Fields Trip: Snow Edition

The best of everything in Telluride

Blizzard! But Jay and I are on an altitude high.
One of many dinner destinations, Cosmopolitan, just steps from the gondola
Take in shopping at the tiny and trendy Two Skirts boutique.
For the best fondue al fresco, hang up your board for a barstool and hit the HopGarden in the Mountain Village core.
When off the slopes, make sure to take the gondola into town.

Dear CultureMap,

I am on an altitude high! Greetings from the marvelous Bonnaire House in Telluride, Colorado… While defrosting my thinking cap after a full week of hitting the slopes in negative degree weather and turning this old mining town upside down, I‘m taking a break while sipping a Snowy Owl and wanted to fill you in on the all the essentials we discovered at 9,545 feet.

- For the ultimate ski and snowboard rental, make sure to use Black Tie Ski Rentals. The super cute ski concierge team arrived on time and fit all of crew in the comfort of our home.

- For dinner, our rambunctious crew hit the Cosmopolitan, just steps from the Gondola and dined on a smorgasbord of lobster corn dogs, sushi and rock shrimp. My husband Jay went nuts over fish stew with lobster tail and a tomato saffron broth.

- For another dinner favorite, be sure to try Excelsior Café and ask for Josh as your waiter. If you are with a big group, ask for the room upstairs and get ready for an eclectic menu of pizza and lamb chops with baskets of the cheesiest cheese popovers.

- For on-mountain après ski, we hit the slope side slice of heaven, Crazy Elk Pizza. The wait -worthy hand made pies were enough for us to call it a day and relish in the gooey mozzarella and thick and airy crust.

- For the best fondue al fresco, hang up your board for a barstool and hit the Hop Garden in the Mountain Village core. Order an over-stuffed Bloody Mary or Baileys & Cream all under an assortment of heated lamps.

- If a driver is ever needed whether it be to the airport or a in our case, a big night out to the new and swanky Sheridan Chop House and their historical bar make sure to use Alpine Luxury Limo and if you’re lucky, you will get Jim Denny as your driver.

- When off the slopes, make sure to take the gondola into town. While the guys hit Brown Dog Pizza for football and beers, the girls took in shopping at the tiny and trendy Two Skits boutique. Accompanied by a fireside lunch at Rustico Ristorante filled with handmade antipasto and an overdose of more hand made pizza.

- With our skin and muscles in major need of some TLC from battling the mountain, we slipped into The Spa at The Peaks Resort. On the menu? The 02 Repair facial and Hydro Stone Therapy Massage. Make sure to take advantage of the Oxygen Inhalation Room to help combat the effects of high altitude and insomnia.

See you guy’s back at sea level,
xo
Allie

unspecified

go rural

Tiny West Texas town tops Airbnb's 'off-the-map' destinations to visit

Matador, Texas, Airbnb, best rural destinations

Photo courtesy of Airbnb

Welcome to Matador, Texas.

More Texas travelers are shying away from tourist traps for their vacations and instead embracing the calming roadside with increasing interest in rural areas of the state, according to Airbnb, and one tiny Texas city in the Panhandle is generating buzz atop a brand-new list of under-the-radar rural destinations in America.

The vacation rental marketplace's inaugural "Off-the-Map" list features 20 rural destinations across the country where short-term rentals are bringing in "new opportunities for local tourism."

"From coastal fishing villages to Cajun bayou towns and alpine mountain escapes, America Off-the-Map invites travelers to discover something new and helps support local economies and communities across the country," the report said.

Matador, a small town about 80 miles northeast of Lubbock and 530 miles from Houston, was named the No. 1 hidden gem vacation destination in Texas. The report described Matador as a part of Texas that tourists "haven’t found" yet, which is what makes it all the more rewarding as an undiscovered treasure.

"Welcome to the seat of Motley County – where the wind is constant, the skies are enormous, and the history is deeper than the caprock beneath your boots," the report said.

Visitors can explore the Motley County Historical Museum, which explores the building's history as the Traweek Hospital that was originally built nearly a century ago. The museum also sheds light on Native American history, the life of ranchers, and other historical facts about the town and county.

Local restaurants like Chelle's Garden or TC's Ponderosa in nearby Dickens are good spots for travelers to eat like a local, while the Coffee Mill and Mercantile in Quitaque is the place to be for breakfast, lunch, and a cup of joe.

Matador is also less than an hour away from the newly expanded Caprock Canyons State Park and Trailway, a popular Texas state park known for its roaming bison herd and bat colony.

According to Airbnb's website, there are over 130 short-term rentals in Matador and the surrounding Motley County area, with some homes available for $172 for an overnight stay in April 2026.

travel airbnb panhandle vacations