by Steph
The other evening, I got to enjoy a wonderful dinner with some of our guests. The evening was a stitch with the guests firing questions at me, left and right. They told me at the end that I passed my annual job review, and I could come back to work the next day. Phew.
But, during the conversation, one question stood out to me (ok, besides the “brilliant” marketing ideas we were passing around such as adding cow tipping, among other things). The question was, “What would it look like for me to come here with my family during the winter?” The point of the question was that guest said when he found our website, he saw that we offer winter stays as well. But, although he could imagine the summer vacation concept he couldn’t really wrap his head around what a winter vacation at Vista Verde would be like for his family. So, I began to paint the picture. Here’s how it went.
Winter vacations at Vista Verde are magical. That’s the best word I can use to describe them. The snow is piled up as high as the fences, which muffles all the noise and looks like a sea of marshmallows. When it’s a snowy day, flakes fall gently out of the sky- sometimes huge fluffy flakes, sometimes small tiny specks. On the bluebird sky days, the snow sparkles like a field of diamonds and the sun warms us all as we play outside.
For the romantics, a winter vacation at Vista Verde is like none other. Ok, no itsy bitsy string bikinis here. But, imagine a cozy cabin with a fire roaring inside. The hot tub bubbles on the deck, waiting for you to come out and sit under the stars. No TV, no phone, no distractions from the one you love. Reading by the fire, chatting in the hot tub….it’s up to you.
For families, I firmly believe there is no better place to introduce kids to snow. Unlike the big ski resorts, there are no lines here. No crowds. No hassle of renting gear, figuring out ski schools, finding your kids, hauling your wet and tired kid all the way across a mountain to get back to your condo, dealing with the neighbors who are staying up all night partying. Out here it’s quiet, quaint and comfortable. Kids can experience all sorts of different snow based activities. If they get cold, it’s just a hop over to the cabin to change clothes and warm up. Someone is always looking out for them with our small community atmosphere. It’s easy, safe and fun. And every kid needs to experience the joy of snow at least once while they are still young enough to want to make snow angels.
What do you do? Are there enough activities? Well, give back country skiing a try, or take a skate ski lesson. If that seems like too much technique (it’s not, we promise even a total novice can do it) then let our guides take you out on a back country snowshoe. Ride a horse in the snow. Take a horsemanship clinic in the heated indoor arena. Go for a sleigh ride. We have the one horse open sleigh….it doesn’t get any more classic than that. Help us feed our herd of horses the old fashioned way on the big sleigh pulled by the draft horse team. Step inside for a wine tasting or a cooking class. Stretch out with some yoga. Learn the finer points of using your camera in our photography workshop. Tube! We’ll pull you up the hill with snowmobiles and then you can fly back down on a big, cushy snow tube. If that’s not enough, head into Steamboat for dogsledding or snow mobiling, or even downhill skiing. Trust us, there is plenty to do in between those amazing meals.
If you’ve ever wanted to experience a classic winter resort, it’s time to try Vista Verde Ranch in the winter! As much as I’m loving the summer season right now, thinking about winter gets me excited to bundle up and go out to play in the snow. Soon enough we’ll be enjoying the winter wonderland again.