By Forrest Whitman All eyes are on the COVID-19 pandemic. But, a story that’s been shoved aside might just be nearly as important long term. A railroad war is going on right now between the Rio Grande Pacific R.R. and the Colorado and Pacific R.R. It’s over the old main line of the Denver and …
By John Mattingly Several years ago, my wife and I walked into the barn to be greeted by a two-week old male goat bleating insistently. We then saw that his mother, an ancient nanny we knew as Osho, had died. Osho was the acknowledged superior in the herd. With a passing resemblance to Bhagwan Shree …
By Doris Dembowsky There’s nothing like a museum for allowing parents and grandparents to reminisce. Walking from room to room, you’ll hear them saying, “I remember when ….” Those reminiscences wrap adults in warm family stories. As for historically challenged youth, they’re wide-eyed, looking at life as it was before TV and computers. The Silver …
By Ann Marie Swan A global pandemic hasn’t stopped Little Red Hen Bakery in Salida from serving its popular wood-fired breads, baked goods and treats. In this new normal of restaurant operations with no table service, faithful customers wait in line over chalk art that greets them with rainbows, butterflies and “Bake the World (drawing …
By Nathan Ward Sound carries far in the predawn hours of Hacienda San Juan de Lizárraga. A white-nosed coati crashes through the scrub forest. The morning explodes into chatter as the sun rises and the wild babbling of chacalacas rents the air. Birdsong flows from the beaks of brilliant birds, bursts of color between palm …
By Martha Quillen Together is now a buzzword for correct pandemic responses. We’ll get through this together. We’re in this together. Awhile back, the world got polarized. Exactly why isn’t clear, but furiously embracing hard-line, antagonistic stances became normal. Now, however, COVID-19 has pushed us into isolation and yet we’re clamoring for togetherness. Under the …
By George Sibley We’ve been told recently that we are “living in a historic time,” but maybe I’m not alone in observing that there is a big difference between “living in a historic time” and actually “making history.” What we are mostly doing today is hunkering down, lying low, invisible we hope to a cute …
By Peter Anderson The Ute name for the Great Sand Dunes is sowapophe-uvehe—the land that goes back and forth. The Jicarilla Apache variation is ei-enyedi—the land that goes up and down. Either phrase, it seems, could apply to the whole valley on this windy spring day. Fortunately, there is a “back” and a “forth”, an …
By Kim Grant Colorado has many significant historic mining and mill sites across its vast landscape, but few have as much intact infrastructure, technology and machinery in place that lend itself to historic interpretation and potential educational tours, as does the Paris Mill near Alma in Park County. The Paris Mill was placed on Colorado’s …
By Ed Berg During the first week of quarantine I went for a walk in the hills east of town, seeking stillness in the midst of turbulence. Eventually I came upon some Tibetan prayer flags and a meditation labyrinth all neatly laid out nearby. So I walked it. The two collie dogs I hike …
By Tina Mitchell Recommended Books Since many of us have some extra time these days, thanks to the pandemic, it might be time to revisit (or read for the first time!) a few great books about nature. I’ve listed a number of my favorite books about nature—classics that have truly stood the test of time. …
By Chelsea McNerney-Martinez The lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) for rural hospitals has been an anticipated challenge since the scope of the COVID-19 crisis became a hard-hitting reality. However, volunteers and local business owners proved they were up for the challenge, stepping up to protect San Luis Valley healthcare workers and patients, donating hundreds …