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Durango

SKA 22nd Anniversary Party

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The SKA Anniversary party is not a party to miss! It typically sells out within a day when tickets come out in the spring but if you are lucky enough to get a ticket it is not to be missed. You can expect to know at least half of the people there and drink enough beer to make some new friends as well. This year the party falls on September 9th and features the ska band Less than Jake.

Here is the excerpt from SKA's website:

"Every year we throw a party for you to help us celebrate our anniversary. This year we'll be joined by 30+ of our craft brewery friends, Less Than Jake, Chris Murray and tasty food vendors.

Your ticket price includes generous tastes of all the beer our friends brought with them, live music by Less Than Jake, Chris Murray and more!

All proceeds go to La Plata Open Space Conservancy because we believe in protecting the lands we love!"

Back to School

Back to School

Summer is coming to a close this month with all of the 9R kids going back to school. This means that those amazing summer programs the kids were involved in are coming to a close and if you can't get off of work at 3:30 everyday we have researched some of the afterschool programs that are available to our children.

Nifty Nanny Not only does Nifty Nanny offer after school programs but they adjust for no school days, holiday breaks, and snow days so your children always have an activity when you can't be there.

After School Art Durango Arts Center has partnered with Durango School District 9-R to bring After School Art to all 9-R elementary schools. "The After School Art program is held weekly (one-hour classes) at each of the elementary schools, the monthly sessions enroll 12 students to ensure personalized attention. Sessions are themed (such as art around the world, architecture, folk art, impressionism), with age-appropriate art/artist history lessons and a fine art project."

Boys and Girls Club Boys and Girls Club offers and after school program for kids. They even offer transportation from some schools to their location by the Durango Rec Center.

Durango Devo Devo also provided their bike coaching for all grades starting at 4:00pm every day allowing your kids to keep up their mountain bike skills and burn off some energy from school.

Summer Programs for the Kids

Summer Programs for the Kids

After last months blog post we had alot of interest in summer programs for the kids and thought we should research it a bit more. In our research we decided that we would rather be doing all of these amazing summer camps than sitting and work...sadly that isn't an option but we wish it was. Here is a list of our favorites that we have found so far as well as a little information about each one and the links to their websites.

Gametime Through Rec Center
    “The Durango Parks and Recreation offers an all-day program for school aged youth. Parents may register their child for specific days, weeks or entire months. Children will play games, create arts and craft projects, go swimming, take field trips, and much more. Children must have: a sack lunch, sunscreen, bug spray, swim wear, towel, and rain gear for each day. Occasionally, children will go on a field trip or tour that will require a small supplemental fee. Weekly schedules are given out for easy transition between summer Gametime and your child's other activities.”

Pack Camp at Purgatory

“At Purgatory Adventure Camp for Kids (PACK), children ages 5-13 experience activities that foster their curiosity and creativity, like rock climbing, ropes courses, nature projects, animal tracks, arts & crafts, and more.” Weekdays Monday through Friday starting June 5th through August 18th with the ability to pay per number of days your child wants to attend.

Durango Nature Studies

                “Parents can take joy in the fact that their kids will be spending their summer catching crawdads, building forts, hiking, exploring, river tromping, and learning about the natural world”  Each session has a different theme such as Wilderness Survival, Hydrology, Powerful Nature, Nature Detectives, Destination Desert, each two weeks in length.

DEVO Summer Camps

                Bike Polo- This camp is for ages 10-18 to explore the sport of Bike Polo. Practices include learning rules of the game, tactics, bike handing and ball handling drills, live games and building a mallet and will be coached by local experts and Polo professionals.

                Cycling Science-bike exploration and bike related hands on science at the Powerhouse in the afternoons. Kids will learn anatomy and physiology, nutrition, bike engineering and physics of biking.

                Purgatory Summer Camps Through Devo- Devo coaches will lead rides and serve as your kid’s camp counselor all day. Groups: Kids will be placed in groups based upon ability (beg/int/adv.  Camp activities include; special guest appearances, gravity skill sessions, bike fit, trail building.

Durango Arts Center

                The Durango Arts Center provides a number of summer camps/courses in visual and performing arts for a variety of ages and interests. There are too many to list here! Conveniently locatedat the Durango Arts Center, it provides easy drop off for the day as well as easy pick up if your kiddos don’t feel well.

Colvig Silver Camps

                “Our philosophy is community driven, non-competitive, choice-based, and outdoor oriented.”  They offer five programs tailored to four different age groups. The age groups are grades 2-4, 5-7, 8-9, and 10-11. “Each program offers a wide variety of activities and expeditions in addition to a safe and comfortable environment where kids can be themselves entirely.”

Powerhouse Science Center

“From robotics, coding, and animation to animals, plants, rockets, and more! Fuel your child’s interests with these fun and engaging learning opportunities! Each camp is carefully planned and taught by qualified, enthusiastic scientists and teachers. Our camps serve ages 3-15.”

Fun Ways to Entertain the Kids

Fun Ways to Entertain the Kids

School is officially out for the summer for the children of 9-R. Here are some of my favorite activities to take the kids out for the day or their favorite activities to do while I need to get some work done. Durango is great about getting kids active and entertained:

Durango Devo has amazing summer camps for all ages of kiddos and all lengths of time.

http://durangodevo.com/groups/

 

Some very hot days we like to take it inside for a little adventure. Honeyville located north of Durango has all sorts of honey treats as well as the ability to watch the bees make the honey the kids can enjoy later. Turning this trip into a little learning activity is fun for the kids and adults too. 

 

We always love to buy the family pass to Trimble Hot Springs. It is a great place to pack up lunch for the day and spend all day getting some sun, playing in the pool and soaking in the hot springs.

Mexican Logger is Here!!!

Mexican Logger is Here!!!

The much anticipated Mexican Logger brewed by Ska Brewing is back!!! Perfect for backyard BBQ's, rafting, and all things Durango this beer officially kicks off the summer season for Durango residents and those who have ever had a Mexican Logger. This year my marketing assistant was lucky enough to be the first person in 2017 to buy 6-packs of the good stuff for a closing gift, so we like to think we are in for an amazing summer.

Mexican Logger Release Party

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Best Après Work Ski Areas

Best Après Work Ski Areas

Chapman Hill

It doesn't get much better when the drive to go skiing is less than 5 minutes from your front door. Chapman Hill is a local favorite, although a small ski hill it offers a variety of skill levels a great day or evening of skiing. My favorite part of taking the kids to Chapman is being able to see them at any point on the hill all while sipping hot cocoa or coffee at the bottom.

Hesperus Ski Area

Recently acquired by the same company that owns Purgatory Resort this Durango classic is a must visit. Only 11 miles West of Durango on Highway 160 we like to think of this as the perfect after work ski destination. They are best known for there night skiing and "old school" ski area feel. New to skiing? We just learned they offer free lessons to first-timers!

Annual Holiday Movie Party

If you haven't had the chance to make it to this event yet it is time to put it on your radar for next holiday season. This year we had around 400 attendants come watch the movies and donate items to Project Merry Christmas. Project Merry Christmas is one of my favorite non-profits to help out, you are able to "adopt" families during the holidays in order to give back to those in need and help our community become even more outstanding. If you click on the "Learn More" button it will take you directly to their website and you can learn even more about Project Merry Christmas!

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Does It Make Sense to Move Up?

A vast majority of real estate articles are focused on first-time buyers. There is actually a segment of the real estate market called the “move-up market,” which, as its name implies, fits buyers who want to move into a larger home. This market describes homeowners who need a larger home or would like more land and property. For several reasons, the local La Plata County market is currently ripe for move-up buyers.

There is a real opportunity for homeowners to sell their homes in the more median price ranges of the market and “move up” to a home of their dreams. The values have increased for the low and mid-priced homes, yet the higher priced homes are still lagging. This makes it the perfect time to capitalize on the advantages of the impacted median-range home prices, and buy in the softer market of the higher-priced homes.

At this time, buyers may get more home for smaller differences in payment. In the past, the leap to move up would have been larger; now, buyers will have a smaller difference in house payment. This is a huge factor—why pay more in the future when the best value may be now?

Additionally, low interest rates make it easy now, but that may change in the future. As we have noted in the past, we are still sitting at historically low interest rates. Last week, we saw mortgage rates at a 4 month high, and a recent Wall Street Journal article states that it is likely the Federal Reserve will initiate an interest rate increase in December (http://www.wsj.com/articles/feds-task-next-week-signal-december-rate-rise-1477351253).

In La Plata County, there is an excellent selection of homes for buyers in the higher-priced range. If you are considering a move-up scenario, the inventory is strong now in this market segment, allowing choices and variety in home selection.

Finally, the property taxes are still low in La Plata County. Take advantage of lower taxes, lower interest rates, and a variety of home options available. For a strong visual, take a look at the median price change in the last two years in each market price range (below). As you can see, in all homes over $500,000, values have decreased in the last two years. In the under-$500,000 range, values have increased. If you would like to move to a larger home, now is a prime time. As always, please let us know if you have any questions, or would like to discuss the market further.

La Plata County (All Residential Units)

Median Price / Two Year Change:

Price Range: 10/25/13 thru 10/25/14 10/25/15 thru 10/25/16

0- $500,000 $287,500 $307,875 +7.1 %

$500,000-$750,000 $580,000 $570,000 -1.7 %

$750,000-$1 Million $855,000 $827,450 -3.2 %

$1Million-$2 Million $1,265,000 $1,231,250 -2.7 %

Harvest Party

We love getting to bring all of our favorite people together in the fall and what's even better is when the kids get to have their own fun as well! This year the Harvest Party fell on Halloween weekend, which means costumes were in full swing for the little ones. It turned out to be a perfect fall day and everyone was able to enjoy the last bit of warmth.

Huge thanks to SKA and The Container for the perfect venue, pizza, and beer (can you really ever go wrong with that combo??). Durango provides us with the perfect backdrop for a wonderful community, clients, and friends. So thankful for all of you!

See you next year!

Parade of Homes this Weekend!

If you are looking for a great activity this weekend to get out and enjoy the fall colors and local new construction, check out the Parade of Homes.

http://www.durangopoh.com/

Every year, in September, the Home Builders Association puts on this event to showcase the builders' recent projects. Some of the homes featured are for sale, but many are custom homes that are not for sale and won't be able to be seen later.

My favorite part of the Parade is the Night Under the Stars, from 5-9pm on Friday night. This is the best time to see the $1-2 million dollar homes at night with the lights on. Also, some of the builders host a cocktail party with wine and appetizers. This year, you can also "Grill and Chill" at SW Appliance from 5-9 on Friday. **Also, the rec center is offering $20 childcare on Friday night!

The Parade continues both Saturday and Sunday and if you go to all of the homes, you can enter to win some fabulous prizes such as a Green Egg Grill, granite countertops, an appliance package, and a work bench. In fact, my clients were visiting one year from AZ and they happened to WIN the grand prize appliance package!

Tickets are $20 each and you can buy them Here

A new event for kids this year is the Young Builders Lego Challenge at the Powerhouse Science Center on Saturday. Entry is free for kids whos parent has a Parade ticket, or $10 per child if the parent does not have a Parade ticket.

Many of you have been asking if my husband, Trevor has a project in the Parade of Homes this year. We get to have this September off!! Trevor doesn't have a home in the parade this year due to the scheduling of his project completions, but he will be in next year!

Some of you may remeber his Parade winner from 2013 on the Pine River in Bayfield. Pine River Home

This modern home, photographerd above, was his entry last year! Two Dogs Home

I've got some clients who entered their new home in Edgemont Highlands, built by Edgewood Construction, on Monarch Crest, so I'll be out and about looking at homes this weekend.

Hope to see you there!
Chelsea

Catch the Last Bit of Summer!

Summer is slowly coming to an end! If you happened to miss out on the great summer events Durango has to offer, you are in luck! Durango still has a few exciting events coming up!

     1. San Juan Brewfest

Source: http://sanjuanbrewfest.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/crowd-shot.jpg

Source: http://sanjuanbrewfest.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/crowd-shot.jpg

     Mark your calendars for Saturday, August 27th 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM! Located in Buckley Park (12th and Main), there will be 54 craft breweries and distilleries, along with live music and food vendors for your enjoyment! General Admission tickets ($32.49) gets you a 5 oz souvenir tasting glass and unlimited tastings. There are upgraded and VIP tickets available as well. Visit www.sanjuanbrewfest.com for more information.

     2. Farmers Market

Copyright 2016 Sydney Jeanne Design

Copyright 2016 Sydney Jeanne Design

     Don't miss Saturday mornings at the First National Bank parking lot! Every Saturday until the end of October is our local Farmers Market! A place where our community comes together to share their creative talents and harvests! Live music + veggies + meats + cheeses + jewelry + fresh food and more! Come down and show some local support! Don't forget to buy a t-shirt and bumper sticker with their new 2016 design! Design by my very own assistant, Sydney! 

      3. Durango Blues Train

Rockin’ Jake on the 2014 Durango Blues Train. Copyright Kevin Younger Photography.

Rockin’ Jake on the 2014 Durango Blues Train. Copyright Kevin Younger Photography.

      Limited tickets left for Friday, August 12th! Saturday is already SOLD OUT! Don't miss out on this incredibly unique and fun night! A two night event (August 12-13th) on the historic Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. The train ride is approximately 3.5 hours long and will feature 2 full bands + 4 individual artists. Once the train gets going, attendees are free to move about the train cars to see the different artists, dance around, purchase food and drinks at the concession cart, and use the restrooms. Visit www.durangobluestrain.com for more lineup, tickets, and more information. 

     4. Mushroom Festival

Source: https://www.purgatoryresort.com/events/mushroom-festival/

Source: https://www.purgatoryresort.com/events/mushroom-festival/

          This annual festival is located at Purgatory (Durango Mountain Resort). It is a two day event. Friday from 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM is an exquisite 6-course meal featuring wild mushrooms picked from the mountain (tickets to each event are sold separately and are expected to sell out). Saturday morning at 9:00 AM is a guided mushroom hunt on the mountain. Experts will help you identify different types of mushrooms along with other helpful info! Starting at 1:00 PM is the culinary showcase. Five local fine dining restaurants will be participating: Eolus, East by Southwest, Ore House, Mutu's and Purgy's. Each dish will include mushrooms and a wine pairing chosen by the chef. Visit the event website for ticket prices and more details. 

5 Best Springtime Activities in Durango

If you have lived in Colorado for more than a year, you already know that the spring weather changes daily. One day it's sunny with a high of 75, and the next day we're getting 2 feet of snow! Despite the crazy weather, the best part of spring in Durango are the events! Check out my favorite 5 springtime activities to put on your calendar this spring!

  1. Hiking Trails
    Durango has so many incredible hiking trails. Take advantage of one of these warm, sunny days and get hiking! Check out this website for different trails and their conditions. Always good to check the conditions before heading out! 

  2. Durango Bluegrass Meltdown
    April 15th-17th  10:00 AM - 10:00 PM @ Downtown Durango
    Come downtown and enjoy live bluegrass music for three days at various venues downtown. There will be over 20 different bands performing throughout the three days. Some bands choose to play at a few of the bars later with no cover charge! There will also be various indoor and outdoor locations for informal jam sessions. Go to this website for more information and an updated lineup.

  3. Durango Farmer's Market
    Saturdays May 14th-October 29th 8:00 AM - Noon @ First National Bank Parking Lot
    Great venue full of local farmers, value-added vendors, artisans, live music, and more! All goods are grown/made by their seller. Fantastic weekly event that supports Durango locals and our community!

  4. The Taste of Durango
    Sunday May 15th 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM @ Downtown Durango
    All of downtown Main closes for this epic Durango event! Many local restaurants and breweries have a booths set up where you can sample dishes and beer with tokens. Do not miss out on all the fun, live music and dancing!

  5. Iron Horse Bicycle Classic
    May 28th-30th 7:00 AM - 6:00 PM from Durango to Silverton
    One of Durango's most popular events. Every year thousands of cyclists come down to Durango to race the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad to Silverton. The first race was back in 1972 with only 36 riders!

Do you have any favorite springtime activities in Durango? Let me know in the comments! 

All Aboard the Polar Express!

   If you have kids and are lucky enough to live in the Durango area, odds are you'll be riding the Polar Express annually for several years! 

The train ride lasts about 2 hours and it goes out to the North Pole (aka Sleeping Beauty Ranch in the Animas Valley). The "Chefs" on board are very cute teens--in fact our nanny was one a couple years ago. They are usually theater students looking for extra money during break! Luckily the train ride is entertaining for the kids with all the singing and treats. Kids often dress in pajamas or a robe, which makes it extra cute! 

This year, my mother in law came to visit and we rode the Polar Express with all the cousins! As you can imagine, it was nutty!

After the ride, the kids can meet Santa and sit on his lap. Ryder said he wanted a "quiet robot" for Christmas!!! (It's because last year Santa brought him robot that was too loud and it scared him!)

Unfortunately, the Polar Express can be expensive and there are families who aren't able to ride this train. Last year I donated 4 seats to a family in need. I found them through the Family Center  who was incredibly helpful in organizing this. 

Since the holidays fill me with extra gratitude, I try to help those who are less fortunate every year. This year I've adopted two families in need (one is elderly and one is disabled) and plan to do some shopping and cooking for them. I look forward to doing this, and I plan to involve my kids more in the process so they can help too. 

For more information on Project Merry Christmas, click here

Let me know ways that you like to get involved with the community. I am always looking for more ways to help! 

Happiest of Holidays to you all! 

Family Photos

We recently had some family photos done to announce the arrival of baby Reese! We used longtime friends, Chowen Photography. They are so amazingly talented. I highly recommend them! They shoot destination weddings too! 

Here are a few of our family. 



House Hunters in Durango, Colorado

The popular show from HGTV, House Hunters, was looking to film in Durango. My buyers and I had the opportunity to be on the show in April, 2013. We filmed in October of 2012. 

It was such a neat perspective from behind the camera... certainly different from what you see on the show! 

Many people have asked to see the episode after it aired and I never knew where to find it. Lately, a friend told me it was on Netflix. 

You can also watch the episode here, on Amazon

Enjoy!! 

Summer in Durango

Living in Durango is a conscious choice by many. People don't typically "end up" here, they often make it a goal to live here and figure out the housing and job equation later. Some of the things I love about Durango in the summer are the Farmer's Market, the local, organic produce, and the river! 

Here's a picture of my recent score at the Farmer's Market from Cartwheel Clothing. Jennifer makes some awesome kid's clothes!! Baby Krueger will be stylin'!

We also joined the Twin Buttes CSA this year. I've been really pleased with the quality of the produce. Their salad greens are delicate and delicious. We often get a nice variety of herbs (cilantro, basil, dill, garlic and garlic scapes), Swiss chard, baby romaine lettuce, radishes, green onions.... the list goes on. Right now Twin Buttes has opened their CSA to 40 members that don't live in the neighborhood, but soon this community garden will be shared with residents only. They also have fresh eggs and honey! 

If you don't know much about Twin Buttes, you should check them out here. This community is located just west of Durango and offers a sustainable, energy efficient lifestyle. They have miles of awesome riding and hiking trails and their amenities will include things like a farm to table restaurant, a holistic healing center and much more. So far they are taking reservations for vacant lots and will be closing on them sometime in the next 6 months or so. Vertical construction will likely be happening in 2015. This neighborhood will create about 300 new home sites for people who are wanting to be close to town! 

A couple Friday's ago we decided to walk down to the river with our paddle boards to cool off. Ryder's favorite part is using his squirt gun!! The water is still pretty chilly, but I am happy to report that the current level is at about 900 CFS. It has come down significantly in the past weeks, but it appears to be higher than 2012 and 2013 at this time of year. Check out this cool graph, courtesy of Durango Herald. 

If you have any good ideas for activities this summer in Durango, let me know!!!