Denver once again deserves a pat on the back after the successful launch of the First Friday Arts Shuttle last Friday. More than 60 passengers enjoyed the newly expanded guided Arts Shuttle route, which now connects the ArtsDistrict on Santa Fe to the Golden Triangle Museum District. Way to go Arts Shuttle! Your next opportunity to enjoy the Arts Shuttle will be Friday November 6, 2009. The Arts Shuttle will run a continuous loop from the 10th and Osage Lightrail Station to the Denver Art Museum from 5:30pm to 9:30pm.

Denver has also recently ranked highly for its amazing outdoor commodities. Travel + Leisure Magazine’s 2009 America’s Favorite Cities consumer poll ranked Denver as #1 active/adventure city, #2 for public parks and access to the outdoors, #2 for summer vacations, and #5 for family vacations Check out the poll results to see how well Denver ranked in other areas: http://www.travelandleisure.com/afc/2009/city/denver.

Denver has always taken pride in its nature and old west heritage. During National Wildlife Week, on Saturday, October 17th, 2009, “journey to the old west” and celebrate “Refuge Roundup” with the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge in Commerce City. “Refuge Roundup has something for everyone this year”, noted Visitor Services Manager Sherry James of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Refuge. “Whether you want to learn archery, enjoy musical and dance performances or see live animals and historical re-enactments, you’ll find it here at the Refuge.” Unable to attend? A Private Guide offers group tours of the Arsenal to learn about its environmental cleanup efforts and to view wildlife. There are 10 miles of trails through the area, and in March 2007, 16 head of bison were introduced to the Arsenal -- the first buffalo to roam the prairie east of Denver in a century. On A Private Guide’s wildlife tours, it’s possible to see the bison, along with coyotes, mule deer, hawks and song birds.

A Private Guide specializes in soft adventure tours. Take a trip with us aboard the world’s highest Cog Railroad to the top of Pikes Peak (14,110 feet high!), or grab your binoculars and join us for a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park in Estes Park. My favorite outdoor adventure with A Private Guide is a ½ day white water rafting trip up in Clear Creek. With the help of A Private Guide, you can explore Colorado’s outdoor wonders in a whole new way!

What is your favorite thing to do outdoors in Colorado? Leave me a comment about your most memorable outdoor Colorado adventure and maybe you’ll be a part of my blog in the future! Come back next week to learn more about our amazing state and great places you can visit with A Private Guide!

-Kelli Wilson, Intern
A Private Guide, Inc.

Everyone put your hands together for our great city of Denver! Last weekend at the Great American Beer Fest, Colorado brewers won the most medals (49) which represented 19 percent of all medals given out! Remember that if you’re interested in touring one of the world’s best known breweries, we at A Private Guide offer tours to the Miller Coors Brewery in Golden!

Denver is well known for our beautiful scenery but take a stroll downtown and you’ll see a whole new side to our city. Did you know that on the first Friday of every month Denver has something called First Friday Art Walk? The first Friday of every month is a night when Denverites and tourists alike are able to visit the ArtDistrict on Santa Fe to see some of Denver’s premier art studios.

Here’s big news! Starting today, Friday, October 2nd, Denver’s ArtDistrict on Santa Fe and The Golden Triangle Museum District will partner to connect the art district to the museum district by introducing the “Connect the Dots to the Art Walks” shuttle coach. Beginning at the 10th and Osage light rail station, this luxury shuttle will transport art lovers to the ArtDistrict on Santa Fe and then further on to the Denver Art Museum on 12th and Acoma, with a few more stops along the way. A Certified Tour Guide, provided by A Private Guide, Inc., will be present on the shuttle to provide insights and historical information regarding Denver.

The shuttle will run continuously from 5:30pm to 9:30pm. How convenient it would be to have a nice meal at the Buckhorn Exchange and then just hop on the shuttle! The “Connect the Dots to the Art Walks” shuttle will not only provide access to over 100 art galleries, museums, cultural centers, restaurants and shops, it will allow art lovers to appreciate both the arts district and the museum district in the same evening. There is also an option to park at West High School for $3 and jump on the shuttle from that stop. All proceeds go towards West High School’s cultural programs. Going green is becoming a big part of Denver’s name and this is a great way to save on gas and over-crowding of motor vehicles in the city.

Join us this afternoon at 5:15pm at the 10th and Osage RTD Lightrail Station near the Buckhorn Exchange for the official ribbon cutting and launch of the “Connect the Dots to the Art Walks” shuttle coach. Be one of the first to take a ride on the new shuttle and see what all the commotion is about! What could possibly top riding around town in a luxury shuttle with a guide while seeing some of Denver’s best art?

I am excited to announce also that this is the 6th week I have submitted a blog! Please feel free to leave me some comments for improvements, what else you would like to hear about or what you have enjoyed the most over the last month and a half!

Kelli Wilson, Intern
A Private Guide, Inc.

One of the things I've learned about tourism is that jobs in this field are not always "9 to 5" desk jobs. While some of the jobs require lots of behind the scenes planning, many of the jobs require face-to-face customer contact, like tour guiding, for example. Being paid to meet new people and take them around Colorado (or around the world) is an amazing opportunity.

I was reminded of this when I took Visit Denver's "Go the Extra Mile" certification course this week. During the course I visited the Denver Zoo, the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Denver Art Museum. It was great to experience Denver the way a tourist does. A Private Guide offers many tours similar to these, as well custom tours designed by your own private Tour Specialist.

Working with A Private Guide has really enabled me to expand my knowledge of Denver. Here's a sneak peak: did you know that Denver is home to 2,000 restaurants? That’s a ton of food and a ton of options! One of my favorites is Kona Grill in Cherry Creek which is well known for its wonderful sushi and Japanese food. A Private Guide offers several shopping and dining tours in the Denver area where you can check out restaurants like this one. Cherry Creek is also a favorite destination for school groups at Christmastime. A Private Guide arranges special trips to visit Santa and to Build-A-Bear Workshop where kids can create their very own stuffed animal holiday present. A Private Guide can even arrange for hearing-impaired children to have their special moment with Santa.

With the Great American Beer Festival in town and the Denver Beer Fest, there isn’t a better time to be well updated on your beer knowledge. A Private Guide also offers great brewery tours, like of our world famous Coors Beer and Miller Coors Brewery in Golden. See how your favorite beer is brewed, try free samples and even discover a new favorite!

A Private Guide is always here to accommodate anyone and everyone who wants to experience Denver's booming hospitality industry. Denver is full of opportunities-- come share it with us!

Kelli Wilson, Intern
A Private Guide, Inc.

Today, I am learning how to post a blog on a custom B2evolution site. Who knew this would be part of my travel business training? I must have posted successfully if you are reading this now. You'll see more posts, uploaded by me in the future.

My Private Life With A Private Guide
By Kelli Wilson
(9/17/09)

When did a sick day become no fun? Alright, well, I guess being sick is never fun but “back in the day” sick days had so much for us to look forward to! Staying home, eating soup, getting waited on, watching daytime television and not worrying about what responsibilities you’re supposed to have. You realize how much you care about your job or your internship when you have to take a sick day (or five). Instead of feeling excited that you are able to stay home, you feel even sicker about what you are missing and how far behind the temper tantrum your immune system is throwing will get you.

You can probably guess what happened to me this week. Monday morning I woke up with that burning feeling in my throat and that stinging feeling in my head. That feeling where your mind is telling you it’s Monday and time to get up but your body is telling you to get back in bed. After talking to Daphne we decided I should take the week off to get better. Although I did not feel any better as the days went on, I decided to still go to school since teachers aren’t always as understanding as bosses. However, when I entered my second class, the professor took one look at me and, fearful of the breakout of swine-flu on the CU/Boulder campus, told me to go home.

What do you get done when you’re banished to your bedroom? Well, one thing that was nice, besides the extra hour of sleep, was that it gave me a chance to further my research on the upcoming and oh-so-exciting Biennial! When I first began working with Daphne I had no idea what the Biennial was. Now I hear about it everywhere we go, and we even met with the ovational Gareth Heyman from MorEvents to talk more about it (Thank goodness I had updated my knowledge of the event-- I was able to provide Daphne with information she couldn't remember when her brain went on vacation during the middle of the meeting!). Can you believe that our great city of Denver has been chosen for the 2010 Biennial of the Americas? For seven weeks our city will be hosting this fine event for people coming from all around the Western Hemisphere. Tourism in Denver might never be the same when all these new faces see what our city is made of! (If you can’t tell I am extremely proud to live in Denver!!)

Also, I was still able to attend a planning meeting with the President of A Private Guide Inc., Sid Wilson, on Wednesday. Although my head ached and my right eye had a strange gooey substance living in it for the better part of the morning, it was a very insightful experience for me to be able to sit in on a meeting with Sid. It made me feel like a part of the company and I was excited to be included in something like that.

It is weeks like this when I realize how lucky I am to be working with a company and group of people who actually know my name and don’t just know me as “the girl to give your coffee order to”. If they had not been so understanding I fear I would have been sitting in the office all week partially working but mostly moping in the corner. I did not get as much done this week as I would have liked to, and that sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach is there to remind me, “Even though you’re sick Kelli, you missed out on a lot.” Thank you swine flu or headaches or common cold or whatever you are. I have now had two trips to the doctor and am looking forward to getting my life back together and on track next week!

Kelli Wilson, Intern
A Private Guide, Inc.

My Private Life With A Private Guide
By Kelli Wilson
(9/11/09)

When did 8a m become so early? When we’re younger (secondary school, high school) we have no trouble being up and ready to go by 6 am. It seems however that the years I have spent in college have turned 8 am into the early morning hours and 10 am into sleeping in.

Over the last few weeks I have had to train myself to be at work by 8 am. Not so hard right? Well a little hard when that work day goes along with a full day of classes, homework and “me time”! I have never imagined I would be doing so much by having an internship, but A Private Guide Inc. is always going, going, going in order to get the job done!

I have been lucky enough to be able to have attended a few client meetings with Daphne Marrable. This is wonderful for me because I get to not only see what someone who works for A Private Guide Inc. does on a day to day basis, but the networking opportunities are fantastic! However, here we are back again to why 8 am is so early.

The first meeting I was able to attend began at 9 am. Daphne and I met at 7:20 am so this meant I had to wake up around 6 am. That’s kind of like waking the dead in my case. Forgetting the importance of the meeting I was about to attend, I just pulled on a pair of black slacks and a red sweater. While running out the door and trying not to forget my coffee I grabbed a comfortable pair of shoes and threw them on. The bad part is that the shoes happened to be flip-flops. I didn’t even realize the (near) fatal business-fashion mistake I had made until Daphne looked at my attire and asked if I had brought spare shoes. Oops. I went business clothing shopping three days later.

This, however, is what is fun and exciting about an internship. You live and you learn right? Over the last few weeks I have learned so much more aside from “what not to wear”. I was able to type up a tour description on my own, research many interesting companies that I only knew basic information about, and even see how a formal proposal would be made. Who knew that Red Rocks Amphitheater offers so much if they haven’t been there in a few years? With the recent addition of the Visitor’s Center, I found out that there is a Rock Hall of Fame and that as long as no band is scheduled to play you are able to go on stage and sing into the mike for a mini show of your own! And as many times as I have been to Idaho Springs in my lifetime, one would think I had been all over the town. However, I never knew that the Phoenix Mine actually takes you into the mines and then lets you pan the river for gold! I also found out that if a group goes to go to Elitches Amusement Park with A Private Guide Inc., they are not only able to go to the park for a good chunk of the day but they can also receive a meal voucher.

With the way A Private Guide Inc. operates, I have been able to be more than just the intern who gets the coffee and bagels for the paid employees. The next three months will open more than windows for a new worker like myself. I feel as though A Private Guide Inc. has already been able to open up some doors for me. Join me next week to hear more about my fun, sometimes embarrassing, all-around extraordinary experiences as I keep working with A Private Guide Inc.

Kelli Wilson, Intern
A Private Guide, Inc.

My Private Life With A Private Guide
By Kelli Wilson
(9/3/09)

It is always important to understand what you’re doing when you’re working for a company. Right? I mean you wouldn’t take a job at an isogonics freezing laboratory if you were a Shakespearian History lecturer.

I came into A Private Guide, Inc. with a big smile and blank face! It’s difficult when it comes to internships because you never know exactly what you will be doing until you are doing it.

I knew what A Private Guide, Inc. was, but I didn’t know exactly how they did what it is they do, and I wasn’t even entirely sure what I would be doing. Well after two weeks on the job, I have not only learned a whole lot of information that will not only get me through this internship with them and also through real life, but I have also learned all about how to get myself “out there” and network.

Networking is the number one thing in this industry. That might be the only thing I heard in school and then also heard from Daphne (since nothing else I have learned in college seems to be helping me in the real job world…hmm...). I have had the opportunity to tour the incredible Kirkland Museum and even meet Hugh Grant, the director and personal friend of Vance Kirkland. I was able to sit in on meetings regarding the future of our great city. Of course by future I mean events future, not political or physical future!

It is amazing to me that I am finally feeling like I am doing something every day that effects others in so many ways. A Private Guide, Inc. has so much to teach me and so much for me to do, I feel as though my life journey is finally beginning.

-Kelli Wilson, Intern
A Private Guide, Inc.

My Private Life With A Private Guide
By Kelli Wilson

“You’re so close to graduation, if you keep up at the rate you’re going then you’ll be done in a year!” Those are the words that every college Junior wants to hear. You’re almost done! Being so close to graduation, you can practically taste the cap and gown, graduation party and job search. But of course, there is always a catch. The advisor who gave me those encouraging words just moments before also reminded me that I needed to get involved with a company and begin my internship. The first thoughts that went through my mind were, “Okay, I’ll think about it tomorrow.”

However, “tomorrow” came sooner than I thought it would. Coming from a family of women with contacts in the travel industry, I was soon introduced to the spirited and motivated Daphne Marrable. Daphne is a Certified International Tour Manager (CITM) and Director of Youth and Student Tours for A Private Guide Inc. in Denver, CO. Upon our first meeting at the lovely Second Home Kitchen and Bar, I was convinced that A Private Guide Inc. was going to not only be a fun and interesting internship but would also serve as a challenging and competitive environment in which to learn.

The word “internship” means that a beginner will spend time in a chosen occupation to, basically, learn the ropes. Some interns are paid but the majority of the time, especially for a college internship, the intern is unpaid. This is fine seeing as how it is a learning experience, but it makes it difficult not to change your entire routine! Let me explain that a little better.

I received an internship packet that was 45 pages long. Every page was full of timesheets, papers to sign, papers for me to write, and of course what was expected of me. The required amount of hours I need to spend working for A Private Guide Inc. is 450 hours. Doesn’t sound too bad, right? Okay well take those 450 hours which breaks down to being 18.75 24-hour days, 27,000 minutes and a whopping 1,620,000 seconds and do it in approximately 3.5 months. Doesn’t sound as easy anymore does it? AND to add on to that, imagine you’re Daphne Marrable who agreed to be my internship supervisor during this time. That’s like being Pierce Brosnan and having to show Daniel Craig the ropes so 007 doesn’t go down in flames.

So how are we going to get all this work done in such a short amount of time and still keep A Private Guide Inc.’s good name? Well that is what we are going to find out! Daphne and I have come up with a busy (to say the least) schedule that will keep me on my toes and working for the duration of my time. We decided I needed to be on the job five days a week and do a certain amount of hours over the weekends.

Since I signed up for classes long before this internship was final, we had to base my work schedule off my school schedule. I take classes at Metropolitan State College of Denver where I am a Hospitality, Tourism and Event Planning major. I am on campus Monday through Thursday and between 1pm and 7pm. This means that if I need to be working Monday through Friday and get enough hours, I have to start early in the morning. Now for a night owl like myself, early in the morning is 10am, 9am is cutting is close usually. But for a woman like Daphne who has been hard at work for the last twenty-three years, 6am is sleeping in. So we met in the middle and decided I would meet at her office Monday through Friday at 8am.

The first actual day of work, I showed up on time but only half awake. Within five minutes of Daphne going over the basics, I was halfway crouched over and snoring. Every time she would try to intervene by asking me if I needed something cold to drink or offering me a friendly kick, I assured her that I was NOT sleeping, just resting my eyes. All that I can say now is thank goodness for coffee!

My first week went well besides the “I promise I’m not sleeping” incident. On Monday I was able to meet with the president of A Private Guide Inc, Sid Wilson. Sid, being a good friend of my mother, had been introduced to me before. This happened to be about eighteen years ago when I didn’t even know what work was. All I can recall about Sid Wilson is telling my Mom that I was glad to finally be able to meet my Uncle Sid. (Since we share the same last name I was a bit confused.) However, it was great to meet with the president of the company I would be working for and suck up a little by letting him know that in my summer marketing class, my group and I did our market research project on A Private Guide Inc.

During that week I also learned that flip flops are not a professional foot item and an Adidas workout bag is NOT the same thing as a briefcase. However that is a whole other story that you’ll have to read about next week.

Stay with me as I venture on with A Private Guide Inc., and maybe even see me through graduation…

Kelli Wilson, Intern,
A Private Guide, Inc.