Glenwood Springs named Most Fun Town in America

Giant Canyon Swing

Glenwood Springs named Most Fun Town in America by Rand McNally and USA Today

One of the great things about living in Glenwood Springs is the number of choices we have when it comes to having fun. While we’ve known this for years, Glenwood Springs garnered national attention last week by being named the Most Fun Town in America by Rand McNally and USA Today in the inaugural Best of the Road Rally.
Narrowed down from more than 600 submissions, 30 top towns in five categories – Most Beautiful, Most Patriotic, Friendliest, Most Fun, and Best for Food – were selected for review. Five teams of amateur travelers completed a three-week cross-country road trip, for a combined 25,000 miles traveled, personally visiting the six top towns in their assigned categories.

Giant Canyon Swing

The mother-daughter team, TravelingJules and TravelingJoan, reviewed the six finalists in the Most Fun category: Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Santa Claus, Indiana; Park City, Utah; Vacaville, California; Yellow Springs, Ohio; and, our favorite, Glenwood Springs, Colorado.

The ladies spent the 4th of July weekend here in town, packing what many visitors might do here during a week into two action-filled days. Highlights included attending the hilarious Glenwood Vaudeville Revue, rafting the Colorado River, exploring Glenwood Caverns and Historic Fairy Caves and riding the Alpine Coaster, Soaring Eagle Zip Ride and Giant Canyon Swing at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park, soaring high above Glenwood Springs in a tandem paraglider, exploring the back country by ATV with Glenwood Adventure Company, soaking in the Glenwood Hot Springs Pool, and relaxing with a soothing pedicure at the Spa of the Rockies.

Sounds like the definition of fun to me!

Oyster Adventure Race 2011 in Glenwood Springs Returns to Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park

Earlier in the year the Webmeister reviewed the 2010 Oyster Racing series in Glenwood Springs, speculating about whether racers would return to Glenwood Caverns for the 2011 race.

Fortunately (or unfortunately for racers starting out in 45 degrees F. and the rain!) they did return, with over 50 teams participating.

 

Runners exiting the Giant Maze with their ticket in hand

Climbing 32 ft on the wet wall proved challenging

This year, racers ran from Glenwood Springs Two Rivers Park to the Glenwood Caverns Tram Station for a gondola ride to the top of Iron Mountain, to Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park.

Prior to getting on the gondola, race teams were handed a math problem to solve during their ride to the top.

Teams unable to solve the problem during the ride up were sent to the math-skills-impaired table, where they had to keep working on the problem until they solved it!

Riders delivering the correct answer were send to the Giant Maze leg.

A damp Giant Canyon Swing ride through the swirling mist

Oyster racers returning from their Giant Canyon Swing ride
headed to the Alpine Coaster ride down the mountain

While negotiating the Giant Maze, contestants searched at each corner tower for a ticket which would send them to the maze entrance station for further instructions.

Depending on the color ticket retrieved, racers were sent next to either the Giant Canyon Swing, the 32 foot Climbing Wall, or the Mechanical Bull Ride.

Racers unhappy with their ticket choice (fear of heights, anyone?) had to run the maze a second time in order to receive a different ticket.

Upon completion of the Giant Swing, the Climbing Wall, or the Bull ride, racers headed to the Alpine Coaster station and rode partway down Iron Mountain on the gravity-powered coaster, braking as little as possible for maximum speed.

At the bottom of the tracked coaster ride, the runners made their way through the oak brush to the dirt road called Transfer Trail and ran two miles back to Two Rivers Park.

For more info: Oyster Racing Series

photo credits: race organizer Team Players Productions Inc, Kaylee Maresh photographer

2011 Local’s Choice Winners: Two Golds

There was standing room only Thursday evening, June 30th, when a packed crowd gathered at the Glenwood Masonic Lodge for the Glenwood Springs Post Independent 2011 Local’s Choice Awards Celebration. This year, in addition to food and drinks and other merriment, the announcements were followed by entertaining skits performed by the Glenwood Vaudeville Revue.

Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park brought home two gold medals this year:
Best Locals’ Attraction
Best Place for a Children’s Birthday Party

THANK YOU to all our fans for helping us bring home the Gold!

The Travel Channel’s Bert the Conqueror is Coming to Visit!

Describing Bert Kreischer in a few words isn’t easy and the term “thrill seeker” doesn’t even scratch the surface. Throw in hilariously absurd, fearless and passionate about fun, and you start to get the picture.

As host of the popular Travel Channel’s Bert the Conqueror television series, Bert will visit Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park in Glenwood Springs Colorado on May 19 to shoot an upcoming episode based on the Giant Canyon Swing.

The swing, which opened in May 2010, has been a huge success, eliciting loud screams as it swings riders out at 3.5 Gs, 1,300 feet above the Colorado River. Weather permitting, the Giant Canyon Swing will open for the season on May 7.

Stay tuned for updates and more details about Bert’s visit!

Adventure Park Philanthropic Business of the Year

Glenwood Springs Chamber Names Adventure Park Philanthropic Business of the Year

Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park was named Philanthropic Small Business of the Year at the Glenwood Springs Chamber Resort Association’s Annual Gala on April 21, 2011. Chris Ehlers was on hand to accept the award.

Giving back to the families in its community has been part of Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park’s philosophy since Steve and Jeanne Beckley opened the caves to the public in 1999, and 2010 was no exception. In fact, the park ramped up its philanthropic efforts in recognition of the number of area families affected by the downturn in the economy.

In July, the Adventure Park hosted the kick-off party for YouthZone’s 20th Annual Kiss-n-Squeal Fundraiser. Approximately 150 people showed up to enjoy free tram rides and “pig out” at the fajita dinner buffet, and many took the opportunity to try out the park’s attractions. The park, a founding member of the Glenwood Springs based YouthZone Foundation, donated the dinner and a percentage of the day’s proceeds for a total contribution of nearly $4,000.

The park also supported nearly 500 organizations and events during 2010 through the donation of passes for fundraising. These recipients ranged from school groups and sports teams to non-profit organizations and fundraising events for local individuals battling the costs of medical expenses. If you attended a charitable event in the valley, odds are that passes to the Adventure Park were on the silent auction table or awarded as prizes.

The park’s biggest impact on the community, however, was helping to stock the LIFT-UP food pantry. Through the Music on the Mountain series, which began in the fall of 2009 with two concerts and expanded to seven during 2010, the park collected 5,787 items for LIFT-UP, including canned food, jars of peanut butter and packages of pasta. Guests were able to enjoy a free tram ride and live music in exchange for the donation of at least one food item for the food pantry. Due to the popularity of the series, the Adventure Park is expanding the Music on the Mountain to include nine events in Glenwood Springs during 2011 and hopes to collect even more food for the community.

Oyster Race Returns to Glenwood Springs…

But Will Racers Return to Glenwood Caverns?

The Oyster Off-Road Racing Series returns for its second year to Glenwood Springs, Colorado on Saturday, May 21, 2011.

Teams of two and relays of four push their limits running (road and trail) and mountain biking.

2010 Oyster racers, pumping up Transfer Trail

racers ride Colorado’s first Alpine Coaster

There are additional adventures that each team may encounter including: canoeing/rafting/kayaking, orienteering/navigation/zip lines, climbing, eating, puzzles and other surprises.

Since the course is a secret, team members are given a “Passport” moments before the race begins.

Last year, in the first leg of the race, participants rode their mountain bikes, climbing approximately 800 vertical feet as they pumped up Transfer Trail to Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park to reach their first check point.

Next they were directed into the caves, taking care to count the stair steps correctly in order to receive their next clue at the beautiful King’s Row formations viewing area.

 

After exiting the cave, teams rode two at a time part-way down the mountain on the Alpine Coaster, then grabbed their bikes again for their descent down Iron Mountain.

The big question is: will race organizers send racers back to Glenwood Caverns for the 2011 race?

And if they do, will racers be required to test their mettle on the new Giant Canyon Swing or take the 70 foot plunge on the new Bungee Jump?

Or maybe they’ll put on knee and shoulder pads and don lighted caving helmets and go on an extreme caving adventure?

Your guess is as good as mine. If you want to be one of the first to know, you’ll probably have to sign up for the race.

For more info: Oyster Racing Series

2010 racers counting steps inside Glenwood Caverns

Disney Exec Shares Insights with Glenwood Caverns

Behind the Scenes: Disney Exec Shares Insights with Glenwood Caverns’ Management Team

Managers with a mission to make people smile recently got a chance to learn from a senior leader at the happiest place on earth!

Bret Pfost has learned a thing or two during his nearly 27 years of experience at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, Calif. He traveled to Glenwood Springs, Colo., to share some of his operations experience, resort knowledge, leadership and sound safety business sense with the management team at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park.

His visit to Glenwood Springs included an interactive work session for all of the Adventure Park’s year-round managers and supervisors that focused on the importance of creating a safety culture in the workplace. If you would like to ensure that you have complete control over your employees, then maybe you should think about having a HR Software that can help you control this and other aspects of your business.

As Senior Manager for Worldwide Safety, Training, and Compliance, Pfost builds a safety culture in teams across the Resort, including attractions, foods, merchandise, entertainment, custodial, guest services, parking and transportation, and security and emergency services.

Bret Pfost, senior manager at Disney Worldwide Safety, Training, and Compliance

“We’ve always made safety our top priority, but by developing a safety culture as Bret has done at Disney, guest and employee safety is considered in every decision that is made,” said Steve Beckley, who owns Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park with his wife Jeanne. “We learned a lot from Bret that we will be able to incorporate into our own policies and plans right away.” Respecting your workforce like this helps to create a mutual respect, which is a key part of being a manager. EQ works is a training company and they focus on teaching managers how to have emotional intelligence so that they can understand how to foster things like loyalty and respect, and that’s the best way to maintain and retain a happy workforce.

Interacting with a senior leader from Disney is just the latest example of how the Beckleys provide opportunities for their managers to learn from leaders in the industry. Each fall, the management team travels to another park to gain first-hand knowledge of each park’s attractions and customer service. They use these experiences to brainstorm ideas to improve and expand the customer’s experience at the Adventure Park. In the past few years, the team has traveled to Disney World, Universal Studios, Silver Dollar City and Royal Gorge.

Management team members also have the opportunity to attend educational seminars and industry conferences around the country. Beckley, along with managers Nancy Heard and Kelly Bates, first met Pfost at a ski area management conference in Lake George, New York. They all stayed in touch and came up with the idea for Pfost to visit the park and share his insights with the team. The participants’ response was overwhelmingly positive.

“Having Bret here from a company as prestigious as Disney was invaluable. The workshop gave me a lot of ideas to continue to improve the training model for the attractions department, as well as to enhance the parks’ safety culture,” said Jesse Boucias, attractions supervisor at the Adventure Park. “We are continuously striving to provide both a fun and safe experience for our guests. Who better to learn from than the best—Disney.”

Being an employer of choice in the Roaring Fork Valley is a priority for the Adventure. It’s a fun (and safe!) place to work and is now hiring for many seasonal positions. Applications are now being accepted for many seasonal positions, as well as for the annual employee scholarship.

National Speleological Society 2011 Convention

The National Speleological Society’s NSS 2011 Convention is coming to Glenwood Springs, Colorado,
July 18th – July 22nd. The convention will bring together cavers worldwide for a week of presentations, discussions, programs, socializing, and recreation.

Dave Lester, one of the principle NSS convention organizers, reports that Glenwood Springs should expect somewhere between 1000 and 1200 convention attendees.

Prior to the convention, NSS is planning community outreach events for Glenwood, which will include presentations to local service clubs and to schools. For schools, their Project Underground is a science-based curricula which teaches students about caving, how caves form, and other cave science topics.

About half the convention attendees will use a campground which will be set up between the high school and the Roaring Fork River, others opting for local lodging.

The NSS is encouraging a low-impact visit to Glenwood Springs. They are encouraging attendees to bring bicycles, which can be used on the bike path which runs in close proximity to the primary convention activities. NSS is also planning to bring loaner bikes for use by their members.

According to Lester, “members of the public are welcome to register for single day sessions or the entire week.”

Convention activities are still being planned, but a preview list includes:

  • An opening welcome dinner and dance party (aka “Howdy Party”) combined with the NSS 70th Anniversary Party, to be hosted by Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park on top of Iron Mountain in Glenwood Springs
  • Trips to wild caves in Colorado during the convention, with both horizontal and vertical (technical climbing) caving trips
  • A decontamination station at the convention site – cavers participating in convention trips will be required to decontaminate their equipment
  • Geology Field Trip with cave stops. Beginning in Glenwood Springs, continuing to Redstone then Marble, then to El Jebel, before returning to Glenwood Springs
  • Convention sessions & workshops on a wide range of cave topics– exploration, biology, equipment, cave geology, cartography, archaeology, photography, paleontology, hydrology, karst management, ecology, and technological advances in communication and sensing equipment which aid in cave exploration
  • White Nose Syndrome (WNS in bats) presentations from cavers, land managers, and biologists on the issue of WNS in western states, for the purpose of improving communication and understanding
  • Vertical Climbing Workshop where students are given a basic overview of climbing equipment, techniques, and safety considerations. Covers knot tying, belaying, rappelling, and several ascending systems
  • Vertical Climbing Contests, 30 to 120 meters, for both men and women, separate age groups, and a team relay
  • Cave Art Salons, including cartographic, ballads, fine and cover art, video, multimedia, photographs, and t-shirt designs
  • NSS Board of Governors Meeting, and the Congress of Grottos meeting of the grottos, sections, regional associations, and surveys of the NSS
  • Kids activities, including trips for the Junior Speleological Society (JSS)
  • Convention auction/fundraiser for the NSS, supporting everything from Save the Caves to exploration
  • Campground Party at the Glenwood Springs High School, directly next to the campground, featuring the Terminal Syphons, a popular “caver band”
  • Public Session, featuring the IMAX adventure film Journey Into Amazing Caves. In this film, two accomplished cavers explore unusual caves, such as ice caves in Greenland and underwater caves in thejungles of Mexico, looking for important clues about the Earth’s past and microorganisms that inhabit its most extreme environments. (The film will be shown on a non-IMAX screen at the Glenwood Springs High School auditorium and is free to the public.) Two stars from the film will answer audience questions.

For more information, convention organizer Dave Lester recommends the following websites:

Newly Identified Species from Glenwood Springs, Colorado Cave

For years Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park, located in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, has been abuzz with activity – excited riders whizzing down the alpine coaster, visitors hanging on to their seats in the 4D theater, tour groups going in and out of the caves all day.

And throughout it all, one group of little critters lived quietly, unnoticed. Hidden mostly in the darkness of the nooks and crannies of the Glenwood Caverns was a very unique pseudoscorpion, a rare arachnid that was not seen until 2000, and not officially categorized and named until ten years later.

Although pseudoscorpions have been found in other caves throughout the world, the kind found in the Caverns is a singular type that has never been discovered anywhere else.

The pseudoscorpions resemble small scorpions but are missing the long tail and the dreaded classic tail-end stinger. They are carnivorous, generally feeding on mites, spiders, and other small invertebrates. They have four eyes, eight legs, and two prominent front “arms” with crab-like pincers containing venom. But rest easy – at an average of 1/2 inch in length this arachnid is too small to be harmful to humans.

It took a trip halfway around the world and back for the creature to come into the light, as it were.

Cave biologist Dave Steinmann explores Glenwood Caverns
Ross Dinkelspiel photo

 

Dr. Mark Harvey University of Western Australia

Glenwood Caverns tour guide Micah Bell first noticed the pseudoscorpion while leading a public cave tour back in 2000.

He mentioned it to Dave Steinmann, a cave biologist who works with the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. He has been exploring Colorado caves for years.

It wasn’t easy for Steinmann to find the tiny insects who prefer to remain in the darkness. It took him over seven hours to find his first specimen, and then another ten trips to locate five samples of the creature.

“The Glenwood Caverns pseudoscorpion has probably been evolving in the cave for millions of years. It’s an amazing creature,” said Steinmann.

“It is unique to other species of its kind because of its reduced eye size, which makes it nearly blind, although it can detect light. Rather than using its eyes, the creature uses sensory receptors on its body to sense and locate its prey.”

Steinmann added, “it is also special because of its very long claws and pincers, the longest seen in a pseudoscorpion of this genus.”

Steinmann passed the specimens on to Dr. William Muchmore, a preeminent scientist and pseudoscorpion expert at the University of Rochester in New York, who first determined it was a new species.

Nearing retirement, Dr. Muchmore then forwarded the samples to Dr. Mark Harvey, an arachnologist and professor at the School of Animal Biology, University of Western Australia.

Dr. Harvey is also the Head of Terrestrial Zoology at the Western Australian Museum and maintains the Pseudoscorpions of the World database.

Dr. Harvey spent several years completing the extensive documentation process, and both scientists jointly authored the final paper that declared the Glenwood Caverns pseudoscorpion to be a new species and gave it a name.

To Steinmann’s surprise, it was named after…him!
Call it luck, call it hard work, call it: Cryptogreagris steinmanni.

Unique pseudoscorpion perched
on a cave rock in Glenwood Caverns

Tram Manager Wade Beattie Plays Crash-Test-Dummy

Thrill seekers everywhere can (literally) jump for joy. There’s a new attraction at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park in Glenwood Springs that offers some of the most excitement in town: the Bungee Jump. This feature offers a breathtaking vertical drop off of a 70-foot tower.

Before the bungee jump opens to the public, it was road-tested by some of the Caverns employees, and the first to go was Wade Beattie, tram operator/manager extraordinaire. Wade is an outdoorsy kind of guy who has partaken in his fair share of adventure, but he admitted to being a tad apprehensive before the big drop. “I was a bit nervous about it, because I had never bungee-jumped before,” he said.

Wade had his harness fitted at the bottom of the tall tower, then headed up the winding stairs to the top. “I noticed my heart rate going up when I was climbing up the tower, because I knew that pretty soon I was going to launch off of it,” said Wade. Employees at the top double-checked his equipment and adjusted ropes. Wade said that most people face backwards when they jump, but he opted to face forwards. “My thought was, if I’m going to do it, I’m going to face it.”

After a few more minutes of adjustments, the operators told him: Jump.

“I didn’t wait,” said Wade. “I’m the kind of person who just wants to go.”

So, he stood up as tall as he could, put his arms in the air, and stepped off the ledge. It was something like a swan-dive, although he didn’t jump outwards so he wouldn’t swing too much. It was more of a swan-fall.

“The second I went off that thing, it was awesome. There is a free fall-moment where it feels like there’s nothing holding you. It was peaceful in a way,” said Wade.

“Once I jumped,” he said, “there was no fear left, only exultation.”

Wade bounced a few times in the air, then landed softly on a large (7 foot tall) air-filled cushion, which he easily walked off of. The jump took about 55 seconds in total. Wade said that watching from the ground, the jump looks short, but when you are the one doing it, it’s plenty long.

So, after it was over, did he want to do it again?

“Absolutely!”

Wade’s advice to people is not to let their nerves get in the way. “A lot of people are going to be nervous at first, but then happy they did it. It’s smooth, safe, and a lot of fun.”

There’s a country song that goes, “Funny how fallin’ feels like flyin’,” and that’s exactly what any brave-heart out there looking for an adrenaline rush will be singing after a turn on the bungee jump. Be sure to check it out when the ride opens at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park next spring.