Easy-to-access great views; $9 lift tickets; New luxury resort; UAP sighting; Historic trail; & More

[00:00:05] Welcome to another mid-week episode of the OutThere Colorado Podcast. Once again, I'm Spencer here with Seth. Hello. Always mid-week but never mid. Tim laughing from the booth over there, Tim on the audio and the video. I appreciate Tim always laughing at my bad jokes. I need someone to do it for me. So it's mid-week so we don't have NFL news to really go on aside from the fact that Caleb Williams' injury not as bad as people thought.

[00:00:34] But we do have some football news. Did you see Colorado Springs? It's going to be getting a professional football team. Our hometown is going to be home to the UFL, is that right? Yeah, the United Football League, which as far as I understand currently has eight teams, I want to say. One of these expanding leagues. Hoping to expand to 12 teams by 2030. They'll be playing at Widener Field. So that should be in the spring of 2027. I'd love to see it, to be honest. We're a soccer town, I guess now. Home of the switchbacks?

[00:01:04] Yeah, and I mean with this football team, the rules are a bit different than the NFL. Than the NFL? NFL, yeah. National football? Yeah, it's real football. Oh, this is a real football league. Yeah, real football. American football. Sorry. Oh, geez. Okay. I thought we were talking about another soccer team coming down here. No, American football. Oh, see, I'm out of the loop. I've had other stuff going on today. This news is breaking and I'm clearly... All right, fill me in, man. So we're getting a professional football team here.

[00:01:30] Yes, yes we are. So it is professional American football, not soccer. Yeah, sorry. Some of the rules are wild though. So basically there's an option to get a 4.60 yard field goal in there. Nice. So we need a kicker. There's no PATs, or at least as we consider them with the NFL.

[00:01:53] Instead, they do this system where you pick to either try to score again from the two yard line, the five yard line, or the 10 yard line. And you get one, two or three points accordingly. Unfortunately, there's no punting if you're past the halfway mark on the field. Instead of the onside kick, you get an option to... I don't think there's any onside kick. I think you have to do a play where I think it's fourth and 12 from your own 28.

[00:02:21] And if you get that, you get the ball back in the fourth quarter. So it sounds like kind of just like a faster paced football in certain ways. Apparently they have like the most touchdowns or something of any league and like the smallest point gaps between any league. So who knows? And so this is not the USFL. No, it is the USFL. The other springtime league that I'm familiar with. Yeah, the UFL. Okay. News just broke today.

[00:02:50] I woke up to a bunch of headlines about that. Right. And yeah, so it could be pretty interesting. I'm here for it for sure. Rhode Island is joining us this next year. Yeah. No news on the branding team name, logo, colors, etc. That's going to be unveiled on October 25th. Looks like they've got a DC team and Orlando team. Am I seeing this? A Louisville team? Is that right? Yeah. The Louisville Kings.

[00:03:21] Yeah. I mean, cool stuff. Apparently the branding will incorporate the city's role as Olympic City USA and then also the military presence in the city. So who knows what that means? Interesting. What could we be? The Colorado Springs? I don't know. Most of the names are taken, right? Like at this point I'm like... Commanders is taken. Yeah. Patriots can't do that. Patriots can't do that. Interesting. Yeah. And that was just word on the street. Right.

[00:03:49] So who knows if that ends up being the final decision there, but we'll have to wait until October 25th. So about a month from now. The Colorado Springs. Boy, I'm on the spot here. There's gotta be some good mascots that we should be thinking of here. Yeah. I'm excited, man. 8,000 seats at Widener Field. Obviously it's a new stadium that was built in downtown Colorado Springs. People that haven't been to Colorado Springs in what, like three or four years or so probably missed it. Yeah. The Switchbacks game is very popular. Very good for that whole South Payone area. Yeah.

[00:04:19] Just bringing a ton of attention and development into that area in a good way, in my opinion. Now we get football. Yeah. Now we get football. So that'll be nice. Yeah. Sorry folks. I was thinking it was soccer. I'm totally out of it. Well, the more you know, and everyone else is learning with you. So the more you know, the less, you know, sometimes. Yeah, no, I had to, I had to like triple check that after you said that I was like, I really hope it's not as way too many people. I don't know what I'm talking about.

[00:04:48] You know, I would love to see some football. I wonder if they'll get players that are like people you've heard of, you know, like out of college, you know, we follow college, you know, it's easy to imagine some of those guys coming out. Yeah. Or some like people that spent like a year in the NFL. Right. Like trying to get their footing back again. Cause you know, you hear about some of those guys in the USFL coaches too. You know, there's familiar coaches. I feel like when I tune into those games, I'm like, I remember that guy. Well, and I'm curious. So it's the same time as a switchback season.

[00:05:18] So it'll be interesting to see how they do that switching back and forth between. It's gotta be good for that stadium. Yeah. Gotta be good for the economics of that state. And they're getting some more concerts there too. Filling it. Yep. Yeah. Yeah. I've heard some good things about some of the concerts recently. It was at Coheed in Cambria and was it Shinedown? I think. I like Coheed in Cambria. I think Jelly Roll was there too. But yeah, you could, you could hear, I mean, I live several miles, like four or five miles away from stadium. Across the interstate. Yeah. I could hear it.

[00:05:47] So either way though, there's your, there's your football news on a, on a non football day. Well, Colorado Springs is getting a new professional sports team. Yeah. Oh, so another quick, uh, another quick news headline. Mm-hmm. There are officially $9 lift tickets on sale in Colorado. You heard about that? Is this Purgatory? Purgatory. Yep. This is always famous to Purgatory marketing this time of year. Mm-hmm. The Durango area, they use the dynamic, uh, pricing for their tickets. Mm-hmm.

[00:06:16] So certain days, uh, are, are priced certain ways. Uh, you also get a $10 resort card. So if you buy a ticket on one of these $9 days, you're actually like getting a dollar extra. Oh, yeah. So, uh, but yeah, right now looking at their schedule, uh, so they're supposed to open on November 20th, uh, opening day, uh, looking at their website now is priced at 49 bucks. Uh, that following week is in that 29 to $39 range.

[00:06:42] Uh, but the final day of November, and then once you get into December, uh, there's a good chunk of days that are $9 a piece. Okay. Um, weekdays. Mostly weekdays. Uh, but yeah, I mean, really, I mean, one of the best deals in skiing, you know, if you don't have a pass and you're willing to make the drive to Durango from wherever you're at, um, you're skiing for nine bucks. I hear it's good skiing, man. I actually have never skied Purgatory. I hear good things about the tree skiing back in there. Mm-hmm. Um, yeah. Yeah. And they just, uh, they have a new, uh, chairlift too.

[00:07:10] That's debuted in this winter, uh, set to open about 40 acres of advanced and expert terrain. So kind of adding to their offering there, um, one of the steepest areas at the resort. So, uh, yeah, pretty, uh, great place to hang out, man. Yeah. Great food. Great, great city. Um, just good vibes, you know, tons of trails, tons of other stuff to do. Look up. Hot spring there. Yeah. Right. That hot springs really come a long way in recent years. Yeah.

[00:07:37] Look up whenever the, uh, uh, what's their big winter festival that they do every year? It's like a week long bash. I might guess the $9 tickets might not be available in that more popular period, but, uh, that would, the 47th annual Durango snowdown. That sounds right. Does that sound right? That sounds right. I know it's a long going tradition. Yeah. It kicks off, uh, January 23rd. Yeah. It seems like a reason to go maybe. Yeah. I mean, even that week though, I mean $49 tickets still. Yeah.

[00:08:03] So, uh, honestly one of the D most affordable, uh, spots in the state, whether you're doing the $9 deal or not. So, um, yeah. And I mean, it's interesting comparables. Like I think of like, I think Cooper is kind of around that price point on weekdays, you know? Yeah. And you know, we love Cooper here, but purgatory is bigger than Cooper. You know what I mean? Yeah. Um, so yeah, that's, that's a good deal. Yeah. I wonder, uh, what their acreage is real quick. I'm going to pull that up just so I know. Uh, yeah. Over, over 1600 skeeble acres.

[00:08:33] So that's, I mean, that's pretty big, you know, that's, uh, like, uh, we're talking about a place where you can get a hotel room and you know, it's that kind of development there. Yeah. Breckenridge is about, uh, it's 2,900 acres. So for comparison, Breckenridge, one of the state's most popular, one of the state's largest resorts. Yeah. Um, purgatory is still, you know, in that ballpark, I would say in terms of a, take away a couple of those peaks at Breckenridge, you're probably looking at a similar, similar, uh, amount of skiing, but.

[00:09:03] I think it's Wolf Creek, 1600. 1600. So right around. Yeah. I thought, I think it's comparable to, to Wolf Creek, but more developed than Wolf Creek is my understanding, you know, some more amenities at purgatory. Arapahoe Basin. Um, what I'm seeing here, 1400 ski bikers. So bigger than a Rapahoe Basin. Yeah. Yeah. It's no push over. Yeah. Cool. I didn't realize it was that big to be honest. Yeah. Um, so yeah, good stuff.

[00:09:29] Head down to Durango, check out purgatory, take advantage of the, take advantage of those $9 tickets. And, uh, if you book it on one of the green days, you get a, which you can see it on the website, but they have green days, book it on a green day and you get a $10, uh, purgatory crash. Well, I think the best thing that purgatory can say, and what I have always heard them say when I've talked to folks over there is, um, you're not going to get your front range crowds, right? I mean, why, why do you and I maybe not know as so much about purgatory because it's so far away, right? We haven't gone.

[00:09:59] And, uh, I think there's a lot of people on the front range who are like that. And if you're on the front range and you're tired of the lines or the crowds, like I think you're going to find a break at purgatory, you know, a break on your wallet too. It sounds like about six hours from Colorado Springs. That sounds about right. Right. Yeah. Traffic. Yeah. I was in Durango last fall for a great trip. Yeah. I love that place. Beautiful part of the state. I honestly didn't realize it was that big.

[00:10:28] So yeah, there's a lot of people like that, man. I hope they get the attention that they deserve. Yeah. Um, so I've wanted to bring this up. Uh, I put a video out about it yesterday already though, but, uh, did you see the new UAP sighting? Did? Yeah. And I saw your video. Spencer's always, he's all over the UAPs, man. The dot wants to believe. I want to believe, man. But this one, uh, so it was captured in October, 2023, um, by a law enforcement officer. Uh, they didn't say where this law enforcement officer is coming from or anything, but just

[00:10:58] the Colorado law enforcement officer, uh, captured. There's a 15 minute clip and then a couple of shorter clips or a few shorter clips that they released. Um, apparently is this person is outside, uh, on, uh, in, in October, 2023. And they, uh, look up in the sky. They see this, this bright dot, um, that looks unnatural. It's flashing, uh, blues, greens, and reds. Apparently, uh, they pull out their phone, start taking video.

[00:11:28] Uh, and it was actually noted by the department of war that they're like, this is like cell phone footage or at least it insinuated it was cell phone footage and a little bit distorted because of that. Um, yeah, it's pretty much stationary though. Uh, said to be about 300 feet off the ground and orb like, uh, for about 15 minutes. And then it, it looks like it's moving in the video. So you can find those online. If you go to, what is it? War.gov or something, something like that. Um, but it's, it was part of their official UAP releases. So, uh, we've had several in Colorado.

[00:11:57] We've talked about several on the podcast, including the one that, um, they released the artist rendering of, and it looks like a Chipotle burrito in the sky. That's right. Uh, this one actually had video footage though. So you don't, don't get much, uh, video. When these things tend to, tend to roll around. We're always trying to build our evidence. We're onto it here. I do kind of want to believe, I don't, I don't know if I want to believe or not. It sounds scary, but it also sounds interesting. I'm all about it. Um, so, uh, let's, let's go back to skiing though.

[00:12:24] There's been some snow landing on some peaks and, um, I saw, I think it was ski cooper posted today, uh, some snow on some of the mountain ranges there, uh, where it's, you know, that upper part of the mountain, but it looks snowy. It's looking like some wintry weather is rolling in. Um, might get some snow this weekend from what I was hearing, uh, light snow at high elevation points, but, uh, still either way, uh, ski season is, is on the way. There's a chance that within a month we'll have somewhere to ski at, uh, in Colorado already

[00:12:54] there as we're getting into late October by that time. Um, one of the most popular resorts in the state though, family friendly resort is making a big jump into kind of the world of luxury. Yeah. Uh, with, with some new offerings they have. Do you want to tell us about that? Yeah. Like you say, we're going to be, uh, skiing here before you know it in the first place. We might be skiing very well. Could be a Keystone, right? Didn't they open the North America's ski season last year? It's always a battle between them and a basin.

[00:13:23] And yes, Keystone is making a big splash here with kindred resort, right? If people have been following along, if people have been driving by there, if people have been going in there for sure, they've seen, um, this complex, uh, rising. Um, and, um, it's really unlike anything Keystone has seen, you know, and it really represents Vail resorts, uh, that ownership bringing Keystone closer to kind of that elevated.

[00:13:49] Experience that you find across Vail's portfolio, right? So we're talking about 107, uh, hotel rooms here, 95 condos, all slope side there at the, uh, River Run Village, steps away from the gondola there, multiple restaurants, spa, um, uh, very scenic heated pools and oversized hot tubs as they call them.

[00:14:16] A sweeping courtyard with, uh, fires where you can eat all the s'mores you want in the evening and look at the stars. And, um, yeah, this is a, this is a big splash for, for kindred this $300 million project as it's been reported on. Um, and, um, you know, the hope here is that, yeah, like there's a, there's a clientele that Keystone is going to capture that maybe they haven't captured before, right?

[00:14:44] This, uh, clientele national international that really seeks this luxury experience and this slope side experience where their vacation can be all right there. Right. As they know it to be in Vail or Aspen, what have you. And kind of Keystone is getting a slice of that now with kindred where your experience can all be in this one place and you can live it up. So yeah, that's, that's kind of a big new thing for, uh, for Keystone this year.

[00:15:13] Speaking of the splash, this, uh, the pool that looks up at the ski lift runs there or the ski runs that, that looks very nice. Dude. Hopefully that's something they keep up in winter, like just year round. For sure. That's my understanding. Also, yeah, they're heated pools. Yeah. This dining room too. Uh, very Broadmoor-esque in a sense, like, you know, tall ceilings, got chandeliers looking fancy. You and I are food people. So we got to talk about the food here real quick.

[00:15:38] Uh, I think the goods tavern is kind of going to be the next opera spot to be in Keystone as part of kindred, uh, cozy looking bar for cocktails and man, the food I pulled up their food menu. What do we, what was I seeing here? Like, he's like pastrami and cheese covered tots. These, uh, French trick chicken drummies. It looks pretty fire. Mm. Pork belly skewers, you know?

[00:16:08] And from there we move on to, uh, got a sushi joint, man. Mm-hmm . I don't feel like there's much sushi in Summit County. Am I right in thinking that? I don't feel like there's too much sushi around there. Um, but you can get sushi at Keystone now at this kindred resort. Kinji sushi is. Yeah. Blue fish in there. Um, and then there's this restaurant, um, that's kind of a throwback to this.

[00:16:35] Um, um, pioneering woman remembered as Lula who used to be in this area serving up, uh, meals to wayward travelers. And Lula's restaurant is part of Keystone, which is kind of going to be this, or it aims to be this kind of down home comfort, uh, food that they're going to be serving up there this year. Hmm. So yeah. New bites. Looks like locals get a 10% discount on food purchases too. There you go. At Lula's. So. Um, yeah, this, I mean, it looks sweet.

[00:17:04] Yeah. It's cool. It does. It does feel like it's a whole compound where you could just live out your ski trip there and have everything you need and be right by the slopes. That's awesome. Yeah. Opened in May, like I said, so people might already be familiar with this place, but we're talking about in the context of it's first winter coming up, you know? People who mostly go to Keystone in the winter are going to see the full offerings of this place for the first time. I want to see how much a room costs. Uh, I think they're like starting around 500 bucks a night. Okay.

[00:17:35] So I mentioned a certain clientele, right? Uh, that's what we're talking about here. And I've, I've heard like the 95 condos. I think it's like 95 condos. Those are like pretty much sold. So really people, people want a slice of this. Yeah. I mean, yeah, you got the money and you got the, uh, got the knees. The keys for skiing all season long. Ski in, ski out, man. Sounds like a great place to be. Yeah.

[00:18:00] Um, here's another little like offshoot thing that I wasn't, I wasn't even gonna, it's not even on my list, but, uh, I'll bring it up because yeah, we should be spontaneous here. It's skiing related. Yeah. Uh, did you see that, um, the, uh, the, uh, Colorado snow sports museum is behind a push to try to get a snowboarders license plate design at least. Yeah. They need 3000 signatures right now. So quick plug for that. If you're a snowboarder out there, I ski, so I can't relate, but I'll, I'd be willing to

[00:18:30] sign a petition for them just to show my support. I'm remembering, isn't the hall of fame class, isn't it like, it's always a short list of people, you know, you can count them on two hands every year, but I think the list this year is like all snowboarding people. Is it? I think it's a big celebration of snowboarding. That's cool. That's part of the hall hall of fame class this year. These, these pioneers who kind of help shape the sport in the industry. Yeah. So that, I bet that's kind of springing off that. Well, and you look at like, uh, Colorado specifically as it relates to snowboarding.

[00:18:57] Um, some of the big competitions throughout the years have been hosted in Colorado. Uh, the, the quote from, um, from, uh, Colorado snow sports museum on this was Colorado is home to some snowboardings, biggest moments, legendary writers, and most influential brands. Now it's time for Colorado to have a license plate that celebrates that history. There you go. Yeah. So yeah. And, uh, I guess I haven't looked in the snowboarding history in a while, but you know, I think Breckenridge

[00:19:22] was really important to, um, to expanding snowboarding into welcoming snowboarding. Yeah. Right. Because people might forget like back in the eighties or something like that, you know, people did not take too kindly skiers did not take too kindly to snowboarding. You know, like there's a lot of fear about what this new form of traffic could present to the slopes. And, you know, there's ski areas here in Colorado that really embraced it. I think Breckenridge was one of them. I want to say Aspen was on the front among front runners too.

[00:19:49] I think there were certain mountains in that area where you, at first you could only snowboard at certain places and not other ones. Yeah. Um, but yeah, either way. Yeah. Interesting stuff. Um, what else do I have here from, from the skiing industry before we move on? It's a ski show, man. Why not? Yeah. I'm getting, I'm getting stoked. Um, When did Keystone open last year? There was a, there was a, he was 10 years old at the time, but a boy out in Virginia

[00:20:14] just got a, the, uh, Carnegie, uh, I think it's a Carnegie hero award, Carnegie hero fund commission award for saving a six year old on a chairlift. See that? Um, basically the kid was, the six year old has fallen off the chairlift. This kid, uh, the 10 year old grabbed onto him, held him up, uh, for four minutes, um, just by his arms while, uh, while ski patrol got some safety padding below him. His name is major Metzger, but it reminded me, uh, as far as the Colorado connection goes,

[00:20:44] you remember, uh, in, in 2017, Mickey Wilson, professional slack liner saved the guy at Arapahoe basin where the guy was on the Arapahoe basin lift. Um, he did, he failed to get off properly and essentially his backpack got caught, I think, or something in a strap. I think it was his chest strap pulled up around his neck and was suffocating him above as the lift turned the corner. So he's dangling there getting suffocated. Uh, Mickey climbed one of the towers

[00:21:11] and then shimmied along one of the metal wires to get down and, uh, ended up cutting this guy free. They threw a knife up to him and he cut this guy free so he could fall. And the dude ended up, I think, I want to say he like, he had some pretty serious leg injuries from the fall. Um, but didn't die, but he also got the same award. Uh, a couple of years ago, Mickey Wilson did. So, um, I, I saw the two stories and it was like that immediate line between the two of them.

[00:21:39] Um, we met him too once at a, at a, what was it? The outdoor recreation, uh, like convention show. Yeah. Outdoor, outdoor retailer show up in Denver. Um, interviewed him like right after that happened, but yeah, he's a, he's a cool guy. Wild, wild Instagram, uh, feed of him doing all sorts of extreme things. And, uh, uh, but just, yeah, the, the shout out to, uh, both major and milk and, uh, Mickey.

[00:22:05] So I hope for his sake, uh, the crazy stuff he's done is all for fun now and not for saving lives since then, man, what a tense situation. Yeah. Usually he performs at, uh, what's the veil summary. Is it a GoPro games? Uh, I've seen him performing there a few times, but stuff he does on Slackline is absolutely wild. Mm-hmm. Um, what else we got here? You see, there's some, uh, you see, there's some issues at, uh, Conundrum Hot Springs lately? No. Uh, I've heard of issues there in the past. Yeah. An uptick in alcohol and drug

[00:22:34] related incidents, uh, as it relates to search and rescue missions. So suddenly they're, uh, search and rescue up out there to the mountain rescue Aspen, uh, cautioning the public about how out, how alcohol and other substances can, um, essentially the effects can be amplified when you're at a higher elevation, uh, when you're soaking in a hot pool, you know? So, um, we're on the tail end of summer at this point, but keep that in mind for winter and skiing and snowboarding. And I know those, the permit system

[00:23:04] and tried to curb those, those issues at, at, uh, Conundrum, but yeah, people are going to be people, I guess. Hopefully at least those impacts are lesser since that permit system. Gosh, it's been years since that's been in place. Yeah. Yeah. And I mean, that was a, in a big way related to human waste when they put that in, in, into play for sure. Um, a lot of people camping up there irresponsibly leaving waste behind, leaving trash behind. And it's, I mean, it's a 17 mile round trip hike.

[00:23:30] Yeah. So it's not easy to get trash out of there. Uh, not easy for search and rescue teams to respond either. And in this most recent case, which they didn't explicitly say this was related to drugs or alcohol, uh, but they did respond. Um, I would say, I think it was the 16th or 16th or 18th of September. Uh, but they responded up there, um, wanted to get a helicopter in to, uh, help a

[00:23:55] hiker who was, I think having trouble breathing, um, having muscle spasms. Uh, and they couldn't get the helicopter in because of, uh, weather in the area. Uh, so they had to hike it in. So that's always something to keep in mind when you're in those remote places. It's like, I think you do tend to see this trend nowadays where people are like, Oh, the helicopter will come get me. And, and there's been coverage, uh, just various outdoor recreation publications around the web cover and that around the world as almost a phenomenon that's popped up. And

[00:24:24] I always got to remember though, that helicopter might not be able to come get you. So, uh, they told people to essentially be conservative with their risk taking whenever they were traveling to that spot. Yeah. Um, that country spot, no doubt. Uh, you want to tell us about this historic trail along I-70? This was on our list a few weeks ago. Yeah. And, uh, it looks really cool. The more I was looking at it, I saw your, your article on it. So yeah, I got to pull that up here. Refresh my memory, but this is a good, uh, this is a good one for your fall

[00:24:53] list. I bet the colors are really good right now. Um, right off I-70, uh, there's the wonderful little town of Silverplume. I wonder how many people know about Silverplume who are listening right now, but looking very, I mean, it looks like it could almost be a ghost town, but it's right off I-70, you know, um, where we used to these ghost towns way off in the mountains and maintaining some of these old structures from the mining days, but that's Silverplume.

[00:25:18] Like it's like this, uh, nostalgic, uh, sort of snapshot in time. And just in the back of town is this wonderful little trail called the 730 Mine Trail, where you can get more of a glimpse of the mining, uh, history going up this trail. I mean, you know, up and down it are the, you see these old dark shafts, you see these old wooden structures, you see these old retaining walls that

[00:25:44] were built along what was formerly a road, you know, servicing the mines, uh, above town there, um, goes like, I want to say two miles, 1400 feet, you know, so you're picking up some, some elevation there getting like above 10,000 feet looking over, um, I-70 in the mountains and arriving to a very curious monument for a rather mysterious man, um, by the name of Clifford

[00:26:13] Griffin. And, uh, stories abound about Clifford Griffin, but evidently he was connected to the 730 Mine up there, uh, evidently came from England and, uh, evidently died tragically. Um, some believe by his own hand, he's remembered as playing a, uh, violin up on this rocky perch that you hiked to

[00:26:37] today. And some in town will tell you that they are still serenaded by a violin to this day. So kind of, uh, one of those trails that, uh, has, uh, a lot of stories that we sort of seek in this spooky time of year, if you will. And also, like I said, like a trail that kind of maintains our, our mining history. So yeah, it's one to check out. And like I said, good fall colors too, along this trail. So right off I-70 can't go wrong.

[00:27:04] Very cool. Um, kind of as it relates to that, uh, if you were to get a monument or some sort of commemoration on a trailer outdoor recreation spot in Colorado, what would you want it to be? And where would you want it to be? Man. You know, you know where my mind kind of goes, man? I don't, I'm going to sound, I don't know. I mean, I don't know how people are like, this sounds pretentious or something,

[00:27:28] but I like, I wouldn't want like anything blocking the view. I wouldn't want my, I don't want, I wouldn't want anything of myself, like changing the environment or something. So does that sound ridiculous? No, no, I like it. So what brought this to my mind is, um, on top of Mount Cutler, which is like right outside of Colorado Springs. Yep. Um, there's a, there's a bench that honors, uh, I just had to look it up,

[00:27:58] but first, first Lieutenant, uh, Uvo, um, and I've always liked that, like put a bench somewhere where, uh, you know, like where to, where it's a good view. Yeah. I love going up there and just sitting on that bench and just enjoying that view. And I think in that case, you know, it's like, it doesn't really, Mount Cutler is one of those places where it's heavily trafficked enough. Like it's in a relatively developed area. Yep. I don't find that disrupting at all. Like I,

[00:28:24] I love that bench and just sit in there and just, um, taking in that gorgeous view of the canyon. So I would have to go with the bench somewhere for me. I don't know where, where that would be, but maybe in a developed area, but just like a good view, you know, sit there and give people a place to, uh, to relax and just breathe in the mountain air, you know? Well, no doubt, uh, Clifford Griffin has a, has a great view up there, man. And you learn more, I should say, like you learn more along this trail. There's like Clear Creek County maintained some great history

[00:28:54] on their website of just everything that went on along this former road. And you hear stories of bloodshed and gunfights, you know, some notorious stories, stories of an avalanche that came down and killed, I think it was like 10 people, um, back in the late 1800s. Yeah. Vaguely remember. So yeah, there's, there's, there's stories like that, that you can, uh, come by on this, uh, trail. And then when you're

[00:29:21] done, especially if you're on a week, it's, I think it's gotta be a weekend. I think that bread bar is only open on weekends. They're in Silver Plume, this little cocktail haven right in town. That's a vibe as the kids say today. Yes. That is a vibe, man. Not mid. Yeah. Not mid at all. Not mid at all. Yeah. Um, I, uh, yeah. I remember you talking about that, man. I still want to go. I think it's only open on

[00:29:44] weekends. Very creative cocktails. Yeah. A very historic building with Aspen around the patio there. So I bet that's great right now in the fall. Well, since we're on the topic of, uh, wild Westie things, um, I, I may have just misled you with where I was going with that attempted to segue, but, uh, I do want to talk about the situation that's unfolding at old stage road climbing area. So,

[00:30:11] um, I'm just going to read the post from the Pikes Peak Climbers Alliance on this. Uh, but they put this up on Instagram. It sounds like, uh, someone is damaging hardware on some of these climbing routes, which can be a very dangerous thing, obviously. Um, there's no indication on, on this post, whether that's intentional or not. It sounds like it's, uh, I mean, it could be intentional because it sounds like it's some pretty significant damage if these reports are

[00:30:40] true. Uh, so their post essentially says, uh, the Pikes Peak Climbers Alliance has received reports of fixed anchors at St. Peter's dome, also known as the martyr area and possibly big chief, uh, on old stage road outside of Colorado Springs. Uh, they've received reports that there are anchors that are damaged, altered or missing. Uh, this includes hangers and bolts that have been smashed, mangled

[00:31:03] and chopped, uh, on a yet unidentified number of routes. So that was put out five days ago, uh, basically telling everyone in that area to be, you know, even more so cautious. Um, when you're, when you're climbing there to make sure that that safety gear that's on the wall is not, um, you know, hasn't been damaged, isn't going to malfunction on you. Um, so definitely a, uh, pretty significant public awareness thing there. And I think a big part of it, I just don't really know

[00:31:31] the extent of this yet. Um, but I mean this, this area, it's not really like a hugely popular area. Um, there was just a guidebook that came out about that, uh, about the area though. So maybe you, uh, you might touch on that, but it is on mountain projects. So people can find this. It has about half the routes. They're sport climbing routes, which are a little bit more, um, you know, beginner friendly in the world of outdoor climbing, opposed to trad routes. So, uh, something to, uh, be,

[00:32:01] be cautious about. And they're also asking anyone who encounters damaged or missing hardware to take a photo and submit a report. Uh, and you can find the place to submit that report on the Fikes Peak Climbers Alliance, bad bolts site. So Google that, um, submit a report if you see something. Yep. Either way, kind of a scam, I mean, a very scary situation. Like you put all your, your trust in those anchors, whenever you're climbing, like if something were to malfunction,

[00:32:25] uh, you're looking at a ball that would most likely mean death, not very serious injury. Yep. So, yep. And you know, we're talking about it here. We're mentioning it here for just like you said, man, I mean, for the sake of safety, making people aware of that, we are certainly not trying to flare any tensions regarding what some might call a bolt war. I'm not hearing it called that right,

[00:32:49] but we have seen, um, in the Pikes Peak region reactions like this. When information gets published, we saw reactions like this happened five years ago, 2021, when, um, really kind of a first of its kind, kind climbing guide came out regarding climbing around Pikes Peak. Um, and like you said, um, we recently saw a first of its kind guidebook come out for a lot of these amazing crags that people may or

[00:33:19] may not know about around old stage road, uh, in the Southwest mountains here of Colorado Springs. And, um, you know, these guides are done in the name of honoring history, you know, honoring the past and these pioneering climbers who established some of these routes and they're done in the name of, um, safety, you know, making people more aware than maybe some of these aforementioned websites and other

[00:33:47] information that in this age of the internet, people get it. You mentioned, you know, a lot of these routes on old stage, you can find information about them. And this guidebook was done hopefully to, um, inject a little more safety, a little more efficacy, if you will, and to those climbers who may go there and to make them more aware of that history. And, um, you know, I guess it's gotta be said that there's a guard in

[00:34:14] climbing circles, um, that, that doesn't want information out there, you know, and believes in, um, an old form of, um, people, people being guided to these places, you know, who do you know? It's kind of about that. There's kind of that, that, that, that belief there and how things should be done. Right. Um, at the same time, I mean, like, I wouldn't want to, I wouldn't want to talk like

[00:34:42] this climbing community is like a gatekeeping community. I think it's a very friendly community, right. Hence these guidebooks that we're seeing, right. Um, I've only known it to be a very friendly community. Right. Um, and so that's like, I think that's why I'm a little, a little sensitive talking about it because I think when we, we talk about it for the sake of safety, right. You gotta be aware of hardware right now. Um, but I don't talk about it to suggest that this

[00:35:08] is a negative or anti climbing community. Quite the contrary. I think it's a very friendly, um, climbing community that is having a lot of interesting discussions right now about um, how we should embrace people and how we should promote these amazing places that belong to all of us and can inspire all of us. Right. So these are some of the conversations I think that are kind

[00:35:34] of going on behind the scenes right now. Well, and I think too, um, so this kind of relates to some of the conversation that we're involved in on a regular basis when we talk about a certain hiking trail or something like that. Right. Um, where, uh, we definitely will maybe mention a trail here or there or something. And like, even with the one we're talking about today, uh, with silver bloom, it's like maybe a local there, uh, isn't, isn't happy that we talked about it. Um, but ultimately

[00:36:02] it tends to be just that, I think the, uh, a much smaller percentage of people that feel that way, uh, to where it doesn't take many people to, you know, and result in a headline like this, where it's like, there's probably a lot of support for this. I've talked to a lot of climbers that are, are totally stoked about, um, old stage road and the fact that more people might be discovering it. And like we said, um, you can find information about these routes already online and, but utilizing a

[00:36:31] guidebook, uh, it does provide that extra layer of information when it comes to safety, when it comes to preservation. It's the same way that I look at it when it's like, okay, we're going to be covering this trail. And, and we do, we do stray away from covering trails that are, are not, that don't have an infrastructure built around them to where, uh, they're able to be maintained. You know, like we stick to covering trails that are very promoted by the regions already.

[00:36:58] Um, but someone can find the trail map online. They can hit the trail, they can go and explore it on their own. Or if they read one of our articles or listen, listen to the podcast and we're talking about it, we have the opportunity to kind of add that extra level of appreciation for the trail, add the extra leave no trace message, talk about how to be on that trail responsibly. So I think in the same way, um, that we approach various hiking trails and our coverage of that,

[00:37:24] these guidebooks give the climbing world an opportunity to do that as well. I think with climbing too, I mean, you see, you tend to see, uh, there's almost like a little bit of like underground aspect to it just because of how few people do it to where it's niche. Yeah. It's, yeah. You'll, you'll find a new route and, um, you sometimes you just have to know the right person to know about that route. And then, uh, if you just send people out there on their own to

[00:37:50] kind of figure it out, uh, it does pose a, a safety issue, you know? And I mean, especially in the case where, um, climbing it's, you know, there's so much more risk compared to hiking, at least if things go wrong. Yeah. Right. Some of the tension to here locally and elsewhere in Colorado has to do with, um, this idea of what the climbing should be specifically in this context that we're talking about in the Pikes Peak region, you know, it's, it's always historically

[00:38:18] been regarded as kind of this adventure trad form of climbing that, that certain people want to preserve. And in this age of more bolt centric, more sporty climbing, right? Like we see at shelf road, there's concern about a proliferation of hardware, you know? So that's some of the tension that kind of comes about when we're talking in conversations like this. Uh, some of the other

[00:38:46] concerns regard, you know, a place like old stage road, um, where there are, where there has been management concerns, you know, where there hasn't been a whole lot of, um, land owner presence, this being the forest service. Right. And what's the role of land managers here? Could we have like a management plan? Right. Some people ask, um, could this place be better protected, um, by everyone

[00:39:14] coming to the table and putting together, putting together a management plan? Like we've seen in some places that destinations are created and some of the more fringy nefarious activity that happens in more wild places kind of gets pushed out and the land is better for it in some cases. So I I'm kind of hearing some interest in that too, about maybe a ball gets rolling toward that conversation. Yeah. And I mean, I can see where, um, you know, you got the old school, old school climbers that have

[00:39:44] been doing things a certain way for so many years. It is their beloved spot, you know, like, um, I can understand not wanting to see something you love change. Uh, at the same time, sport of climbing is obviously just booming in popularity in recent years and it changes inherent. So it's how do you, how do you approach that change? How do you meet that change? Yeah. And how do you approach it from like a responsible standpoint? Yeah. Um, when it's going to happen regardless, you know? Yeah. Um,

[00:40:13] I've kind of heard old stage getting referred to as kind of this golden era boom there, you know, there's more people, um, rediscovering long forgotten or abandoned routes and more routes, uh, being discovered, you know? So when that stuff is happening, what should the response be? And, you know, I think this new climbing book is, um, I think the response of this new climbing book is, is saying, um, Hey, here's, here's some good information. Here's what you need to know to not get

[00:40:43] hurt or killed. Here's the history you should be aware of, you know, the people who came before us and here's how to take care of the land. And I don't know if a whole lot of people would argue with some of those intense, right? So anyway, um, yeah, you can find that. Are they still selling it at mountain chalet? Yeah. Climb book, uh, climbers. As long as they haven't sold out. Yeah. Yeah. I heard a lot of people were interested in it, but you know, and I was there and it was all love,

[00:41:10] man. It was all people grateful and excited, you know, people familiar and less familiar, you know, it was all positive there. So. And I mean, I think too, it's, it's always worth noting that, uh, when you do have a new area, uh, that comes more so into the limelight, it also relieves the stress on other areas as well. Uh, thinking like old stage road is closer to Colorado Springs. So that's probably the main urban center that's going to be like hitting it. Um, but you've also got

[00:41:37] shelf road, you know, like maybe it starts reducing some of the crowds if more people are here and it spreads people around, you know, um, you might see less, fewer crowds and in a positive way, um, at places like shelf road at places like red rock cannon, um, et cetera. Right. But, um, yeah. So, I mean, there's, it's a lot of, a lot of, uh, ways to look at it, but yeah, either way. And it's still kind of niche, you know, I bet, I bet listeners have been, you know, there's been some listeners very interested in what we're talking about and climbing, but

[00:42:06] climbing is still a very niche world, right? Where I think that bears reminding for people who are really concerned about the place that we're talking about. There are natural barriers here. There are only so many people that are, are, are going to want to explore this, this place that we're talking about. So, yeah, I think there, there, there, there can be a level of relief there is, is what I'm trying to say. Yeah. Well, let's, uh, let's take it the totally opposite direction when it comes to rock climbing. You've got to, you've got to know what you're doing to get a good

[00:42:36] view. Yep. Um, I threw this question out to you this morning, as I was thinking about what we could talk on, on our show. Uh, let's talk about places that are easy to access for a scenic view. They don't require a big hike. They don't require any sort of other like technical know-how, uh, but good views in Colorado that anyone can go see. What's your favorite one? Get us rolling set.

[00:43:02] We were talking not too long about the Telluride gondola. That's one where you don't got to do a whole lot of work at all. As long as you can mosey over to the gondola right there in town and, uh, rise above town and see the majesty of the San Juans right there. That certainly comes to mind. Perfect for fall. It's free. It's about 12 minutes, um, goes between a mountain village and Telluride and yeah, a beautiful, beautiful option. Also there in the area. Um, I'm going

[00:43:29] to throw a, a bridal veil falls out there. Um, so technically speaking, if you are able to hike or bike up to the falls, uh, the town would prefer you to do that. But if you're unable to hike or bike up to the waterfalls and you need to drive, uh, if you have the right vehicle, you can drive to the base of Colorado's tallest free falling waterfall, uh, which is great from an accessibility standpoint, 365 foot drop there. Uh, similar to, uh, as far

[00:43:56] as another waterfall destination that is super accessible, uh, rifle falls, rifle fall state park park. And essentially it's a, you know, like 50 foot, a hundred foot paved walk to the base of that waterfall. Uh, it's ADA accessible. Um, so that's another just great view, uh, that anyone can see. It's one of the most like lush scenes in the state too, is something that I've always thought as a, as a takeaway there. Um, yeah, give us something else.

[00:44:24] Hot springs come to mind, you know, where you can just, you don't got to walk at all. Just dip right into the, the, the soothing waters of our geothermal springs and take in a view. I'm pretty partial to Iron Mountain hot springs. I really liked that place in Glenwood. That's on my list. Right along the river, the Colorado river there. And I think the good thing with Iron Mountain hot springs is if you go around sunset, you're right riverside and you are looking out at kind of the, the way the mountains come together

[00:44:52] there and the sunset is just sunset. West is just like perfect. Um, so yeah, Iron, Iron Mountain hot springs going to be on my list as well. Also Pagosa Springs. That's a great one right there in town. Yeah. Uh, Mount Princeton hot springs too. If you kind of want to have that experience of kind of being Creek side in a sense. Um, so yeah, I mean, those are, those are, uh, good ways to consume nature Colorado without really having to do much work for it.

[00:45:18] How about hopping on a train? You don't even got to drive. You don't even got to worry about driving. You can just sit on a train and take in the beauty of, I keep coming back to the San Juans, the Durango Silverton train. You can get some of that signature, um, beauty of the San Juans, just in the seat of a scenic train trains come to mind. And another train to, uh, the, uh,

[00:45:43] Cumbres Toltec. Yeah. Scenic railroad kind of down, uh, it goes from Antonito, Colorado down to Chama, New Mexico. Um, but a part of the state, the tourists don't really tend to see as much because a lot of them are focused on the central mountains. Uh, but this is a very beautiful train ride as well. Um, often dubbed one of the best trains in the country. Uh, another train, Pike's Peak Cog Railway, right? Yeah. We have two 14ers, uh, where you can get views above 14,000

[00:46:11] feet driving there opposed to having to hike. We've got Mount Blue Sky that you can drive up. And then we've got Pike's Peak where you can take the train up. You can take the road up with a little scenic stops all along the way. And then you can also hike full. But in terms of accessibility goes like where else can you get a view above 14,000 feet? Yeah. And anyone can, as long as they're able to sit on a train or sit in the car. Like that's, that's pretty unheard of in the world of outdoor

[00:46:37] recreation. Colorado. Good point. How about some overlooks? I think like the continental divide overlooks that we have here along some of our mountain passes. Loveland Pass is one of my favorites. Yeah. You're up almost at 12,000 feet there. It's free to drive. Yeah. Independence Pass. Mm-hmm. Independence Pass. It'll be closing here pretty soon, right? Yeah. Cottonwood Pass. It's the summit there. Not on the continental divide, I don't think. Is it? Is it? Is it? It might be. Is it not straddling? It might be. But that's a really scenic one too. Yeah.

[00:47:07] Yeah. I think you're right. It is on the continental divide. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, yeah. The multiple ways that we have to view the continental divide, that's pretty unique in Colorado. I think these mountain passes that grant that view up there. Yeah. Yeah. Trail Ridge Road too. And Old Fall River road, both of those. So you can kind of take Old Fall River up, hop on Trail Ridge Road, come down, get a very good scenic view from in Rockin' Out National Park without having to leave

[00:47:32] your car. One overlook that I did want to mention though is a local one. You got the Garden of the Gods overlook on Mesa, which is literally you're just on Mesa Road. It's like a road that kind of goes through a residential area. You pull over to the side, it's a parking lot and look at Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak right there. I know. Also perfect for a sunset. That is an amazing, I know. And I often wonder like everyone who's gathered down in Garden of the Gods, obviously who could blame them? They're getting some exceptional views there.

[00:48:02] But if only they turned around and realized that ridge that they're looking at, you can drive over there and look over Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak. Yeah. It's like quintessential. It's nice to have that lot there. And I will say too, it's like people move in and out of the lot quickly. So it's like, if there's not a spot, you'll probably get one soon. Great for a photo, like perfect family photo op there if you're looking for a family photo in Colorado Springs. Also canyons, right? We have two canyons that are particularly very

[00:48:30] accessible in terms of views. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. You can go up that, what is it, Rim Drive Road. Just kind of the main road, you know, as if you're going to the National Park. It drives up to that overlook right before the visitor center, as I'm recalling it. Yeah. Rim Drive Road. Yeah. Yeah. And there's just little pop-offs all along that where you can look down, you know, 2000 feet into the canyon floor. Then you also have Royal Gorge where you can see it from above via the bridge or the gondola or just looking over the edge.

[00:48:58] You can see it from below via another train. You can also, I mean, maybe a little bit less accessible, but the Via Ferrata that goes down into the canyon there too, where it's a guided, controlled hike. You're not on, you're not out to explore by yourself. Right. Uh, so it's still accessible in that sense, but yeah. Royal Gorge. Good call. You didn't mention Glenwood Canyon, right? Uh, no, driving through Glenwood Canyon. And also taking us back to Glenwood, uh, Springs,

[00:49:26] Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park. Oh yeah. Um, you take the gondola up that scenic in itself. You're up at the top on a mountaintop amusement park with wraparound views. And then they have rides like roller coasters and stuff where you can sit there, enjoy the view from a roller coaster. Like, um, not my idea of comfort, but I guess for others, yeah. Yeah. And eating on a roller coaster, even another local one, the Williams Canyon overlook from, uh, out of Manitou Springs at cave of the winds. That's a really good one where you can just drive up there, hopefully booking a

[00:49:53] cave tour or, you know, doing the pterodactyl canyon swing or the zip line or the rope scores. But that view from their deck is also one of my favorite views. Yeah. So I don't got to earn it all after all. Just sit back and yeah, I think we hit, I think we hit almost everything on my list here. We didn't hit maroon bells, but obviously maroon bells shuttle ride to maroon bells. Yeah. Area too. Um, Grand Lake also a good one. Yeah. That's an easy accessible, great view of just

[00:50:20] water juxtaposed by the mountains up there. Yeah. Uh, great sand dunes too. Another good one where you can just park and you're at the attraction. Like you just, you have to walk on sand. Uh, that they do have, uh, uh, wheelchairs that can go over the sand. I believe I think they have like the fat wheeled, uh, uh, don't quote me on that, but I believe if you look into that, it is one of the places where they've made that more accessible, uh, in recent years, but yeah. So nice man. I think that's

[00:50:49] about it. That's a great, great little wrap. Maroon bells. I saw a photo the other day of, uh, the seasons colliding at maroon bells, a little dusting of snow, the Aspen starting to turn there. Yeah. Best time of year, man. Probably some mud still around. Yeah. All the damage. Yeah. Best time of year though. Best time of year. Yeah. Maroon bells popular for a good reason. Yeah. Yesterday was the first day of fall, right? Was it? Right. Thank you, Tim.

[00:51:15] Tim's paying attention. I didn't do my leaf peeping dance. Time for some spooky movies and some chili. Got to get my chili recipe back out. Ooh. I need to do that this week. Need to, need to bust out the chili. But cool. Um, yeah, I think that's about all we got to chat about today unless you got something else, Seth. Good bro. All right. Well, until, uh, until next week, I'm Spencer. I'm Seth. We will see you out there.