Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
BEAM ME UP, ASPEN!
Anderson Ranch is only 10 miles from Aspen, a mecca not only for Hollywood's
vacationing glitterati but also for arts and culture. In other words, you can spend
your days making photography and your evenings soaking up world-class perform-
ing arts.
Aspen is home to the Aspen Music Festival, the Aspen Institute, the Aspen
Santa Fe Ballet, the Aspen Center for Physics, Theatre Aspen, the Aspen Art Mu-
seum, the Aspen Filmfest, Jazz Aspen Snowmass, and on and on. But one of the
most unlikely Aspen cultural events is the Ultimate Taxi.
Operated by Jon Barnes, a former ski bum, the remodeled Checker cab has
strobes, a fog machine, disco lights, a dry ice machine, stage lights, neon, and a mul-
tidisk CD/DVD system. Driving with his elbows, he croons Pink Floyd and other
classic rock while a laser light show, enhanced by diffraction glasses and fog, wows
his guests. Barnes has also taught himself to do magic tricks (while stopped at a
stoplight, of course) and to play the sax. And if that repetoire doesn't entertain pas-
sengers, Barnes offers a telescope (for spotting alien invasions) or digital drums and
a keyboard on which riders can produce their own music. He has enough wattage in
the 25-year-old cab to power your average Kansas town.
The one essential of being an ultimate taxi driver, says Barnes, is that “you have
to have an insurance company that has never actually seen inside your car.”
A 30-minute musical, magical ride around Aspen costs $150 and includes toys,
photos, 3-D glasses, rainbow glasses, and a page on Barnes's website next to pho-
tos of some of his other passengers such as Jerry Seinfeld, Clint Eastwood, Pierce
Brosnan, and Lee Iacocca, to name a few. Call him at 970-927-9239 or check out
his website at www.ultimatetaxi.com.
The reputations of Anderson Ranch's teachers are so stellar that they attract other work-
ing professionals, who oftentimes make up a third of the classes alongside sheer novices. The
opportunities for the beginners are obvious.
Each summer, Anderson Ranch offers more than 130 workshops, beginning soon after
Memorial Day and running through the end of September. Yoga classes are offered twice a
day on Tuesdays and Thursdays as well, and there are lots of great hikes in the area. Every
Sunday and Tuesday night during the summer, the ranch hosts a community slide lecture by
visiting faculty. An interesting adjunct is the Children's Program, offering a wide range of
workshops that change each year with such names as “Oodles of Noodles: Clay Creations”
and “Lions & Tigers & Bears: Mixed Media.”
