Vail, Colorado

MJ5150 · #1 10-15-2008, 10:57 PM

I'm here in Vail, Colorado for a few days. Doing some IT work for one of our clients with multiple sites from Aspen to Frisco.

The village is not what I expected at all. It's real trendy, and full of spendy boutiques. Ritter or Walter Woods should open a shop here. Most everything is closed since this still the off-season. I have found some good spots to eat though. It's just weird that there are no grocery stores, convenience stores, or places with their own parking lots here. You have to park in these huge parking garages.

The high elevation is taking some getting used to. I always feel like I am out of breath, and I get a bloody nose in the mornings. No altitude sickness though. I think I'll have to come back with my wife and son in a couple months.

I go home Friday, and I'm flying out of Denver. The drive out I-70 is real nice.

-Mike

**peabody** · #2 10-16-2008, 06:54 AM

I get out to that area every once in a while. My company has an office in Eagle (just north of Vail), and in fact, if you're using the Vail wireless internet service...my company is providing it (I hope your signal has been okay if you're using it

)

I think what surprised me most the first time out there was the scenery. My exposure to Colorado has always been the Rocky Mountain National Park area...mountainous, green, forests, etc. The Eagle-Vail valley is kind of rocky, almost like a mountain desert. Still it's a pretty area, but just different.

The only other thing that floors me about that area are the housing costs....they are astronomical. It makes it a bit challenging to recruit people into that area. Sticker shock turns into sticker electrocution.

I have to admit I haven't spent a lot of time in Vail, but there are some great restaurants in Edwards. When you bring your family back, make sure you tour some other parts of Colorado, there are some beautiful areas. Enjoy the rest of your trip!

MakiSupaStar · #3 10-16-2008, 09:40 AM

Any snow yet?

MJ5150 · #4 10-16-2008, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MakiSupaStar

Any snow yet?

Not on the ground right here, but up on top of Vail they do. A couple resorts opened on Wednesday, Loveland and Arapaho Basin. I almost went to Loveland, but they only have three runs open right now and most people I talked to who did go were only getting a half day out there. For $50 a ticket, I'll wait until I can ski the whole mountain.

-Mike

MJ5150 · #5 10-16-2008, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peabody

My company has an office in Eagle (just north of Vail), and in fact, if you're using the Vail wireless internet service...my company is providing it (I hope your signal has been okay if you're using it

)

The Eagle-Vail valley is kind of rocky, almost like a mountain desert. Still it's a pretty area, but just different.

I have to admit I haven't spent a lot of time in Vail, but there are some great restaurants in Edwards. When you bring your family back, make sure you tour some other parts of Colorado, there are some beautiful areas. Enjoy the rest of your trip!

Are you with CenturyTel? The Vail clinic on Big Horn Road off exit 180 was hitting an unsecured CenturyTel AP, which is a big no-no on our end and a HIPAA violation. I took care of that problem for them. But it was a nice strong signal with good quality.

I sure know what you mean about the terrain. Coming down I-70 from Vail, it goes from this big mountainous region to nearly a desert. It reminded me a lot of eastern Washington. I live in this type of environment anyway, so nothing really awe inspired me. But this area is a definite MUST SEE for anyone living in a big city their whole life.

I did go to Edwards today, and stopped at a bakery for a donut. I was on my way to meet the clinic office manager in Eagle. We ate breakfast at the Eagle Diner. It was nothing spectacular, but good.

I will make one not so nice observation though....the people of Colorado are not all that friendly from my interactions. I can safely say from experience that the people in the South have the market on kindness and hospitality. I met some nice people here, but the majority where short and curt with me. I did meet some really nice people at the hospital in Aspen today. I was having some heart trouble, so I went to the ER to get it checked out. Sorry for the broad generalization, it is all I have to go by. I realize there are many exceptions on both sides of my comparison.

So far on this trip, I have spent time in Frisco, Denver, Silverthorne, Aspen, Glenwood Springs, Basalt, Eagle, Edwards, Avon, and Vail. Good thing the company is paying my gas bill.

-Mike

**peabody** · #6 10-17-2008, 08:22 AM

Mike:

Glad you're enjoying your trip.

Yep, I work for CenturyTel....it's a great company.

Not only is it a good thing your company is paying your gas bill, it's also a good thing all the passes are open. Doing all that driving can be real hairy when the snow really start to fly.

If you're looking for friendly people, you should come to WI. As long as you don't tell people you're a Seahawks fan, you should be fine.

Have a safe trip back...

MJ5150 · #7 10-17-2008, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peabody

If you're looking for friendly people, you should come to WI. As long as you don't tell people you're a Seahawks fan, you should be fine.

I'm sure I'll get there someday. As for the Seahawks, I dislike them as much as you all do. I'm a Steelers fan.

How much of the roads are shut down up here when the snow starts coming? I saw big barriers like for railroad crossings here and there along the freeway, so it looks like it must happen often during the winter.

-Mike

TallLankyBastyd · #8 10-17-2008, 08:59 AM

Quote:

...I get a bloody nose in the mornings.

Men usually chew their own arms off when presented with that uncomfortable "coyote ugly" situation...

...but women usually just punch the offending male in the face.

Seriously... it is just dry/cold air... when I moved from Montana to Washington I was pleasantly suprised to find that life did not require a mandatory nose tampon every freaking morning!