Road Trip – Colorado and The Pines

I spent a lovely two weeks in Colorado in August to see my friend Deb, a former gallery owner like me.

We visited all the hot spots (our hot spots are the farmer’s market, galleries, and card shops) in Boulder before heading off to Breckenridge for the week. We started the day with a visit to the Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse. It was a first-time visit for me.

The Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse was a gift to the city of Boulder from their sister city, Dushanbe, Tajikistan. The ornate, handcrafted Teahouse is the largest teahouse in the US, and is one-of-a-kind in the western hemisphere.

They serve over 100 varieties of tea alongside other interesting menu items from all over the world.

We headed off to Breckenridge and on the way we stopped at the Betty Ford Alpine Garden.

The rest of the day was spent at the Hot Springs in Glenwood. One of my all-time favorite things to do! We spent every Christmas Day there when we lived in Aspen, and as many other days as we could. It is really something to be soaking there when it’s 20 degrees out and you are surrounded by snow.

They have added to the pool since I was there a couple years ago. They added a cold plunge pool (no, thanks) and 3 other small pools that have different temperatures. This is the largest mineral hot spring pool in the world.

The source of the Glenwood Hot Springs’ mineral water is the Yampah Spring, which produces over 3.5 million gallons of water per day at a temperature of 122°F. Of course, they cool the water down as it enters the pools.

On either side of the Hot Springs is the railroad depot and the Hotel Colorado. Both buildings I did drawings of when we lived there. The hotel used my drawing in some of their ads.

We visited Aspen, my old stomping grounds, which hasn’t changed much through the years. We got there over Independence Pass, and it was a little disconcerting to see a fire on the mountainside. There was a big fire over near Edwards which filled the valley with smoke for about 50 miles. Such a beautiful place!

We visited our favorite spots like Carl’s Drug Store (more like a variety store). We always find something neat there. I had never been to the Red Brick Center for the Arts, it features exhibitions by Colorado artists, art classes, artist studios, and nonprofit spaces. When I worked for the Arts Council there it was in the basement of the Wheeler Opera House.

The highlight of the day was when we went to Explore Booksellers. They have a new-to-me coffee shop on the second floor. When I went to pay for my coffee, the drawing I had done in the 1980s for the then-owner Katharine Thalberg popped up on the computer!

Our time in Breckenridge was pretty low key. One night we went to the park, laid on the ground, and saw Spark.

It was a luminous spectacle by Dutch Studio Roosegaarde — with thousands of biodegradable lights that flicker at about 15 feet replacing the traditional fireworks.

The flowers around town were spectacular!

We went to two art shows on my last day, one in Evergreen which was pretty good, and one in Denver put on by the Art Students League, which was outstanding. After we went to the Denver Civic Center to the Denver Art Museum and next door to the Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art.

“The Pines”

My recent trip to “the Pines” was an eyeopener. I HAVE been to Pinehurst many times but never stayed there or did much other than to go to the town center and to the farmer’s market.

There is a lot more to it! My friend and I went for two nights and of course took the scenic route in both directions.

Before we got to Pinehurst, we stopped in Fayetteville and had lunch downtown.

The treelined main street has a great bookstore, a few shops, and a lot of restaurants, many with sidewalk seating. There is a lot of sculpture along the way too.

There are several Museums in the downtown like the Airborne and Special Operations Museum, Museum of Cape Fear, Fayetteville History Museum, and The Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County.

On the grounds of the Airborne Museum is the Liberty Tree.

On June 20, 1775, several dozen Cumberland County men gathered in a tavern on Person Street and signed a resolution protesting the British aggression at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, two months earlier. The resolution, known as the Liberty Point Resolves, affirmed that the people of this colonial town were “ready to sacrifice our lives and fortunes” for America if the conflict with Great Britain couldn’t be reconciled.

After their declaration, it is said that the signed resolution was tacked to the Liberty Tree. This occurred thirteen months prior to the Declaration of Independence.

While reading about this, I discovered that Fayetteville was a state capital before it moved to Raleigh. It was used as a state capital even though New Bern was the capital at the same time. The reason was the governors thought New Bern was too far east for them to ride. Fayetteville as capital on lasted a year or so.

Behind the Airborne museum is a large park. A main attraction of the park is a statue of Henry Hugh Shelton.

Wish we had him leading our military right now.

The Arts Council is on the main street and they were having an interesting show.

They provided glasses and a plastic sheet for you to look through so you could see what it would be like to have different seeing issues.

The bookstore had this neat bench out in front.

From Fayetteville we drove the back roads into Pinehurst. I didn’t realize how big the equestrian community is there. We drove by no less than 100 horse farms on the way. I really thought the area was just about golf, which is probably why I’ve never spent any time there since I’m not a golfer. There is a lot of culture, music, theatre, museums, and gardens in addition to the golf.

If you’ve been there you know there isn’t much to the downtown of Pinehurst. But I love the way it is laid out and nestled in the trees.

The town was founded in 1895 by James Walker Tufts, the same family as in Tufts University in Boston. He purchased 5,500 acres of farmland to create a health resort for his northern friends to escape from the cold.

He hired Frederick Law Olmsted (of NYC Central Park fame) to design his town, with winding streets and central greens in the longleaf pine forest.

The first golf course was built in 1898 and now there are over 40 courses in the greater Pinehurst area. The Village Chapel was built in 1924 and was the first building built on the Village Green.

Across the street from the Chapel is the oldest building in Pinehurst. It is a 200-year-old log cabin that houses the Sandhills Woman’s Exchange. We saw several other log cabins as we drove around.

It’s hard to tell when you leave Pinehurst and arrive in Southern Pines or Aberdeen. Collectively they are known as “the Pines.” There are lots of walking, biking, and equestrian trails through the towns and in the Weymouth Woods.

Weymouth Woods is a NC State Park on the edge of Southern Pines and covers 915 acres of longleaf pines. The oldest known longleaf pine on record is located there, it was cross-dated at 458 year old! We will hike to it on our next visit.

The area was settled by Scottish Highlanders in the mid-18th century. The huge forest held original growth longleaf pines that stood 100-120 feet tall. They cut the forests for timber and masts for the Royal Navy ships. By 1850 NC pine forests produced one-third of the world’s supply of resin, turpentine, tar, and pitch, all which were used in shipbuilding.

We became aware of the Woods when we visited the Weymouth Center.

Early in the 20th century, the grandfather of James Boyd,  a well-known North Carolina author, purchased a tract of land to save the longleaf pines from logging. He named the estate “Weymouth” because the pines reminded him of trees in Weymouth, England. In April 1963, Boyd’s widow, Katharine, donated 403 acres of land to the state, establishing the first natural area in the North Carolina state parks system.

The center was the home of James Boyd and his wife Katharine until her death. It is now an event center, the home of NC Poetry Society, the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame, and has served as a writers’ residency for over 40 years. They have literary readings, dramatic performances, musical concerts and recitals.

One of his books, Drums, was illustrated by NC Wyeth, the father of Andrew, and grandfather of Jamie.

Across the street is the Arts Council for Moore County that hosts many art shows and events.

The main purpose of the trip was to go to The Spa at Pinehurst.

I’ve been to several spas but this one had more to offer than the others I’ve visited. More attentive staff, more variety of drinks offered, snacks, large pool, two jacuzzis, steam room, sauna, and lots of creams, lotions, even a comb, razor, and other items you might need, gratis. It was lovely.

Downtown Aberdeen is quite small and is circled with train tracks. As we were heading home we stopped at one of the many gardens in the area, The Healing Garden at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital, behind the Clara McLean House. The McLean House offers affordable lodging for out-of-town patients, families, and caregivers.

We packed a lot in for a two-night trip!

We stayed at the TownePlace Suites in Southern Pines and had a two-bedroom room with a kitchen, at a very reasonable price.

Right now I’m home long enough to get some art work done! Next trip – Ft. Myers for a week in December.