Colorado Press Women

Colorado wows conference tour participants

About 60 national press women and guests experienced three packed days of preconference tours, visiting the U.S. Olympic Center and Garden of the Gods, eating an elegant lunch at the Broadmoor Hotel, riding the Georgetown Loop Railroad, partaking in a "cowboy" barbecue at the Flying W Ranch, and hearing wonderful stories about the gold rush while touring the Phoenix Mine with Al Moshe.

And that's not all. The group traveled Breckenridge to have lunch at the Top of the World Restaurant on Boreas Pass, shopped in Breckenridge, and ate bison and quail for dinner at the famous Fort Restaurant, founded by Sam Arnold. His daughter welcomed guests and described growing up in the historic restaurant and adopting a wild bear as a pet.

The three-day schedule also included driving on the scenic Peak to Peak Highway, having brunch and enjoying beautiful scenery at the Wild Basin Lodge, touring the National Center for Atmospheric Research, and touring either Celestial Seasonings Tea Company or the Leanin' Tree Western Art Museum, having tea at the Dushanbe Tea House in Boulder and winding up at Boulder's Chautauqua for a delicious buffet dinner.

CPW guides facilitated the tours and provided information about historic and tourist sights. Most tour participants joined the bus tours all three days, while others came on the second and third days, and even more came for dinners at The Fort and Chautauqua.

During the Colorado Springs pre-tour, Nancy Wright Beasley of Virginia climbed back on the bus after shooting photos of a Garden of the Gods vista and said, "This is so cool!" That evening, while dining on barbecue at the Flying W Ranch, Joyce Berger of Delaware praised Colorado, saying she hopes to bring her grandchildren to see it.

Marlys Duran, a member of the CPW tour planning committee, said, "I'm just very pleased that we were able to share some of our beautiful state, especially with those experiencing it for the first time. Colorado put on such a glorious face for our tour folks that success was virtually guaranteed."

Optional tours rock

A nearly full bus of conference participants headed west to Morrison to visit Red Rocks Amphitheater Thursday morning. CPW member Marion Galant provided commentary about the history, construction and performances at Red Rocks en route to the famous Dakota sandstone amphitheater.

The group toured the Red Rocks Visitor's Center and its plethora of exhibits about classical music, country and rock singers who have performed there over the years. Some of the group remained at the visitor's center to have lunch, while others hiked down the path to shop at the Trading Post.

Following the NFPW general membership meeting, about 40 conference attendees were escorted by CPW members Sandy Nance and Lori Rapp to the Brown Palace Hotel for a ghost tour.

While learning about the historic, luxurious hotel, the group visited three rooms supposedly occupied by ghosts. They also visited the suite on the eighth floor used by President Eisenhower as the summer White House.

"While the suite had been remodeled to take out the knotty pine that the Eisenhowers wanted in their Colorado dwelling, the hotel did save a section of the mantel in a little shadow box to show the dent that Ike put into it while practicing his golf swing," Nance said.

Press women and guests gathered at the Colorado History Museum Thursday evening to enjoy some wonderful historic Colorado exhibits, some fabulous food from Three Tomatoes Catering, and Colorado wine and beer tasting from Ska, Avery, Bristol land Left Hand brewing companies, Belistreri Vineyards and the Spero Winery. The evening was made possible by Janus Capital Group, sponsor of the event.

Friday night, conference attendees had another chance to socialize and network at a reception held at the historic Denver Press Club, the oldest continuously running press club in the nation. Celebrity bartenders Fred Brown, Denver Post columnist, and Dusty Saunders, entertainment columnist at the Rocky Mountain News, kept the libations flowing, with all tips-totaling $182-going to the preservation of the press club.

Longtime Colorado Press Women member Lauren Lehman of Lehman Communications sponsored the reception.