I Love ♥ Colorado!

I grew up in Colorado. When I was 13, my Dad and Mom started printing "The Colorado Vacation Directory" in 1980 -- forever ago. We then put it on the brand new World Wide Web in 1997 -- long before Yahoo and Google.

Every summer, till I graduated from High School I would go out on the road with Dad in his truck camper as he gathered information and sold advertising for our Directory. I was his assistant. My jobs included lugging bundles of directories into Campgrounds, information centers, tourist attractions and RV dealers all across Colorado; making lunches and dinners; chatting away on the long drives between stops; and being a friendly face in photos he took to promote Colorado. Not only did I get a chance to spend time with my Dad, I also got to see Colorado and I fell in love!

I visited the Royal Gorge Bridge in Cañon City. I went to chuckwagon dinners shows like the Flying W, Barleen Family and Bar D; I rafted the Arkansas River; I took jeep tours into the mountains to see abandoned gold mines and ghost towns; I met business owners who became like family. I learned about Colorado and the publishing business from the ground up.

But, mostly what I remember is the hours we spent together in the cab of our truck just looking out the window. Sometimes I feel there's no road in Colorado I've not been on. Every year the roads led to campground or cabin businesses. Alas, I still have not been to Telluride.

I invite you to dream about your next Colorado Vacation. Most of the writing on the 1,313 pages of our website and 28 pages of our printed directory have been written or edited by me. I write from a place of love for my state and the businesses we serve. I hope to give you an idea of what each town, scenic byway, national park and tourism business in Colorado has to offer you -- YES, Colorado has mountains; but you will discover so much more.

Almost every business we work with is a "mom and pop," a chamber of commerce, a city or state park -- a place where your family will find joy. On-site owners and managers answer phone calls and emails personally; they clean the cabins; scrub the bathhouse; greet their guests; help back your RV into a campsite; and offer advice about local restaurants, coffee shops, fishing sports and their favorite area hikes.

Colorado offers "More Smiles per Mile and is the Camping Capital of America" according to my Dad, and well, he's right! For me there is no greater pleasure than waking up each morning, seeing the Rocky Mountains, and coming to work at our Directory so you can have the time of your life in Colorado.

In a time when many of us are at home and trying to look forward, dream about a vacation, find your happy place here in Colorado, it just might be the best way to spend part of your day. Dream about Colorado where the mountains touch the sky and its beauty fills the soul.

May you and your family embrace the joy and love of each other daily, and may your next Colorado vacation be full of good times and sunshine -- Rebekah Martin, Daughter of our Founders Hilton and Jenny Fitt-Peaster