Well hello there lovely peeps and WELCOME! Sorry it's taken me so long to kick this blog into gear. Here it is, FINALLY, the long awaited return of my winter writings... just in time for spring. Ha.
If I remember correctly, I last left all you sweets with tales of my Canadian journey. Insights into what was truly an inspiring experience for me mentally, personally, emotionally, physically, and any other 'ally' you can think of. Still growing into my own with lots of room to evolve. I sit here on my couch, in no better place to continue my morphesis than Steamboat Springs, CO. In case some of you missed the memo sent out this fall (I swear my secretary sent it out, or so she says), I am currently perched in Da Boat and loving it. After leaving Whistler, I found myself ansy for another winter in the mountains. Where to go for 2010? Your guess was as good as mine. Tried to get back into Canada, not necessarily back into Whistler. What an amazing experience that was, but not my style. Even got my dual British Citizenship (ha, worst idea the UK and Northern Ireland ever made), but apparently Canada take 2 was not what life had planned out for me. Quite alright with me because surprise surprise... I find myself falling in love with yet another amazing place. Colorado is everything 'they' preach about, and then some. It's common knowledge people move out here for the winter, and end up staying because of the summers. If that's true then well I'm set to be a 'lifer' pending my staying here this summer. For the fam, friends, and co-workers that said 'Cheyna you go to Colorado you're not coming back'... well I now find myself in a dilema.
As for this summer, probably gonna be a last minute decision... but I'm pretty sure I'll be back in SD. That's right mamacita y papa... you'll have your Cheyn back.
Enough about summer, there's still a month of shredding to do and I'm not finished with winter yet. You see there's something special about Steamboat that sets it apart from the rest of this beautiful state. Being the only ski resort tucket in the NW corner, the snow that lands here is... well special. The way the valleys have formed make Steamboat the only resort in CO to get that 'champagne' powder. Extra dry, super light (call it a brut if you will) snow that sparkles like no other flakes around. Only Snowbird and Bryton in Utah can get this snow, if they're lucky. Other hills claim to have that 'champagne' powder (now trade-marked by SS), but they don't. I could go on forever about this 'pixie dust', but I won't. I'll save your retinas and move on to other matters.
Now that you've gotten the low-down on the thing that brought me out here, let me dish up a bit of Steamboat Springs histroy for ya'all. First used by the Ute Indians, Steamboat Springs now sits in the midst of the Yampa Valley. Settled in the 1800's, it wasn't til three French Settlers were passing through the area that Steamboat got it's name. They heard a 'chugging' noise as they were crossing the lands. Assuming there was a large river near by, they declared it a Steamboat. I'm sure much to their amazement, they were shocked to find out that it was merely a natural spring geyser that went 'chug chug.' As for the river, well it could barely hold a kayak... let alone a Steamboat. The Steamboat stuck but the chugging noise did not. After the railroad was built in 1908, the geyser was no longer chugging and still hasn't to this day.
With a mixture of true cowboy ranchers and down to earth ski bums, Steamboat holds it's own character that separates it apart from the rest. No richy bitchy ski snobs here, no for that you're going to have to head to Vail. Here all you find is a bunch of smiles and empty beer cans. Gorgously different, and proud of it.
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