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AAA Mini Tour
Jump into Steamboat Springs Article and photo by Dan Leeth A hot air balloon floats high above the snowy ground. In its basket, a black-clad figure lifts one leg over the edge. The other follows, and the man soon plunges from his high altitude perch. Moments later, a chute opens, and the formerly falling flyer glides safely earthward, his body hanging from a cano-py sliding through the sky. "Must not have bought the round-trip flight," one wag speculates. Fortunately, skydiving from balloons is one of the more unusual off-slope activities available in Steamboat Springs, site of this month's Mini Tour. For nonskiers and those wanting a respite from the runs, the northwest Colorado community offers an array of safer diversions to fill a winter's getaway. For those content to stay onboard, the $110, half-hour flight offered by Wild West Balloon Adventures (970-879-7219) provides a lofty look at the home of "champagne powder." You board, the burner roars and the craft lifts skyward. Mt. Werner rises to the east, its conifer-clad slopes sliced with ski trails. To the northwest sprawl the open valleys that have served as cattle country for over a century. Out there, you can still hop on a horse and saunter through the powder. Ray Heid, owner of Del's Triangle 3 Ranch (970-879-3495), offers $65, two-hour winter rides across his thousand-acre spread. Clad in worn boots, yellow duster and a timeworn gray hat, this rancher displays the weathered look of a genuine, fourth-generation Steamboat cowboy. "My great grandfather came to the valley sometime in the 1890s," he says. "To this day, we don't know what his real name was. Back on his tombstone it just says Grouse Creek Jones." The horse trail wends its way into the white landscape. Frost clads the bushes and willow twigs poke from snow sparkling in the morning sun. When the group pauses in a drift-muffled meadow, you can feel the aura of unruffled solitude. The only way to achieve more serenity would be to leave the animals behind and use your own muscles to probe the Steamboat countryside. Cross-country skiing is a way you can do that. While there are many nearby venues available, one of the most peaceful is Vista Verde Guest Ranch (800-526-7433) located near the Mt. Zirkel Wilderness Area. It offers 30 kilometers of groomed trails and an Epicurean lunch for $30. Here, you can kick and glide through a land so quiet that the only sounds you hear are of zinging skis and panting breaths. Routes cross rolling meadows and penetrate glades of naked aspen whose long shadows look like zebra stripes on the white snow. Animal tracks ranging from mice to elk tell of their owners' passing. With mountains shimmering in the distance, it almost feels as if you have slipped into a John Fielder photograph. For those who don't cross-country, there's always snowshoeing. Guides lead $35 gourmet snowshoe hikes in the Steamboat ski area (970-879-6111). You meet at 10:00 and ascend on the gondola. An hour's hike up a summer nature trail leads to Ragnar's, the deluxe, sit-down restaurant located atop Rendezvous Saddle. After feasting on fine fare, it's time for the downhill tromp back to the gondola. You should reach the base by 3:00, leaving time for afternoon shopping. You might start at the Steamboat Art Co., located at 9th and Lincoln. Here you will find cowboy Santas, wine bottle holders made from horseshoes and hand-carved tables that make you think you're gazing into a trout stream. On 7th Street stands Off the Beaten Path, a bookstore many think resembles a mini-version of Denver's Tattered Cover. Off the Beaten Path holds 15,000 titles and features a cafe that serves drinks, soups and bakery items straight from the kitchen. Between the two, at 830 Lincoln, lies F.M. Light & Sons, a store that has for nearly a century clothed Steamboat ranchers and visitors. More than 100 of their historic, hand-painted signs grace highways leading to town, and just as these mini-billboards advertise, you can still buy a cowboy hat here for $4.98. In addition to the cheap chapeaux, the store carries a full line of western wear, including genuine Stetsons, wind- and rain-proof oilskins and cowboy boots bearing decorative inlays. Wandering the aisles, you may feel you've slipped back into history. "Some of the fixtures were brought in by stagecoach," says co-owner Del Lockhart, whose great grandfather started the family business. When hunger hits, you should consider a sleigh ride supper. For $75, you can be picked up from your Steamboat lodging and treated to a forest dinner at the Elk River Guest Ranch (800-750-6220). After appetizers and warm-up beverages, you take a seat in an open sleigh pulled by a pair of draft horses through meadows and woods. A 20-minute ride leads to a set of teepees. Unlike those the Native Americans used, these are carpeted and packed with couches, chairs, overstuffed pillows and wood-burning stoves. The smell of burning pine gives way to the aroma of steak, chicken, salmon, bass or duck, which is served with a mound of trimmings. Dessert and coffee follow back at the ranch house. No matter what the day's other activities, few things feel better than a dunk in Steamboat's famous mineral water. For $10, you can soak at Strawberry Park Hot Springs (970-879-0342) located in the hills just north of town. In winter, four-wheel-drive or chains may be required for the access road, but for those with lesser traction, outfitters can provide transport. The springs feed into a creek flowing through a mountain canyon. Following the trail down from the entrance station, you pass a massage room built into the hillside. At the bottom, a teepee provides changing facilities and three stone-lined pools offer places to slosh and simmer. Solitary souls can opt for a morning retreat, while families might prefer afternoons when offspring can splash in the sun. Others choose night when kids are banned and suits are optional. Regardless of when you come, you will probably find your fellow bathers agree on one thing: Soaking in a thermal pool sure feels better, and more relaxing, than jumping from a balloon.
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