Shopping locally online for the holidays in Estes is a fantastic way to find unique gifts while supporting your community. Of course, every shop owner in town would love to welcome you into their establishment, but sometimes weather, time and holiday activities have other ideas. So whether you’re looking for handcrafted items, delicious local treats, or beautiful floral arrangements, here’s how to make your holiday shopping experience both easy and enjoyable from the comfort of your own home!
Unique Local Gifts
Handcrafted Artistry
Estes Park is home to over 300 shops, many of which feature locally made crafts that are perfect for holiday gifting. From elk-inspired collectibles to handmade jewelry, you can find treasures that reflect the spirit of the Rockies. “Many locally owned businesses offer shipping services of curated selection of souvenirs that capture the essence of the area, making them perfect for sharing with friends and family near and far
Sweet Treats
Don’t forget to indulge in local culinary delights!
The Original Taffy Shop, established in 1935, Laura’s Fine Candies in 1975, and Carmel Corn since 1977 are must-visit places for those with a sweet tooth. You can order their famous treats online to send a taste of Estes Park to loved ones. Additionally, consider other shops for local gourmet foods from nearby Longmont, Loveland, and Fort Collins, where you can find artisan chocolates and preserves that make delightful gifts.
Art Galleries
Estes Park is also home to a thriving arts community with several galleries that showcase local talent. Many galleries feature a variety of artwork from local artists, including paintings and photography inspired by the natural beauty of the area. Many pieces are available for shipping worldwide.
Floral Arrangements and Decor
Beautiful Blooms
Floral arrangements can brighten anyone’s day during the holiday season. Local florists in Estes Park provide custom arrangements tailored to your needs. Opt for seasonal flowers or unique arrangements that incorporate local flora. This personal touch makes for a heartfelt gift that shows you care.
Home Decor
For those looking to spruce up their homes or give a thoughtful gift, local artisans create stunning decor items that reflect the beauty of Colorado. Items like rustic wooden signs or mountain-themed artwork can be found in various shops throughout Estes Park.
Experiences
Instead of traditional gifts, consider giving experiences.
Workshops and Classes
Many local artisans offer workshops where recipients can learn skills like pottery or painting. This not only supports local businesses but also provides memorable experiences that last longer than physical gifts.
Spas and Wellness
Restoration and Wellness abound in the mountain air and surroundings. One early adopter of the wellness in Estes Park was Isabella Bird, who was prescribed travel to aid her insomnia and blues. There are many choices for fitness, yoga, beauty, massage and more to be found.
Outdoor Adventures
And of course, when in Estes, everyone wants to soak up the beautiful vistas and natural beauty year round. There are so many outdoor experiences to choose from including hiking, wildlife viewing, fishing, guided tours and more.
Convenient Online Shopping
Shopping locally online means you can enjoy all these benefits without stepping foot outside your home. Many shops in Estes Park offer online ordering with options for delivery or curbside pickup, making it easy to get your holiday shopping done efficiently. For groceries and meal prep, Safeway in Estes Park provides grocery delivery services, allowing you to stock up on essentials without the hassle of crowded stores. Nearby, ycheck out the only locally owned & operated grocery store & deli, The Country Market of Estes Park. You’ll want to visit this one in person for a yummy taste of local flavor.
Benefits of Shopping Locally Online
- Support Your Community: Every purchase helps sustain local businesses and artisans.
- Unique Finds: Discover one-of-a-kind gifts that reflect your loved ones’ personalities.
- Convenience: Shop from the comfort of your home without the stress of crowds.
- Last-Minute Options: Many local shops offer quick shipping or curbside pickup.
Neither snow nor rain nor dark of night will keep you from your holiday shopping when you embrace the ease and joy of shopping locally online in Estes Park. So pour yourself a warm cup of cocoa, cozy up at home, and let the holiday shopping begin!
In this ‘Golden Age’ of streaming entertainment, scores of apps and channels are available to enjoy utilizing high-speed fiber internet like Trailblazer Broadband’s network. Whether you’re a die-hard sports fanatic, a fan of British television, or in the market for quality children’s entertainment, there’s a streaming app for just about every taste. But, with all the choices and apps out there today, it can get confusing—and even intimidating—just to search for new series to binge or movies to unwind to at the end of a long day.
Fortunately, with Trailblazer Broadband’s independent partner MyBundle, streaming doesn’t have to be an aggravating experience! Below, we highlight some of the best ways MyBundle streamlines your streaming experience. From finding new apps and channels to keeping up with the latest episodes of your must-watch TV series to tracking and managing the content from your (probably many) subscriptions, MyBundle’s tools take the stress out of streaming!
Finding Streaming Platforms
With the dizzying number of streaming apps and channels available, it can be easy to get bogged down in a search for must-have platforms—and that’s before you’ve even started looking for your favorite show or scoping out your next obsession. MyBundle organizes streaming platforms in one easy-to-use dashboard. Navigating MyBundle’s Marketplace page eliminates much of the legwork needed to find apps.
And by using MyBundle’s Advanced Search option on the Marketplace page (located just to the right of the Marketplace’s search bar), you can hone your search by genre. This helps you seek out apps and channels you want (or have yet to discover) while weeding out the ones you don’t need. You can look for categories such as “Health” in the dropdown menu or “History” and “Documentary” categories in the Advanced Search tool. MyBundle has around 30 genres and categories to help you refine your search for apps and channels.
Discover New Streaming Content
After exploring streaming platforms, the real convenience—and fun—of MyBundle’s search tools comes in: finding great content! Just as MyBundle helps you discover new apps, it can assist you in picking out fresh TV series and movies to stream.
Simply click on MyBundle’s TV Shows and Movies page and browse the extensive content list! And just as you did while researching apps and channels on MyBundle, don’t forget to use the Advanced Search feature. Again, you can choose from over 50 different and wide-ranging content categories and genres to help you diversify your content. For example, if you want to sample fine cinema from the mid-20th century, select “Classic” and be instantly transported to another era. Sci-fi fans can get their fill, too, as can those who crave a good Western or just need a fun rom-com (which you can find by selecting both “Comedy” and “Romance” in the Advanced Search).
The possibilities go on and on, so when you’re ready to binge, hop on MyBundle and start exploring! Best of all, MyBundle lets you search for new content across all your subscriptions. This means you don’t have to log in and out of all the innumerable apps you have just to find new content.
MyBundle’s Watchlists
After perusing the vast amounts of content, take advantage of another of MyBundle’s features—its Watchlists.
Unlike other streaming apps and channels’ watchlists, which only let you include content on their apps and channels, MyBundle lets you add TV series and movies from all your apps and channels into one, simplified watchlist for TV series and another for movies.
It’s a handy organizational tool that helps you plan and prioritize your streaming time. Even better, you can review your MyBundle watchlists in one place without remembering which app or channel has the show or movie you’re eager to watch or wasting precious viewing time transiting between apps to find them!
Live TV
As you probably know by now, streaming services aren’t just for movies, series and podcasts. LiveTV with local stations is included in a number of streaming platforms such as HuluLive, YouTube TV, Sling, and DirectStream (DirecTV’s streaming service), just to name a few. Some of these live streaming services are targeted to a particular type of content, such as FuboTV for live sports.
Keep up with your spending
Streaming providers change plans and costs often. You may want to change your subscriptions based on what’s new and what you’re watching. And with all those subscriptions, it can be difficult to keep up with everything. With MyBundle, you can track all your streaming spending in one place.
Or perhaps it’s better to take advantage of free trial periods or discounted rates just to binge a particular series before deciding to join for longer. Seeing it all in one place on MyBundle helps you track your streaming budget and make better financial choices. With MyBundle, you can easily track all of your streaming apps and how much they cost. With all that information in one place, you can decide which platforms to keep and which to cut—potentially saving you hundreds every year.
The above are just some of the ways MyBundle helps make streaming a painless experience. To discover more reasons why MyBundle improves streaming, click here. And check out Trailblazer Broadband’s social pages to stay on top of the latest streaming entertainment news!
Remember Rosie from the Jetsons? Imagine having a helpful buddy at home that never sleeps, always listens, and is ready to assist you at a moment’s notice. That’s AI for you! It’s not just for tech whizzes or big businesses anymore; it’s here to make life easier for families, and that includes everyone from kids to seniors.
Easy Interfaces
Using AI is as simple as pie! AI-powered virtual assistants like Amazon’s Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple’s Siri have revolutionized how people interact with technology in their homes. Trailblazer is using AI to assist in writing this article!
- Talk to Me: With voice commands, you can just say what you need. “Hey Google, play my favorite playlist!” No need for complicated buttons or manuals—just good old-fashioned chat.
- Visual Helpers: Many apps come with friendly guides that show you the ropes. Think of it as having a personal tutor who’s always there to help!
Family Bonding Made Fun
AI isn’t just about tech; it’s about bringing families closer together!
- Calendar Coordination: Keep everyone in the loop with shared calendars. No more “I thought we were meeting at 3!” moments—everyone knows what’s happening!
- Peace of Mind: With remote monitoring tools, family members can check in on children and seniors from afar. It’s like having a virtual safety net that keeps everyone connected.
Chatting Made Simple
Staying in touch has never been easier!
- Smart Messaging: AI can help craft the perfect message or even suggest replies. So if Grandma wants to text you about her new knitting project, she can do it without breaking a sweat!
- Video Calls Without the Hassle: Forget fumbling with buttons! AI can make video calls as easy as saying, “Let’s call Mom!”
Healthcare and Support
AI is enabling more tailored healthcare and support for seniors:
- Telemedicine platforms: AI-enhanced telemedicine services can provide remote health monitoring and virtual consultations, improving access to healthcare for seniors in remote areas.
- Personalized treatment plans: AI algorithms can analyze health data to provide customized care recommendations and treatment plans.
- Personalized Workouts: AI-powered fitness apps can create tailored exercise plans that adapt as you progress. Whether it’s yoga or light strength training, staying fit has never been more accessible (or fun!).
Personalized Magic
AI knows what you like and helps you find more of it!
- Adaptive Learning: The more you use it, the smarter it gets! It learns your preferences and becomes even more helpful.
- Feedback Fun: Got an idea? Share your thoughts! Many AI tools welcome feedback, so they can keep improving and stay relevant.
In short, AI is not just about technology; it’s about enhancing quality of life. It keeps everyone connected, supports our seniors, and makes daily tasks feel like a breeze. So why not embrace this tech-savvy buddy and enjoy all the fun (and ease) it brings? Cheers to making life simpler and more enjoyable together! 🎉
P.S. This article was written in conjunction with Perplexity.ai.
READER NOTE: Bookmark this page where we will be posting additional progress updates in the future. If you or someone you know is not already registered in our system, please do so HERE. There is no obligation whatsoever to register, and you will be the first to know of any changes that impact your neighborhood.
Triumphs and Challenges in Rural Connectivity
As Trailblazer Broadband celebrates its 5th anniversary, the community-owned internet provider reflects on significant strides in connecting Estes Park and surrounding areas. With total fiber internet now available to 90% of the planned service area, Trailblazer has become an essential utility for over 4,000 clients, with installations now booked into January 2025 due to high demand. Providing service to the remaining 10% of proposed service locations, of the project presents some challenges that are currently being addressed. The Town Board of Trustees and Mayor Gary Hall were updated recently on the Trailblazer Construction status.
Remaining Challenges
Geographic Area
Trailblazer’s geographic footprint covers an area larger than Longmont, Fort Collins, and Loveland combined, and the remaining 10% of proposed service locations are spread across a large, sparsely populated area. This last phase of the project, dubbed “Phase 4,” encompasses the most challenging areas to build, including areas along Highway 34, Highway 66 (out to the YMCA), and the Highway 7 corridor to Allenspark. Logically, this area is more expensive to build because of terrain, size distance between service locations, and lower revenue yield because of lower population. Further, based on utility usage, over 50% of potential clients in these sprawling areas are seasonal, part-time residents based on their utility usage.
As Phase 4 residents and businesses know (this includes you, Allenspark!), Trailblazer has been “Coming Soon” for more than a year now. Many folks have noted that our crews have run fiber along main routes in their area such as Highway 7 to downtown Allenspark, so service should be available, correct? Unfortunately, just because main fiber has been built to a certain area, does not mean the network is complete and ready to offer service to individual locations. Think of it this way:
Imagine a massive oak tree representing the fiber network. The thick, sturdy trunk and main branches have already grown strong – this is the backbone of the fiber network that’s been built. However, the smaller branches that extend out to the very edges, along with the twigs and leaves, are still missing. These represent the connections to individual neighborhoods and homes. Just as it takes more energy and resources for a tree to grow its outermost branches and leaves, it’s more complex and costly to build the final connections of a fiber network.
In town, it’s like growing branches in rich, fertile soil:
- Many homes are close together, like leaves clustered on a branch
- The infrastructure (conduits, poles) often already exists
- Higher population density means more potential customers per mile of fiber
In rural regions, it’s like trying to grow branches in rocky, sparse terrain:
- Homes are spread far apart, like isolated leaves on long, thin twigs
- New infrastructure may need to be built from scratch
- Fewer potential customers per mile of fiber laid, and in this case, many homes that are seasonal and may not need service year-round.
The rural component of a buildout like this often accounts for a disproportionate amount of the total network cost:
- In urban areas, it might cost $500-$1000 per home to connect
- In rural areas, it could cost $5000-$10,000 or more per home
This is why internet service providers often prioritize deployments in high population density, where they can connect more customers for less investment, similar to how a tree naturally grows more leaves where branches are densest.
Finally, before we can bring service to the rest of Allenspark and some other less densely populated areas, we must fulfill our existing obligations and installations which have slowed as you read in the blog above. At this time, we simply don’t have the resources to open those areas and fulfill our existing obligations.
In the meantime, using the main fiber lines that are currently in place, Trailblazer has piloted service in a couple of places in Allenspark, including Wild Basin. By the end of the year, public Wifi service will be available at the Allenspark Firehouse to ensure that the community has a reliable location to provide emergency communication and Wifi services for the winter. This is similar to the free Wifi central access point that is available at Estes Park Town Hall and at the Glen Haven Firehouse. With grant funding anticipated, we plan to being installations in Allenspark in late spring or early summer 2025.
Grant Funding
Rising construction costs and supply issues, many of which resulted from the COVID-19 have exhausted the original bond and grant funding allocated for the broadband project back in 2019. For further detail on this see our last construction update in our blog https://trailblazerbroadband.com/trailblazer-fiber-construction-update-spring-summer-2024/)
At the outset, Trailblazer promised not to use any tax dollars to fund this project, and it continues to make good on that promise. Construction is currently on hold pending additional funding. Trailblazer is actively pursuing BEAD grant funding to complete rural area constructions in these costly, less densely populated zones.
Rising construction costs and supply issues have exhausted the original bond and grant funding. Trailblazer is actively pursuing BEAD grant funding to complete rural area constructions in these costly, less densely populated zones[2]. If successful, main-line construction work could potentially resume by mid-2025. Since rural construction and the associated rising costs are not feasible for most service providers, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has established a $42.45 billion grant program to date to provide funding for ISPs to be able to expand service to these high-cost, often challenging locations. The State of Colorado has been approved to receive funds for CO internet expansion through the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program (BEAD) grant program.
Even better, The Town of Estes Park/Trailblazer Broadband was selected to receive no-cost professional assistance to support our BEAD grant writing efforts to ensure the best chance of receiving the necessary funding through this grant to complete the grant-eligible locations covered in this funding opportunity.
Staffing Adjustments
As originally planned, Trailblazer shifted to 100% of construction, installations, and maintenance work done in-house at the end of 2023. This plan unfortunately coincided with losing 2 key staff, which has slowed the progress of our buildout.
With the current limited staffing, Trailblazer field technicians are managing all projects, including any main & service line construction/maintenance/repair; this also includes the loop project, roundabout construction, Cleave St, WAPA support, all installations, replacing damaged lines and any other main or premise maintenance required. Trailblazer management looked at the cost of bringing in contractors to assist with the backlog, but would not have had a significant impact by the time they were onboarded and would have cost a whopping $25,000-$30,000 per week.
Recent positions were filled with existing contracted staff members, and Trailblazer continues to seek additional staff, which proves challenging in the existing job market for Estes Park. Meanwhile, the team is working on assessing the upcoming schedule to see how we can best accommodate the schedule backlog.
Ahead of the Curve
Despite these challenges, Trailblazer remains committed to its goal of providing high-speed internet to the entire community. While many rural and mountain communities across the country are just beginning to source funding and prepare a high speed internet rollout, Estes Park is far ahead of the curve having recognized the need for this essential service long ago. The project stands as a testament to the power of community-owned broadband initiatives, and the forethought of Estes Park in particular, in bridging the digital divide and connecting our community.
View Past Issues:
December 2022
September 2021
Recent Comments