The two children appeared as if they ran through a Jackson Pollock painting. It’s unique to find kids who want to use their valuable summer time in Keystone real estate on being educated about nature. They were given fluorescent paint in several colors, a present from a few of the counselors. The counselors were painted and dressed up like various weeds and mountain plants and of course Mother Nature, and they ended up having more paint on them than the children.

It’s all part of a new enterprise at KSS called “Flower Power”. This is a mixture of tag and capture the flag with a little Discovery Channel tossed in for good measure.  The students had to locate the “flowers,” obtain some basic facts about them and return to “Mother Nature” to get whatever the plants needed to survive, all the while taking care to avoid being attacked by the “weeds.” Joel Egbert, one of the KSS camp directors, noted that Flower Power is just a typical day at KSS and that the staff enjoy it just as much as the kids do, if not more.  “Not a lot of occupations offer you the chance to produce a world,” he declared.

Three core principles

Egbert said, “Kids deserve to have magic, they really do,” explaining that what makes the camp unique and keeps the kids coming back are the camp’s three core concepts of science, fun, and adventure. In terms of science, the activities are focused on one particular theme which is then woven into the day’s lessons.  “You can find other fantastic camps, but they are usually outdated,” Egbert said. “We’re very forward-thinking. We search for techniques to truly connect to science.”

The KSS staff favors an active course of schooling rather than presenting Ben Stein-type lectures. On Tuesday, the children were taken on a hike on the EarthTrack to expose them to the great outdoors. During a woodland hike, the staff gently weave lessons into games and a scavenger hunt. The culmination was when the counselors had the campers demonstrate the interdependence of the different plants and animals in the food web using an interwoven string. The whole web fell apart when a camper holding the part that represented the sun dropped his end.  “You are the most important element!” one camper shouted to the sun. The offended sun replied “I know, I already said that.”

This active way to be taught must be succeeding because children keep returning to the camp. According to Jordan Egbert, Joel’s brother and a member of the KSS staff, 70% to 80% of campers have been at the camp before. A month to a month and a half is what quite a few of the kids sign up for, he added.  According to Jordan Egbert, the returning kids eventually end up teaching the other kids.

The Egberts said they were interested in KSS for both “selfish and selfless reasons.” Selfishly they wanted to spend as much time as possible in the mountains taking part in any and all outdoor activities, but selflessly they really wanted to work with children. This sort of interconnectivity is what allows KSS to thrive.  Jordan Egbert said, “These kids give you the same experience you give them.”

ARE YOU SEARCHING FOR THE PERFECT CONDOMINIUM, LOT, OR KEYSTONE HOME FOR A SINGLE FAMILY? GET YOUR KEYSTONE UPDATE FROM JONNA BEADSLEY – BRECKENRIDGE ASSOCIATES TODAY! MANY FANTASTIC OPPORTUNITIES ARE AVAILABLE FOR HOME OWNERS. JONNA@BRECKEN – Phone: (970) 390-2533

Not only does Breckenridge come to life in Gilliland’s books, but so does historic Summit County in the neighboring communities of Frisco, Dillon, Silverthorne, Keystone, Montezuma, and Copper Mountain.   

Scheduled for publication Spring 2009, the new book revisits the first gold strike in Breckenridge in 1859.  In the meantime, future residents of Breckenridge CO homes can pick up Gilliland’s other books detailing the Colorado high country, history, and hiking and skiing trails.  Walk through the passages in the New Summit Hiker (2006) where Gilliland guides hikers to wilderness trails, waterfalls, alpine lakes, wildflower meadows, and incredible sites with panoramic mountain views.  Readers enter the gateway to the Colorado peak experience.

Pick up a copy of SUMMIT, A Gold Rush History of Summit County Colorado (2006) to learn about alpine mine camps, highline stagecoach and narrow gauge railway routes, Ute Indian sites, and the Rocky Mountain frontier.  SUMMIT offers colorful accounts of Colorado’s flourishing gold and silver rush 1859-1910.

Gilliland’s secret writing skill comes from her sense of humor.  As she explained to Andrew Tolve in the Colorado Summit Magazine, “It’s hilarious what goes on.  People are plain funny.  They just are.  What angling people will do and the shenanigans they will pull against each other….Some of the personalities today are as humorous as the ones yesterday.  I’m always richly enjoying people.”

So she could pen Rascals, Scoundrels, and No Goods (2005) about the “escapades of charlatans, swindlers, seducers, rogues, and imposters…scamps and hooligans.”  Gilliland writes, “A Victorian lady would rush for her smelling salts at the first whiff of scandal—and so may you.”

Don’t let the squirmy accounts keep you from investigating the great values available today in our gorgeous mountain ski hamlet.  Who knows?  You, too, may strike it rich after you purchase your own mountain retreat.

Jonna Beardsley of Breckenridge Associates offers a wealth of information about real estate in the Rocky Mountains.  Call Jonna at (970) 453-2200 for friendly, professional assistance.

The Nordic Centers of Summit County—Breckenridge, Gold Run, and Frisco—strive to support the Nordic experience for everyone.  Each location provides over 80 kilometers of groomed trails.  Additionally, the whole family is invited to special events like fun snowshoe walks, kid’s races with prizes, and short and distance courses.

The Nordic atmosphere in Summit County is casual and friendly.  Throughout the winter season from November to April, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing are not only captivating but affordable.  Rentals are hired out daily or for multiple days.   Up-and-coming skiers and snowshoers can try both sports at no extra cost by trading skis for snowshoes or vice versa any time.  To ensure a great variety of adventures, trail pass tickets are interchangeable between all three centers.

The excellent support at the Nordic centers encourages people to return year after year.  Through group and private lessons and specialty clinics, professionals introduce people to the sports.  They offer “Learn to Ski” packages, mapped and marked trails, and help with waxing.  After beginning in sunny locations with warming huts and flat terrain, people head out to the rolling hills, open meadows, and beaver ponds.  Then up to the higher and steeper terrain for the advanced and expert Nordic recreationists.

Waxing clinics teach skiers to care for skis.  Personalized wax demos with individualized instruction are available along with waxing services, waxing benches, and ski-repair shops.  Note that better performance can be achieved by using the best waxing products. 

To dress for success in the warm winter sports, newcomers should wear adjustable light-to-heavy layers, hats, gloves, and sunglasses.  Local retail shops are savvy about the technical wear and après ski apparel necessary to be comfortable.  It’s also a good idea to tuck a camera into one pocket to capture the splendor of the great outdoors.  Whether gliding in the classic set tracks on manicured snow, freestyle skiing on packed surface, or walking, jogging or running through the woods near the Continental Divide, this Nordic recreation will christen your new Rocky Mountain vacation lifestyle.

Jonna Beardsley of Breckenridge Associates is a long-time resident and Realtor.  Call Jonna at (970) 453-2200 for friendly professional real-estate assistance in the Rocky Mountain area.

One big reason to buy family vacation homes in Summit County—Colorado’s playground—is for the variety of intergenerational recreational activities that everyone in the family will enjoy.  Starting at the Breckenridge Nordic Center or the Frisco Nordic Center, residents and guests can interchange cross-country skis for snowshoes.  Both centers are accessible via the free shuttle route.

Breckenridge Nordic Center, located at the clubhouse of the Breckenridge Golf Course, offers 16 kilometers of snowshoeing on scenic nature trails.  Great conditions extend from the lower Beaver Meadows to The Colorado.  Snowshoe tours are offered daily.  By advanced reservation, there are also special moonlight snowshoe tours at night.  At times, a last-minute walk in can be accommodated.  Snowshoe tours are also available at the Frisco Nordic Center by reservation only. 

During January, the Tour the Summit by Ski or Snowshoe festival invites the entire community out for a ski or snowshoe 10 kilometer run from Breck to Friso.   The fun event benefits Friends of the Dillon Ranger District.  Participants include everyone from babies, children, youth, and young professionals, to the “middle aged” and seniors to centurions.

Frisco also has free sledding hills, a kid’s log cabin, kick sledding, and children’s tours by pulk sled.  Built specifically for carrying children and cargo, pulk sleds are a growing segment of the cross-country ski experience.  They are much easier and safer than skiing or snowshoeing with a baby in a backpack or a front child-carrier.

The more adventurous can explore two Nordic skier tunnels along a continuous looped trail system or set out for the warming huts at Hallelujah Hut and/or Kathy’s Viewpoint.  There are an infinite number of destinations around the authentic Victorian mining town.  Along the Ten Mile Range to the Continental Divide, discoveries are in store year after year.

Jonna Beardsley of Breckenridge Associates is a long-time resident in Breck.  She offers a wealth of information and affordable local options.  Call Jonna at (970) 453-2200 for friendly, professional real-estate assistance in the Rocky Mountain area.

Buyers who come looking for vacation real estate in Breckenridge during this week, January 13-16, can watch how the blocks of snow are built and even join in the fun helping the Town of Breckenridge to make it happen.

T blank canvases of snow that are carefully planted around the Riverwalk Center and Blue River Plaza will be turned into awe-inspiring snow sculptures by the teams of artisans.  Each four-person team carves a unique sculpture into its twenty ton block of snow.  Using no power tools—only creativity and hands—the sculptors form their masterpieces before thousands of spectators.

Sculpting begins January 20 and ends, usually with a flurry of all-night finishing touches, on Saturday, January 21 at 10:00 a.m.  As judges observe the emerging designs, spectators may also voice their opinions by voting.  On January 25, a panel of artists awards the top three teams on the basis of theme, style, and technique.  They will also announce the winners of the awards for People’s Choice, Kids’ Choice, and Artists’ Choice.

Another interesting element of the event is the exhibit at the Snow Sculpture Headquarters in Riverwalk Center.  The stories from the last two decades of Budweiser International Snow Sculpture Championships will be displayed.  Everyone can learn about the roots of the event, the competitors, the beauty and fun that the Championships bring to this historic village.  They began as a tribute to the God of Snow during the annual January Ullr Fest and grew into an international event.

The event leaves a spectacular Ice Village at the Riverwalk Center.  Glowing statues remain on display, weather permitting, until February 1.  At that time, they disappear during the night.

The teams selected to participate in this competition include Team Bulgaria, Team Canada Ontario, Team Canada Yukon, Team Canada U.S., Team China, Team German, Team Mexico, Team Netherlands, Team Spain, Team Switzerland, Team U.S. Alaska, Team U.S. Breckenridge, Team U.S. Loveland, Team Minnesota, Team Vermont, and Team Wyoming.

Jonna Beardsley of Breckenridge Associates is a long-time resident and Realtor and may share her own stories about the snow sculpting competitions in town.  Call Jonna at (970) 453-2200 for friendly professional real-estate assistance in the Rocky Mountain area.

Film, Theater, Entertainment:  Every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday through the summer, Breckenridge’s Blue River Plaza is alive with free performances.  The events include music, theater, art, culture, sports, historical displays, and activities for children.  Our award-winning Backstage Theater offers splendid productions several times a year.  Every September, the Breckenridge Festival of Film features celebrity guests, filmmakers, premier shows, seminars, special events, parties, and dozens of independent films. 

Art:  All year round, over a dozen galleries provide everything from fine art to great prints, posters, and photos in various themes from Southwestern or Western to Nuevo deco.  During the summertime, the community hosts three art festivals attended by some of the best artists in the nation.  In addition, the Arts District, a pedestrian friendly area with outdoor and indoor spaces for workshops, features artists-in-residence, galleries and cultural events and bustles with creativity and opportunities for everyone.

Museums:  Beginning at the Welcome Center, visitors begin learning at an interpretive 19th-century log cabin that is the centerpiece of the museum portion of the center.  A multimedia display highlights the town’s history from the days as an Indian settlement to the gold rush days to the modern Victorian ski village.

The story of the original owner of the Barney Ford House Museum, an escaped slave, is preserved at his 1880s Victorian home and the Edwin Carter Museum displays the collection of Rocky Mountain flora and Fauna documented by its namesake.  Main Street historic Museum features seasonal exhibits that showcase the town’s history.  An engaging Mountain Top Children’s Museum offers exhibits, camps, and workshops all year round.

Music:  In addition to regular children’s concerts, the Riverwalk offers almost 40 classical and non-classical concerts throughout the summer including performances by the National Repertory Orchestra and the Breckenridge Music Institute Orchestra.  Then during the month of June around Maggie Pond and a floating stage, the town lights up with the rhythm and funk of the best of jazz, both here and in town’s nightclubs.

For more information about real estate in the Rocky Mountain ski resorts, contact Jonna Beardsley at (970) 453-2200 or e-mail Jonna2breckenridge associates.com.