Winter Park, Colorado ZB

Posted on February 14, 2011 by Chris

Winter Park Lodging Company Sticker

Winter Park Lodging Company has won the ZB award. What is the ZB award you ask? Well, the Zb award the most creative use of the Winter Park/Fraser Valley mascot ZB. And why is our mascot named ZB here in Winter Park, Colorado? ZB is the original Colo license plate numbers that were given for Winter Park and the Fraser Valley ( see picture to the right).

Whew that is complicated!

Here is the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce announcement of our big win in the promote ZB contest:

Winner Announced: The Chamber is pleased to announce the winner of the “ZB’s Launch for Lunch Contest” held in January. Drumroll please… the winner is Winter Park Lodging Company for their incredibly creative ZB sticker. Also, an Honorable Mention to Grand County TV18 / Outside Television for including ZB in a commercial. Check it out by clicking here.

We won we won we won! Look for ZB all through the town of Winter Park, CO.

February Recipe of the Month from Winter Park, CO

Posted on January 27, 2011 by Valarie

Thai Pork with Peanut Sauce

Peanut sauce has become one of my favorites and when Amy mentioned she had a Thai Pork recipe with peanut sauce I knew I had to feature it for a recipe of the month. This stuff is really good! And it’s so easy to do in your crock pot. Serve it over hot jasmine rice.

We hope you enjoy this recipe. The home cooks from Cooking Light’s website rated it with five stars.

Ingredients:

One 2-pound boneless pork loin, trimmed of fat and cut into four pieces
2 large red bell peppers, seeded and cut into strips
1/3 cup prepared teriyaki sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

For Serving:
1/2 cup chopped green onions (white part and som of the green)
1/4 cup chopped dry-roasted peanuts
2 limes, cut into 8 to 12 wedges

Preparation:
1. Coat the slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Put the pork, bell peppers, teriyaki sauce, rice vinegar, red pepper flakes and garlic into the cooker. Cover and cook on LOw until the pork is fork-tender, about 8 to 9 hours.

2. Remove the pork from the slow cooker and coarsley chop. Add the peanut butter to the liquid in cooker; stir well to dissolve the peanut butter and blend with the liquid to make the sauce. Return the pork to the sauce and toss to coat the meat evenly.

3. Serve in shallow bowls over hot jasmine rice, and sprinkle each serving with some of the green onions and peanuts. Pass the lime wedges.

The Grand Park Rec Center – Winter Park, CO

Posted on January 1, 2011 by Chris

Winter Park Recreation Center

Ohhh, the cold has hit us here in Winter Park. It has been almost too cold to ski, almost. For the kids though when it dips to the negatives or hoovers around the zero degree mark it may be better to take a day of and let that arctic cold front just move on through.

And what to do with that day not spent on the ski slopes? The Grand County Recreation Center is the answer to that day not on the skis or board. There is not a better way to get away from the cold than our state of the art rec center right on Winter Park’s main street. Here is some of the specifics of the facilities at Grand Park Recreation Center:

Natatorium with 20ft loop slide, spray & play feature, lazy river, zero-depth entry pool and 4-lane, 25-yard lap pool
Whirlpool, sauna and steam rooms
Locker rooms and family changing rooms
Climbing and bouldering wall
Multi-sport gymnasium
Gymnastic center including a foam and tramp pit (scheduled programs only)
Running / walking track
Cardio, circuit training and free weight area
Aerobic / dance studio room
Drop-in childcare
Pool party room for rent
Multi-purpose classrooms for rent
Beautiful lobby area with fireplace, TV and game tables

Enough activities here to keep the most active of kids and parents busy for the day.

Grand Park Recreation Center hours:

Monday – Friday    6:00am – 9:00pm
Saturday             7:30am – 9:00pm
Sunday               10:00am – 6:00pm

If you are a guest of the Winter Park Lodging Company you can get discounted day passes for only $8 instead of $10. If you’d like to take advantage of our discounted day passes, just swing by our office in downtown Winter Park to purchase them. Call the WPLCo office, 877-329-1383 or 970-722-0707, to get your discounted Grand Park Rec Center passes.

We are here in Winter Park and if the winter part becomes a bit much take a day and enjoy our little piece heavenly summer, The Grand Park Recreation Center.

Recipe of the Month from Winter Park Lodging Company

Posted on December 1, 2010 by Valarie

Yummy Gruyere Will Make Your Mouth Water

Sweet Potato & Gruyère Cheese Soufflé

This recipe is perfect for you if you’re looking for a special gourmet dish to present instead of the same-ol’, same-ol’ yams with marshmallows at your holiday party. The smokey Gruyère is an amazing accent to the sweetness of the potatoes. It’s a little bit of work, but you’ll be rewarded by the delicious end result.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 large garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 cup coarsely grated Gruyère (about 3 ounces)
2 cups mashed cooked sweet potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds)
4 large eggs, separated

Preparation:
Butter a 1 1/2-quart soufflé dish and dust it with 1/4 cup of the Parmesan. In a large heavy saucepan cook the onion and the garlic with salt and pepper to taste in the butter over moderately low heat, stirring, until the onion is softened, stir in the flour, and cook the roux, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add the milk in a stream, whisking, and simmer the mixture, whisking, until it is thickened.

Remove the pan from the heat, whisk in the Gruyère, whisking until the cheese is melted, and whisk in the sweet potatoes and the egg yolks, 1 at a time. In a bowl with an electric mixer beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they just hold stiff peaks, whisk one fourth of them into the sweet potato mixture to lighten it, and fold in the remaining whites gently but thoroughly. Pour the mixture into the prepared soufflé dish, sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan over it, and bake the soufflé in the middle of a preheated 375°F. oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until it is puffed and golden. Serve the soufflé immediately.

This recipe is from Epicureous.com – click here to see reviews and more.

Cat Skiing in Winter Park, CO with Powder Addiction

Posted on November 29, 2010 by Chris

Powder Adddiction Winterpark Back Country Skiing Winter Park, Colorado

The snow is here at the resort and now the cat skiing is starting up. Winter Park Resort has had the best early season snow in years and a majority of the resort os open with great snow conditions. Now the backcountry skiing can also be explored with such great snow conditions.

Powder Addiction will start running their new snow cat starting December 4th. This is over a month earlier than last year and last year there was some pretty spectacular skiing up on Jones Pass. Here are the details of the early season cat skiing in Winter Park, CO:

It has been snowing like crazy and we have some of the best early season skiing in the last 10 years! We are opening early, and offering super special pricing on catskiing:

December 4 – December 21, 2010

$250 for a single seat

$2,500 for a private cat

You must pay in full and ski before December 22, 2010 to take advantage of this offer.

For reservations call 970-726-5442 or email info@powderaddiction.com

Check us out on the web:

Powder Addiction

jones pass co cat skiing To the right is the new Powder Addiction snow cat that will take you up to the top of Jones Pass for some of the sweetest powder skiing of your life. If you are a decent skier at all and have a good sense of adventure you need to take a trip with Powder Addiction. For your snow cat seat you will get some nice wide rockered powder skis, lunch, transportation to the hill and up the hill and a couple of Steamworks beers after, while checking out photos and video of yourself tearing up the white fluffy on Jones Pass. The trip is truly a excursio that you will be talking about all season. There are spectacular views, spectacular skiing and you will be completely exhausted in the best way at the end of the day.

Give yourself or a friend an early (or late) Christmas present and take a trip up with Powder Addiction for some skiing to remember.

Bistro 28 at Pole Creek Golf Club

Posted on October 11, 2010 by Chris

Burgers, Beer and Fun in Tabernash , CO

Have you had a chance to play some golf out at Pole Creek Golf Club? Did you get a chance to try some of the vittles at Bistro 28 in the Pole Creek club house?

Well, Bistro 28 is serving up some of the tastiest food in the Winter Park, CO area and the views are just grand. They are also offering up some great food specials. Bistro 28 at Pole Creek is open all through fall and winter for dinner 3 nights a week. Open Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 4.30pm to 8.30pm with great specials every night. The menu offers a great variety of fresh dishes that include homemade Angus burgers, pizzas, ribs, fish and chips, Thai curries and a great variety of bar food.

Thursday night is Burger Night. Order any burger or pizza and get a free draft beer, house wine or well drink. Friday night is seafood night with great seafood specials. Saturday night is prime rib night with Angus Prime rib. For all the parents out there kids 10 and under eat fee before 6PM.

Nigel Conners, manager of Bistro 28, has done a great job with the wine offerings and the quality of service. So head out early with the kids have a glass of wine or two and relax under the majestic Rocky Mountains and the kids eat free. Now that sounds like a fun evening.

If you didn’t get a chance to paticipate in the full moon snowshoe or cross country ski at Pole Creek Golf Course last winter, make sure to hit the cross country ski and dinner this year. Ski and snowshoe trails for all levels with complimentary hot chocolate and Schnapps out on the course.

Snowcat Skiing Winter Park, CO with Powder Addiction

Posted on August 5, 2010 by Chris

Winter Park snowcat skiing

Colorado Snowcat Skiing

Powder Addiction is back for year number two with a new snowcat and a frequent rider program. The Winter Park Village based snow cat operation provides guided snowcat skiing on Jones Pass right off of US Highway 40.

We at Winter Park Lodging Company were able to take a couple of trips up with Powder Addiction and the operation and skiing were phenomenal. If you have any interest in back-country powder skiing this is a must.

Anywho, here is the details on Powder Addictions new snowcat and frequent rider program:

New snowcat for the 2010-2011 Season.

We have purchased a newer machine and have just finished ordering a custom passenger cabin for it. The new machine is a 2007 Bombardier BR 350. This machine has 350 horsepower compared to the 150 horsepower of the LMC machine we used last winter. More than twice as powerful! This machine is sweet and it will go up all of our terrain without slowing down or struggling on the steep hills. We should be able to average 12-13 miles per hour (MPH). The old LMC averaged about 4-5 MPH. We expect to be able to get an additional 2-3 runs per day!

Prices will remain the same this winter even with the investment of a sweet new snowcat. We are adding a new frequent skier incentive. For every 5 seats you buy the 6th one will be free! This will be good during one season only. We are now taking reservations for the 2010-2011 Season. Get your reservations now and make sure you do not miss out on what promises to be a fantastic season.

Please contact us via email to book your spots for this winter. I will call you back within a couple of days. No one is in the office during the summer but we will get back to you as soon as possible.

It has been a very wet the last few weeks here in Grand County. We can only hope that we get this much precipitation this winter especially in November and December.

Think Snow!

Yes it is August but now is the time to plan your trip to Winter Park for some SNOWCAT SKIING. Let Winter Park Lodging Company plan your excursion and ski vacation.

Check out the above picture, that is yours truly in the red jacket looking at the ground. Also in the pic are noted locals Ed Reagner, Mike Ayers (skippy), Craig Van Way, Chase and Steve Hogan and some other local Winter Park hooligans.

Favorite Winter Park Summer Patios

Posted on August 3, 2010 by Valarie

Backbowl's Patio

One of our favorite summertime activities in Winter Park is just hangin’ out at one of our favorite patios, kickin’ back to some live music and enjoying some cold beverages in the mountain sunshine. It’s definitely a favorite pasttime of mine!

When it comes to great summer patios in Winter Park, there are a few restaurants and bars that surpass the rest. If you have another favorite that I leave out, just let us know by leaving a comment below.

My Top Picks:

- The Winter Park Pub. The patio at “the pub” is #1 in my heart. There is usually live music at least three times a week, plus tons of space and seating for plenty of sunshine opportunities. They also have a tent for shade or rain coverage. It’s also a #1 locals favorite, so it’s a good place to mingle.

- The Cheeky Monk - This is a newer restaurant at the Village at Winter Park Resort. The vibe inside is awesome, and they have like, a million types of beers. The patio is killer, too, and they oftentimes have live music and drink specials during the summer.

A packed patio at "The Pub"

- Backbowl Soup Company – another new restaurant at the Village at Winter Park Resort, Backbowl has an attractive, spacious patio with umbrellas & nice views. They also have live music and drink specials on Tues & Thursdays and the “Adventure Train Playground” that the kids love.

- The Sushi Bar – Another local tradition is to hit up happy hour at The Sushi Bar at least a few times in the summer to enjoy their large deck. During happy hour you also get two-for-one specials on selected drinks & sushi rolls. They don’t have live music, but their parties and/or specials make up for that.

- Deno’s Mountain Bistro. A prime, south-west facing patio, this is a lovely spot for afternoon sunshine. Deno’s wine list is impressive, plus they have all the regular ol’ standbys and great wings. The only catch is that they don’t have live music.

- Fontenot’s – This deck is often overlooked, but for what reason, I don’t know. They have a really nice deck, tables with umbrellas and great food. They tend to be on the pricey side, which may be why it’s not frequented too often by locals, but they have delicious appetizers like fried green tomatoes and coconut shrimp. Not a spot for live music, either.

Other honorable mentions include the Gasthaus Eichler patio for lunch next to Vasquez Creek, Rudi’s Deli patio, and the Mountain Grind Cafe at Cooper Creek Square.

Winter Park Resort Opening Day Ski Season 2010/2011

Posted on July 26, 2010 by Chris

Winterpark ski season opening 2010 Winter Park Resort Opening Day

Yes, I know it is July and sunny and beautiful here in Winter Park, CO but that is no reason to not be thinking of fluffy white snow and the reason we are all here in WP….. SKI SEASON!

So get ready for the 2010/2011 ski season in Winter Park with opening on November 17th, 2010. It should be another epic year here in the Rockies with some great snow forecast already for this year. They said that last year also didn’t those pesky weatherman? Last year was an El Nino year which bode well for the ski resorts in the southern part of Colorado. This year is being forecast as a La Nina year and here is what snowforecast.com has to say about this years La Nina:

a La Nina SST pattern will likely take over for this coming fall/ winter, through possibly the season following (through 2012). This usually bodes well for northern Colorado resorts, but we will work up some comparisons of analog years this summer to see what we may expect.

So, I’m thinking we will be making up for the sub-par snow year of 2009/2010 and have ourselves a killer year in 2010/2011. so the countdown has begun for ski season opening day for the 2010 ski season. It is Wednesday November 17th, 2010 that we can all strap those boards on our feet and hit the slopes with some of that white gold.

Powder Addiction will also be running for it’s sophomore year of cat skiing up on Jones Pass. If you were not able to go up last year and you like cat-skiing (who skies and wouldn’t like to cat ski I’m not sure) you should take a ride up with Powder Addiction.

Anywho, Winter Park Resort opens November17th 2010 for this coming ski season. Need lodging? Winter Park Lodging Company provides the finest ski homes, cabins, condos, town-homes in the Winter Park and Fraser area with the best discounts on Winter Park lift tickets and ski/board rentals.

Highlights from the Blues from the Top Festival in Winter Park

Posted on June 30, 2010 by Valarie

JP Soars at Winter Park Blues from the Top Music Festival

JP Soars and his handmade guitar

It turned out to be another perfect weekend of beautiful weather and outstanding blues performances for the eighth annual Blues from the Top festival in Winter Park, Colorado. This weekend is my personal favorite of all Winter Park music festivals because: 1) it kicks off the summer in Winter Park; and 2) you can dance to the blues music right in front of the stage. You must check it out sometime if you haven’t yet.

The festivities started on Friday night with Curtis Salgado followed by Andy Irvine’s Blues Collective at Music at the Mall at Cooper Creek Square, then moved over to Smokin’ Moes for the official Pre-Festival Jam with jam performances by the festival’s performers. The dance floor at Smokin’ Moes was packed as usual and the musicians were clearly having as much fun as we were!

I missed the show on Saturday, but the highlight (from what I’ve heard) was the Walter Trout performance preceded by the hail strorm that swiftly cleared the park out for about 10 minutes. The cooler air after the storm was welcomed by my festival-goer friends, who came back to enjoy Walter and his band close out Saturday’s show.

Sunday’s show started out with a mimosa from one of the vendors, then my freinds and I settled in our campchairs to take in some sun and music. It wasn’t long though before we were up dancing to the tunes. We had Curtis Salgado, Nick Moss and the Fliptops, Mike Zito, Theresa James, JP Soars and Trampled Under Foot. JP Soars was especially entertaining with his handmade guitar (pictured). His high energy blues, paired with a deep soulful voice, was definitely a lot of fun to dance to.

There were a lot of vendors to peruse between acts, plus good food like BBQ, Fried Catfish and Mexican. I loved the authentic $3 tamale and the mint chocolate chip ice cream for desert. The continual lathering of sunscreen was necessary with all the wonderfully bright sunshine, with no afternoon thunderstorm or hardly a cloud in sight. The Australian hat vendor sure must have made a killing, although be warned, he doesn’t take bargaining jokes lightly.

Ah, just another fun summer weekend in Winter Park, with plenty more to come. Next up is the Free Hi Country Music Festival, the Winter Park Jazz Festival, the Free Fox Classic Rock Festival and the Crankworx Colorado Mountain Bike Festival. The summer was just kicked off wonderfully by the Blues from the Top Music Fest.