A little love for our neighbors to the south Stephen Woody The Notebook The New York Times loves Ouray. Once again, they’ve done a piece on our lovely neighbor to the south, sitting at 7,760 feet. It was featured in a recent Escapes section, headlined, ‘Winter Revels in Ice and Steam.’ “A perfect microclimate for making ice attracts climbers, connoisseurs and simple spectators,” so noted the writer. The story talked about local snowshoeing, the international ice climbing competition in January and grabbing a soak at the local hot springs. Of Ouray…… The Beaumont Hotel is for sale, a Ouray landmark. Mary & Dan King purchased the Beaumont almost 10 years ago at auction, for $850,000. The Kings did extensive renovations, reopening in 2003, essentially saving this historic structure that includes the Bien Tiempo building, Bulow’s and the Tundra restaurant. A few years ago, President Bush awarded the Kings the Preserve America Presidential Award. The Beaumont consistently gets high ratings in travel guides. The Beaumont was first opened in 1886, and was abandoned in 1964 where it sat in disrepair until the Kings purchased it and invested $6 million in its restoration. It’s a showplace, for sure. A place to visit with out of town visitors. Eight million is a lot of money, but it seems a bargain. Music trivia…..Who won the first gold record ever for selling one million copies, and what was the song? Answer below. Happy Birthday Greetings!, for that St. Louis Cardinals fan, John Tencick. No need to cook Thursday, Mar. 1. Thanks to the Olathe High School soccer team. They will be serving up barbecue, hamburgers, hot dogs as well as a slew of silent auction items, including merchandisse from the new Black Canyon Harley dealership which will be opening soon. The good food starts at 5 p.m. at the OHS cafeteria. Info: Ellen Gerton, Olathe Middle School, 252-7945. I see by the paper……. A ring-neck duck was shot in southern Louisiana. The hunter put the duck into the refrigerator, putting off the eventual cleaning. Two days later, his wife opened the refrigerator and the supposedly dead duck lifted its head, looking at her. I would imagine it was quite a surprise. The family felt that fate had intervened, so they took it to the local vet to address its buckshot-damaged wing. During surgery, the duck stopped breathing, but was resuscitated. Name of the twice-“dead” duck: Perky. Music trivia answer. Glenn Miller. His song, ‘Chattanooga Choo Choo,’ sold 1.2 million copies and was awarded the recording industry’s first gold record in 1942. Miller graduated from Fort Morgan High School and was a student at the University of Colorado before enlisting in the Army and leading a service band. He disappeared Dec. 15, 1944, while flying over the English Channel en route to a concert in Paris. One theory is that Maj. Miller’s plane was inadvertently destroyed when higher flying allied bombers released their bomb loads into the water en route back to English bases from bombing runs over Germany, and struck Miller’s plane. The Notebook’s favorite Miller tune: ‘String of Pearls.’ Quotable “There’s nothing as fuel efficient as a golf cart. If I could just get every American to drive a golf cart to work.” —Mitt Romney, GOP presidential candidate, in a campaign speech in Florida |