Steamboat Springs

July 23-26

Dale and I decided to take a few days off to play golf and relax.  We had been to Steamboat Springs about 5 years ago and enjoyed it, so headed there.  Steamboat Springs is well-known to skiers, both for the quality of the ski runs and its role in the history of establishing ski jumping here in the U.S.  However, unlike many "ski towns", Steamboat existed as part of the western frontier prior to the arrival of the skiers.  As legend has it, the town was named for the numerous springs found in the area, in particular one that made a chugging sound, similar to a steamboat, as it spewed water 15 feet into the air.  Unfortunately, after the railroad was put in, the chugging stopped.  To celebrate the frontier spirit (and to not be outdone by Kate) I purchased a cowboy (girl) hat at F.M.Lights, which has been around selling western gear for over 100 years.

On Wednesday, we played golf at a local public course called Haymaker.  The course was in great shape, though somewhat pricey for a public course, and we enjoyed the round.  As usual, did not play as well as we would have liked, but had fun anyway.  After, we wandered the downtown area.  It has interesting old buildings that are now shops and restaurants, and there are flowers everywhere- hanging pots, barrels, and window boxes.  Several restaurants have outdoor seating, which gives the downtown a friendly, social feeling.

The next day, we decided to explore some of the natural areas surrounding Steamboat.  In spite of the extensive building of condominiums on the sides of every mountain in the vicinity, there are still some places to experience nature.  We drove up to a National Forest recreation area known as Fish Creek Falls.  It became part of the National Forest through the efforts of Bob Adams, who recognized that, unless the area was protected, the general public would be excluded from this beautiful area.  It was a nice walk on paved walkway to view the falls, which is about 285 feet high with a free fall of 60 feet.  There was sufficient water to make the falls really beautiful.  We then walked down to the base of the falls, where a walking bridge spans the river.  The view from the bridge was great.

We then drove to Rotary Park, where we walked a boardwalk into the wetlands and viewed the Yampa River.  The Yampa is a tributary of the Colorado River, and is important to Steamboat as a water source, and as a focal point for many activities.  We walked into town and viewed the springs that are the town's namesake.

Windmill on road to Fish Creek Falls

African Daisies on walk to falls

Fish Creek Falls from overlook

Falls from the bridge

The Yampa River

Yampa River occupants...

Street view of Steamboat Springs

Steamboat Spring

It was a wonderful, relaxing time.  Friday morning we are off to Utah to visit Arches and Canyonlands National Parks.