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WESTERN SLOPE APOTHECARIES 12 SNOWSPORTS + ART 32 WILDERNESS SURVIVAL TIPS 44 CELEBRATING AVALON’S CENTENNIAL 64 WINTER 2022-23 / ISSUE 22
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VIEWS!
• Homes starting at 1800 square foot • 3-6 bedroom • 3 car garage minimum • RV parking and storage on site • Stucco exteriors with optional stone accents • Architectural 30-year shingles • Nature’s Composite fencing A • Pressurized irrigation S • Parks & walking paths • LOTS FOR SALE ON-SITE OFFICE LOCATED AT 2649 Emerald Ridge Lane Grand Junction, CO 81506
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O = Office A = Available for Purchase (under construction)
(North, off H Road & 26 1/2 Road)
S = Sold
emeraldridgegj.com CALL JANET TO SET AN APPOINTMENT
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UNMARKED LOTS ARE AVAILABLE
U = Under Contract
We look forward to working with you to design and build your new home in Emerald Ridge! For more information, contact New Horizons Development, Inc.
JANET ELLIOTT
GRI, CRS, ABR
Broker/Owner
REALTOR®, ABR, CRS, GRI 970-250-0765 N1323D@msn.com
A Tradition We Can All Share
www.enstrom.com
CO N T what’s up in the west
lifestyle
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VOICES OF WESTERN COLORADO Locals Weigh in on Embrace
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WHAT’S UP IN THE WEST Lowell School: Preserving History + Embracing the Future
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WHAT’S UP IN THE WEST Mesa County Libraries Breaks Ground on New Clifton Branch
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BOOK + BEVERAGE •T he Snowy Cabin Cookbook: Meals and Drinks for Adventurous Days and Cozy Nights by Marnie Hanel + Jen Stevenson • Snowed In Cocktail
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S+B’S INSTAGRAM + PODCAST PICKS
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STYLE Fahion Icons at Aspen Gay Ski Week
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BLOSSOM Western Slope Apothecaries: Health + Internal Wealth
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HOME + GARDEN Style Your Home for Winter
MAKER Sunward Jewelry
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DRINK The FOCI Experience
ART Art Under Your Feet: The Graphics Behind Colorado-Based Skis + Snowboards
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DRINK The Western Sour
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MUSIC WinterWonderGrass: Colorado’s Homegrown Festival Turns 10
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DRINK Snow Capped Cider: Taste as Rich as the History
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HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE Special Advertising Section
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EAT Winter Recipes
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WELLNESS + FITNESS Winter Skincare for the Dry Season
E N TS adventure
features + events
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ADVENTURE Mountain Mel Can Help: Are You Confident in Your Wilderness Survival?
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CELEBRATING THE AVALON’S CENTENNIAL “Its History is Our History”
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SPOKE Athlete Profile: Baker Boyd
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SPOKE Gear for the Season
LOCAL FOOD IN WESTERN COLORADO A Forgotten Golden Thread
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SPOKE Gear Profile: mountainFLOW EcoWax
THE LIFE OF A TRIATHLETE Year-Round, Athletes Train Physically + Mentally
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HELP IS HERE Hazardous or Hard to Recycle?
GRAND OUTDOORS Nordic Skiing on Grand Mesa
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EVENTS Winter 2022-23
TAKE A HIKE Jeep Arch Trail
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WHO WE ARE Betsy Seabert, Founder of Chill Angel
COMMUNITY Church Living
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GETAWAY Swiss Dreams: Winter Visit to Zermatt
SPOKE+BLOSSOM
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PUBLISHER’S LETTER
EMBRACE Of all the twists, turns, ups and downs the past three years have brought us, the reminder to lean in and embrace who and what we cherish seems all the more important in reminding us of our humanity. Life is that way — pulling us in all kinds of directions, just to then invite us to come back to center, to home, to heart. To embrace is also to welcome something new, to learn and grow. Really then, we must choose to embrace in order to evolve. It’s a wonderful time to live, work, play and visit Western Colorado. So much innovation and collaboration is really starting to flourish after much time spent laying roots for growth. How inspiring to see pieces of legacy like Avalon Theatre in Grand Junction celebrating its centennial anniversary (page 64), and Snow Capped Cider tapping into taste as rich as its history (page 22), while Colorado ski and snowboard companies are creating pieces with artists to make a memorable mark on snowsports (page 32). Our print issues come out each season with a mission to celebrate the strong core of Western Colorado and the beating hearts of its communities. As we take extra time to be with friends, family, community and nature this winter season, let this issue remind us to embrace it all a little bit more.
Kim Fuller with Bobby L’Heureux Publishers of Spoke+Blossom Founders of Jaunt Media Collective
Instagram @spokeandblossom
twitter.com/ spokeandblossom
Keep in touch with us between issues! Check out our website, spokeandblossom.com, for updates and events, and follow us on social media. Scan this QR code with your smart phone to be taken directly to our website.
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This magazine is shareable and recyclable. Please don’t throw it in the trash.
Publisher Jaunt Media Collective Editor-In-Chief Kim Fuller Managing Editor Lexi Reich Assistant Editor Lauren Farrauto Art Director Kitty Nicholason Advertising Bobby L’Heureux Judy Shay Interns Robyn Britt Erin Phillips Contributors Julie Bielenberg Lisa Blake Stephen Doyle Lauren Farrauto Kim Fuller Kristen Grace Lucie Hanes Jayme Henderson Gus Jarvis Olivia Lyda Cat Mayer Maureen McGuire Laura Mills Jeremy Nelson Kimberly Nicoletti Erin Phillips Matt Powers Madison Rahhal Lexi Reich Gabriela Reitz Sharon Sullivan Melanie Wiseman Cover Photograph Courtesy of Rossignol
Join the Spoke+Blossom Community facebook.com/ spokeandblossom
Founder Robin Brown
Spoke+Blossom Magazine Jaunt Media Collective 2077 North Frontage Road / D Vail, CO 81657 For advertising, contact ads@spokeandblossom.com 815.414.9642 Get in touch! We would love to hear from you. Please send your comments to letters@spokeandblossom.com Copyright © 2022 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior written permission. Printed in Colorado.
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D R I N K
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contributors
LUCIE HANES Lucie is a trail runner, climber, writer and mental strength consultant for outdoor athletes. She’s taken her Southern blood from sea level in Virginia all the way to the high mountains of Eagle, and is one of the rare adventurers in the area who will take dry dirt and rock over snow any day.
STEPHEN DOYLE GABRIELA REITZ
Steve and his wife Sibylle moved to Glade Park in 2003 after living twenty years in New York City. He serves as president of the Avalon Theatre Foundation. You can usually find Steve playing golf at Redlands Mesa or sometimes rehearsing with the High Desert Opera.
Gabi is a Colorado native and adventure enthusiast. Her favorite pastimes include hiking, floating the river, hanging out with her cat, reading romance books and writing super cool articles. Gabi is currently an undergraduate student at Stanford University and hopes to continue her career in journalism.
JULIE BIELENBERG Julie is a Colorado writer producing over 75 pieces a year for outlets such as AAA, Rachel Ray in Season, Cayman Airways, Caribbean Journal, Cowboys & Indians, USA Today and Vail Daily. She has been the state’s #1 agritourist for 10 years and is always in search of field, farm, forest and forage. She has three children, a pandemic puppy and an avid, outdoors husband.
GUS JARVIS Gus is a Montrose-based writer who spends his summers in search of live music, big brown trout and desolate river canyons. A former fishing guide on the Gunnison Gorge, he now works to hone his skills of writing short stories. He lives with his wife, Torie.
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ERIN PHILLIPS Erin is a writer and adventure photographer in Sandpoint, Idaho. She’s an experienced outdoor guide and is currently studying to be a yoga teacher. She is humbled and honored to listen to people’s stories and finds great healing in sharing her own. Find her at erinmariedesigns.com and IG: @erinmp93.