One of the only downsides of my job is that I have to travel. A lot. At least it seems like a lot to me. I’m such a homebody in spirit. Traveling is tiring, the food isn’t always inspiring (for a vegan), and I miss my family and pets. Poor me!
Of course, travel is also an attractive fringe benefit. I get to visit some pretty cool places and meet some very interesting people, so I guess it more than balances out. All the places I go are special in their own ways, of course, but occasionally I go somewhere that really stands out.
Such was the Alegre Retreat at Gateway Canyons Resort this past April.
I mean, just look at these photos. Yes, that is my room with the private patio, hot tub, and gas firepit.
Gateway Canyons Resort Slide Show
Gateway Canyons Resort, an oasis in the Colorado desert, is the vision of Discovery Channel creator John Hendricks and his wife Maureen, who is a long-time quilter. Hence the five-day quilt retreat in an impeccably designed resort. Katie Pasquini Masopust has been organizing Alegre retreats (“alegre” means “happy”) for decades. She started in Santa Fe but when that ended Maureen convinced her to change locations. This year is the ten-year anniversary of the Alegre Retreat in Gateway, Colorado.
There was a daily schedule of events starting as early as 7:00 a.m. and running as late as 9:00 p.m. To celebrate the special tenth anniversary, there was slide show at the end of gala closing banquet: “Highlighting ten years of the Alegre Retreat at Gateway Canyons.”
Lunch at the Palisade Pool. An especially beautiful day, in a week of great weather.
There were daily after-lunch lectures by the instructors, including yours truly, Jane Sassaman, and Fran Skiles. Katie, however passed her lecture time on to her brother Mark Pasquini so he could talk about the release of his quilting mystery book, The Rose Quilt, first of a planned series of four in the Steve Walsh mysteries. Mark’s book is one of the first in a new line of fiction by C&T Publishing, my own publisher, and one known for its how-to quilting books.
My lecture on Wednesday was titled “Portraits in Fabric.” As Jane Sassaman remarked with her talk, it was a real treat to present a lecture in a high-def theater with a tech person to set it up for you. As an audience member, the comfie seating was much appreciated.
Oh, You Mean I Have to Work?
What is this “work” you speak of? Aren’t I on vacation? Yes, there was classwork as well. I had sixteen students ready and waiting for me to set them on their fabric collage journey.
Interestingly, the class ended up being a little bit of an experiment. On the first day two students were waiting for enlargements to come back from the local copyshop, which meant they couldn’t start collage piecing. Instead they spent that whole day choosing fabrics and spending a lot of time cutting out palm-sized shapes in preparation for piecing. When their image arrived the next day they had created a wonderful palette of precut shapes. Despite this “delay,” they more than caught up to the people who started the previous day. I plan to repeat the experiment in Australia, taking the first half day to simply cut shapes. So if any of my Australian students are reading, be prepared!
As often happens, the second day was toughest, as students often enter the “messy-scary” stage. But it was hard to be cranky in such a beautiful setting. Before you know it, the messy-scary stage is over and you’re making great progress.
Student Work Slideshow
At the gala closing banquet there was an auction of donated art bags to raise money for scholarships to attend the retreat. Bags were donated by each instructor, some students, and one group-project bag from each class. My students added bits and pieces of their fabrics and glued in place over the course of week. The auction was a huge success thanks to the very generous and lively audience.
A class walkthrough near the end of the week is a common event at retreats. Usually everyone just mills from room to room on their own, meaning that I have to stay in my classroom to greet people, meaning I don’t get to see what the other classes have done. At Alegre, everyone came into each classroom together, so the teacher could give a short description about what was taught, then mingle ourselves. It was also nice because it gave students the opportunity to show off their work, answer questions, and receive compliments.
These Boots Are Made for Walking
I like morning walks when I travel. It helps start my day on a positive. Plus I get to take more photos. The resort is surrounded by lovely trails through the desert. With our walking group, I hit three trails over the course of the week on the public land behind the resort.
One morning a walker led us to a geocache she had found a few years previously. We all left our names in a little book found in the hidden tin. There were also little treasures left by other hikers. We took out Lifesavers (you shouldn’t be leaving food on the trail), and in return, left behind my 2018 Empty Spools Seminars pin from this year’s retreat at Asilomar. It’s not from Alegre, but it does represent quilters. And then all was disguised under some rocks again, ready for another to find.
On another morning I found a huge paw print. Was it a mountain lion? That’s my story and I’m sticking with it. It is potential mountain lion country, after all.
Alegre Walks Slideshow
Extra Curricular
Alegre offers things you just don’t get at every retreat. I went on a dinosaur track tour, dined at and toured the onsite car museum, and went for a helicopter ride—my first ever! I also managed to stay awake long enough one night to go stargazing with Zebulon Miracle (yes, that’s his real name), who is titled the Curator of Curiosity and Gateway Canyon Resort Historian. There was a magician for a 10th Anniversary treat on Thursday evening and a wine and cheese reception at Maureen’s ranch house. I could get spoiled!
The dino track excursion was along the Dolores River Canyon near the Uncompaghre Plateau. Some of the rocks were 300 million years old. We saw 140 million year old fossil tracks from small rodents, Brasilichnium, and raptors, Grallator (above), a type of velociraptor (a future quilt?), which were about five feet tall and twelve feet nose to tail. In the slide show below I’m pointing out the footprints because especially the rodents’ were hard to see. They looked kind of like small raccoon tracks.
Gateway Canyons Dinosaur Tracks Tour Slideshow
On Tuesday we had a dinner and tour at the Gateway Auto Museum. My highlight was finding the car that was released the year I was born.
Gateway Auto Museum Slideshow
The special exhibit of the museum is the F-88 (the golden convertible in the slide show), a car which is the only one of its kind. Built by Oldsmobile as one of three prototypes, all were supposed to have been destroyed. But one was disassembled by someone who worked on it, snuck it out, and stored it in his neighbor’s barn. After he passed away and the neighbor passed away, the son of the neighbor looked at the boxes and figured out it was something special. It was reassembled and put up for auction where it sold for $3.24 million. Even though I judge my cars by how well they match my outfit, I have to admit it’s a pretty neat automobile.
Later in the week, I took my first helicopter ride. Called the “Five Canyons” tour, I was also accompanied by teachers Jane Sassaman and Fran Stiles. Only fifteen minutes long, but the flight took us over and through some of the nearby landscape. Pretty cool!
Gateway Canyons Airtours Slideshow
Gateway Canyons Airtours Movie
What do they say about all good things? I caught one last glimpse of the surrounding desert as my plane lifted off from Grand Junction and headed for Denver. Sadly, my special time at Alegre was over. But the first leg of my journey home was begun.
Master Class Manual Scholarships
As you may know, I will be awarding one scholarship for a free Fabric Collage Online Master Class Manual each month. I recently awarded the May scholarship to another one of the worthy recipients.
Last month, thanks to the generosity of three separate donors, I was able to provide four extra scholarships for a total of five. Currently there are five potential recipients awaiting scholarships.
If you feel you can contribute to this fund or if you have questions about how the scholarships are awarded, or if you would like to apply, please contact me. For applicants, we ask that they provide as much information as they feel comfortable sharing about their need for a scholarship.
Wow, what a fabulous location.
Your slide shows are wonderful !
Susan, it was great meeting you and learning about your technique. Thank you!
Thank you for all the amazing photos!
Enjoyed your Saturday morning blog as always!! Thank you Susan & Tom
When will you be going back to teach at Alegra Retreat Center?
That looks like HEAVEN! Thanks for sharing.
What a fantastic experience watching all these vidéos and visiting these places through your eyes.Thank you once more for the thorough work that you do.