You Just Can't Beat Boats, Beaches & Mountains

I'm the worst blogger in the history of blogging. I don't think I'm even allowed to use that term when it's been <gasp> a year since I last wrote something useful. So, I thought I'd share our last trip to The Selbu Ski Chalet that included the beach at Grand Lake, renting a pontoon on Lake Granby, and dinner at Devils Thumb Resort. Nice little week of relaxing that also included a few updates to our cozy cabin. 

The last year has been incredibly busy at our cabin. So many fantastic people have come and visited The Selbu Ski Chalet and left such amazing comments and reviews. This is really what I love about this little business. Hearing how much guests enjoyed their vacations staying at my favorite happy place. With the influx of people staying comes with the usual general upkeep. Though for our 30 year old cabin, it's in great shape and minor upkeep is necessary. So, we scheduled some work over the week of the 4th of July in hopes we might be able to enjoy a few things our majestic mountain home has to offer too. 

The first day of our trip, the kids had been begging to go back to the little beach in Grand Lake we visited last summer. The water is cold, the beach is small. Clearly my kids don't get out much but they love it and I truly enjoy the scenery and watching them play in the water. Get there early as it gets busy! Also, there is a great little ice cream shop across the street that we love to stop at.

The little town of Granby, CO puts on a nice Independence Day celebration. Everything from a bike parade, to a regular parade that rivals larger towns, to a rodeo and fireworks. The kiddos and grandparents went to the parade and enjoyed themselves while we stayed back and prepped the deck to get stained and installed a new front storm door. All I heard about was that there was lots of candy, horses, and fire hoses. 

In the afternoon we stopped down at Granby Ranch for their little celebration and enjoyed a cold beverage on their gorgeous deck and watched the kids play on various inflatables and lawn games. Really a cute place to enjoy some family fun for a few hours.

We were hoping to watch the fireworks from our deck that evening, however with the dry conditions we've had and numerous wild fires already burning around the state, the fireworks were canceled. Such a bummer but completely understandable. 

One of the activities I've been dying to do is rent a boat on Lake Granby. So, on the only day with a chance of rain at 60% we rented a 10-person pontoon for 3 hours on Lake Granby. Lake Granby is only 15 minutes from our cabin and Indian Peaks Marina was easy to find, had a selection of pontoons and other water craft, as well as bait shop and restaurant. Service was great and we quickly boarded our boat and headed out to enjoy the incredible views.

The pontoon was nice and had plenty of room for the 8 of us. It ended up being a bit chilly but luckily we had brought pants and jackets and spent the afternoon chasing the sun and trolling around the lake (read my previous post on what to pack in the mountains!) Saw some bald eagles and stunning scenery that was so much better from a boat. If you are looking to rent a boat I highly recommend Indian Peaks Marina. We also stopped by their restaurant and enjoyed fish tacos, crab cakes and po-boy sandwiches! The food was delightfully good!

The following day was spent relaxing on the deck and visiting Devil's Thumb Ranch Resort & Spa. It is a stunning place to stay, eat, nordic ski, get a spa treatment, horseback ride, fish, mountain bike, and so much more! We visited Heck's Tavern for dinner and just couldn't stop staring at the scenery. I half expected Kevin Costner to ride up on a horse and have a beer with me. Staying here for a weekend is definitely on my agenda, even though it's only 15 minutes from our cabin.The landscape is breathtakingly Instagramable and my daughter stopped in every garden to have me take her picture.  Regardless, it is worth a stop or even sharing a cold beverage on their stunning patio.

Well, there's our week in a nutshell. The latest projects are complete and I'll try to do a better job of sharing ideas on what to do when you come up and visit The Selbu Ski Chalet. Until then, check back and if you find anything worth sharing, let me know!

 

This hammock...This view....

This hammock...This view....

Grand Lake Beach

Grand Lake Beach

Power washing the deck for new stain

Power washing the deck for new stain

July 4th Celebration at Granby Ranch Lodge

July 4th Celebration at Granby Ranch Lodge

Enjoying the scenergy on Lake Granby

Enjoying the scenergy on Lake Granby

Plenty of space on the pontoon

Plenty of space on the pontoon

Shrimp Po-Boy Photo credit Indian Peaks Marina

Shrimp Po-Boy Photo credit Indian Peaks Marina