I could think of worse places to be stranded.
After two days of gourmet meals and cross-country skiing in a Colorado mountain resort, the snow wasn't stopping."We have enough food for three more days," joked owner Ken Jones.
The Home Ranch, some 12 miles from the popular ski town of Steamboat Springs, sits nestled in a white wonderland in winter. Snow drifts higher than the windows of the first-floor rooms of the main lodge.
The ranch is about 200 miles northwest of Denver, nestled in a true Western setting. Jones is more than your typical singing cowboy - his band, Ken and the Ranch Hand Band, performs for guests.
I had come here to try cross-country skiing on a smaller scale than is found at some of Colorado's bigger ski resorts; and hopefully to find out that I was better at it than alpine skiing.
The ranch day begins when guests gather to eat family-style in the dining room at two long tables. Jones' wife Cile said laughingly that repeat guests soon become like family.
Eighty percent of the guests at the Home Ranch are repeats, Jones said, many coming from cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Houston, Atlanta and Chicago.
"Most people see it as an escape," he said. There are no phones or televisions in the rooms - no hookups for computers, either.
Breakfast is served from 7:30 to 9 a.m. A buffet offers cereal, muffins and fruit. Hot choices made to order include breakfast burritos, specialty pancakes and French toast and eggs.
Breakfast also is an opportunity to decide what activities to pursue that day: cross-country at the ranch or on national parklands, downhill at Steamboat Springs, snowshoeing on the ranch or perhaps something less strenuous, such as reading by the fire in the lodge living area.
For me, it was suiting up for cross-country skiing lessons with guide and instructor Brendan Delaney and some other guests. We assembled at the equipment cabin by 9:30 a.m. where we were fitted with boots, skis and poles.
With the thermometer at 23 degrees, I was beginning to wonder about my decision.
Thirty minutes later, after a quick course in the rudiments of the sports, we were off on a 2 1/2-hour course on ranch property.
I found it easier in many ways than alpine; it was a lot less difficult to get back up after falling while wearing the cross-country ski boots. Since they are attached to the ski only by the toe, there is better movement. The skis, however, seem longer and less willing to go in the direction I wanted.
The Home Ranch also has a downhill package that provides daily lift tickets and a complimentary shuttle to Steamboat Springs. Snowmobiling also is an option with the Steamboat package.
Had the weather been more cooperative - winter storm warnings were up the weekend in January I was there - I would have done some alpine skiing.
One reason to get out and ski cross country is to work off the gourmet food that chef Clyde Nelson serves up. The Home Ranch's lunches and dinners leave most ski town restaurants in the dust.
Nelson, who trained under master chef Antoine Flory, is originally from New England.
"Our goal is not to knock your socks off," Nelson says. "It is freshness and consistency." But such gourmet offerings as pecan-crusted Colorado rack of lamb and elk chops with blackberry port wine did knock my socks off, and so did the fresh homemade breads at every meal.
Dinner each night offered a choice of three entrees: meat, fish or poultry and vegetarian.
"If you've got a lot of Californians, they're going to be eating very low fat," Nelson says.
Nelson has an herb garden at the ranch. An organic farm in the Clark valley grows potatoes and greens exclusively for the ranch.
When it is time to bed down for the night, the ranch's lodge rooms and cabins beat a bedroll under the stars. There are six rooms in the main lodge, each sleeping two to three guests. Each room has a coffee maker with coffee, tea and hot chocolate, a refrigerator with cheese and crackers and, of course, the endless cookie jar and dried fruit. Visitors may be surprised that the rooms have no keys; you can lock them from the inside but not the outside (there are safes in every room).
"If you start getting too many faxes from the office, we start taking away the chocolate chip cookies in your room," Cile jokes.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
If you hanker to visit Colorado resort:
Where: The Home Ranch, Box 822, Clark, CO 80428; (970) 879-1780.
Getting there: The ranch is 200 miles (a four-hour drive) from Denver International Airport. From Denver take I-70 west to Highway 9 North, then Highway 40 West to Steamboat Springs then Route County Road 129 to the ranch. Yampa Valley Regional Airport is 45 minutes from the ranch.
Rooms and rates: Winter rates range from $385 for a lodge room to $435 for cabins that sleep four to six. The three-bedroom, three-bath Columbine cabin is $1,430 a night in winter.
Meals: In addition to three gourmet meals a day, the ranch will provide a box lunch those spending the day in Steamboat Springs.
Amenities: Cross-country skiing equipment, lessons and off-property skiing at national parklands is included. Snowshoes and guides are included, too.
Each of the eight cabins has its own hot tub. There is also a heated pool and a sauna at the lodge.
Children's program: For children 6 and up there is a children's program that runs daily, 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. During the winter children can ski, sled, snowshoe, ride a horse-drawn sleigh, play games and do arts and crafts. Evenings are spent in the recreation room. Youth dinner is served at 5:30 p.m.