TWO GEMS IN THE ROCKIES
By Marcella S. Meeks
Colorado is my favorite place in the world to visit especially during the summer months. I’m not much for snow and ice or colder temperatures but the moment summer comes, I’m ready to go west. June and July are the best times to visit Colorado (my opinion). It’s not too hot or cold and the mornings in the mountains are cool, sometimes in the forties and fifties. I have been visiting Colorado since 1991 and have been returning ever year since that time. For me, Colorado is my little piece of paradise, my little get away place, a piece of earthly heaven, if you must…
There is one place that I went to back in 2012 (and been returning to ever since) is Lake City. It’s a small mountain town nestled somewhere between Creede and Gunnison. If you have a four wheel drive vehicle, you can also reach Ouray or Silverton but you have to cut across mountains and rocky unpaved roads to get there. If you love adventure (and I do!), this is one route you won’t want to miss.
Lake City is a quiet little town – no dollar stores or big chains but a few country-style convenient stores in town where you can buy food and gas. They’re a little pricy but convenient in times of need.
The first time we came to Lake City in 2012, we found a place right on the outskirts of town (walking distance from town) called A Texan Resort. Website: http://www.texanresort.com/new/index.html
We rented one of their 2-story 3 bedroom cabins for our family that week and have been returning ever since. The Texan Resort has become one of our top places to stay in Colorado. It’s like ‘family tradition’ for us. It has been that one special gem you won’t find anywhere else – it suits our family to the letter ‘t’ and will always be our favorite gem in the Rockies.
There is no way of explaining that first stay there. It was a lot like having our first child.
That year, we ran across a little theatre in town called The Mountaineer Theatre. It was small and my first thought was, let’s get this over with. I never dreamed I would walk in there and feel so special, so at home, and so excited as I did that first time. It really wasn’t the building because it was small and yes, it was packed – it was the feeling I got when we arrived. I really don’t like westerns and knew this wasn’t my cup of tea, but I was here with the family because we didn’t have a lot to do anyway and our budget was getting a little thin so I decided to do it to waste a little time.
Before the movie started and everyone was seated while the lights were still on, the owner walked down and introduced himself and asked where everyone was from. I knew this was something they did every time but for me it was a first and it simply made my day! After the introduction, he explained about the movie we were about to see, The Lone Ranger. Some of the scenes in the movie were shot on the tracks in South Fork, Colorado in the canyon just above Creede.
South Fork and Creede are two other towns we’ve stayed in many times and this made this movie become more exciting to me than when we first got here. Okay, let’s get on with it! I thought. Oh I am so glad we stayed for the movie. The man certainly knew how to make us all feel welcome, and every since then, The Mountaineer Theatre has become one of our favorite small gems in the Rockies.
If you’d like to take a vacation with the family or by yourself for whatever reason, Lake City is one place you might find what you’re looking for. I recommend staying at A Texan Resort simply because we’ve been staying there since the summer of 2012. It’s not the movies or the cabins themselves – it’s just that special feeling you get when you stay there. You will always want to come back. Simple as that.
I’ve had the privilege of meeting the owners Arlen and Phyllis Barksdale, and they are warm caring people who tend to make your stay as comfortable and ‘at home’ as they can. The towels and linen – OMG! They are washed and hung out to dry in the fresh spring-like mountain air. I guess that is one of the finest luxuries a woman can get. It reminded me of when I was a kid. My mother always hung our towels and linen out to dry. We had a dryer but the clothesline was used only for special things, mama always said. At the end of the day, the fresh clean crispy sheets on our bed was something special. And that smell – there’s nothing like it in the world.
In a few short weeks, we’ll be heading west and we’re spending not one but two weeks in Lake City at A Texan Resort. I wish you all would join us and feel that special feeling like we do.
The cabins are booking up fast so reserve yours today. We’d love to see you there. If you come, drop me an email and let me know that you are coming and later what you think about A Texan Resort and The Mountaineer Theatre. I’ll be sure to tell Arlen and Phyllis when i hear from you. And I’d love to hear your thoughts about Lake City, Colorado as a whole. marcies1960@aol.com. Or leave us a reply below.
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