FROZEN DELIGHT In addition to the plentiful snowfalls that support client Brooks Lake Lodge’s winter season – including epic snowmobiling days fueled by the “best lunch in the middle of nowhere” – the backcountry Wyoming guest ranch has been the subject of an avalanche of press lately. The lodge was a top-of-the-list choice for U.S. News & World Report’s 24 Top All-Inclusive Resorts in the U.S. for 2024; Reader’s Digest gave them “best for tranquility” status on its 25 Best All-Inclusive Resorts in the United States, and USA Today’s “10 Best” chose the resort as one of just three Wyoming guest ranches elevating luxury travel in the American West – as the place where “pioneer-era Western intersects with luxury.” On top of the national kudos, a February visit from Cowboy State Daily’s tourism writer has sparked a whole series of stories in the news outlet, detailing everything from the lodge’s 102-year-history to this year’s incarnation of its Insta-famous meal-in-a-glass “insane bloody mary.”

TIP OF THE HAT Aspen Design House has been getting their cowgirl on with a sprawling Colorado Roaring Fork Valley remodel the team undertook featured in the March/April issue of Cowgirl magazine. The kitchen’s major makeover served as a “tipping point” that set the tone for the whole-house Rustic Meets Modern aesthetic, Aspen Design House owner and creative director Denise Taylor tells the magazine. The mission was to retain – and enhance – the classic mountain home’s architectural features while redefining the space in a calm, cohesive approach that felt like sanctuary while making a statement. “When you have a house this grand, it needed to feel like Kevin Costner coming home to Yellowstone Ranch,” says senior designer Gigi Podolak Knox. And if the home’s main floor trades on stately spaces and expansive views, the walk-out lower level brings the fun, with a chic, fur-and-sparkle-bedecked play space inspired by Aspen’s iconic Hotel Jerome.

LET IT SNOW It’s spring-break season in the Colorado high-country and longtime Word PR client Antlers at Vail hotel found themselves a value selection for a snowy getaway from Family Travel Forum writer Kyle McCarthy, in an article on best vacay options from Hawaii to New York City that also got syndicated play from mega news aggregator msn.com. McCarthy touted the Rocky Mountain high-country charms of the famously family-friendly Antlers, including comfy-condo digs from studio suites to 4-bedroom penthouses, each with a fully equipped kitchen, fireplace, balcony, and daily housekeeping. “Other perks include a heated outdoor pool, hot tub, fire pits, wine and cheese receptions, weekly yoga and transport,” writes McCarthy, also mentioning the uber-convenient free ski valet and steps-away access to the Eagle Bahn gondola. All par for the course for the Vail lodging star whose motto has long been, “The answer is yes, now what was the question?”