Liz Copan / ecopan@summitdaily.com
Don’t know what to do this weekend? Well, you’ve come to the right place. Pull up a seat to the counter, and I’ll tell you about everything that’s hot and happening.
Hello, 2020. To be honest, I’m likely not going to treat it much differently than any other year. I could make the stereotypical resolutions about reading, traveling or working out more, which are all worthwhile, but instead I’m going a different direction.
My New Year’s resolutions read more like a bucket list of things I want to accomplish specific to the High Country. I’ve long ago checked off the big-ticket items such as hiking a 14er, seeing a show at the Dillon Amphitheater, going dog sledding and visiting the Ice Castles. Rather, this is a personal list of things I want to do. Your mileage may very, but if you haven’t done them, you’re welcome to join in on the fun.
1. Eat at every restaurant in Summit County
OK, maybe not every restaurant. But since I’m a local, I feel like I need to be a concierge with stellar recommendations for guests — which means getting out of my comfort zone at the same five establishments and increasing my sample size. I’ve dined at the extravagant Keystone Ranch, Ski Tip Lodge, Aurum and Alpenglow Stube, but there are still plenty of others I haven’t been to such as Relish, Hearthstone and Ember.
What are Bangkok Happy Bowl, Café ProFusion and Tiki Mana like? How do Cool River Coffee House or Mom’s Baking compare? Which place has the best ice cream, the best pizza or best green chile smothered burrito? Time to find out.
2. Go to Broken Compass Brewing
Yes, for a guy who writes a weekly beer column, I’m ashamed to admit I’ve never been to Broken Compass Brewing. I’ve had its beer plenty of times at festivals, in bars or poured from a friend’s growler. But for some unknown reason, I’ve never set foot in the brewery itself. In my defense, it is a bit out of the way, but if I can park on Airport Road to ski Breckenridge Ski Resort or enjoy a meal at Breckenridge Distillery, I can make the effort to pop over to the brewery, as well.
3. See a Breckenridge Backstage Theatre production
I love the theater. I have season tickets to the Denver Center for Performing Arts, I randomly burst into show tunes — especially those from “Hamilton: An American Musical” — while driving, and I spent many summers seeing plays at the Creede Repertory Theatre. However, I haven’t had the opportunity to see anything done by Breckenridge Backstage Theatre — yet.
I also need to see more shows put on by the Lake Dillon Theatre Co. while I’m at it. My first and only production I saw from them was Steve Martin’s “The Underpants” back in August 2018.
4. Do an escape room
Not only have I not been to the escape room facilities locally in Breckenridge or Frisco, but I haven’t ever done one before. I love puzzles and video games, so this is right up my alley — if I can put together a solid team.
I’m beginning to realize most of my list is just to visit Breckenridge more, which I suppose isn’t a bad thing.
5. Go zip lining
Like the escape rooms, I’ve never been on a zip line anywhere. With year-round options in Summit, Lake and Clear Creek counties, I have no excuse not to see our majestic mountains from a new angle. If I go to the one in Leadville, I should also plan the trip around finally catching one of the town’s annual festivals, such as Boom Days or skijoring.
We’ll see how many of these I actually complete, but at least I have you, dear reader, to hold me accountable.