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Playing Solitaire

Gray bird perched on a branch, looking upwards against a blurred dark background.

A bird call pierces the crisp morning air near my cabin in the Poudre Canyon. “Ping! Ping! Ping!” Living on my own, I enjoy getting to know my wildlife neighbors, large and small. They are fascinating company. The high-pitched note rings out repeatedly, like an invitation, as I walk my dog down our dirt lane. […]

The Case for Homemade Jerky

Slices of beef jerky on a slate board with a wooden bowl of black peppercorns in the background.

It’s a gloomy winter day in the Colorado foothills, but it’s pretty cozy down here in the basement by the fireplace where I’m tying flies and searching Google to find out how ducks and geese can dangle their feet in bitter cold water all day, or roost on a frozen lake overnight, without their toes […]

If the Snowshoe Fits

Person in red jacket snowshoeing on a snowy trail through a forest of snow-covered trees under a clear blue sky.

Just because we live in Colorado doesn’t mean we all ski. Sure, it’s a great winter sport, but I don’t love it enough to endure the weekend crowds and traffic gridlock, let alone the high prices of lift tickets and gear. I haven’t skied or snowboarded at a Colorado ski resort in nearly 15 years, […]

Hut Trips with Kids

Group of people in winter clothing pose in front of a log cabin named "Fran's Cabin," surrounded by snow and trees.

Like many new parents, when our friend clan started procreating, we kept right on doing what we did before being saddled with children. Foremost come winter: going on hut trips, where the whole family skis into a cozy cabin with all the creature comforts. Luckily, Colorado is blessed with a bounty of such abodes. Their […]

Exotic Turkey Recipes and Mixed Bag Musings

Hunter in camouflage and orange vest walks down a dirt path in a dry, wooded area under a cloudy sky. Sign nearby reads "Vehicles Prohibited Beyond This Point.

I was assigned the honor of roasting the holiday turkey for our multifamily Thanksgiving dinner this year, so I’ve been surfing the net and watching the cooking channels for a clever new recipe to try out on the relatives. Talk about information overload. On my first search, I counted 20-some ways to cook a turkey: […]

Feathered – Fine and Fierce

A hawk perches on a wooden structure in the rain, surrounded by green foliage.

Editor’s Note We heard from a Poudre Valley REA member and reader in mid-October who correctly identified the bird pictured with the article as an immature Cooper’s Hawk, not a Red-tailed Hawk. We appreciate our “hawk-eyed” readers who are able to educate us and let us know of published errors. The photo accompanying Dennis Smith’s […]

Devil’s Head Hiking

A wooden lookout station perched on a rocky cliff overlooks a vast forest and mountain range under a clear blue sky with scattered clouds.

Devil’s Head is one of the more recognizable peaks on the Front Range, being the most prominent feature on the horizon between Mount Blue Sky to the north and Pikes Peak to the south. The rocky outcrop stands high above the foothills of the Rampart Range, belying its modest elevation of 9,748 feet. I first […]

Right Place, Right Time

A large elk with impressive antlers stands in a grassy field, surrounded by autumn foliage.

More years ago than I care to remember, I signed up for an outdoor photography class sponsored by the then Colorado Division of Wildlife. Two well-known Colorado wildlife/conservation photographers conducted three nights of classroom instruction covering fundamental camera operations — exposure, composition, lighting basics, and so on. That was followed by a daylong field trip […]

Paddling with Kids

Four people in blue kayaks paddle on a calm lake with a mountainous background.

I was a water droplet of a man when I joined my family as a fifth-grader on a five-day float down Colorado’s Yampa River. Whether that trip influenced me to eventually raise my own kids a block away from the same river, I’ll never know. But it left an impression as indelible as the desert […]

Moody River

A person wearing fishing gear is standing on grassy riverbank, holding a fishing rod over a calm river at sunset.

Fast changes on the Big Thompson It never fails to amaze me how quickly conditions can change on a trout stream. It’s ancient knowledge that rivers never sleep, that they’re in a never-ending state of flux, always rising or falling, changing color, clarity, or course. Rivers — and the fish in them — can be […]