Gear heads-up
New leash on life. For dog owners with reasonably well-behaved animals, the Supercollar (, $49.95) is a great idea, a collar with a leash built in. The handle locks in against the collar when you aren’t using the leash, and then coated steel cables unwind from around the dog’s neck in about five seconds, one on each side, which seems to lessen the dog’s ability to wrap around things.
If your dog is a serious lunger, this might not be a good leash for you, though, because there’s no retract-and-lock function. Even though you’re never more than 3 feet from the dog, that’s still a problem if your dog is about to get into a fight with another dog — it means you have to yank back, and because of the steel cables, you can’t grab it as with a leather or nylon leash. For convenience, though, this is pretty sweet, and especially for smaller, more easily controlled dogs.
Room report
As you can see from the “5 Reasons” on Page 3, Evergreen is a worthy destination — and another of my favorite places to stay there is Highland Haven Creekside Inn (4395 Independence Trail, 303-674-3577, highland ), which not long ago built an adult “Tree House” Cabin, complete with a Jacuzzi on the top floor and lots of attention to detail. The place has a great deal going for moms now through June 1 that would make a great gift for Mother’s Day: $199 a night in its Blue Spruce Cabin (regularly $285), which includes homemade breakfast in bed and cute little extras like herbal tea and gossip magazines. … The only thing missing from the Tennessee Pass Cookhouse experience was that after you were done snowshoeing in and then stuffing your face on their innovative fare, you had to snowshoe back out. Now, though, you can stay at one of the furnished yurts, with log beds, woodstoves and kitchenettes. They sleep six and cost $200 a night. Visit .
Kyle Wagner: 303-954-1599 or outwest@denverpost.com
