Aspen travel deals
So, do you think the words Deals and Aspen in the same sentence constitute an oxymoron? All monetary things are relative, I suppose … but finding “deals” in Aspen is not the test you might suppose. Your travel professional isn’t hiding you or anything (I hope), most of them just don’t have the luxury of living here like I do!
The real deals are free, right? So put them in your leaky memory banks, my fuzzy friends. There are also some “not so free” things to do, but that’s for another article. Here’s a list of free activities compiled from over 30 years of near-brain-dead research and sniping:
- Sitting on a bench in the mall watching real estate agents making “deals” (a totally different animal) on their cell phones.
- Take an RFTA bus in Rubey Park to the Aspen Recreation Center to scale the fiberglass climbing wall.
- Walking the trail Ute with her dog (I have an old black lab that you can borrow).
- Sitting on the grass of the Aspen Music Festival tent (listening to music or not).
- Playing Frisbee with my dog.
- Looking for the old owl at ACES (Aspen Center for Environmental Studies).
- Putting at the Aspen Golf Club (or you can sneak around the other end of the driving range and hit the Junior Golf practice balls, just kidding …)
- Brookies Fishing on the Roaring Fork River at the North Star Preserve Pedestrian Bridge.
- Sitting on the “Cheeks” bench at Galena and Cooper’s mall watching the moguls smash Ajax in May.
- Ride the Maroon Bells / Ashcroft Ghost Town loop loop.
- Thanksgiving dinner in the church of Santa María.
- Retouching at the computer-operated water fountain in the mall.
- Steal maraschino cherries from the fruit tray in the St. Regis lobby bar.
- Sneak into Elks Lodge No. 224 on Friday afternoons.
- Playing fetch and poop at Wagner Park with my dog.
- Hanging out at the Pitkin County Library watching old folks (like me) curse computers.
A little more worthless information about Aspen Elks Club Lodge No. 224 – This is the best seat in the house for the fireworks at Aspen Mountain. The sky lights up over the old mining town every July 4th, Winterskol, and during the World Cup ski races. So if you’re a Moose, or know one, or are willing to sneak in, do yourself a huge favor and experience one of these events at least once while you’re still kicking!
