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I’m Eric Eicher, president
of Alpine Bank Durango.
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As we all live with the new
reality of the pandemic,
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innovative businesses
throughout Southwest Colorado
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are finding new ways to work
and serve our community.
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We invite you to learn
more about your neighbors
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in this edition of Business Matters.
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The former Trimble Hot Springs Resort,
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just north of Trimble Lane
on La Plata County Road 203,
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has undergone a number of reincarnations
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since Frank Trimble built the first
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swimming pool and hotel in 1882.
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But the most recent transformation
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may be the most dramatic.
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Durango businessmen Bryan
Yearout, Dan Carter,
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and his son Ken Carter,
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purchased the old Trimble
Hot Springs in 2019
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and began a $10 million transformation
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that when finished will include
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16 mineral hot springs soaking pools,
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eight Japanese-inspired
cedar soaking tubs,
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and an 83,000 gallon heated
saltwater swimming pool.
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The old hot soaking pool
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on the north end of the property
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has been turned into a mini amphitheater
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and includes a reflexology walking path,
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dining area, and bar.
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The group also will renovate
and upgrade the spa building,
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add a new private clubhouse
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on the far north end of the property,
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a sauna on the south end,
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and a clock tower featuring
a hot water outdoor shower.
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Yearout said he and his partners
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visited hot springs resorts
throughout the United States
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to come up with the design
for this newest incarnation.
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The old facility that they had here
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was the large pool,
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and being able to take advantage of that,
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but we’ve went to a few different places
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and the intimacy that we
can get with smaller pools
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and the ability to spread out
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and utilize the property better
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is really what made us drive to that.
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It works out great.
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I think that the customers love it.
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And yeah, just has kind of
giving us a new identity.
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The first businessmen who
turned the hot springs
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into a resort was pioneer Frank Trimble,
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who moved to the area in 1874
and claimed after soaking
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in the hot geothermal waters,
that his rheumatism was cured.
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Trimble built the first hotel in 1882
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and it later burned to the ground.
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Trimble lost the property to TD Burns,
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when he couldn’t repay an $8,000 loan.
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Burns then built the iconic
Hermosa House in 1896.
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Fire destroyed that building in 1931.
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New owners built a third hotel,
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which became a center
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for entertainment, gambling, and clubbing.
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Most famously attracting
actors Marilyn Monroe
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and Clark Gable who visited while filming
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“Across the Wide Missouri” in the 1950s.
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That building burned in
1957 and the hot springs
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remained close for more than 30 years
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until the Ruedi Bear family
resurrected the resort
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with geothermal soaking pools
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and an Olympic sized swimming pool.
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The hot springs changed hands
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one more time before
the Carters and Yearout
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purchased the property in 2019.
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Yearout said the
renovations take advantage
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of the same historical
geothermal water source
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to fill it’s soaking tubs.
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The geothermal waters
come out of the ground
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at 120 degrees and are
infused with 21 minerals.
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The most common of which
are sulfate, calcium,
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sodium, and silica.
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Hot tub temperatures range
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from about 90 degrees to 110 degrees.
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The swimming pool has been converted
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to a heated saltwater pool
and all the waters are infused
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with nano bubbles of pure oxygen.
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So the oxygen is nano bubbles of oxygen.
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We’re taking advantage of a company
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out of Phoenix that developed the process.
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It’s exceptional water,
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and they have a device
called an aqua gin that takes
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and it explodes oxygen,
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medical grade oxygen, into nano bubbles.
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And those nano bubbles
go into all of the water.
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And the nano bubbles are absorbed
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through the skin to help
increase blood oxygen content.
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It helps to restore healing.
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It helps create new skin cells.
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And it actually is probably one
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of the most beneficial things that we have
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in our water, just pure oxygen.
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And it’s, we’re the only hot springs
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in the world to have
it in our hot springs.
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Now we also have it in our swimming pool.
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And there’s many places that use it
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in swimming pools and spas, and you know,
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residential hot tubs and things like that.
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Works somewhat like a barametric chamber.
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The owners say they hope the improvements
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they’ve made will become
as big an attraction
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for visitors as Durango’s
other tourism amenities.
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In the meantime, Southwest
Colorado locals can enjoy
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the hot springs from 9:00
AM to 10:00 PM daily.
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Day passes are $30 for adults,
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$15 for children.
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Short term, seasonal, and annual
passes also are available.
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To control the number of
visitors during the pandemic,
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the resort requires
reservations in advance.
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For more information
about the hot springs,
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visit durangohotspringsresortandspa.com.
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Thanks for watching this edition
of the Local News Network.
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Be sure to stay up to date with
the latest news in your area
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through Twitter and Instagram.
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I’m Wendy Graham Settle.
