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Aspen Summer
| Article
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21903 |
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Section : |
LIFE
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| Issue
Date : |
7 / 1993 |
2,260 Words |
| Author
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John Harrington
John Harrington is a free-lance writer and photographer who
lives in Washington, D.C. His photographs have appeared in
Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report, and numerous other
publications. |
The sun is warm. The ski slopes are a blanket of wildflowers and greenery, and the chair lifts stand like silent sentries from another season. You find yourself wondering, "What kind of shady travel agent sent me to Aspen in July?"
Stop wondering. Aspen, Colorado, has as much to offer in the summer as it does during its much-touted winter ski season. There are hiking and biking, rafting and fishing, ballooning and rock climbing. And for the less athletically inclined, there are listening to the world's best classical music and shopping in some of its trendiest shops.
Aspen is an unusually charming town that mixes the Wild West with Victorian sophistication, while sitting in the shadow of spectacular mountains carved out of stone. The charm is a not-so-well-kept secret, and its year-round population of about seven thousand swells in the summer to top twenty thousand. Though often thought of as a playground for the rich, Aspen has much to offer even the leanest of wallets.
Still, Aspen seems inevitably linked with money. The town was created by money. In 1890, it was a booming, rich silver town filled with brothels and saloons, but not without comforts for the elite. Silver magnate Jerome Wheeler, for example, built an opera house that vied with the best in the country in its day. The Jerome Hotel still bears his name and, with its Victorian elegance, still honors his intentions.
As with many silver towns, Aspen went bust when silver lost its sheen and, for many decades, was a sleepy western town. Only ranchers and farmers were left to admire its once-proud facades and soaring mountains. Then came the snow boom, with the rich and famous flocking to Aspen to take advantage of some of the best skiing in the world. The winter boom was quickly followed by a summer boom, as those who loved Aspen in the snow came back for Aspen in the sun.
PATHS TO CHOOSE
Visitors to Aspen should be warned--as was I--not to jump on a bicycle the first day there, no matter how tempting the trails. The town is at an elevation of 7,908 feet, which takes some getting used to. By the second or third day, though, cycling enthusiasts can rent mountain bikes on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. There are dozens of paved paths or dirt roads to choose from.
One popular ride leads
...
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