The Village People and the Y.M.C.A

On my flight to Denver for the FFR show, I sat next to an older couple who sang the praises of the Y.M.C.A. retreat in Estes Park, Colorado. “Right,” I thought.”Probably too tame even for my 7-year-old.” But as Bonnie Tsui points out in this morning’s New York Times, the Y has a long history of not only inventing or promoting all kinds of sports (volleyball, basketball, racquetball), but of doing it in some of the most beautiful parts of the United States. Estes Park, abutting Rocky Mountain National Park about 65 miles northwest of Denver, just happens to be one of those places. “The retro-cool appeal of these Y’s today is helped by modern amenities that attract vacationing adults and families, including new lodges, upgraded facilities, wireless Internet and business centers. At Trout Lodge, a 5,200-acre Y.M.C.A. in the Missouri Ozarks, a new golf course, horse trails and an equestrian arena are among recent additions to the resort; a fly-fishing school at Frost Valley Y.M.C.A. is set in a renovated turn-of-the-century country estate in the Catskills.”