Thanksgiving is a week away and families across the US are finalizing plans to commune around their designated dinner table.  Most gatherings will be in the dining rooms of a parent, aunt, brother, sister, etc., etc., but some groups will choose to get out of familiar holiday surroundings and take unique trips.  There are several options in Thanksgiving travel packages, including luxurious retreats.

One holiday escape can be found at the Dunton Hot Springs Resort, across the mountain from Telluride in the Colorado Rockies.  Their Thanksgiving Food & Wine Package includes four nights in one of the resort's authentic restored mining cabins, a traditional Thanksgiving feast, day trip to Sutcliffe Vineyards, complimentary bottle of wine, and a spa treatment of your choice. 

Like countless others, I'll be gathered around my dining table filled with turkey, stuffing and all the trimmings; but the experience at Dunton Hot Springs certainly offers something unique for the crowd looking for the less customary.

In my early 20s I discovered something that would help shape the next decade of my life: whiskey.  Not in a negative way, mind you, but an educational way.  I am fascinated by the distilling process and all else that goes into the creation of a fine whiskey.  The occasional drink of the finished product only serves as a celebratory culmination of the entire process.

Recently, White & Mackay, owner of The Dalmore brand, announced a limited release of a rare Scotch whiskey much older than my love affair with the hooch.  The Dalmore 50yo was first distilled 140 years ago and offers a rare taste of an era gone by.  Also rare is the whiskey's availability, with only 191 hand-blown Portuguese decanters being created, each individually numbered and accompanied by a handwritten and signed letter from The Dalmore's creator.  A £5,000 bottle could be the centerpiece in the collection of any whiskey connoisseur.

While several luxury homes listed on LuxuryPortfolio.com could be considered works of art in their own right, there is a singularly special property that was home to an icon of American painting.  This home located in the historic village of Galisteo, New Mexico served as the studio and retreat of famed artist Agnes Martin. 

Ms. Martin studied art at Columbia University in New York and later at University of New Mexico.  Her work emphasizes subtle color, lines and grids that often show the touch of the artist's hand with intended imperfections.  She created the adobe studio and rammed-earth home in the 1980s and lived and worked there for a decade.  The home has been updated and renovated, yet it still retains the original aesthetic and remains a representation of Agnes Martin's unique artistic style.

The property is listed by Santa Fe Realty Partners; more details and photos can be found here.