Back in the saddle

As anyone who’s visited my site more than once in recent years knows, fresh posts have been few and far between. 

I've been retired for four years, but remain as busy as ever, volunteering for several non-profits, serving on two local boards and tackling personal projects. Those passion projects include more writing, specifically a book project I’ll share more about soon. 

A decade ago, I was posting here nearly every day. But my career got especially busy, and fun diversions like “My Spew” and “My Distractions” quickly became low priorities, then strangers.

I’d like to change that, not only because writing is empowering, but because my site appears dead. My Marchbanks Speedway/Hanford Motor Speedway content continues to draw daily readers even though the bulk of that content is 15 years old. 

So, rather than starting a Substack or BeeHiv like everyone else, I’ll continue to tinker here. And I said in my first post nearly two decades ago, I consider this site an experiment. It’s in dire need of fresh paint — Elon bounced me from Twitter several years ago, and I haven’t locked into Flickr for ages, so I need to ditch those page elements — but for now, I’ll start with writing more frequently and take it from there. 

Cheers! 

Getting into the balloon-festival business

Balloons hover near Bald Eagle Lake in Steamboat Springs in 2018I've been in the local-media business a long time and have gotten my hands into a wide variety of initiatives. And while I've managed events, I've never taken on something of the scope of a hot-air balloon festival. Well, that time has come. 

The Steamboat Springs Chamber of Commerce has handed management of the long-running Steamboat balloon event over the Steamboat Pilot & Today. We're thrilled to be entrusted to take over an iconic event that has brought tens of thousands of visitors to Steamboat over the last 37 years. 

This year's event will be July 13-14, and will feature early morning launches Saturday and Sunday and a Saturday evening "Night Glow" in which the hot-air balloon launches don't lift off but instead deliver a light show as night falls. 

I shadowed chamber staff during the 2018 Hot Air Balloon Rodeo to learn the ropes of putting on the event, and also attended the Soaring above Bald Eagle Lake at the 2018 Steamboat balloon event.much larger Labor Day Liftoff in Colorado Springs to pick up some other ideas. 

There are many things that work well with the Steamboat event, so we plan to protect what's working. One thing we will change is to rename the event the Steamboat Springs Hot Air Balloon Festival.  We will still offer competitions for the balloon pilots -- that's where the Rodeo term comes from -- but want to accentuate the full complement of activities visitors can enjoy while at the three balloon events. 

There is much planning to be done in the coming months, so stay tuned as we move forward. But be sure to block out July 13-14 on your calendars. 

5 Minutes With ... me

Steamboat Pilot & Today publishes a number of magazines throughout the year, including Colorado Hunter, Homefinder, Explore, Best of The Boat, Bike Guide, Steamboat Springs Pro Rodeo Series Guide and Move to Steamboat. 

Move To Steamboat is an annual relocation guide produced in conjunction with the Steamboat Springs Chamber Resort Association. 

The new 2019 edition of Move To Steamboat is filled with wonderful information about Steamboat/Routt County and its many gifts. The issue also includes a "5 Minutes With" feature on me, among Steamboat's newest residents. But rather than reading that, I encourage you to peruse the e-edition so you can learn a little bit about the terrific community that is small in size but big in just about everything else.