MikePaulRegan

A Blues venue that WILL tire you out. The Kingston Mines stages play from 10 or 11 till 4a.m. about every night. How do 60 and 70 year-old blues antiques manage to do this? They double up; one band plays for an hour on stage #1, then everyone moves seats over to stage #2 and watches this band for an hour. Repeat till the sun comes up. Lindsay Alexander and his Blues Band are a regular ticket. Byther Smith frequents. More blues than you can shake a stick every night.

Students also get substantial discounts at the door half of the week. And right across the street is B.L.U.E.S Chicago. It’s not uncommon to see the proprietor of one of these venues at the other one’s show. The ageless Frank Pellegrino emcee’s at Kinston and has won Chicago’s MC of the year award like a dozen times.

The last true ski bum’s haven in Colorado, maybe the Rockies. Romantically unchanged; great music festivals, big air competitions in the middle of main street in town, the Mayor himself gets drunks and hucks himself off the kickers during snowboard/ski competitions.

Funky, ecclectic food (Secret Stash, Ginger Cafe), watering holes at every corner, and better slopes, though much fewer, than Aspen, Vail and Breckeridge. Matchstick Productions (Ski Movie) and Two Planks Productions are based right in town.

As a bonus, the Butte hosts world class mountain biking; switchbacks and single tracks to make you puke as well as easy sage rides through the valleys. The single tracks take you through golden Aspen groves in the fall. The last three weeks of September are the best biking weeks here. If you’re up for it you can even ride all the way to the Maroon Bells near Aspen (30 or 40 miles). Some locals do that trip three times in one day.

Men’s Journal magazine just published a big write up on Crested Butte and Mayor Allen Berhnholz (? not sure on that last name). This town of 1,500 is in threat of becoming another ski resort town, so if you go, please leave it like you found it!

...not much else. Northern New Mexico is quite beautiful, but it doesn’t have the best of anything unless you want to see ancient pueblos and Native American caves. If this is your speed, go to the Chaco Canyons in the Northwest part of the state.

Santa Fe is a glorified art and jewelry gallery where people go to chill out. Nothing especially captivating after a day and a half. Better scenery in Taos.

Do yourself the pleasure of camping outside in Zion. Then go into Springdale, rent a mountain bike from Fred at Freddy’s Bike Shop (I think that’s the name). Fred is a great guy. Tell him you want to ride an out-and-back to the Radio Tower Trailhead.

The first mile hugs the edge of a 150+ foot canyon drop-off down to the Virgin River. The single track is nothing steep, but fairly technical and a long way down if you bail to the right. It’s incredible though; by the time you’re heading back in with the canyon on your left, you’ll be whooping at the top of your lungs while you zip along the edge.