A few weeks back we shared our thoughts on some of the better eating establishments in Pagosa Springs. Some of our out of area readers asked if we would publish a list of some of our favorite merchants in the area as well.  So, here is the first in a series, citing some of our favorites:

One of our very favorites is Paint Connection Plus.

Owners Mark and Michelle Mesker have worked hard building up this wonderful business over the last 15 years. At Paint Connection Plus you can purchase all the paint, stain, blinds, carpet, hot tubs, fireplace and grilling equipment you will ever need, and more. They are exceptional at customer service and strive to stay ahead of changes in the market. My wife Lauri and I have purchased three hot tubs from them as well as a Phoenix BBQ Grill, blinds for our home and office, and all the paint and stain we have ever used at our home and our office. Their prices are very competitive, even with Home Depot and internet stores. Most of all, they are friendly, honest, hardworking local owners and we highly recommend you do business with them.

Another of our favorites is Switchback Mountain Wear, owned by Ron and Anne Bubb.

They carry top quality outerwear and equipment and provide good product knowledge, great prices and exceptional service. They carry top brands such as Marmot, Royal Robbins, Sierra Designs and Vasque. Ron and Ann are extremely knowledgeable about hiking trails and everyone connected with backcountry travel in the Four Corners Area. Their store at 135 Country Center Drive, just east of City Market is always well stocked with everything you will need to enjoy the Pagosa Springs outdoors, any time of year.

For fly fishing equipment and supplies we have two favorites.

Larry Fisher’s Ski and Bow at 354 E. Pagosa Street, next to JJ’s Upstream Restaurant, is a large shop with everything a fly fishing enthusiast would need, and much more.

Thaddeus, the resident trout expert at Ski and Bow, knows everything about the fishing waters in the Pagosa Springs area. There are two nice ponds at the back of their shop where you can practice your fly casting or watch young kids catch some of the large trout that live in the ponds. Larry also has a great selection of alpine ski gear, including rentals and clothing as well as Bow Hunting equipment and supplies.

Our other Fly Fishing Shop is Let it Fly located on Putt Hill along Highway 160 just west of the downtown area.

Owner Pops is very knowledgeable and stocks a great selection of rods and reels by such manufacturers as Sage, Simms, Temple Fork and Galvan. He and Ski and Bow both provide professional guide services which access phenomenal trout waters in the area. Be sure to check out Pop’s selection of Custom Hand Tied Fly Patterns.

Often we get requests from our readers, clients and customers for a list of our favorite businesses in the Pagosa Springs community. Our complete list is a long one, so in this article I will start with the most important stuff: food, by sharing a good handful of our favorites eating spots within our community.

For Breakfast:
We like The Elkhorn Restaurant, right in the middle of downtown Pagosa Springs at 438 Pagosa Street. Try their Huevos Rancheros. All their food is good and the service is excellent. It has been run by the same family for many years and you will see many locals and tourists when you visit.

We also like Victoria’s at 274 Pagosa Street, (across from our office). The owners, Pat and Gordon and all of their staff take good care of you and Cindy cooks great fresh foods including omelets, quiches, Belgian waffles and more.

If you are looking for good espresso, we like Higher Grounds out in Pagosa Lakes at 189 Talisman Drive, just north of McDonalds and Citizens Bank. Pagosa Baking Company, located at 238 Pagosa Street, (right across the street from our office). Great owners that truly care about the community. They prepare great espresso drinks and exceptional fresh baked goods; they make works of art of their pastries. Great place to meet for coffee and a fresh muffin.

For Lunch:
Try Farrago Market Café 175 Pagosa Street, owners Todd and Kelley are excellent folks and they employ a friendly and efficient staff. They have fresh made salads, sandwiches, pizzas and more.

We like Victoria’s for their homemade soups and daily specials. As well as Kips at 121 Pagosa Street for great Fish Tacos. The Rose at 408 Pagosa Street serves good burgers and sandwiches, and they get their food out fast. You might try the Elkhorn for their Green Chile Cheeseburger. Ask for the extra hot green chili– if you dare-excellent!

For Dinner:
Our favorite dinner restaurants are Alley House Grille at 214 Pagosa Street, owned by Farrago’s owners Kelly and Todd, great steaks, sea food and gourmet pizza. A newer restaurant we like is Eddie’s Uptown Grill at 20 Village Drive, just behind the City Market Shopping Center. Eddie’s has a great menu that includes Lamb Steak with Garlic Mashers, Marinated Land and Chicken Shish Kabobs, Grilled Chimi-Churi Flank Steak, Rib Eye Steaks, Grecian Style Trout, Pork Loin Chops and Vegetarian Lasagna.

For Sweets:
Try the Choke Cherry Tree at 4760 West Highway 160. Connie and her crew make fabulous caramels, truffles, toffee and fudge. They also make jams, jellies, syrups, honey and fruit butter. These folks have always been generous supporters of all non-profit groups in Pagosa Springs, and you will be treated like family when you visit their store.

We hope this gives you a road map to some of the best eateries in the community of Pagosa Springs. If you visit any of these, please be sure to tell them we sent you.

During lean economic times such as those we are in now, it pays to re-think many items in our budget and to look at additional ways to stretch our dollars. Everyone knows the value of coupon clipping and now there are web sites that take coupon shopping to a new high-tech level. Here are a couple my wife, Lauri, uses: Terri’s List and Coupon Sense.  You can click into their web sites for a look at how their programs can save you big money on your family’s grocery bills.

I also took some time to review some other money-related web sites that I would like to pass along to our readers.

For a great place to start, I suggest The Simple Dollar.  This site is chock full of great money saving tips for beginners and experienced budgeting gurus.

Next is the Frugal Duchess.  This site is also full of money saving tips on all sorts of items. It also lists a variety of other blog sites devoted to one or another angle of saving money.

Here’s a great web site that aims to get you out of debt: No More Spending.  This U.K.- based site contains many useful articles and tips and lays out how to develop a routine on a weekly basis to save money on all your regular expenditures.

I hope you find these sites helpful, and if you come across any you want us to send out to our readers, send in your comments.

The Pagosa Springs, Colorado community was once a thriving logging town, with numerous mills and company housing and stores. During the expansion of the railroads in the 1800′sthat supported and supplied the silver and gold mining activities north of Durango, large contracts for lumber were awarded to the mill owners around Pagosa Springs community, to supply railroad ties and other lumber products that were needed along the railroad and mine expansions.

At one time, there were 22 different lumber mills operating in the Pagosa Springs community with narrow gauge railroad spurs utilized to access large stands of Ponderosa Pines. As new logging areas were opened up in the Pagosa Springs community, the rails and ties were removed from the logged areas and redeployed along the quickly graded railroad beds reaching further into virgin timber areas.

Gradually with the closing of most of the Silverton, Telluride and Creede mines following the decline in silver prices and the change in Forest Service policy the timber industry in Pagosa Springs community died out. Finally in the 1990′s the last of the mills operating in the area, Wolf Creek Lumber Company, closed. Today the few logs that are taken in the Pagosa Springs community are transported south to a mill in Espanola, New Mexico, or west to Mancos for processing. Many of the early Vacation cabins that were built in the area during the 1960′s and 1970′s were constructed from logs produced by mills in the Pagosa Springs community.

During the last 72 hours we have had 35 inches of fresh powder at Wolf Creek Ski Area near Pagosa Springs. This is the kind of snow most people only expect to experience in Utah, that is why Wolf Creek remains one of the best undiscovered jewels of the ski industry. We are lucky to have such a great ski mountain so close by. The mountain has over 1,600 acres of terrain and enough black diamond and glade skiing to satisfy most enthusiasts. The staff is friendly, the food is great and the attitude is pure SW Colorado. If you have not experienced Wolf Creek Ski Area, you now have another great reason to come to Pagosa Springs this winter.