Ski Rex: “Come and join Colorado Ski & Golf for the Annual Ski Rex Sale! Save 30-75% on the HOTTEST SKIS, SNOWBOARDS, AND GEAR FROM ALL OF THE TOP BRANDS!!! Starts Labor Day Weekend!!!” Starting today at Colorado Ski & Golf.

Powder Daze: “All ski and board gear and apparel up to 75% off!  Best selection of quality ski and board gear at the lowest prices!” September 3-12 at Christy Sports.

ARTCRANK: “Bikes are the world’s most fun and accessible way to get around. Posters are the world’s most fun and accessible art form. ARTCRANK brings them together.  ARTCRANK is a showcase of bicycle-inspired original poster artwork that people can enjoy looking at and afford to take home. Every ARTCRANK show features posters created by local artists from the host city. Admission is always free, and posters are priced to let everybody take home at least one.” Today, 1PM-11PM at the Lisa Kowalski Gallery.

A Taste of Colorado: “A Taste of Colorado stands proud as the end-of-summer celebration of community pride and spirit in the Denver region.  Over 500,000 people make the four-day Festival their Labor Day Weekend celebration and enjoy the offerings of over 50 area food establishments, 270 marketplace artisans and vendors, six entertainment stages, and educational programs promoting the diverse cultural and western heritage of the region — all for no admission fee.” September 3-6 at Civic Center Park.

Boulder Creek Hometown Fair: “Started in 1998, this hometown celebration features over 100 arts & crafts exhibitors in Central Park and on the Boulder Public Library lawn along the creek, great live performances at the Bandshell, an interactive Sports & Kids Expo, the 1st Annual Family Fun & Fitness 5K, food court & beer garden, the infamous Chili Inferno Cook-Off, Classic Car Show, and an entire children’s area with carnival rides and exhibitors, the Great Zucchini Race, Big Wheel 300 races, and much more!” September 4-6 in Boulder’s Central Park and on the Boulder Public Library lawn.

If you haven’t already: check out the Avett Brothers, who are opening for Gov’t Mule tonight, and pick up your Epic Pass while the price is guaranteed!

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Scott and Seth Avett are brothers who make music with a sense of emotion, positivity, and honesty that is rare in music today.  In Salvation Song, they sing: “We came for salvation/we came for family/we came for all that’s good, that’s how we’ll walk away./We came to break the bad/we came to cheer the sad/we came to leave behind the world a better way.”  Mission accomplished.  It is nearly impossible to go to an Avett Brothers show and not come out smiling.  Their shows are full of Good music, Good people, and an energy that will have you boot-stomping and dancing like there’s no tomorrow.

Rather than continuing to tell you how Good this band is, we compiled our top 5 favorite Avett Brothers videos so you can see for yourself what they are all about.  Enjoy, and have fun at the ‘Rocks!

5. Swept Away:

4. The Ballad of Love and Hate:

3. At the Beach:

2. Murder in the City:

1. Laundry Room:

The Avett Brothers open for Gov’t Mule on Saturday at Red Rocks at 5:30PM.  Tickets can be purchased here.  The band’s newest album, I and Love and You, is on sale at Amazon.com for $5.

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This is really impressive.

Books like this one can save your life.

Always do your best to prepare yourself so that you don’t need fancy technology to get you out of a bind. Build your skill set by studying books on your activity as you get more and more advanced (the eighth edition [50th anniversary!] of the classic mountaineering text Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills, now available for pre-order, is a great reference for mountaineers of all ability levels).  Surround yourself with those who are highly experienced and trained at what you are doing, and use every opportunity to learn from them.  If you don’t know people who are highly skilled at survival, rescue, or the basics of how to do your activity of choice safely, take a course.

REI offers free excellent programming that, while not as in-depth as a course, help prepare you to be safe in the outdoors.  The REI website has a list of all of the upcoming Denver programs here and the Boulder ones here.  Three notable programs happening in September include:

• Maps, Compasses, & Orienteering: Denver, 1PM 9/3/10 & 1PM 9/17/10 (FREE)
• How to Climb a 14er/High Altitude Hikes: Boulder, 7PM 9/14/10 & Denver, 7PM 9/16/10 (FREE)
• 3-Season Survival Skills: Denver, 7PM 9/15/10 (FREE)

The National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) is renowned for its wilderness education courses.  NOLS offers courses in rock climbing, mountaineering, skiing, backpacking, wilderness medicine, and more on trips all over the world.  The average age of NOLS students is 19-20, but there is no maximum age limit for taking a course.  For a full list of NOLS courses, click here.

If you want a truly hardcore survival course, look into the Boulder Outdoor Survival School (BOSS).  BOSS specifically rejects technology, taking you into the wilderness “with little more than a knife, a water bottle, a blanket, and a poncho.”  Based out of Boulder, CO, BOSS offers its 7, 14, and 28-day courses on outdoor survival in the similarly-named Boulder, UT.

Whether you’re a hiker or a biker, climber or kayaker, educate yourself and be prepared so you stay safe, have fun, and keep on living the Good life!

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For a Good book about how more technology is not always better in life, check out Better Off: Flipping the Switch on Technology.

Yoga Rocks the Park

Yoga rocks.  And every Sunday until September 19, Yoga Rocks the Park. Yoga Rocks the Park is group yoga featuring Denver’s top yoga instructors, live music (definitely unique), and a keg of High Country Kombucha for post-yoga refreshment.   This is a great way to enjoy the fantastic weather outside, treat your body well, meet new people, and make a difference: the profits from your $10 donation go to Yoga World Reach, which brings yoga to correctional facilities, shelters, schools, and more.  Not a bad way to spend a Sunday!

Yoga Rocks the Park takes place on Sundays through September 19 at 4PM in City Park near the intersection of York and 21st.

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Green Route Denver

The Green Route Festival will feature local organic food and drinks, sustainable businesses, live music, farmer’s markets, live painting, and fire dancing.  Organizers hope to have “zero impact” by composting waste, encouraging the use of bicycles and transportation, encouraging attendees to bring their own water bottles and eating utensils, and by utilizing a solar-powered stage.  Tickets are $13.99 in advance or $20 at the door, though you can get an $8 discount on door tickets by showing a bike parking stub, an RTD pass, a water bottle, or a food utensil you brought from home.

The Green Route Festival is Saturday August 28 from 2PM-11PM at Walnut and 26th.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest updates and Good links such as the recent article in the New York Times on Denver’s local food scene!

Summer may almost be over, but we’ve got until September 22 until the fat lady sings.  So let’s focus on the blessings:

• Black Diamond Epic Sale (August 23-September 1): The Epic Sale features “up to 30% off nearly everything,” but the emphasis here should be on the “up to”–most gear is not 30% off.  Still, there are some Good deals in this sale on climbing gear, ski gear, and mountain gear; you just have to find them.
• The Wilderness Exchange: The Wilderness Exchange usually has plenty of Good gear on sale (such as tents, sleeping bags, and climbing shoes), and here’s a link to 10% off any one item–even if it is already discounted (valid through August 29).  Follow Wilderness Exchange’s Facebook page to stay on top of their frequent Good deals.
• REI Labor Day Sale and Clearance (August 27-September 6):  REI’s Labor Day Sale and Clearance has Good deals in nearly every store category: 15-25% off bikes and bike gear, up to 30% off camping gear, 15-30% off water sports gear, 25% off Clif and Luna bars, special deals on skis and boards (Denver store only), and much more.
• SNIAGRAB 2010 from Sports Authority (starting September 4): Save up to 75% off ‘09-’10 boards, skis, outerwear, and accessories.  This sale is full of steep discounts–but be sure to get to the store early to get the best deals.  If you are out of town for Labor Day weekend, have no fear: this will be the first year ever that SNIAGRAB will also be online.
• The Epic Pass:  The Epic Pass is perfectly named.  It gives you unlimited ski/snowboard access to Vail, Keystone, Breckenridge, Beaver Creek, Arapahoe Basin, and Heavenly for $599–totally epic.  There also is a new Epic 7-Pack, which gives you (or probably a friend/family member planning a vacation) seven days of access to the same six mountains for $449.  The Summit Pass, which was around last year, gives you unlimited skiing at Breckenridge, Keystone, and A-Basin for $409.*  If last year is any indicator, you will probably be able to purchase these passes into late November, but don’t push your luck–get yours now while the price is guaranteed.  We highly recommend the Epic Pass.
• The Colorado Pass: The Colorado Pass gives you unlimited access to Keystone, Breckenridge, and A-Basin, and 10 days at Vail and Beaver Creek (excluding blackout dates).  This pass will go on sale starting September 3 for $449.  *If you are considering purchasing the Summit Pass, consider this: for less than half of the cost of one day pass at Vail or Beaver Creek you can get 10 days of skiing at either by purchasing the Colorado Pass instead.

The next two deals could bless us a little more.  But if you can put them to Good use, bon voyage!

• Frontier Airlines Labor Day Holiday Sale: If you want to fly on the Saturday or Sunday before Labor Day or the Wednesday after it, then this sale is for you.  Frontier has flights from $49 to $129 one-way for travel on September 4, 5, and 8.  Tickets must be purchased by September 3.
• United Airlines Discounted First-Class Tickets and Summer Deals : United is currently offering discounted first-class tickets to and from Denver (a 7-day advance round-trip purchase is required and travel must be complete by September 30).  United also has summer deals to/from Denver from $49 one-way (tickets must be purchased 14-21 days in advance and travel on a Sunday is a no-go).

Finally, don’t forget about 30% off Gap, Gap Outlet, Gap Factory Store, The Gap Generation, Banana Republic, Banana Republic Factory Store, and Old Navy August 26-August 29 with 5% of your purchase being donated to Teach For America.

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Did you know? Denver is predicted to be the fourth-most visited U.S. city on Labor Day weekend.

An EPIC bike ride will be taking place this Sunday, August 29, 2010.  Billed as “the toughest century ride in the United States,” the Deer Creek Challenge spans 106.11 miles and a whopping 12,751 feet of elevation gain.

The ride starts in Deer Creek Canyon by the Botanic Gardens Chatfield and over the course of the day takes riders up the canyon, through Conifer, Evergreen, and Kittredge, and ends with a glorious descent down the beautiful and aptly-named High Grade Rd. back through the canyon to the Botanic Gardens.  After the ride, cyclists will be treated to post-ride barbeque, free massages, and free beer.

The organizers seem to have done a great job of planning the race.  The course will be freshly swept; there will be eight aid stations featuring amenities ranging from the expected (water, fruit, GU Electrolyte Brew) to the awesome (PB/J, pizza, and homemade brownies); there will be limited traffic; and they are even offering on-demand SAG wagon support (just bring your cell phone).

If you don’t feel up to conquering the century ride, you can opt for the metric century (100km/62 miles) or the 33-mile course.  But, then again, can you really turn down the challenge of completing the toughest century ride in the United States?!

Online registration closes on Friday, but if you’re having trouble committing, you can still register at the event on ride day.

Smooth cruisin’!

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Deer Creek Challenge Map (Click to Enlarge)

30% Off Gap

From August 26-29, Gap is offering 30% off what you spend in-store at Gap, Gap Outlet, Gap Factory Store, The Gap Generation, Banana Republic, Banana Republic Factory Store and Old Navy.  What’s more, 5% of what you spend will be donated to Teach For America.  All you need to do is bring in this coupon.

Teach For America places high-achieving recent college grads in our nation’s toughest schools to help close the educational achievement gap between low-income students and their more affluent peers.  The program has operated in Colorado since 2007, and last year more than 180 Teach For America teachers impacted approximately 11,000 students in both Denver and Colorado Springs.

To learn more about Teach For America Colorado, click here.

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The new skis will be unveiled tonight, starting at 6PM at Icelantic’s studio at 948 W. 8th Ave. (8th and Santa Fe) as a part of Art Walk, and in case the skis weren’t enough to get you in the door (they are, trust us!) there will be 4 kegs to celebrate.

Welcome (back?) to The Good Life!  Love you all!

-TGLD

Icelantic Boards has been added to The Good Map.

A really Good curveball was thrown this way, and we couldn’t help taking a swing.  The Good news is that we got a base hit.  The other news is that, while we’re running the bases, we probably won’t be able to put up any new articles at least through May.

Thanks for your patience while we follow a dream.

TGLD