Guest Blogger, Yvonne McIntyre, San Diego, CA
We came to Steamboat Springs for a weekend getaway and became lifetime fans. Saturday afternoon snow flurries chased us up the mountain now and then obscuring the buffalo, elk and rocky mountain big-horned sheep that grazed along the roadside and up the rocky slopes. What a surprise when we arrived, Steamboat Springs is not just a tourist destination it is a warm vibrant community that beckons visitors to enjoy Nature’s Bounty.
Saturday’s playful flurries turned Sunday into a spring wonderland, new fallen snow dressed the majestic mountains in a sparkling white mantle. Christmas in May? We hurried out to explore, hoping to hike the trail to Fish Creek Falls, but the snow had closed the trail to the novice hiker. We settled instead for a tour of downtown that ended at the Yampa River behind the library watching kayakers flip the rapids. Monday morning the snow disappeared and we explored the Art galleries and took a closer look at the “LEED certified” Bud Werner Library, an ecological architectural feat. This is a fully functional city with plenty to do for sedentary folks like us. The variety of shops as well as the quality of merchandise and artistry is impressive. In Steamboat you can get a free daily newspaper and free bus rides to just about anywhere you want to go, it is a service town. There is something for everyone in this city, with such good humor and bonhomie its no wonder so many choose to make this a home away from home. No trip to Steamboat Springs can be complete without a trip to Strawberry Park Hot Springs, even for an old stick in the mud me. We’ll be back.
