-6060 - 970-879-5199 fax

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John F. Russell

Matt Gaylor fishes in the Yampa River’s town stretch, voted best place to wet a line.

T

he great outdoors. It’s why most of us moved here, and it’s why most of us stay. Whether it’s skate skiing before work, fly-fishing during lunch or milking a mountain bike ride as the sun fades behind Sleeping Giant, there are more outdoor options to choose from in Steamboat than there are hours in a day. Perhaps that’s why you see residents biking their river shuttles in spring with skis secured in a homemade rack.

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OUTDOORS

Best Mountain Bike Trail: Spring Creek Trail

Joel Reichenberger

Our pedalers have spoken. Despite the wealth of trails at Steamboat Ski Area, atop Emerald Mountain and at such classic spots like Mad Creek, Lower Bear and the clandestine MRP, good ol’ Spring Creek appeals most to the wheeled masses. Following a babbling brook all the way up to the last lung-busting, sun-saturated switchback, the trail runs 7 miles from Steamboat Springs High School to Dry Lake Campground on Buffalo Pass past ponds, over bridges, through fields of aspens and waist-high ferns, and even next to a few hidden sultry drawings etched into aspen trunks by sheepherders. Bonus: Flash the steep section after bridge No. 8.

Knight Rider: Shaq Torrella tackles Spring Creek Trail in Steamboat.

Best Local Attraction (a must-see)

Best Place to Walk a Dog in Town

1. Fish Creek Falls 2. Strawberry Park Hot Springs 3. Steamboat Ski Area

1. Spring Creek Trail 2. Yampa River Core Trail 3. Butcherknife Trail

Best Walking/Hiking Trail

Best Mountain Bike Trail

1. Fish Creek Falls 2. Devil’s Causeway 3. Spring Creek Trail

1. Spring Creek Trail 2. Continental Divide Trail 3. Mad Creek Trail

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Open studio hours Tue-Thur 11am-6pm potterswheelsteamboat@rocketmail.com 970.879.4944 Fri 11am-8pm, Sat & Sun 12pm-4pm, Closed Monday’s 106 | At Home | Spring 2011

John F. Russell

OUTDOORS

Best Local Attraction: Fish Creek Falls 107

OUTDOORS

Larry Pierce

Best Expert Ski Trail: North St. Pat’s A short boot hike making you earn your turns. A treed approach leading to an oasis-like opening.

Northern exposure to protect Steamboat’s trademark Champagne Powder. An expansive view of Mount Zirkel Wilderness Area.

Rock-riddled chutes on either side for the couloir-inclined. A huck on bottom left in full view of gawkers on Last Chance. And a catwalk out to contemplate it all. Yep, there’s a reason North St. Pat’s, accessed via Gate C, tops this year’s expert ski trail list. And there’s a slew more we can’t wait to head back up and discover.

Best Advanced Ski Trail 1. West Side 2. Rolex 3. See Me

Best Expert Ski Trail Luck of the Irish: A skier samples some of North St. Pat’s untracked Champagne.

Thanks to all our loyal customers for your years of support!

Mens and Womens Apparel 970-879-0351 • 828 Lincoln Ave

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1. North St. Pat’s 2. Christmas Tree Bowl 3. Chute 3

John F. Russell

OUTDOORS Best Place to Nordic ski 1. Emerald Mountain/Howelsen Hill 2. Rabbit Ears Pass 3. Steamboat Ski Touring Center

Best Bump Ski Run 1. White Out 2. Rolex 3. Voo Doo

Best Tree Ski Run 1. Shadows 2. 2:30 trees 3. Closet

Slip Sliding Away: Lucy Newman takes to the Nordic trails of Howelsen Hill.

Best Beginner Ski Trail

Best Nordic Skiing: Emerald Mountain/Howelsen Hill We were hoping this accolade might go to someplace flatter. Now we, too, have to burst a gasket whenever we want to skate ski this category’s winner. Nevertheless, quad- and lung-crippling hills aside, the trails at Howelsen Hill and Emerald Mountain get the nod for best Nordic skiing. Maintained by the city, which grooms the area three days a week, it offers

21 kilometers of trails that have hosted such events as B Level World Cup championships, NCAA championships, Olympic qualifiers and U.S. National Championships. Last year, the city recorded 2,264 user days on the system, based on day tickets and season passes sold. Afraid of the hills? Take the weenie route by riding the Poma first.

1. Why Not 2. Giggle Gulch 3. Swinger

Best Intermediate Ski Trail 1. Buddy’s Run 2. Tomahawk 3. Heavenly Daze

Best Scenic Drive 1. Elk River Road to Steamboat Lake 2. Buffalo Pass 3. Flat Tops Scenic Byway

Where your smile matters!

Curtis J. Comeau, D.D.S., P.C. • Steven Diehl, D.D.S., P.C. • William R. Schwartz, D.D.S., P.C. 1475 Pine Grove Road, Suite 107 • “Next door to Ski Haus” • 879-1959 Spring 2011 | At Home

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OUTDOORS

The Shadow Knows: Cathy Wiedemer digs into deep snow on Shadows at Steamboat Ski Area.

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Larry Pierce

Best Tree Run: Shadows Some experts claim that an aspen grove is the world’s largest living organism. There’s no better place to ski through this life form than Shadows at Steamboat Ski Area. To get there is easy. Head skier’s right off the Sundown Express quad, or skier’s left off Storm Peak Express until you schuss through the last stand of conifers. There you’ll find tree skiing at its best, in a world of smooth-barked aspens whose trunks match the snow. Hit it in the fog and the effect can be surreal, like sentries standing guard over their downhill domain. Shred it in the sun and it’ll be hard to pry you away.

The only downfall: no branches to cushion the blow when you get a hair too close trying to slash that last powder pillow.

Joel reichenberger

Best Area to Hunt

Best Place to Kayak

1. Flat Tops Wilderness Area 2. California Park 3. Mount Zirkel Wilderness Area

1. Yampa River town stretch 2. Charlie’s Hole 3. D-Hole

Best Place to Camp

Best Local Competition/ Athletic Event

1. Flat Tops Wilderness Area 2. Mount Zirkel Wilderness Area 3. Steamboat Lake

Best View 1. The valley descending Rabbit Ears Pass 2. From the Emerald Mountain quarry 3. From Thunderhead

Best Place to Rock Climb 1. Fish Creek Falls 2. Butcherknife 3. The Domes

Steamboat Surfer: Dan Piano kayaks in the Yampa River’s C-Hole.

1. Winter Carnival street events 2. Steamboat Marathon 3. Town Challenge Mountain Bike Race Series

Best Picnic Spot 1. Yampa River Botanic Park 2. Fish Creek Falls 3. Dumont Lake

Best Place to Snowmobile 1. Rabbit Ears Pass 2. Buffalo Pass 3. North Routt

Best Place to Boat

Best Place to Snowshoe

1. Steamboat Lake 2. Stagecoach Reservoir 3. Yampa River

1. Rabbit Ears Pass 2. Emerald Mountain/Howelsen Hill 3. Seedhouse Road

Distinctive Mountain Landscapes by Bonnie McGee at the Artists’ Gallery of Steamboat

1009 Lincoln Avenue • Open Daily from 10-7 Visit www.bonniemcgeefineart.com Spring 2011 | At Home

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Best Golf Tournament: Moose is Loose

John F. Russell

Jim “Moose” Barrows isn’t the only one a bit loose on the links at the annual Moose is Loose Golf Tournament, a fundraiser for the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club’s scholarship program. So are a few errant shots and possibly even scorecards.

“It’s all in good fun,” says Barrows, who founded the tournament in 1985 after running the LTV Classic as a scholarship benefit for 11 years.

While not all the shots in the event’s scramble format are on target, the motive behind the event is. Last year it raised $13,000 for the club and one year notched as much as $25,000. And winning isn’t all it's cracked up to be. “Winning can become expensive,” says Barrows, adding that along with bragging rights comes drink buying. “You have to take the heat for it.” One year he even awarded the winning team one-way tickets to Toledo. But it’s all in the name of fun on the second Wednesday after Labor Day — sometimes even in the snow.

“It’s a great way to get another part of the community to support the Winter Sports Club,” he says. “It’s also a great way to end the golf season and get people thinking about skiing.”

Fore!: Rollingstone Ranch Golf Club, home of Steamboat’s most popular golf tournament.

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Best Golf Course

Best Place to Fish

1. Haymaker Golf Course 2. Catamount Ranch & Club 3. Rollingstone Ranch Golf Club

1. Yampa River town stretch 2. Stagecoach Reservoir 3. Steamboat Lake

Best Golf Tournament

Best Place to Horseback Ride

1. Moose is Loose 2. Ski Town USA Golf Classic 3. Rally for the Cure

1. Saddleback Ranch 2. Del’s Triangle 3 Guest Ranch 3. Steamboat Lake Outfitters

Matt stensland

OUTDOORS

Best Place to Boat: Steamboat Lake. Maggie Cane goosing the engine for an afternoon waterski.

Aren’t They

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Tom Ross

Tom Ross remembers

Cutthroat Campground at Trapper’s Lake is a fine place to ponder the beauty of the Flat Tops, a region voted Best Place to Camp and Best Place to Hunt.

My Own Best of the Boat C

ould life in Steamboat get any better?

On the day I sat down to write this column, I awoke before dawn, slipped into my snow clogs and went out into the driveway to watch a waning gibbous moon hanging above Sleeping Giant like a benediction.

I guess the Giant will never wake up as we do each glorious morning in Steamboat.

The flattened disc of the moon, now 10 percent beyond full, Longtime local writer Tom Ross has reminded me that the large majority of called Steamboat my best Steamboat home since 1979. moments have taken place in the outdoors — fitting, it seems, because that’s why most of us moved here.

I had one of those moments later that same day when I bumped into Sven Wiik at the Steamboat Ski Touring Center, still pumping out that graceful kick and glide of his.

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“So, you’ve decided to do a little skiing again?” Sven chided in his own gentle way, having not seen me on the trail for some time.

I didn’t mind. The man is a living ski legend — truly among the best that Steamboat has ever offered. And that’s one of the things I love so much about this little corner of Colorado — it’s the opportunity to become familiar with humble people who have been to the top of the mountain.

And there are so many of them to get to know in Steamboat.

That said, in no particular order, here are a few of my own bests of this little town of ours.

■ As much as I treasure an afternoon on my skate skis, nothing can match catching a chairlift to the top of Priest Creek and discovering upon dropping into Closet that no one has beaten you to that perfect line of aspen trunks. It’s almost like the trees are willfully guarding your powder stash.

It’s when you’re able to commit to the fall line, and the snow boiling at your armpits giving the illusion of free fall, that skiing

transcends human limits. That’s it. The best.

Everything else is second place.

■ The second floor of Bud Werner Memorial Library has quickly become Steamboat’s favorite living room. Settling into one of those butterscotch leather chairs with a stack of magazines is nearly as heavenly as the view of the Yampa River pounding through Charlie’s Hole outside.

■ North Park is Steamboat’s “other side of the mountain,” and every June pale lavender wild iris bloom in the wet barrow ditches along the roads. They’re almost as beautiful as the fairy slipper orchards that can be found on the trail to Big Fish Lake in the Flat Tops.

■ Speaking of the Flat Tops, the only thing better than catching a cutthroat trout is watching the fish attempting to leap the small waterfalls on the back side of Trapper’s Lake as they carry out their spawning ritual in early summer.

■ Steamboat’s Free Summer Concert Series is about much more than music. It’s the feeling you share with everyone you bump into that life here is good. Really good.

■ Spring is finally beginning to kick winter’s butt when you can sit on a sunny deck after a day of skiing in March and really savor a cold brew. We live in Camelot, right? It snows all night, and it’s sunny all day.

■ There’s more to the Strawberry Park Hot Springs on a clear night in May than hot water. The vapors, with their cocktail of mineral content, are mood altering. I dare you to tell me that you don’t believe it.

■ Everyone hikes the Zirkel Circle, taking in the world-class views from the saddle between Gilpin and Gold lakes. Far fewer hang the hard left in the trail and push on to the summit of Mount Zirkel itself. If you’re lucky, you’ll flush a band of ptarmigan while crossing the tundra above Red Dirt Pass.

Don’t let the summit ridge give you the willies.

■ In the same vein, crossing the Devil’s Causeway (there’s no shame in scooting on your butt or crawling on all fours) is a mandatory rite of passage.

■ Every summer we hike through lingering snow and return to No Name Lake, praying that it didn’t winter kill.

That first 14-inch cutthroat is so drop-dead gorgeous you almost want to kiss it on the lips.

■ If you kiss a trout on the lips, it will grant your wish and leave you tickets at will call for the Strings Music Festival. Every time you attend a concert in the Strings Music Pavilion, there’s a strong chance that sparks will fly among the musicians and magic will happen. If you catch one of those July nights, you’ll walk outside under the velvet sky in a crowd of buzzing people and you’ll know you’ve just experienced the best of Steamboat.

■ I’m not a cyclist, but riding my Gary Fisher unsuspended museum piece over the James Brown Soul Center of the Universe Bridge and heading out Twentymile Road after an August thundershower is a sensory experience. I can almost smell the bales of hay in the field.

■ Ski towns can’t offer the intellectual stimulation of big college towns like Boulder, but the Seminars at Steamboat and the Freedom Conference have brought national speakers to town to remind us that it’s a big

Arion Schweikert twirls a hula hoop as she watches the Free Summer Concert Series, voted Best Recurring Event.

world out there. And the library has stepped up its game with diverse programming for adults.

■ The longest day of the year is June 21 and that same week is the best time to catch the Steamboat Springs Pro Rodeo Series. The persistent sunlight filters through the dust of the rodeo arena, turning cowboys, cowgirls, horses and steers into a living painting.

■ But the best month of all in Steamboat is September when

you can count on seeing fresh snow on Storm Peak’s bare forehead by Sept. 15, give or take a few days. The aspens will reach peak color 10 or 12 days later and then it’s time to head up Buffalo Pass in the late afternoon to revel at the sight of Rainbow Ridge. Don’t leave until the sun is touching the horizon and backlighting layers of overlapping hills all the way to the far reaches of Moffat County.

Does it get better than that? ■

Seeing patients in Steamboat, Hayden and Craig

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Call 879-3327 or drop in • www.yvma.com Spring 2011 | At Home

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Best of the boat directory

Dining Best Happy Hour

1. Mahogany Ridge Brewery and Grill 970-879-3773, 435 Lincoln Ave. 2. Rex’s American Grill & Bar 970-870-0438, 3190 S. Lincoln Ave. 3. Slopeside Grill 970-879-2916, 1855 Ski Time Square Drive

Best Beer Selection

1. Mahogany Ridge Brewery and Grill 970-879-3773, 435 Lincoln Ave. 2. The Tap House Sports Grill 970-879-2431, 729 Lincoln Ave. 3. Big House Burgers and Bottle Cap Bar 970-870-8500, 2093 Curve Plaza

Best Cocktails

1. Mahogany Ridge Brewery and Grill 970-879-3773, 435 Lincoln Ave. 2. Harwigs/L’apogee 970-879-1919, 911 Lincoln Ave. 3. Sweetwater Grill 970-879-9500, 811 Yampa St.

Best Wine List

1. Cafe Diva 970-871-0508, 1855 Ski Time Square Drive 2. Harwigs/L’apogee 970-879-1919, 911 Lincoln Ave. 3. bistro c.v.

970-879-4197, 345 Lincoln Ave.

Best Bloody Mary

1. Creekside Cafe & Grill 970-879-4925, 131 11th St. 2. Freshies 970-879-8099, 595 S. Lincoln Ave. 3. Johnny B. Good’s Diner 970-870-8400, 738 Lincoln Ave.

Best Bar

1. Ghost Ranch Saloon 970-879-9898, 56 Seventh St. 2. Mahogany Ridge Brewery and Grill 970-879-3773, 435 Lincoln Ave. 3. Sunpie’s Bistro 970-870-3360, 735 Yampa St.

Best Late-Night Fare

1. Mahogany Ridge Brewery and Grill 970-879-3773, 435 Lincoln Ave. 2. Ghost Ranch Saloon 970-879-9898, 56 Seventh St. 3. Slopeside Grill 970-879-2916, 1855 Ski Time Square Drive

Best Burrito

1. Azteca Taqueria 970-870-9980, 116 Ninth St. 2. Fiesta Jalisco 970-871-6999, 445 Anglers Drive 3. Qdoba 970-879-7610, 1755 Central Park Drive

Best Margarita

1. Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant 970-871-6277, 628 Lincoln Ave. 2. Cantina 970-879-0826, 818 Lincoln Ave. 3. Fiesta Jalisco 970-871-6999, 445 Anglers Drive

Best Mexican

Best Family Restaurant

1. Rex’s American Grill & Bar 970-870-0438, 3190 S. Lincoln Ave. 2. Johnny B. Good’s Diner 970-870-8400, 738 Lincoln Ave. 3. Mazzola’s Majestic Italian Diner 970-879-2405, 917 Lincoln Ave.

Best Pizza

1. Brooklynn’s Pizzeria 970-871-1000, 57 10th St. 2. Soda Creek Pizza 970-871-1111, 1585 Mid Valley Drive 3. Blue Sage Pizza 970-870-8600, 1809 Central Park Drive

Best Italian

1. Mambo Italiano 970-870-0500, 521 Lincoln Ave. 2. Riggio’s Ristorante 970-879-9010, 1106 Lincoln Ave. 3. Mazzola’s Majestic Italian Diner 970-879-2405, 917 Lincoln Ave.

Best Coffee Shop

1. Fiesta Jalisco 970-871-6999, 445 Anglers Drive 2. Cantina 970-879-0826, 818 Lincoln Ave. 3. Tequila’s 970-879-5500, 425 Lincoln Ave.

1. Amante Coffee 970-871-8999, 685 Marketplace Plaza No. C8 2. Starbucks 970-871-1303, 255 Anglers Drive Unit B 3. Steaming Bean Coffee Co. 970-879-3393, 635 Lincoln Ave.

Most Scenic Place to Dine

Best Breakfast

1. Hazie’s 970-871-5150, Steamboat Ski Area 2. Sweetwater Grill 970-879-9500, 811 Yampa St. 3. Cottonwood Grill 970-879-2229, 701 Yampa St.

Best Fine Dining

1. Cafe Diva 970-871-0508, 1855 Ski Time Square Drive 2. bistro c.v.

970-879-4197, 345 Lincoln Ave. 3. Ore House at Pine Grove 970-879-1190, 1465 Pine Grove Road

1. Creekside Cafe & Grill 970-879-4925, 131 11th St. 2. Freshies 970-879-8099, 595 S. Lincoln Ave. 3. Winona’s 970-879-2483, 617 Lincoln Ave.

Best Sit-Down Lunch

1. Freshies 970-879-8099, 595 S. Lincoln Ave. 2. Creekside Cafe & Grill 970-879-4925, 131 11th St. 3. Winona’s 970-879-2483, 617 Lincoln Ave.

Best Grab-and-Go Lunch

Best Bartender

Best Chef

1. Kate Rench, Cafe Diva 970-871-0508, 1855 Ski Time Square Drive 2. Brian Vaughn, bistro c.v.

970-879-4197, 345 Lincoln Ave. 3. Vicki Connacher, Rex’s American Grill & Bar 970-870-0438, 3190 S. Lincoln Ave.

1. Backcountry Provisions 970-879-3617, 635 Lincoln Ave. 2. Azteca Taqueria 970-870-9980, 116 Ninth St. 3. The Drunken Onion Get & Go Kitchen 970-879-8423, 685 Marketplace Plaza Suite 5

Best Après Ski on the Mountain

Best Restaurant Service

Best Salad

1. Tod “JJ” Johnson, Mazzola’s Majestic Italian Diner 970-879-2405, 917 Lincoln Ave. 2. Scott Erickson, Ghost Ranch Saloon 970-879-9898, 56 Seventh St. 3. Kris Cannon, Sweetwater Grill 970-879-9500, 811 Yampa St.

1. Slopeside Grill 970-879-2916, 1855 Ski Time Square Drive 2. The Tugboat Grill & Pub 970-879-7070, 1860 Ski Time Square Drive 3. T Bar 970-871-4689, 2045 Ski Time Square Drive 116 | At Home | Spring 2011

1. Cafe Diva 970-871-0508, 1855 Ski Time Square Drive 2. Rex’s American Grill & Bar 970-870-0438, 3190 S. Lincoln Ave. 3. bistro c.v.

970-879-4197, 345 Lincoln Ave.

1. Freshies 970-879-8099, 595 S. Lincoln Ave. 2. Ore House at Pine Grove 970-879-1190, 1465 Pine Grove Road 3. Rex’s American Grill & Bar 970-870-0438, 3190 S. Lincoln Ave.

Best French Fries

1. Double Z Bar & BBQ 970-879-0849, 1124 Yampa St. 2. Rex’s American Grill & Bar 970-870-0438, 3190 S. Lincoln Ave. 3. Big House Burgers and Bottle Cap Bar 970-870-8500, 2093 Curve Plaza

Best Hamburger

1. Big House Burgers and Bottle Cap Bar 970-870-8500, 2093 Curve Plaza 2. Double Z Bar & BBQ 970-879-0849, 1124 Yampa St. 3. Rex’s American Grill & Bar 970-870-0438, 3190 S. Lincoln Ave.

Best Wings

1. The Tap House Sports Grill 970-879-2431, 729 Lincoln Ave. 2. Double Z Bar & BBQ 970-879-0849, 1124 Yampa St. 3. Steamboat Smokehouse 970-879-7427, 912 Lincoln Ave.

Best Place to Watch the Game 1. The Tap House Sports Grill 970-879-2431, 729 Lincoln Ave. 2. Slopeside Grill 970-879-2916, 1855 Ski Time Square Drive 3. Rex’s American Grill & Bar 970-870-0438, 3190 S. Lincoln Ave.

Best Steak

1. Ore House at Pine Grove 970-879-1190, 1465 Pine Grove Road 2. Cafe Diva 970-871-0508, 1855 Ski Time Square Drive 3. Old West Steakhouse 970-879-1441, 1104 Lincoln Ave.

Best Seafood

1. Steamboat Meat & Seafood Co. 970-879-3504, 1030 Yampa St. 2. Cafe Diva 970-871-0508, 1855 Ski Time Square Drive 3. Saketumi 970-870-1019, 1875 Ski Time Square Drive

Best Sushi

1. Saketumi 970-870-1019, 1875 Ski Time Square Drive 2. Noodles & More Saigon Cafe 970-870-1544, 635 Lincoln Ave. 3. Spostas Sushi 970-819-5697, 1104 Lincoln Ave.

Best of the boat directory Best Asian

1. Noodles & More Saigon Cafe 970-870-1544, 635 Lincoln Ave. 2. Saketumi 970-870-1019, 1875 Ski Time Square Drive 3. Canton Chinese Restaurant 970-879-4480, 720 Lincoln Ave.

Best Sandwich

1. Backcountry Provisions 970-879-3617, 635 Lincoln Ave. 2. Freshies 970-879-8099, 595 S. Lincoln Ave. 3. Steamboat Meat & Seafood Co. 970-879-3504, 1030 Yampa St.

Best Fast Food

1. Qdoba 970-879-7610, 1755 Central Park Drive 2. Hungry Dog 970-819-2224, 635 Lincoln Ave. 3. Subway 970-879-0202, 1815 Central Park Drive 970-879-0707, 2032 Curve Plaza

Best Delicatessen

1. Steamboat Meat & Seafood Co. 970-879-3504, 1030 Yampa St. 2. Bamboo Market 970-879-9992, 1110 Yampa St. 3. City Market 970-879-3290, 1825 Central Park Plaza

Best Bakery

1. Chocolate Soup Pastry Cafe 970-870-0224, 737 Lincoln Ave. 970-870-0224, 2300 Mount Werner Circle No. C1 2. Winona’s 970-879-2483, 617 Lincoln Ave. 3. Freshies 970-879-8099, 595 S. Lincoln Ave.

Best Caterer

1. The Drunken Onion Get & Go Kitchen 970-879-8423, 685 Marketplace Plaza Suite 5 2. Steamboat Meat & Seafood Co. 970-879-3504, 1030 Yampa St. 3. Marno’s Custom Catering 970-879-4214, 3367 Après Ski Way

Most Vegetarian Friendly

1. Bamboo Market 970-879-9992, 1110 Yampa St. 2. Freshies 970-879-8099, 595 S. Lincoln Ave. 3. Healthy Solutions 970-879-4747, 335 Lincoln Ave.

Best New Restaurant

1. Sweetwater Grill 970-879-9500, 811 Yampa St. 2. Truffle Pig 970-879-7470, 2250 Après Ski Way 3. Routt County Roadhouse 970-871-0800, 2300 Mount Werner Circle

Community Best Place for Free Wi-Fi

1. Bud Werner Memorial Library 970-879-0240, 1289 Lincoln Ave. 2. Amante Coffee 970-871-8999, 685 Marketplace Plaza No. C8 2. Steaming Bean Coffee Co. 970-879-3393, 635 Lincoln Ave.

Best Musician 1. Randy Kelley 2. Steve Boynton 3. Mark Walker

Best Music Venue

1. Ghost Ranch Saloon 970-879-9898, 56 Seventh St. 2. Strings Music Pavilion 970-879-5056, 900 Strings Road 3. Howelsen Hill amphitheater 845 Howelsen Parkway

Best DJ

1. Brian Alpart (DJ Also Starring) 2. Tony Counts (Kat-N-Tha-Hat) 3. Kip Strean

Best Local Band

Best Neighborhood

Best Place to Dance

Best Playground

Best Public Park

Shopping

1. Missed the Boat 2. Loose Change 3. Worried Men

1. Ghost Ranch Saloon 970-879-9898, 56 Seventh St. 2. Old Town Pub 970-879-2101, 600 Lincoln Ave. 3. Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts School and Camp 970-879-7125, 40755 County Road 36 1. Yampa River Botanic Park 970-879-4300, 1000 Pamela Lane 2. Howelsen Hill 845 Howelsen Parkway 3. Lil’ Toots Park 12th and Yampa streets

Best Wedding Ceremony Venue

1. Steamboat Ski Area 970-879-6111, 2305 Mt. Werner Circle 2. Yampa River Botanic Park 970-879-4300, 1000 Pamela Lane 3. Lake Catamount 970-871-9229, 30215 Waters Edge Trail

Best Wedding Reception Venue

Best Radio Station 1. 105.5 KFMU 2. 96.9 KBCR 3. 88.5 KUNC

1. Catamount Ranch & Club 970-871-9229, 30215 Waters Edge Trail 2. Steamboat Ski Area 970-879-6111, 2305 Mt. Werner Circle 3. Perry Mansfield Performing Arts School and Camp 970-879-7125, 40755 County Road 36

Best Art Gallery

Favorite Local Olympian

1. Artists’ Gallery of Steamboat 970-879-4744, 1009 Lincoln Ave. 2. K. Saari Gallery 970-870-0188, 1025 Lincoln Ave. 3. Steamboat Art Museum 970-870-1755, 807 Lincoln Ave.

Best Artist

1. Susan Schiesser 2. Sandy Graves 3. Nancy Jeffrey

Best Annual Event

1. Winter Carnival 2. July 4 parade and fireworks 3. Art in the Park

Best Recurring Event

1. Free Summer Concert Series 2. Steamboat Springs Pro Rodeo Series 3. Bud Light Rocks the Boat free concert series

1. Johnny Spillane 2. Todd Lodwick 3. Moose Barrows

Most Eligible Bachelor 1. Mike Flynn 2. Michael David Bauk 3. Sam Spillane

Most Eligible Bachelorette 1. Mindy Mulliken 2. Harper Louden 3. Natalie Simmins

Best Place to Work (large employer)

1. SmartWool 970-879-2913, 3495 Airport Circle 2. Yampa Valley Medical Center 970-879-1322, 1024 Central Park Drive 3. Steamboat Ski & Resort Corp.

970-879-6111, 2305 Mt. Werner Circle

1. Old Town 2. The Sanctuary 3. Fairview

1. Lil’ Toots Park 12th and Yampa streets 2. Whistler Park Whistler Road and Meadow Lane 3. Strawberry Park Elementary School 39620 Amethyst St.

Best Sporting Goods Store

1. Ski Haus 970-879-0385, 1457 Pine Grove Road 2. Sports Authority 970-871-4570, 705 Marketplace Plaza 3. Steamboat Ski & Bike Kare 970-879-9144, 442 Lincoln Ave.

Best Bike Shop

1. Steamboat Ski & Bike Kare 970-879-9144, 442 Lincoln Ave. 2. Orange Peel 970-879-2957, 1136 Yampa St. 3. Ski Haus 970-879-0385, 1457 Pine Grove Road

Best Ski/Snowboard Tune

1. Ski Haus 970-879-0385, 1457 Pine Grove Road 2. Steamboat Ski & Bike Kare 970-879-9144, 442 Lincoln Ave. 3. Christy Sports 970-879-1250, 1835 Central Park Plaza, 970-879-9011, 1724 Mount Werner Road Unit A

Best Men’s Clothing Store

1. Allen’s Clothing 970-879-0351, 828 Lincoln Ave 2. Zirkel Trading 970-871-1137, 703 Lincoln Ave., Suite B102 3. Ski Haus 970-879-0385, 1457 Pine Grove Road

Best Women’s Clothing Store

1. Moose Mountain Trading Co. 970-879-1400, 822 Lincoln Ave. 2. Ski Haus 970-879-0385, 1457 Pine Grove Road 3. Kali’s Boutique 970-870-6658, 525 Lincoln Ave.

Best Children’s Clothing Store

1. Walmart 970-879-8115, 1805 Central Park Drive 2. BAP 970-879-7507, 735 Oak St. 3. Ski Haus 970-879-0385, 1457 Pine Grove Road Spring 2011 | At Home

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Best of the boat directory Best Place to Buy a Book

1. Off the Beaten Path Bookstore 970-879-6830, 68 9th St. 970-879-5034, 2200 Village Inn Court 2. Epilogue Book Co. 970-879-2665, 837 Lincoln Ave. 3. Bud Werner Memorial Library 970-879-0240, 1289 Lincoln Ave.

Best Nursery/Gardening Store 1. Windemere Landscape & Garden Center 970-879-2403, 1801 Lincoln Ave. 2. Gecko Landscape & Design 970-870-3299, 2624 South Copper Ridge Circle 3. Tall Tulips Flower Shop 970-879-0555, 685 Marketplace Plaza No. C6

Best Liquor Store

1. Central Park Liquor 970-879-3428, 1835 Central Park Drive 2. Arctic Liquors 970-879-7355, 2093 Curve Plaza 3. Steamboat Discount Liquor 970-879-2191, 500 S. Lincoln Ave.

Best Grocery Store

1. City Market 970-879-3290, 1825 Central Park Plaza 2. Safeway 970-879-3766, 37500 E. U.S. Highway 40 3. Bamboo Market 970-879-9992, 1110 Yampa St.

Best Home Decor Store

1. Annie’s Home Consignments 970-870-1300, 405 Anglers Drive 2. Ace at the Curve 970-879-8014, 2155 Curve Plaza 3. Romick’s Into the West 970-879-8377, 402 Lincoln Ave.

Best Pharmacy

Best Jewelry Store

1. Hofmeister Personal Jewelers 970-870-9400, 729 Lincoln Ave. 2. The Silver Lining 970-879-7474, 1855 Ski Time Square Drive 3. Steamboat Art Co. 970-879-3383, 903 Lincoln Ave.

Best Convenience Store

1. Space Station 970-879-1811, 644 Lincoln Ave. 2. Loaf ’N Jug 970-870-6848, 2110 Mount Werner Road 3. Kum & Go, Curve Plaza 970-871-3324, 2032 Curve Plaza

Best Gift Shop

1. All That Jazz 970-879-4422, 601 Lincoln Ave. 2. Lyon Drug Store 970-879-1114, 840 Lincoln Ave. 3. Steamboat Art Co. 970-879-3383, 903 Lincoln Ave.

Best Ski/Snowboard Rental

1. Ski Haus 970-879-0385, 1457 Pine Grove Road 2. Black Tie Ski Rentals 970-870-3172, 1625 Mid Valley Drive Suite No. 2 3. Steamboat Ski & Bike Kare 970-879-9144, 442 Lincoln Ave.

Best Secondhand Store

1. Annie’s Home Consignments 970-870-1300, 405 Anglers Drive 2. Deja Vu Boutique 970-879-9056, 624 Lincoln Ave. 3. LIFT-UP of Routt County 970-870-0727, 2125 Curve Court

Best Pet Supply Store

1. Paws ’N Claws ’N Things 970-879-6092, 345 Anglers Drive 2. Elk River Farm & Feed 970-879-5383, 2680 South Copper Ridge Circle 3. Pet Kare Clinic 970-879-5273, 102 Anglers Drive

1. Lyon Drug Store 970-879-1114, 840 Lincoln Ave. 2. City Market 970-879-3290, 1825 Central Park Plaza 3. Walmart 970-879-8115, 1805 Central Park Drive

Best Place to Buy a Car

Best Hardware Store

Best Vet Clinic

1. Ace at the Curve 970-879-8014, 2155 Curve Plaza 2. Steamboat Lumber 970-879-1244, 1901 Shield Drive 3. Harbert Lumber 970-879-0023, 1500 13th St. 118 | At Home | Spring 2011

1. Steamboat Motors 970-879-8880, 2310 Lincoln Ave. 2. Cook Chevrolet and Subaru 970-879-3900, 1955 Curve Court 3. Denver

Services 1. Pet Kare Clinic 970-879-5273, 102 Anglers Drive 2. Steamboat Veterinary Hospital 970-879-1041, 1878 Lincoln Ave. 3. Mount Werner Veterinary Hospital 970-879-3486, 35825 E. U.S. Highway 40

Best Auto Mechanic/Repair 1. Bob’s Downtown Conoco 970-879-9735, 942 Lincoln Ave. 2. Elk Mountain Automotive 970-870-1871, 2570 South Copper Frontage Road No. 10 3. Doc’s Auto Clinic 970-871-1346, 2565 Copper Ridge Drive

Best Dental Practice

1. Pine Grove Dental Arts 970-879-1959, 1475 Pine Grove Road No. 107 2. McCreight Progressive Dentistry 970-879-4703, 940 Central Park Drive 3. Sunny Lodwick Family Dentistry 970-879-7572, 100 Park Ave.

Best Bank

1. Wells Fargo 970-879-0550, 320 South Lincoln Ave. 2. Yampa Valley Bank 970-879-2993, 600 South Lincoln Ave. 3. Alpine Bank 970-871-1901, 1901 Pine Grove Road No. 101

Best Computer Service/Repair 1. Northwest Data Services 970-879-0734, 1169 Hilltop Parkway, No. 105 2. Mac Ranch 970-879-1270, 117 8th St. 3. Computer Support Guys 970-870-7984, 2130 Resort Drive

Best Physical Therapy Office 1. SportsMed at Yampa Valley Medical Center 970-879-8239, 1024 Central Park Drive 2. Johnson & Johnson Physical Therapy 970-879-4558, 1856 Lincoln Ave. 3. Kinetic Energy 970-879-8026, 1585 Mid Valley Drive No. 3

Best Surgeon

1. Prudential Steamboat Realty 970-879-8100, 610 Marketplace Plaza, Suite 100 2. Colorado Group Realty 970-870-8800, 509 Lincoln Ave. 3. Steamboat Village Brokers 970-879-7800, 1855 Ski Time Square Drive

1. Eric Verploeg, Orthopaedics of Steamboat 970-879-6663, 940 Central Park Drive Suite No. 280 2. Mark Hermacinski, Alpine Surgical Associates 970-879-9299, 1600 Pine Grove Road No. 200 3. Bryan Bomberg, Steamboat Orthopaedics Associates 970-879-4612, 940 Central Park Drive Suite 190 3. Michael Sisk, Orthopaedics of Steamboat 970-879-6663, 940 Central Park Drive Suite No. 280

Best Plumber

Best Family Doctor

Best Real Estate Agency

1. Ken Roche, Total Service PHD 970-870-7922, 1280 13th St. 2. Mike Smith, Smith’s Plumbing 3. Jeff Herfurtner, Jeff’s Plumbing LLC 970-846-4197, 1015 Pine St.

Best Child Care Facility (infant to pre-K)

1. Discovery Learning Center 970-879-5973, 2875 Village Drive 2. GrandKids Child Care Center 970-870-1140, 1100 Central Park Drive 3. Young Tracks 970-879-5790, 1647 Mid Valley Drive

Best Local Insurance Agency 1. State Farm, Debbie Aragon 970-879-1756, 404 Oak St. 2. State Farm, Dax Mattox 970-879-7773, 1915 Alpine Plaza 3. Alpine Insurance 970-879-2265, 1169 Hilltop Parkway, Suite 205A

1. Jim Dudley, Steamboat Medical Group 970-879-0203, 1475 Pine Grove Road No. 102 2. Lisa Harner, Yampa Valley Medical Associates 970-879-3327, 940 Central Park Dr No. 100 3. Roseanne Iversen, Steamboat Springs Family Medicine 970-871-1323, 501 Anglers Drive No. 201

Best Pediatrician

1. Steve Ross, Sleeping Bear Pediatrics 970-879-2327, 405 Anglers Drive, Suite A 2. Sheila Fountain, Pediatrics of Steamboat 970-871-1900, 940 Central Park Drive No. 201 3. Ron Famiglietti, Pediatrics of Steamboat 970-871-1900, 940 Central Park Drive No. 201

Best of the boat directory Best Snow Removal Service 1. Native Excavating 970-879-6231 2. Revelation Roofing 970-846-4385 3. Shuv-It 970-846-9059

Best Hotel

Best Spa

1. Waterside Day Spa 970-875-0271, 1110 Yampa St. No. 110 2. Rocky Mountain Day Spa 970-871-6111, 2200 Village Inn Court 3. Life Essentials Wellness Spa 970-871-9543, 345 Lincoln Ave.

1. The Steamboat Grand 970-871-5500 2. Sheraton Steamboat Resort 970-879-2220, 2200 Village Inn Court 3. Rabbit Ears Motel 970-879-1150, 201 Lincoln Ave.

Best Place to get a Massage

Best Lawyer

Best Masseuse

1. Kris Hammond, Hammond Law Offices 970-879.6060, 2504 Riverside Drive 2. Dave Nagel, Feldmann Nagel, LLC 970-879-8616, 1120 South Lincoln Ave., Suite A 3. Randy Klauzer, Klauzer & Tremaine, LLC 970-879-5003, 320 Lincoln Ave.

Best Floral Shop

1. Tall Tulips Flower Shop 970-879-0555, 685 Marketplace Plaza No. C6 2. Alpine Floral & Atrium 970-879-2682, 1475 Pine Grove Road 3. Steamboat Floral & Gifts 970-879-1424, 435 Lincoln Ave.

Best Guest Ranch

1. Saddleback Ranch 970-879-3711, 37350 County Road 179 2. The Home Ranch 970-879-1780, 54880 County Road 129 3. Dutch Creek Guest Ranch 970-879-8519, 61565 County Road 62

Best Hair Salon

1. Hair On Earth 970-879-2662, 437 Oak St. 2. Bella Salon 970-879-5503, 625 South Lincoln Ave. No. 201 3. Wildhorse Salon 970-879-1222, 690 Marketplace Plaza No. 4

Best Men’s Haircut

1. 10th Street Barbershop 970-879-9809, 941 Lincoln Ave. 2. Mountain Cuts 970-870-0395, 405 Anglers Drive 3. Prime Kuts 970-879-3368, 1835 Central Park Drive

1. Old Town Hot Springs 970-879-1828, 136 Lincoln Ave. 2. Rocky Mountain Day Spa 970-871-6111, 2200 Village Inn Court 3. Waterside Day Spa 970-875-0271, 1110 Yampa St. 1. Erica Olson, Heartfire Massage 970-819-1074, 440 S. Lincoln Ave. 2. Kristi Castle, Rythmic Touch 970-736-8588, 701 Yampa St. 3. Ali Boehm, Kneading Hands 970-846-9032, 306 Oak St.

Best Movie Theater

1. Wildhorse Stadium Cinemas 970-870-8222, 655 Marketplace Plaza 2. Carmike Plaza Theater 970-879-0183, 813 Lincoln Ave.

Best Fitness Center/Gym

1. Old Town Hot Springs 970-879-1828, 136 Lincoln Ave. 2. Steamboat Pilates, Yoga & Fitness 970-879-6788, 1104 Lincoln Ave. No. 103 3. Anytime Fitness 970-875-1130, 1875 Central Park Drive

Best Accountant

1. Dana Tredway, Tredway, Henion, Palmquist & Kusy 970-879-1787, 330 S Lincoln Ave No. 101 2. Kari Nelson, Kari Nelson CPA 970-879-7869, 729 Oak St. 3. Bart Ingalls, Ingalls, Ingalls & Co. 970-879-2977, 405 South Lincoln Ave.

Best Place to Nordic ski

1. Emerald Mountain/Howelsen Hill 2. Rabbit Ears Pass 3. Steamboat Ski Touring Center

Best Mountain Bike Trail 1. Spring Creek Trail 2. Continental Divide Trail 3. Mad Creek Trail

Best Beginner Ski Trail 1. Why Not 2. Giggle Gulch 3. Swinger

Best Intermediate Ski Trail 1. Buddy’s Run 2. Tomahawk 3. Heavenly Daze

Best Advanced Ski Trail 1. West Side 2. Rolex 3. See Me

Best Expert Ski Trail 1. North St. Pat’s 2. Christmas Tree Bowl 3. Chute 3

Best Bump Ski Run 1. White Out 2. Rolex 3. Voo Doo

Best Tree Ski Run 1. Shadows 2. 2:30 trees 3. Closet

Best Scenic Drive

1. Elk River Road to Steamboat Lake 2. Buffalo Pass 3. Flat Tops Scenic Byway

Best Golf Course

Best Place to Horseback Ride 1. Saddleback Ranch 970-879-3711, 37350 County Road 179 2. Del’s Triangle 3 Guest Ranch 970-879-3495, 55675 County Road 62 3. Steamboat Lake Outfitters 970-879-4404, 60880 County Road 129

Best Area to Hunt

1. Flat Tops Wilderness Area 2. California Park 3. Mount Zirkel Wilderness Area

Best Place to Camp

1. Flat Tops Wilderness Area 2. Mount Zirkel Wilderness Area 3. Steamboat Lake

Best View

1. The valley descending Rabbit Ears Pass 2. From the Emerald Mountain quarry 3. From Thunderhead

Best Place to Rock Climb 1. Fish Creek Falls 2. Butcherknife 3. The Domes

Best Place to Boat

1. Steamboat Lake 2. Stagecoach Reservoir 3. Yampa River

Best Place to Kayak

1. Yampa River town stretch 2. Charlie’s Hole 3. D-Hole

Best Local Competition/ Athletic Event

1. Winter Carnival street events 2. Steamboat Marathon 3. Town Challenge Mountain Bike Race Series

Best Local Attraction (a must-see)

1. Fish Creek Falls 2. Strawberry Park Hot Springs 3. Steamboat Ski Area

1. Haymaker Golf Course 970-870-1846, 34855 E. U.S. Highway 40 2. Catamount Ranch & Club 970-871-9229, 30215 Waters Edge Trail 3. Rollingstone Ranch Golf Club 970-879-1391, 1230 Steamboat Boulevard

Best Walking/Hiking Trail

Best Golf Tournament

Best Place to Snowmobile

Best Place to Walk a Dog in Town

Best Place to Fish

Best Place to Snowshoe

Outdoors

1. Fish Creek Falls 2. Devil’s Causeway 3. Spring Creek Trail

1. Spring Creek Trail 2. Yampa River Core Trail 3. Butcherknife Trail

1. Moose is Loose 2. Ski Town USA Golf Classic 3. Rally for the Cure 1. Yampa River town stretch 2. Stagecoach Reservoir 3. Steamboat Lake

Best Picnic Spot

1. Yampa River Botanic Park 2. Fish Creek Falls 3. Dumont Lake

1. Rabbit Ears Pass 2. Buffalo Pass 3. North Routt

1. Rabbit Ears Pass 2. Emerald Mountain/Howelsen Hill 3. Seedhouse Road Spring 2011 | At Home

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Road trip

Veni, Vidi, Vici: The O’Connells came, they saw and they cycled. Clockwise from left are Kathleen, Meg, Chuck, Mary and Finn tackling the cobblestones of Colle Val d’Elsa.

120 | At Home | Spring 2011

Italy La Dolce Vita Steamboat family bikes the boot country

“Y

ou may have the universe if I may have Italy.”

—

19th century composer Giuseppe Verdi

Traveling through Italy is one of those rare experiences in life, like a first crush or first tracks on a powder day. It has it all: exquisite art and architecture, cuisine emulated throughout the world, stores brimming with tempting merchandise, deep religious traditions and warm, welcoming people.

The miracle is that all of its treasures are packaged in an extraordinary country of towering mountains, medieval villages, rolling rural landscapes, fabled cities and a sparkling seaside.

Story and photos by Trish O’Connell Spring 2011 | At Home

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Make it a Double: Kathleen and Mary gear up for their first gelato.

Steamboat...we think you’re “the BEST”!

Open 7 Nights • Torian Plum Plaza • Reservations Invited 970.871. 0508 • www.cafediva.com

122 | At Home | Spring 2011

It was an easy and unanimous choice, then, for our family cycling vacation.

The postcard-perfect Tuscan countryside promises great riding, and we decided to add in some beach time on the Cinque Terre.

Location picked, we settled on Septem­ber for our timing.

It conflicts with school, but it means less crowds. With our four children ages 9 to 13, we tried to learn a little Italian and gain some knowledge of the country’s history before crossing the Atlantic.

There are many ways to organize a bike trip in Italy.

We opted for a self-supported tour, which can be done on a tight budget, and based out of a farmhouse between Florence and Sienna.

We were in awe when we arrived at our estate. It perches high on a hill in the middle of 300 acres of vineyard and olive groves. Vibrant flowers adorned buildings dating back to the 1100s, and a pool surrounded by ripe pear trees is built into the hillside.

“White roads” (mapped, rural roads) form the pedaling petals of a large sunflower originating from our new home. Each day we tackled a different loop, arranging for bikes at a local shop thanks to handsome and helpful Felipe.

After a long swim in our pool, followed by a delicious dinner of pesto pasta with vegetables picked fresh from the garden, we fell into bed anxious to begin our Tuscan cycling adventure.

Molto bene biking

Sometimes, no matter how much you imagine something, the real thing still surpasses your expectations. Cycling in Tuscany certainly did.

Each ride offered the perfect combination of scenery, culture, solitude and challenge.

We spent the next few days discovering the many perfectly preserved medieval villages dotting the hills of Tuscany, including San Gimagnano, Italy’s most famous hill town, dubbed a medieval Manhattan because of a skyline crowned with ancient stone towers. We also explored the daunting, fortified village of Monterigione Colle di Val d’Elssa, famous for its crystal, and made the punishing climb to Casole d’Elsa, an ancient Etruscan settlement with wonderful views.

You often hear, “It’s about the journey, not the destination.”

But in Tuscany it’s about both, especially when the destination provides us with gelato. Taking a break from our bikes, we savored this heavenly concoction while exploring narrow pathways wending through these 13th century Gothic cities.

The landscape is a happy blend of naturally forested hills and man-made additions of vineyards, olive groves, perfectly planted rows of cypress trees and stone farmhouses. While cycling the hills is challenging, I couldn’t help but feel that encountering these ancient hill towns via bike has a more profound effect

Road trip

Taking in Tuscany: Finn, Mary, Kathleen and Meg lounge in their villa’s archways after the day's ride.

Spring 2011 | At Home

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Room With a View: Wine, cheese, bread, fruit and a vista from the veranda.

Spring is in theA ir!

P

ortable Grills Gas or Electric

Napoleon Gourmet Grills

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hange the feature with the changing seasons.

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than seeing them from bus or car. And it certainly makes you feel less guilty about the gelato.

Our final day of cycling took us to the beautiful city of Sienna. We were smitten from the moment we passed through its gates. Il Campo, the piazza with narrow brick lanes and attractive Gothic buildings, teemed with people sipping cappuccino and strolling while kids played soccer nearby. It’s truly a medieval jewel, and it’s where our daughter decided she will one day call home.

Last One in is a Rotten Egg: The O’Connell kids getting ready to cannonball in the Cinque Terre.

Road trip

Arrivederci to the bikes

We added an extra day to our farmhouse stay and drove to Florence, the birthplace of the Renaissance. The tremendous artistic, cultural and historic wealth cradled in this city is hard to grasp. We embraced the sensory overload, enjoyed artists working at their trade, gazed at masterpieces, shopped the bargain markets and fueled up on pizza. As entertaining as the souvenirs reflecting the human anatomy was the ride back to our villa. Eventually, we made it home and toasted the sunset from the arched windows of our villa’s stone deck, enjoying the views one last time.

We awoke eager for the Cinque Terre.

Without any real plan, we stuffed our daypacks with necessities for the next three days. Carla, the farmhouse manager, filled our arms with wine from the vineyard and wished us “in bocca al lupo,” or good luck.

After countless diversions, we reached the coastline, parked the car and were ready to begin our trek along this stunning strip of the Ligurian coastline. The weather was nothing short of perfect, and the water was Riviera blue. We were in awe that we’d spend the next few days exploring this

Steamboat

Style

magical place.

A coastal path links the five villages of the Cinque Terre, all inaccessible by car. We begin in the southernmost town, Riomaggiore. People sunbathed and swam from the rocky coastline. It’s a short walk to the second town, Manarola, a picturesque

Find it at

since 1995

1707 Lincoln Ave. • 870-8807 West of downtown Monday-Friday, 10-6 • Saturday 10-4

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Road trip

Cue the Christmas Card: The O’Connell clan near the end of their trip in the Cinque Terre.

Help us raise $220,000 to build two more simple, safe, affordable homes with hard working low-income families like Marissa’s, a long-time motel housekeeping manager.

Go to: www.routtcohabitat.org to learn more about donating or volunteering this spring.

Our

is now open and accepting gently used appliances at 718 Oak Street

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villa clustered on the side of a cliff. The two-mile hike from Manarola to Corniglia, the oldest and most remote of the five villages, was more intense. It was late by the time we arrived, but we decided to push on to Vernazza anyway.

Exhausted and unable to find accommodations, we treated ourselves to gelato and took a train to Levanto, the first town north of the Cinque Terre. It was dark when we disembarked. We were tired, our packs were heavy and we had no plan. Everyone did their best to keep up their spirits.

On to the beach

Our usual mantra for traveling with four kids: Overprepare and go with the flow.

Occasionally, though, when under-prepared, we change the mantra to: Take out the ATM card and bump along till back in flow. We splurged on a beautiful hotel and enjoyed a wonderful evening full of laughter and reminiscing while sitting on the front porch with the hotel’s delightful proprietress.

After breakfast, we returned

Salute (Sah-loot-eh)!: Meg, Kathleen, Finn and Mary toast to their tour on the deck at Manarola.

to the Cinque Terre, taking the train to the white sand beaches of Monterrosa. Colorful umbrellas and lounge chairs abounded. We enjoyed a long swim before pulling ourselves away to hit the shops of the region’s most bustling community. Eventually, we began the long, scenic hike back to Vernazza, where we feasted on wonderful local cuisine — fresh pesto, seafood and pasta — and washed it

down with cold Moretti.

Vernazza is the most charming and dramatic of the five villages. Tall houses in pastel shades tumble down to the tiny harbor. Bright boats fill the water and streets where they are stored overnight.

The only downfall is that housing is scarce. So we took the train to Manarola, found accommodations and headed for its rocky beach. After cliff jumping into the blue

Mediterranean Sea, we headed back to our balcony for happy hour before treating ourselves to a scrumptious dinner at a local trattoria. Returning home, we drank wine while watching the moon rise. Perfecto!

Our final day dawned windy and cloudy. We indulged ourselves with a breakfast of chocolate croissants, cappuccinos and hot chocolate and spent the day hiking between towns, riding the trains and devouring pizza and gelato.

It’s hard to leave a place with so much beauty. Italy is disproportionately blessed — in art, food, landscape and people with a passion for la dolce vita (the good life). A trip such as this, where biking and hiking were the mode of travel, let us experience it like the people who live there. As my daughter says, “I like discovering the thing about each place that makes it special.” In Italy, that one thing is hard to narrow down — but the common denominator, as Verdi notes in his universe-for-Italy quote, is the Italians’ unswerving dedication to living life well. ■

Native Excavating is celebrating 30 years of business in the Yampa Valley We want to thank our employees for their loyalty and dedication to excellence. You have made us one of the “BEst iN thE Boat”!

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John F. Russell

Final frames

Calm After the Storm: Mount Werner basking in the late afternoon alpenglow.

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John F. Russell

Final frames

Sunset Silhouette: A lone tree takes in the splendor of a midwinter Steamboat sunset.

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Final frames

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Don’t Wake Him Without His Coffee: Sleeping Giant clearing his head of early morning fog.

ed ot

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Final frames

Roll Out the Barrel: A hay field awaits a pending storm.

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A lone fox enjoys a burst of early morning Steamboat sun.

Bill McKinley . 970.846.5860

p.o. Box 773581, Steamboat Springs, Co 80477

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Ain’t That Dandy: A dandelion spreads its summer wings.

Brent Bessey

Penney Adams

Final frames

Kathy Keith

State Flower Power: Colorado columbines soak up the sun.

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Tracy Bye

Final frames

Nosing Around: Three fawns take a break from their foraging.

Congratulations to all of the Best of the Boat Winners!

And a huge thank you to my clients.

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