Colorado Ski Country USA

Finding A Ski Home

Vacation Investment Properties (V.I.P.) has developed a shared ownership program that allows you to own part of a luxurious, prime vacation, ski-in / ski-out single family residence. These properties are all located slope-side @ Sol-Vista Basin in beautiful Granby Ranch, Colorado, just a few minutes east of Winter Park.

Vacation Investment Properties (V.I.P.) is a group of individuals who were looking for a new way to own vacation homes at a fraction of the cost. You don't have to spend a small fortune to own a single-family ski-in / ski-out home that accommodates 12 to 16 people comfortably. SIX weeks of shared ownership and year round resort activities begin @ just $144,500.

To contact V.I.P. call 1-800-VIP-3817 or visit www.VIP-Colorado.com for more information on owning your very own vacation home.

(We are an independent website and are not officially associated with SolVista Basin. For more information on SolVista Basin, visit their website at www.granbyranch.com)

Interested in buying a ski condo or ski home in one of the major Colorado Ski Resorts? Colorado Ski Real Estate specializes in assisting Buyers in: Aspen, Snowmass, Vail, Beaver Creek, Telluride, Steamboat Springs, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, Keystone, Crested Butte and Winter Park.

With many of your favorite Colorado ski resorts reporting double-digit appreciation; purchasing a ski property is a good long-term investment, as well as an investment in your lifestyle.

Each Colorado ski resort community has its own separate and unique personality and appeal. Although all of the ski resorts are "Family Friendly", each resort fits a different lifestyle and preference.

What do you prefer? Tell them what interests you and they will advise you about the pros and cons of each ski resort community including prices, amenities and ambiance, so you can make an educated decision about which resort is right for you! Colorado Ski Real Estate will answer your questions and tell you what you WANT to know and what you NEED to know!

To contact Colorado Ski Real Estate you may call: 1-800-969-9730 / 970-471-3353 or visit their website www.ColoradoSkiRealEstate.com

Fun For Your Furry Friends

Treat your four-legged co-ed to a social experience of a lifetime. Canine Campus is a pioneer in the world of dog daycare and overnight boarding, open since 1999. Even today, we continue to lead the animal industry with our doggie play group games, all-day activities and our in-house training programs for our faculty members.

To top things off, your pooch will NEVER be unsupervised on a Canine Campus playground. We do more than just "watch" the dogs all day. Canine Campus offers a unique type of K-9 daycare experience... one not found anywhere else in the world. Our faculty specializes in actually INTERACTING with your pooch all day long -- something rarely found in this industry.

Locations in: Colorado Springs, Colorado (719) 448-9600
DIA-Aurora, Colorado (303) 317-8900
Westminster, Colorado (303) 650-3005

We're Going Downtown!

Downtown Denver has much to offer the visitor. Two great options to explore are the 16th Street Mall and Larimer Square. Both are located in the heart of Downtown Denver.

The 16th Street Mall is a full scale pedestrian mall that starts at Wynkoop Street and goes all the way to Broadway. A mall shuttle runs during the day and early evening to transport people along the route. On the Wynkoop end is the world famous Tattered Cover Bookstore, while not as large as the Cherry Creek location, it does offer the tired traveler a place to kick-up their feet and enjoy a good book. The store has an excellent coffee shop on the ground level, with a great Café au Lait. Heading up the Mall you will find a couple of shopping locations in the Tabor Center and Writer Square-with the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. Both offer small boutiques that cater to all types of shoppers.

At the far end of the Mall you will find the Denver Pavilions, a fairly new addition to the Mall. Some of the stores in the Pavilions are Nike Town, Havana's Fine Cigars, and Lucky Strike (Fancy Bowling Alley) [Pavillions Store Directory].

A few blocks southwest of the 16th Street Mall you will find the Denver Art Museum, which caters to all ages. The museum is located at just south of Civic Center Park. The museum's collection of native art is quite exquisite, as is the amazing Western American Art collection, with pieces by George Catlin, Charles M. Russell, and John Mix Stanley. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10AM-5PM, and on Sunday from Noon-5PM, closed most major holidays.

Larimer Square caters to a little more upscale crowd. The shopping is spectacular on Larimer Street. One store you can't pass up is Cry Baby Ranch, which offers everything when it comes to Western Kids decorations. They offer everything from kid's nightlights to Western style coasters. 

• Denver Art Museum
• Larimer Square
• Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory
• Ted's Montana Grill
• Tattered Cover Bookstore
• Comedy Works

Getting There:

Travel time from I-70 & I-25: About 15 minutes Travel time to airport: About 45 minutes

Directions to Downtown Denver from I-70: Take I-70 to I-25 south. Exit Speer blvd south. Left onto Market; follow Market to 16th street. Directions to DIA: Return to Speer blvd going north. Take the I-25 north on-ramp. Take I-25 north to I-70 east. Exit Peña blvd and follow to Denver International Airport.

A Day with the Family!

Pile the kids in the car and take a short three mile ride east to City Park. There you will find two real gems of Denver; The Denver Museum of Nature & Science and the Denver Zoo.

The Museum of Nature & Science offers three great activities: Planetarium, IMAX Theater, and the Exhibits. The Planetarium and IMAX shows rotate on a regular basis, so you are always guaranteed a new adventure. After sitting down for an hour or two from the shows, it is best to walk around and explore the many exhibits that the museum offers. Some of the current favorites are the Hall of Life, Gems & Minerals, Prehistoric Journey and the Egyptian Mummies. The museum is open everyday of the year except Christmas from 9AM-5PM.

From the Museum you can see the Denver Zoo. The Zoo is open everyday of the year and has over 4,000 animals representing 750 species. The Denver Zoo is one of the most popular tourist spots in Denver, with over 1.7 million visitors a year. The Zoo is also home to Mshindi the Rhinoceros. Most rhinos are impressive, but Mshindi can also paint with a brush. Move over Van Gogh!

Getting There:

• Travel time from I-70 & I-25: About 15 minutes
• Travel time to airport: About 30 minutes
• Directions to the Denver Zoo from I-70: Take I-70, exit Colorado blvd. Go south on Colorado blvd for two miles. Turn right at the intersection of Colorado and Montview blvd.
• Directions to DIA: Follow Colorado blvd north to the I-70 on-ramp. Take I-70 east. Exit Peña blvd and follow to Denver International Airport.

Guys Afternoon

When visiting Denver and you don't have time to make it to Golden's Table Mountain, not to worry head on over to REI Flagship (14th & Platte) and test your climbing skills. One of the REI employees will place you on belay and you can test your skills on the climbing wall which incorporates a wide variety of features including overhangs, arêtes and steep faces. By the time you are done you will barely be able to untie your shoelaces.

Everybody needs a good beer or two after a day of climbing so head on over for some serious couch time at the ESPN Zone (16th and Lawrence). Not only do they have great beer, but everywhere you look is another television monitor, including the restrooms. There are some great games in the back section with full scale hoops, air-hockey and mini-bowling.

When the beers are complete, walk on over to the Denver Chop House (19th & Wynkoop). The first thing that you will need to order is a plate of sesame calamari and the Chop House sampler. Nothing washes the seafood and onion rings down better than a pint or two of Singletrack Copper Ale or a Nut Brown Ale. If you really want to "one-up" the other fellas, when the wait staff comes for the entrées, order the Iowa Pork Chop. This 12-ounce bone-in chop stuffed with Fontina cheese and sage will call it a night. Either that or order another beer!

•   REI Flagship
•   ESPN Zone
•   Denver Chop House

Getting There:

• Travel time from I-70 & I-25: About 5 minutes
• Travel time to airport: About 45 minutes
• Directions to REI from I-70: Souith on I-25 to 20th street exit (212c). Turn right onto 20th, then slight left onto Central St. Turn left onto 15th, turn right on Platte St. REI is on the left.
• Directions to DIA: Take 20th street west to I-25. North on I-25 to I-70. I-70 east to Peña blvd; follow to Denver International Airport.

Lunch & Shopping in Cherry Creek

In the heart of Denver you will find the premier shopping destination in Colorado, the Cherry Creek Shopping Center (3000 E 1st Ave). Just 5 miles from I-25, and 35 minutes from DIA, Cherry Creek Mall features over 160 shops, restaurants, and services and features renowned stores such as the Apple Store, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Lord & Taylor, Macy's, Tiffany & Co., Louis Vuitton, and California Pizza Kitchen.

If you want to venture outside of the mall, check out Cherry Creek North, just across the street from the mall, Cherry Creek North features a collection of boutiques, spas, restaurants, galleries and other specialty shops like the Tattered Cover book store, the Brass Bed of Denver, John Atencio Designer Jewelry, and unique women's fashion at Eccentricity. Park the car, stretch your ski-weary legs, and find something around every corner!

After you've worked up an appetite with a busy day of shopping, hit one of the many Cherry Creek restaurants ranging from inexpensive to elegant, in all types of cuisine.

If you're in the mood for casual elegant, Elway's (2500 E. 1st Ave) brand new steak house co-owned by football great John Elway, offers grade-A steak and sea food with business casual dress. For a quant atmosphere, the Squealing Pig (2700 E 3rd) authentic Irish pub has well poured pint of your choice and delicious pub food. Feeling a little fishy? The Go Fish Grill (250 Josephine Street) is the place for you with the freshest seafood possible and great entrees from land in an upbeat atmosphere. For an inexpensive and quick Mexican favorite, check out Chipolte (140 Steele), with famous gourmet burritos or tacos in chicken, steak, carnitas, barbacoa, or vegetarian and fresh ingredients individual picked by you.

Getting There:

• Travel time from I-70 & I-25: About 20 minutes
• Travel time to airport: About 35 minutes
• Directions to Cherry Creek from I-70: Continue east on I-70, past I-25, exit Colorado Blvd South, turn right onto 1st Ave.
• Directions to DIA: North on Colorado, merge onto I-70 East, take 56th Ave Exit, turn right on 56th Ave, turn left onto TOWER road. Approximately 17 miles, about 35 minutes.

Beer Afternoon

It really doesn't matter if you like beer or not, but trust us on this, the Coors Brewery Tour is a can't miss while in Denver. The 40 minute tour gives the guest the opportunity to see the behind the scene activities of brewing beer. From the malting process to the final brewing process, the tour touches on all elements required to brew the world famous Coors beer. The brewery tour is open year round from 10AM to 4PM, Monday through Saturday, closed on Sundays and various holidays. The best part of the tour is sampling the product in their reception area. You can try different samples of Coors, Coors Light, Killian's, Blue Moon, Keystone, and Aspen Edge. The beer samples are limited in quantity and only available to adults 21+. For more information on the Coors Brewery Tour, please call (303) 277-BEER.

Didn't The Beatles play there in the 60's? Though that seems a long time ago, the Red Rocks are over 250 million years old. Of course the highlight of the park is the two towers that form the top of the amphitheatre: Ship Rock and Creation Rock. Both rocks stand over three hundred feet and create a natural acoustic effect to musical performance. Visitors to the park are invited to hike in the theater area along with the many other trails. The Red Rocks Amphitheatre and Park are located just north of Morrison and west of Denver, right of Interstate 70 at exit #259. The park is open daily from 5AM to 11PM and is only closed during concert events. Make sure you don't leave your dog at home, just like many other Denver parks; dogs are welcome as long as they are leashed.

Getting There:

• Travel time from I-70 & I-25: About 20 minutes
• Travel time to airport: About 60 minutes
• Directions to the Coors brewery from I-70: Take I-70 to exit 259. Go north on Morrison/Colfax to Highway 6. Go north on Highway 6 to 19th street. Turn right onto 19th to Ford street. Turn left to Coors.
• Directions to DIA: Take I-70 east to Peña blvd. Follow Peña to DIA.

Vintage Afternoon

Denver's famous Antique Row on South Broadway is home to over 400 antique and vintage dealers within a span of 16 blocks. Just five minutes from downtown Denver, Antique Row is easily accessible by car or public transportation with plenty of on-street parking. With so many dealers, you're bound to find something to pique your interest. Here's a sampling:

For mid-century modern, vintage clothing, and antiquarian books, visit the 100 north to 100 south blocks of Broadway between W 1st Avenue and West Bayaud Avenue. Frequented by Denver's urban hipsters, these three blocks are home to such gems as Crown Mercantile (46 broadway), Denver Book Mall (32 Broadway), and Boss Unlimited vintage clothing (18 S. Broadway). For lunch or dinner, the Hornet at the Corner of Broadway and W 1st Avenue is a Denver staple with a large menu of standard American fare and welcoming staff.

If traditional antiques and collectibles are more your speed, keep heading south on Broadway to the 1200 South block beginning at East Arizona Avenue. This is the heart of Antique Row extending 12 blocks north and almost as many to the south! You'll find everything from spacious Antique malls like the Antique Center (1235 S. Broadway), to rumagers' delights like Packrat Antiques (1594 S. Broadway), to highly specialized dealers like Hooked on Glass (1407 S. Broadway). Once you've worn out that shoe leather, gather up your treasures and head to Pasquini's Pizzeria (1310 S. Broadway). Another Denver classic, Pasquini's Italian menu includes pasta, pizza to-die-for, and a killer desert menu. For something different in a traditional package, try out the walnut, spinach, and ricotta ravioli or the Bianca style pizza.

Getting There:

• Travel time from I-70 & I-25: About 20 minutes
• Travel time to airport: About 45 minutes
• Directions to Antique Row from I-70: I-25 south, exit Broadway/Lincoln. North on Lincoln about 2.5 miles to 1st avenue. Turn left onto Broadway.
• Directions to DIA: South on Broadway to I-25 north. Take I-70 east to Peña blvd. Continue on Peña to DIA.