The Latest Changes at Utah Ski Resorts for the Upcoming Season

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Coral Gables is a lush mix of ponds, palms, ferns, big birds, and whimsical sculpture. One step inside the serene environs and you’re staring at an anhinga drying its wings in the sun next to Dale Chihuly’s colorful works of glass hidden in the orchids and big-leaf ferns. Serpentine trails lead you into a rainforest shaded by vanilla trees, under the Spanish moss hanging from a southern live oak, and past the massive roots of a 70-year old baobab tree. Add the large collection of herons and warblers that are fortunate to call the Fairchild home and you have the perfect rendezvous away from the crowds at South Beach.
Last autumn, I wrote a story for Body + Soul Magazine on great fall biking outside of New England. Here are my three picks:
Keuka Lake, New York
Vineyards paired with lakefront pedaling create a perfect day of biking in the Finger Lakes region of western New York. Rent bikes and grab a map from Wheels Unlimited in Bath and then head north to Hammondsport and the shores of Keuka Lake. On Route 54A, you’ll find the award-winning Rieslings created at Dr. Konstantin Frank’s Vinifera Wine Cellars. Have a sip, but save some energy to roll up and down the road, stopping atop bluffs to admire the glorious vistas of the water.
Asheville, North Carolina
Come to Asheville in late October, early November and you’ll find the leaves on the dogwoods, sweetgums, and mountain ash all changing color. The reason why the famed Blue Ridge Parkway is so congested with leaf peepers. The folks at Liberty Bicycles will provide bikes and steer you away from the traffic, leading you to nearby Burnsville for a favorite local ride. On this 37-mile loop, you’ll bike over suspension bridges past old tobacco farms and country stores.
Bend, Oregon
Autumn colors are not usually associated with the Northwest, the land of conifers. Yet, outside of Bend, aspen groves provide enough color to excite the local contingent of riders. Rent bikes and grab a detailed map at Hutch’s Bicycle Shop in Bend for the start of a glorious 32-mile ride that takes advantage of central Oregon’s variety of terrain—sage-scented high desert, sparkling lakes, raging rivers, flower-filled meadows, and snowcapped North, Middle, and South Sister Mountains rising 10,000 feet above town. Spend your night at the six-room Lara House, conveniently located across from Drake Park in the center of town. Then grab a microbrew or homemade ginger ale at Deschutes Brewery, dutifully earned after the ride.
I caught up with Sam von Trapp at the Boston Ski Show and he was really excited about the opening of his new bierhall at Stowe’s Trapp Family Lodge. He’s been brewing award-winning Austrian-style lagers since 2010 but now you have a chance to swig a pint at large communal tables while being served lunch and dinner items from the wood-fired grill. The bierhall is located right on the cross-country ski trail network (and mountain biking network come spring). I can think of no better way to reward yourself after a good sweat than having a cool freshly made lager. Look forward to checking it out this winter!
We toured 5 distilleries during our time in Kentucky Bourbon Country. We really enjoyed our visit to Bardstown Bourbon Company, the tasting at Heaven Hill (where we purchased coveted Old Fitzgerald 14-year-old bottles to bring home) and doing the hard hat tour at the 1930s industrial complex still in use at Buffalo Trace. Yet, it was hard to top our visit to Wild Turkey in the serene bluegrass country outside Lawrenceburg. One look at those rickhouses blackened on the outside from evaporation and you can sense the history. In fact, a distillery has been operating at this same site since 1869. We had a wonderful guide, Edwina, who showed us the whole process of making bourbon, from seeing the mash bills and fermentation tanks to walking inside one of those old rickhouses and eyeing all those barrels stacked to the ceiling. Wild Turkey currently has 7 to 8 million barrels aging, forming the largest distillery on one site in Kentucky. Outside, the rolling hills led to a bridge over the Kentucky River and the countryside was aflame in late fall foliage.