After Jerome, I finally decided to make my way to Palm Desert:

All of this driving finally landed me here:

Somewhere up this mountain road, buildings began to appear. The buildings soon formed a small town, overlooking the vast valley below. The town was Jerome, Arizona.

I parked my car, wandered around, snapped some photos, and talked with a few of the locals.

I learned that Jerome was established as a mining town in the late 1800s. It soon became a stereotypical Wild West town, complete with outlaws and prostitution. In fact, it was dubbed by a New York newspaper as the “wickedest town in the West”. In 1917, some of the miners went on strike, and the mine owners retaliated by rounding up the suspected troublemakers and deporting them out of town. Despite this deportation, multiple fires, and the subsequent mishandling of these situations by the mine owners, the population of Jerome continued to grow. However, in the 1930s, the price of copper dropped drastically and the mines were soon mined out. In the 1960s, Jerome was designated a Historic District.

Today, a little over 300 people call Jerome home. It receives a decent amount of tourism, but due to its precarious location, this number is kept under control. To me, the city still felt authentic, and I’m very picky about my “tourist destinations” feeling real.

The House of Joy was once a brothel, then a nationally-recognized restaurant. It is now a museum.

When I was approximately 1 hour away, I called my mom and asked her to look up hotels. She’s used to me, so she obliged, most likely while rolling her eyes. She called back, and I decided on the Powderhorn. It claimed quick lift access, which is all I really wanted. However, upon check-in, I was very pleasantly surprised. Not only was the hotel completely convenient to everything, it also featured very friendly and helpful staff, a fireplace, a kitchen, and views of the mountain. I had to force myself not to hibernate over the two night-stay.

There’s a reason why I like Montana so much, and Taos has some of that same appeal. Colorado ski areas are very convenient, but a good amount of them are situated right along the interstate. This makes access easy, but you lose some of what makes being in the mountains great. Big Sky and Taos both feel like you’re away from the outside world. In each town, you drive along a two lane road to eventually land in a little oasis between peaks. I dig this. Furthermore, the locals in Taos were nice and accommodating. I was shown the highlights of the village within minutes of arriving at a local bar by myself.

The skiing isn’t too shabby either. I challenged myself on some of the steepest runs I have ever attempted. The snow was great, and the lift lines were minimal. I was feeling all confident about my successful day on the mountain, when the universe decided to knock me down a notch. Literally. I completely ate it while walking to dinner on my last night. My right butt cheek is boasting a mural of swirling blues, greens, and yellows that honestly belongs in a modern art museum. Either that, or a meditation center. I hear blue is calming.

I learned in Taos that this is exactly the kind of press they don’t want. So, all-in-all, Taos was awful. Don’t go there (wink, wink). Save it all for the poor souls who have to work and play in this mountain sanctuary. However, just to double-check this assessment, I’ll probably make a return trip in the near future.

Places I went:

Martini Tree Bar: Cool locals that are willing to talk to tourists and show them around. Fun après spot, as well.

St. Bernard: Cosy bar. Apparently, it’s also a great place to eat, but I didn’t make it there for lunch or dinner. I believe dinner is usually only open to hotel guests.

The Bavarian: Great on-the-mountain spot for food and beer. It’s located at the bottom of lift 4.

Fancy lodges are also nice after skiing, but I love to hang out with the non-tourists. It’s always interesting to hear what brought them to that particular place. It’s usually something like, “I woke up one morning, packed up my car, drove, and decided to stop here.” I can totally respect that.

Anyway, my brother recently moved to Fort Collins. He grew up at a mountaineering camp near Estes Park, so he’s pretty attached to that area of Colorado. Luckily, I now have a place to crash when I’m out that way.

A few photos of Horsetooth Reservoir in the Fort Collins area:

After this trip to Fort Collins, we drove to the mountains during a much needed snowstorm. We skied Loveland and après-skied in Vail. We also came very close to sleeping in our car, which seemed like a solid idea after a few rounds of Rumplemintz. In retrospect, it was probably a very squishy idea. While I do like traveling, I don’t think I want to become a car-living vagrant. I quite like hotels; I am in one now. So, yeah, there was no overnight car-inhabiting in Vail, but it’s probably just a matter of time. I actually just typed that sentence and shook my head in disgust at my lack of disgust at the thought of living in my vehicle. There is something wrong with me.

Vail:

I’m not finished with Colorado, but after another post or two, we’ll be heading to Taos, New Mexico, where I continued to not sleep in my car. Instead, I stayed in an awesome condo overlooking the slopes. It’s been a great few days.

Anyway…

I made something today.

You will need:

• Leather or suede cord
• Small beads
• Fishing line/Clear thread
• Scissors
• Needle
• A large bead

Start by measuring your wrist and determining how many times you want your bracelet to wrap around it (I chose 4 times). Cut a piece of the leather cord a little over twice the length you measured. Fold it in half, and knot it twice, leaving enough room at the end and in between for your large bead. Thread a needle with the fishing line.

I started off by knotting the end of the fishing line and threading the needle through a piece of the leather cord. I then added a small bead. It’s kind of hard to explain, but you do figure 8′s around the cord, stringing a bead on each go-around. Once you get started, it should become pretty apparent how it’s done and if you are doing it right. If you have specific questions, leave a comment, and I’ll do my best to answer!

Continue stringing the beads until you reach your desired length. It takes awhile and gets tedious, just FYI. At the end, knot the cords together, string your large bead, and knot the cords again. Cut off the excess and wear.

Enjoy!