By Jan MacKell Collins I love Clear Creek Canyon. The first time I visited this unique place off of Highway 24 between Buena Vista and Leadville, I fell in love. Here are four quaint ghost towns – Beaver City, Vicksburg, Rockdale and Winfield – with numerous camping sites in the woods beyond Clear Creek Reservoir. …
By William Korn Leadville’s preeminence amongst the mining camps of the High Rockies attracted adventurers and opportunists from distant places including a significant population of Jews, many of whom were recent immigrants from western and central Europe. Predominantly arising from a culture of peddling and small shops, Jewish merchants became an important element in Leadville’s …
By Mike Rosso The old mining town of St. Elmo is a very popular Chaffee County attraction for those seeking a glimpse into Colorado’s past, but there are also several other noteworthy historic sites nearby. First is the Iron City Cemetery. A rather sparse burial ground, there are a few headstones made of granite, but …
By Hal Walter Although the towns of Westcliffe and Crestone are separated by only a few miles of rugged mountains, they are culturally and philosophically worlds apart. My friend Peter May who lives in Crestone has been helping me explore some alternative supports for Harrison’s autism these past few years. He had suggested a soul …
By Martha Quillen
If you look at the big picture, the United States is doing very well. Per capita income is up, and murder rates, war deaths, and unemployment are down. But Americans are increasingly unhappy. The World Happiness Report (an independent project published annually by the U.N.) indicates the U.S. dropped from 14th place in 2017 to 18th in 2018.
By George SIbley
When Ryan Zinke was appointed Secretary of the Department of Interior a year ago, he declared himself to be an “unapologetic admirer of Teddy Roosevelt,” whom we think of as the father of American conservation. Secretary Zinke’s actions since then have caused virtually all contemporary American conservation organizations to call him out on that, and to directly challenge his proclaimed commitment to any concept of conservation.
By John Mattingly
I remember the days of, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.” And, “I am rubber, you are glue so what you say bounces off me and sticks to you.” Codicils to these were: “Talk is cheap,” and “Actions speak louder than words,” and “BS walks.”
Brief by Colorado Central Staff, June 1998
Recently we saw an ad in a local publication for a house with a “zero-scaped” yard.
By Jennifer Welch It’s difficult to describe exactly what led me to this valley in the first place. I had never been west of the Mississippi prior to making the trip to Colorado in my early twenties. I left the only home I had known with no real plan other than to follow one road …
By Brian Rill Scott MacKennon, Salida native and local character better known as “Zippy,” has taken to the wilderness among the raptors and bears with the band Going Nomadic. It has been said that if man alone loved his isolation, he would either become a wild beast or a god. Seas To Trees is the …
By John C. Mattingly; Judith Penrose Mattingly, illustrations ISBN: 978-0-9710430-7-7 Morris Publishing, 2017 $10.00; 97pp. Reviewed by Eduardo Rey Brummel Readers of Colorado Central are likely already familiar with Mattingly, since he’s a featured columnist. His latest book, Brayed Expectations, is a collection of brief tales and essays about donkeys. The majority of them are …
A Wilderness Alphabet By Peter Anderson Let their names remind us of our shared inheritance 100 million acres, roadless and wild. From Absaroka to Apache Creek … From Ansel Adams to Allegheny, hallow Black Bear and Great Bear, be a witness for Bald Knob and Big Gum Swamp, in Copper Salmon, swim like one, …
By Craig Nelson In winter, the rocks at the bottom are what we see first, drawing us under the scalloped patterns, then cottonwoods resplendent with fractured light, and lovely breezes, and the water flows timeless past the rail yard littered with rusted iron and coal dust from the days when the mountains swarmed with …
By Daniel Smith
After months of politics and campaigning, the decisions finally fall to the voters in the Fifth Congressional District in the Primary Election.
June 26 is the date the electorate gets its say after what arguably has been a unique election cycle this time around. And, for a first time, unaffiliated voters can participate in either political party’s choices.
By Ann Marie Swan
Salida painter Michael Haynes’ vision of American history is seen by millions, and he’s determined to get it right. Every eagle feather, every pewter button, every coat worn in battle by a particular regiment on a particular day is grounded in fact. Haynes builds objects and illustrated actions into scenes, moments in time and culture, where every character has a backstory. But it may not look like the history you learned in school.
By Christopher Kolomitz
Photos by Mike Rosso
Salida’s signature summer event celebrates its 70th anniversary this month when hundreds of athletes and thousands of spectators descend on the event known as FIBArk.
By Mike Rosso
I recently returned home from celebrating my Mom’s 91st birthday (Dad is 96). Most of my family, me being the exception, have settled in Sonoma County, California. It’s a truly stunning countryside there. Rolling hills of grass and stately oaks. Miles and miles of vineyards stretching above and beyond the horizon.
Susan Mayfield is an award-winning artist known for her use of color and light in her pastel and oil paintings. She was raised in the Lowcountry of South Carolina, a watery landscape dominated by rivers, creeks and marshes, where she lived until moving to Salida in 2007. Mayfield now divides her time between the high …