By Jessica Zemple

Gateway Canyons Resort and Spa

 

Tap into your curiosity, kick-start your heart with adventure, find peace and more connection to yourself, experience the Wild West, or relax in luxury at this luxury resort.

Curiosity. Adventure. Connection. Some “Wild West”…and yes, luxury. You must be near the border of Colorado and Utah where five canyons, with layers of magnificent red rock aging over 300 million years, converge to build a serene valley and where you find Gateway Canyons Resort and Spa. Each of the five canyons has a story of its own, just as the resort, #12 Best Resort in the World in 2014 by Conde Nast, offers five unique aspects – curiosity, adventure, connection, Wild West, and luxury – that converge into an unforgettable experience.

Curiosity

As one might expect from John Hendricks, the man who has piqued the world’s curiosity through his global media empire Discovery Communications (which includes Discovery Channel and Animal Planet), Gateway Canyons Resort and Spa is designed to tap into your desire to explore, learn, and yes – discover.

Zebulon Miracle, the Curator of Curiosity, exudes enthusiasm as he takes you back in time by looking at real dinosaur tracks and explaining what each layer of the majestic rocks surrounding the resort represent. You can also visit the Hanging Flumes to learn about an engineering feat that was built in the late 1800’s to bring water up from the canyon to pan for gold.

Getting lost under the clear night sky as you melt into the Milky Way is almost a guarantee. With over 320 days of sun and clear skies in the area, your private hot tub or around the fire pit makes the perfect vantage point.

For even more inspiration, join Mr. Hendricks at the annual Curiosity Retreat, a unique forum to explore life’s most important questions.  You will listen to visionaries, scholars, and trendsetters like Jason Silva talk about talk about digital transcendence or Brian Greene discuss quantum mechanics. Visit Curiosity Stream to listen to previous lectures.

 

Adventure

Peeling yourself away from the luxurious pool and prickly pear margaritas, you can get your adrenaline flowing with the thrilling experience of riding, driving, or racing (yes, you can drive it!) a Pro Baja truck. After flying through the air on the track, you could always opt to fly through the valley or nearby Arches National Parks in a private helicopter tour.

And if staying close to land is what you prefer, challenge your vertical limits by climbing the face of the powerful Palisades Tower, skeet shooting, or taking down your friends and family in a “friendly” game of laser tag.

 

Otherwise whet your sense of adventure with water activities by rafting down the Dolores River for a lazy afternoon or find some rapids to get your heart racing.

 

Connection

Natural and personal connections are one of the many opportunities you can choose at Gateway Canyons Resort and Spa. Ten minutes into the drive to the Gateway Canyons Resort and Spa from the airport you lose cellular coverage  – allowing you to connect to natural beauty, a friend, or special someone sitting next to you. (Coverage can be regained once you get to the resort – although to get the most out of the incredible opportunities and experience I’d recommend staying disconnected from technology as long as possible).

Connect with yourself by starting your morning with a meditation on your deck looking out at magnificent Palisades Tower – it so naturally draws your attention every time you see it, connect with the earth by taking a hike on one of the nearby trails (they range in length and difficulty), meander by the gentle Delores River, or practice yoga with an elegant vista as your studio.

Wild West

Step back in time to experience the Wild West at Gateway Canyons Resort and Spa. On the generous 500 acre estate, you can try herding cattle with lifetime cattle rancher and cowboy, Brian Redmond, or explore the hills on horseback while hearing the stories of real life legends like Robert Leroy Parker (Butch Cassidy) who used the canyons of the Dolores River Canyon as a get-a-way after robbing the bank in Telluride, Colorado.

After tapping into your inner Annie Oakley or John Wayne, you can enjoy a BBQ with smoked salmon or bison and the best peach cobbler you could ever imagine. Enjoy your mouth-watering meal near the stable listening to locals play the banjo or perhaps over a fire on the mesa overlooking the awe-inspiring canyons.

Gateway Canyons Resort and Spa

Luxury

The luxury begins when leaving the Grand Junction airport in the world-class Mercedes sprinter. The cushy leather seats fully recline allowing you to rest for the hour ride to the resort – unless your hunger for nature beckons and invites you to ingest the beautiful canyon you drive through.

 

You can choose to rent a luxury vehicle from the ever-impressive fleet of Bentleys, Teslas, or Vipers, to name a few, which can be reserved and elegantly awaiting your arrival at the airport. Or helicopter, if coming from a nearby town like Aspen, could also pick you up. You’ll most certainly arrive traveling in style.

 

Your room or suite in the adobe style resort, will be adorned with details of the Wild West intersecting with elegance. The only challenge you’ll have is determining whether to lounge in your soaking tub with the wine caddy and jet lag sea salts, or shower outdoors under the stars with a fine line of SpaTerre products to sooth your hair and skin.  Or, perhaps pamper yourself and enjoy treatments at the lavish spa that includes all the essentials to take you into pure bliss.

 

You can also choose to take the helicopter for a private picnic on a mesa overlooking the breathtaking valley, or walk through the impressive collection of vintage cars. The collection has a prize within, a 1954 F88 Oldsmobile (which many believe to be the pinnacle collectible as the F88 was actually never produced) is the only one in existence. Which also explains why its value is in the unknown ‘M’ category.

 

The options are endless at Gateway Canyons Resort and Spa if you are looking to tap into your curiosity, kick-start your heart with adventure, find peace and more connection to yourself and the world around you, experience the Wild West, or relax in luxury. It could just be time to create your own unbelievable experience of a lifetime. You know where to find it.

www.gatewaycanyons.com