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.

Posted on Thursday, April 9th, 2009 at 1:04 pm and is filed under Community. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.