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HOLIDAY HOSPITALITY 22 LUMINARIAS 34 HISTORIC OPERA HOUSES 38 VOICE OF THE OUTDOOR INDUSTRY 86 WINTER 2023-24 / ISSUE 26
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• Homes starting at 1800 square foot • 3-car garage minimum / RV garages allowed • Custom design available • RV parking and storage on site • Stucco exteriors with optional stone accents • Architectural 30-year shingles • Nature’s Composite fencing S • Pressurized irrigation to lot S • Parks & walking paths • LOT SALE from $170,000+ Bring your builder
ON-SITE OFFICE LOCATED AT 848 Fire Quartz Lane Grand Junction, CO 81506 (North, off H Road & 26 1/2 Road)
emeraldridgegj.com CALL JANET TO SET AN APPOINTMENT
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NOTE NEW LOCATION
A = Available for Purchase (under construction) S UNMARKED LOTS: CALL FOR AVAILABILITY
S = Sold U = Under Contract L = Vacant Lot Available
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
John Atencio Trunk Show Saturday December 9th 9:30 AM-5:30 PM
Largest on-site selection of John Atencio all year! Call to RSVP (970) 245-1617
444 Main Street, Grand Junction, CO 81501 970-245-1617 www.mesajewelers.com Full Service Jeweler • Custom Design • Open 7-Days a Week Now in store - Our new John Atencio Collection
Embrace Your Soul Over 40 Natural Hot Springs Features World’s Only Oxygen Infused Geothermal Water Full-Service Day Spa New Private Access Day Club Private Ofuro Soaking Tubs Open Year Round Reservations Required www.dhsresort.com 970-247-0111
Lifestyle magazines that
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coveredbridgevail.com | spokeandblossom.com | yogalifelive.com | wellmagco.com
join girl s on the run !
Confidence
that lasts a lifetime!
Western Colorado
Girls on the Run is a girl-empowerment organization that inspires participants to be joyful, healthy, and confident using evidence-based lessons that combine relationship building, community strengthening, and goal setting with physical movement.
why GOT R mat ter s
Girls’ self-confidence begins to drop by age 9
Girls' physical activity levels decline starting at age 10
50% of girls ages 10 to 13 experience bullying
ques tion s?
Sc a n m e! For more information and to register, visit
gotrwesterncolorado/programs
Contact Us! Girls on the Run of Western Colorado admin@gotrwesterncolorado.org 970-257-9267
Scholarships available!
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a nonprofit dedicated to equity and empowering young women through mountain biking
CO N T what’s up in the west
lifestyle
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VOICES OF WESTERN COLORADO Locals Weigh in on Rejoice
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COMMUNITY STYLE Luminarias: A Joyful Glow
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WHAT’S UP IN THE WEST • The Hotel Melrose • Montrose Regional Airport Unveils North Terminal Expansion • New Clifton Branch Library Now Open • Colorado West Performing Arts Ballet
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ART Colorado Historic Opera Houses Circuit
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MAKER Latinx Makers in Western Colorado: Edgar “EQ” Quiroz + Alejandro Castillo Llamas
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MUSIC The Music Man: Ron Wilson’s Passion for Live Music
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FOOD From the Grassroots to the Mountains: Localized Food Systems Create Solutions
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HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE
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WELLNESS + FITNESS Hot Box: Sauna Culture, For Rent
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WELLNESS + FITNESS Weeping + Rejoicing: Navigating Grief, Guilt and Gratitude During the Holidays
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BLOSSOM Winter on the Farm
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HOME + GARDEN Holiday Hospitality on the Western Slope + Beyond
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DRINK Everybody, Pear Up!
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DRINK 2023 Governor’s Cup Wine Collection: World Class Wines Emerge from Colorado
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EAT Winter Recipes
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EAT Fidel’s: Palisade’s Neighborhood Cocina & Bar Hits Home
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BOOK + BEVERAGE •W rinkles in My Socks By John W. Smith • Chloe’s Cocoa + Collagen Latte
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INSTAGRAM + PODCAST PICKS
E N TS adventure
features + events
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ADVENTURE Dabbling in the Backcountry? This Avalanche Course May Save Your Life
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SPOKE Gear for the Season
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SPOKE Gear Profile: MoonBikes
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FELIZ NAVIDAD Mexican Traditions for the Season
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LUIS BENITEZ Championing the Outdoor Industry in Colorado + Beyond
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SPOKE Athlete Profile: John Gaston
THE JOURNEY OF RESTORING THE UNION DEPOT Reviving Grand Junction’s Historic Gem
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EVENTS Winter 2023
GRAND OUTDOORS Moxie Mountain Guides
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WHO WE ARE Ira Creasman
TAKE A HIKE Kodels Canyon Trail
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FAMILY + COMMUNITY Snowmass Ice Age Discovery
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STAY + PLAY The Carlin: Embracing the Wine-Dine-Stay Concept in Breckenridge
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GETAWAY Scottsdale: Southwest Dreaming + Desert Healing
SPOKE+BLOSSOM
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PUBLISHER’S LETTER
REJOICE It’s the most wonderful time of the year … You may have heard this every December, and while we love ringing in the winter and the holiday season full of spirit, it’s hard to say what is the “most wonderful time” to live, work and play in Western Colorado. To rejoice is to experience or express great joy or delight — it’s that familiar feeling we get each season as we send this magazine off to the printer; the weightlessness of skiing through powder or ripping down tacky singletrack; the love that fills a space when family and friends come together for a special meal. One of my favorite pieces in this issue includes the perspective of five S+B readers, highlighting what hospitality means to them and how they share it during the holidays (page 22). It is a gentle reminder that amidst any season’s challenges and uncertainties, there is always room for gratitude, laughter and the warmth of shared moments. In a world that often seems to spin faster than we can catch our breath, may these pages invite you to pause, reflect and savor the simple pleasures all around. We hope the stories here inspire you to find joy in the ordinary, to revel in the extraordinary and to carry the spirit of rejoicing into the days ahead. With the period of reflection that naturally comes at the end of the year, we can all look back and celebrate where we are, how far we’ve come, where we’re heading next. We can rejoice in all of it, simply because we have the opportunity to do so. May the “Rejoice” issue be a source of inspiration and a reminder that joy is not merely an emotion, but a profound and transformative force that connects us all.
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 Digital Editor Kristen Grace Art Director Kitty Nicholason Community Engagement Laura Mills Partnerships Bobby L’Heureux Judy Shay Interns Chloe Wasserstrom Contributors Chloe Andrews Julie Bielenberg Lisa Blake Jenny Buddenborg Eric Chinn Barbara Creasman Jordan Curet Kim Fuller Kristen Grace Lucie Hanes Jayme Henderson Didrik Johnck Kristen Lummis Cat Mayer Chloe Mayer Maureen McGuire
Laura Mills Callie Newby Karl Nicholason Kitty Nicholason Kimberly Nicoletti Nickolas Paullus Mahting Putelis Lexi Reich Tiffany Savarese Sharon Sullivan Amanda Tipton Christopher Tomlinson Chloe Wasserstrom Hal Williams Ron Winsett Melanie Wiseman
Cover Photograph Luminarias in Mantey Heights by Christopher Tomlinson Spoke+Blossom Magazine Jaunt Media Collective 2077 N. Frontage Road / D Vail, CO 81657
Join the Spoke+Blossom Community facebook.com/ spokeandblossom
Founder Robin Brown
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 © 2023 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.
In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous. —ARISTOTLE
755 26 Road, Grand Junction | CO 81506 970.242.7766 | bookcliffgardens.com
30 YEARS OF
CARE
Last year, more than 3,280 families received exceptional care through our programs of hospice, palliative care, PACE, and grief support. We rejoice in the possibilities that are created by generosity. With your support,
e song of hope continues. Donate Now—scan the QR code below or visit HopeWestCO.org. HopeWest is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization. All gifts are tax deductible—tax ID #84-1207388.
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 Colorado, and is one of the rare adventurers in the area who will take dry dirt and rock over snow any day.
LAURA MILLS Laura is currently the leader of community engagement for Jaunt Media Collective and finds immense joy in her role. She manages newsletters, affiliate marketing + social media for all of Jaunt’s publications! Follow her adventures @l.millsy.
KRISTEN GRACE Kristen writes about all things food, wellness and culture, and she is also digital editor over Covered Bridge, Spoke+Blossom, YOGA + Life and Well magazines. When she’s not devoting her time to writing stories and to the magazines, Kristen enjoys being outside and finding the best picnic spots.
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.
SHARON SULLIVAN Sharon is a Grand Junctionbased freelance writer and editor. She enjoys finding and telling stories about interesting people and events. When she’s not working, you might find her hiking Western Colorado’s public lands or perhaps backpacking in Grand Canyon.
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JAYME HENDERSON Jayme is a writer, photographer and co-owner and winemaker for The Storm Cellar, a vineyard and winery in Hotchkiss, Colorado. When she’s not creating garden-inspired cocktails, you can find her tending grapevines, searching for the perfect bottle of wine for dinner or spending time outside with her husband, Steve, and her two cats.
Luxury low-maintenance living in Grand Junction, adjoining Redlands Mesa Golf Community. Call to find out more about this neighborhood of multi-level townhomes and single-level condos.
1601 Riverfront Dr, Suite 103, Grand Junction, CO 81501 130 E Aspen Ave, Fruita, CO 81521