This is the last of the three articles I wrote for the website Trazzler which is no longer. It's not a ride or hike, just a stop we made on a rest day between climbing 14ers. Photos are from a trip in 2009 For most, the town of Ridgeway is where your turn to go to Telluride or go straight to Ouray. Just off the main road, there’s the Colorado Boy Pub & Brewery. I had pints of the Stout and the IPA, and tasters of the rest. The stout and IPA were excellent. The Irish Red Ale was better than average. The Blonde Ale and Best Bitter were ok, but I wouldn’t get a pint of them. The food selection is simple, four different Paninis with chips, about $7 each. They also have free popcorn to go with the beer. The pints were $3.75 ($4.25 for the IPA) and tasters are about a dollar. They also had mini etch-a-sketches on all the tables. It's a small place, with only 5 tables and small bar, but has a great pub atmosphere. The Colorado Boy Brewery Ridgeway Has Some Nice Views of the ...

This is the second of three articles I wrote for the website Trazzler which disappeared a few years ago. Photos are from a ride in 2009 Head north from Nederland on the Peak-to-Peak highway and you will see a sign for Caribou Ranch Open Space. Turn there and soon see a sign for the Mud Lake Open Space. There are several miles of trails here which are perfect for beginners. There are several benches along the trails where you can take a break and enjoy the views of the surrounding mountains. Mud Lake One of the trails goes up to the Caribou Ranch Open Space trailhead, where you can lock up your bike before going on its trails. They don’t allow bikes on the park’s 4 ½ miles trails. Both of these open space parks are newer and in great shape. They are great for getting out in the mountains for a couple of hours when you don’t feel like hitting the harder trails in the nearby Indian Peaks Wilderness. DeLonde Homestead in the Caribou Ranch Open Space DeLonde Homestead Farm - The H...

This post is actually an article I wrote for the website Trazzler, which no longer exists. Photos my trip there in 2008 have been added. In the West Elk Wine Region of Colorado there are several small wineries that they don’t sell their wines outside the region. Grapes Vines at Stone Cottage Cellars One of the best parts of stopping at these wineries is that you can talk with the owners. While you taste their wines, you can listen to their stories of how they got started. One of these is Stone Cottage Cellars. The owners built the stone cottage, stone by stone. They have an excellent Alpine Dessert wine. The Vineyards at Stone Cottage Cellars Another winery, Azura, is named after the boat the owners sailed around the world in. Their tasting room is also an art gallery and has great views of the surrounding area. Both of these wineries had four or five wines each and were on top of a mesa above Paonia. What are their stories? You’ll just have to go there to find out. On t...

A Scenic Bike Ride at the Mouth of the Canyon.   The upper end of this trail is at the Park and Ride at the base of Big Cottonwood Canyon. It's great if you want to do an easy bike after skiing or snowboarding all day at Brighton and Solitude in the Spring. Most of this trail is completely offstreet, but there was a section in a neighborhood where the trail was a sidewalk or I had to ride on the on road. The trail starts off by going under Wasatch Boulevard. Then it heads downhill along the creek until it leaves it and drops you off on a street for the road and sidewalk section. When I went in late March, there were lot's of tree in bloom, especially in this section. Spring Time Trees The trail leaves the road and follow the creek again. The creek goes into a pond in Old Mill Park. Just upstream of the pond, is a bridge that gives a good view of the creek upstream of here. I was able to get this photo with the mountains making the sides of Big Cottonwood Canyon in the ...