by Mark Smiley | Dec 15, 2025 | Travel
Grinch Adventure, More Runs Through January 2
by Mark Smiley
Beautiful Decorations: The inside of the Gaylord Rockies features millions of twinkling lights and more than 200 decorated trees.
Gaylord Rockies: Twinkling lights drape the massive timber beams of Gaylord Rockies like a Colorado winter wonderland
A team of 40 master ice artisans from Harbin, China, arrived at Gaylord Rockies Resort in Aurora, to transform two million pounds of ice into a breathtaking winter wonderland. The group has spent more than 12,000 hours hand-carving intricate sculptures for this year’s ICE! experience, themed around Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
Hailing from Harbin — famously known as “Ice City” and home to the world’s largest ice and snow sculpting festival — the artisans have traveled more than 5,700 miles to Colorado. Since 2001, Gaylord Hotels has partnered with these highly skilled carvers to bring their centuries-old craft to life for American audiences.
Using tools such as chisels, tongs, hand saws, grinders, and chainsaws, the team begins with over 6,000 blocks of ice, each weighing about 300 pounds. Working from a 300-page design book, the artisans sculpt everything from coin-sized details to 30-foot-tall scenes inspired by Dr. Seuss’ beloved holiday tale.
Guests visiting ICE! at Gaylord Rockies will be transported through the classic story — journeying from the Grinch’s snowy mountaintop lair and his sneaky sleigh ride into Whoville, to the Whos’ joyful celebration and the Grinch’s heartwarming transformation. Brilliant colored ice, dazzling LED lights, and a precisely maintained 9-degree environment combine to create a mesmerizing display. Visitors can borrow signature blue parkas to stay cozy during the experience.
Artisans: Armed with chisels, tongs, hand saws, grinders, and chainsaws, the artisans begin with more than 6,000 blocks of ice to create ICE! at Gaylord Rockies.
The attraction also includes two-story ice slides, sparkling tunnels, and live carving demonstrations in the Carver Showcase. ICE! concludes in a serene Nativity scene, sculpted entirely from crystal-clear ice. The display runs through January 2, 2026.
While ICE! is the crown jewel of Christmas at Gaylord Rockies, the holiday spirit extends throughout the resort, which features millions of twinkling lights and more than 200 decorated trees. New this year is the Sugar Snow Station, a whimsical area featuring Candy Cane Mountain Indoor Snow Tubing, Gumdrop Gliders Ice Puck Challenge, and the Sugar N’ Spice Bar offering festive treats.
Other seasonal highlights include:
Feast with the Grinch, a family dining event where guests can meet the famously grouchy green guest of honor and his dog, Max.
Sippin’ Santa, a tropical tiki pop-up bar serving island-inspired holiday cocktails in collectible mugs.
Gingerbread Mountain Cabin, a life-sized creation built from over 1,400 pounds of gingerbread, icing, and candy.
Festival of Trees, an annual fundraiser benefiting Lantern (formerly Bright by Text), supporting early childhood development.
Guests can also enjoy festive favorites like the Grinch’s Wonderful Awful Idea Scavenger Hunt, the Gingerbread Decorating Corner, Photos with Santa, the Elf Training Academy, Mrs. Claus’ Christmas Traditions, and the Yuletide Street Market in Mistletoe Village.
For those looking to extend the holiday magic, overnight guests receive special perks such as “Chill Pass” front-of-line access to ICE! and entry to the resort’s indoor Arapahoe Springs Waterpark.
Tickets for ICE! and other Christmas at Gaylord Rockies attractions must be purchased in advance, as peak weekends often sell out. For details, overnight packages, or reservations, visit ChristmasAtGaylord Rockies.com
by Editorial Board | Dec 15, 2025 | Editorials
Editorial —
Two adjacent skyscraper office buildings in downtown Denver located at 621 and 633 17th Street recently sold for $3.2 million. The buildings have nearly a million square feet of office space combined. Six years ago, the buildings were valued at $200 million – a 98% drop in value.
The purchase indicates the buildings were essentially worthless as office space. With a cost basis of $3.2 million, the buyer, Los Angeles developer Asher Luzzatto, could rent office space at extremely low rates and seemingly make a great deal of profit. But no, apparently there is almost no major market for rental offices downtown at virtually any price. Instead, the buyer is going to spend tens of millions to turn the buildings into 700 residences.
This developer is not the first one in Denver to come up with this idea. It was announced recently that the historic Petroleum Building will be converted from office space into residential units. The building was given its name as it was housing a myriad of businesses in the oil and gas business. No need to worry about such use as Governor Polis and the legislature have killed the oil and gas industry in Colorado in the name of preventing global climate change.
The problem is that there is no data out there indicating that people are dying to move to downtown Denver for residential purposes. In fact, Channel 7 in Denver recently ran a story entitled “Data shows people are actively avoiding moving to Denver” citing data from a MoveBuddha study. Moreover, as our front-page story indicates that apartment rental rates in Denver are going down reflecting lowering of demand.
At one time Denver could count on an influx of monied people from California but no longer. Why move from misgoverned Los Angeles and California to misgoverned Denver and Colorado. They are heading to red states such as Texas and Idaho.
So what in the world is the developer Asher Luzzatto thinking? Back in the Chronicle’s May 2024 edition we prognosticated in an editorial titled “No Mr. Mayor, the Woes Of Downtown Denver Will Not Be Saved By A Half Billion Dollar Retrofit Boondoggle” that proposed new Downtown Denver BID assessments would end up in the pockets of downtown office owners to help convert their buildings into residential properties. Rest assured that some of the bond proceeds from the just passed “Vibrant Denver” bonds will end up in the same pockets.
We assume that Asher Luzzatto is nobody’s fool. Most of the money to convert the two office buildings will come from governmental entities. If the project fails, the developer will lose very little money but if it succeeds the developer will very handsomely profit.
But what does the super bargain basement sale say about Denver’s economy? At a minimum the city’s budget will soon be in major trouble. Assessments for commercial property in downtown Denver will plummet, which will lead to a commiserate drop in property tax revenues.
Similarly, revenues from the head tax that Denver imposes on people who work in Denver will similarly drop.
Perhaps the proposed Burnham Yard redevelopment that includes a new Broncos Stadium will create some economic growth along with short-term boost from the newly approved Vibrant Denver bonds.
Ultimately reading the tea leaves, Mayor Johnston’s administration is betting on the farm downtown Denver becoming a residential hub through the conversion of office building into residences paid for by the government. If that bet fails hard times will likely await the Queen City of the Plains.
— Editorial Board
by Ashe in America | Dec 15, 2025 | Feature Story Bottom Left
ASHE IN AMERICA — OPINION
It is Christmastime in Colorado, and behind concrete walls and steel doors at the La Vista Correctional Facility, a medium-security women’s prison in Pueblo, sits Colorado’s most valuable political scalp.
Whether one agrees with Tina Peters’ politics, worldview, or actions, this much is undeniable: She is not a powerful figure.
Peters is an older woman, having just celebrated her 70th birthday in prison on September 11th. She is a Gold Star mother who buried her Navy Seal son, a cancer survivor who beat the odds, and a Western Slope clerk who dared to disbelieve Jena Griswold and Matt Crane.
Her name would never have reached the national stage if not for a single decision — a decision she says she made because the public entrusted her with their democracy.
That decision, and the avalanche that followed, made her a national symbol. To some, Peters is a villain … a threat to democracy … a criminal that got what she deserved. To others, she is a hero … a canary in the coal mine … a political prisoner … a victim of weaponized government and asymmetrical justice.
She’s something else, too: a sick, septuagenarian woman spending the holidays in prison because, as she tells it, she believed that her sworn duty mattered more than the personal consequences.
“I couldn’t unsee it.”
The official story condenses Tina Peters into a caricature: “rogue clerk,” “conspiracy theorist,” “election denier.” The courts claim she is a danger to our community because of what she might say. Her speech is a threat to democracy!
How very democratic.
A Colorado clerk’s job is not glamorous. It’s long hours, endless paperwork, and being a human complaint desk. It certainly doesn’t come with an instruction manual for what to do when half the country loses faith in the election system, and the other half refuses to discuss it.
When questions came in after the 2020 election, Peters didn’t dismiss them. She didn’t lecture the voters petitioning her office. When the state told her to simply trust the “trusted build,” she hesitated — because she didn’t. She knew inside that transparency mattered.
Peters undertook an unprecedented effort to retain two copies of Mesa County’s voting system — one before the system was allegedly wiped and one after. Four professional reports by cyber experts followed. Those reports were dismissed because Peters became the story.
“You are a charlatan.”
It was not a polite disagreement. It was not administrative discipline. It was the full weight of the state — in all its public-private partnerships — crushing their ideological opposition.
They made an example of her. The message to other clerks was clear: Stand down. To date, only one other county has dared to challenge the Colorado Department of State. (That county has also faced retaliation).
The state charged Peters with attempting to influence a public servant, conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, identity theft, first degree official misconduct, violation of duty, and failure to comply with requirements of the Secretary of State.
Note that these charges are not about violating election statutes. Tina Peters was not convicted of voter fraud or meddling in elections or anything even resembling the oft-told narrative.
Peters made a single misrepresentation — that Conan Hayes was Jerry Woods — to three people. That and the conspiracy to make that misrepresentation comprise the four felonies of which she was convicted.
Peters was never allowed to explain her intent to the jury. The state’s key witness appeared to have lied on the stand at trial (without personal consequence, though Peters was acquitted on the related charges.) The judge showed open bias in front of the jury and, in his sentencing, cited facts not in evidence — because he prevented the jury from hearing them (though he relied on them himself).
It was a good show. In the end, the public believed the drama and bought the well-crafted and entirely controlled conclusion. Peters was a threat to democracy but democracy was just fine. Gold standard, even.
This storytelling is why otherwise kind and merciful Coloradans will jeer and cheer about a sick, old lady sitting in prison at Christmas.
“Truth will prevail.”
Peters prays for those who put her in prison. She rejoices in her suffering, and she maintains that the truth will out. It’s hard to believe she maintains that belief — until you remember her story.
She has buried a child. She beat cancer. She’s been through worse than prison, and she survived.
Her supporters call her indestructible.
Colorado officials want the public to forget about Tina Peters. Accept the sentence, move on, leave this chapter behind. Recently, the Attorney General, Mesa District Attorney, and Colorado County Clerks Association sent letters to Governor Polis, fearing he may commute her sentence and begging him to not.
They want her story to fade.
But it won’t fade.
Whether one believes Tina Peters is a heroine or a fool, brave or misguided, justified or reckless, what’s happening to her is not justice. It’s politics. Colorado holds her like a trophy, they apply an inequitable judicial standard, and it’s all undeniably political.
Of course, for a sick, 70 year old cancer survivor, it’s not just political. It’s also a likely death sentence.
That’s a fact year-round, but it hits differently at Christmas.
Ashe in America is an independent writer, host, and activist in Colorado. Learn more at linktree.com/asheinamerica.
