By Martha Quillen Welcome to modern America, a place where citizens are divided by culture, faith, class, and ethnicity, yet are thoroughly connected by government, the Internet, social media, and often in their daily lives. But in recent decades, partisan rifts have grown, and today our politics are as fraught as they were during ‘Nam …
By John Mattingly Behold a field of ripe brew barley: Its long, bearded grain heads swaying hypnotically in a gentle breeze … we think of the yeoman farmer who planted and tended it to maturity where it ended up as beer that became a can or two that led to a teenage driving death, a …
By Mike Rosso Now that the house has been insulated, the next step is drywall. This is a very exciting step as you truly get the best sense of what the finished rooms look like, and also get an idea of how natural and artificial light reflects around the interior. Drywall is also know by …
By Ryan Kempfer History Mount Shavano is the southernmost fourteener in the magnificent Sawatch Range of Central Colorado. The Range is home to 15 of the 58 14,000-foot peaks in Colorado. The name Sawatch comes from the native Ute tribe meaning “water of the blue earth.” The story of the Angel of Shavano comes from …
By Tina Mitchell Enjoy cantaloupe or watermelon? The crunch of a crisp apple? That avocado in your guacamole? You might want to thank a bee. Super-pollinators of the flowering world, Colorado’s bees emerge, starting in April, from their hives or their nests underground, in hollow stems, or in tree cavities. More than 20,000 species of …
By Mike Rosso Shortly after our March 2019 issue was mailed out, we were contacted by local photographer Dan Downing whose work graced the cover of our November 2018 issue. He had an interesting story to tell about the March cover photo, taken of Marshall Pass in the 1890s by famed photographer William Henry Jackson. …
By John Cameron Crestone Needle rises from the valley floor as an imposing and jagged peak. It was the last 14,000-foot peak in Colorado to be climbed, a feat once presumed to be impossible. During a daring expedition in 1916, two of the best known climbers in North America would prove that the summit was …
By Mike Rosso It occurred to me only this morning that the previous issue of Colorado Central marked my 10th anniversary of purchasing this magazine from Ed and Martha Quillen. I took the helm in March 2009, making this my 111th issue! I’m trying to wrap my head around that fact but wanted to take …
Teresa Golden lives in the small mountain community of Gunnison. Her love of photography began as a child, and was influenced by many family members. Her grandfather showed her photography books of mountain scenery at the tender age of four years old. Her parents gave her a Nikon camera for her sixteenth birthday. Her grandmother …
By Hal Walter It started when Harrison was in sixth grade and the coach suggested he go out for the middle school cross-country team. I’d never considered that Harrison would be on a school sports team, but when he said he wanted to do this, I was all in. I’d also never considered this would …
By George Sibley An interesting thing happened mid-March in Boulder which the media seem to have mostly missed. Commissioners from Grand County showed up at a noisy Boulder County commissioners’ hearing on a West Slope-to-East Slope transmountain water diversion project – to testify on behalf of the project. It is probably the first time ever, …
By Wayne Iverson After the Chipeta Mountain name was moved to the high point of its massif in 2017, Salidan Craig Nielson came up to me and said that we needed to have a celebration. I said, “Good idea, you’re in charge, the budget is zero, I’m going to work in Alaska.” Nielson, an architect …
By Jan MacKell Collins If you have ever dreamt of owning an historic brothel, now is your chance. The former House of Joy, once owned by Buena Vista’s “Cockeyed Liz,” is for sale. There is much to be said about this charming little property, located right downtown on Main Street. Most interesting is its former …