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Preserving San Juan County

A dimly lit prison cell with metal bars, a toilet, and a small sink. Light enters through a barred window.

Located at the north end of town on Greene Street in Silverton is the San Juan County Historical Museum Complex. There’s a lot to discover here — a historic jail, an archives building, and the Mining Heritage Center Museum. WHO KNEW JAIL WAS SO SOPHISTICATED IN 1902? In the 1800s, the roaring mining town of […]

Fools Rush In

A brown-feathered bird stands on a rock surrounded by green foliage and purple flowers in a natural setting.

Doves and waterfowl account for most of the shotgun shells burned by Colorado small-game hunters, but the dusky grouse is not without its share of fans. Formerly known as blue grouse and sometimes called “fool hens,” these large birds are a gastronomic delight for those who take them in the early season while they’re feeding […]

Paint Mines

Rock formations with red, orange, and white layers under a blue sky with wispy clouds. Sparse vegetation is visible at the base.

A Quiet and Colorful Place – One of Colorado’s best kept secrets  It is a beautiful park, full of color and history. At first, it feels like you’re driving to the middle of nowhere. All you see is open grassland and prairie. Then suddenly, there it is: Paint Mines Interpretive Park. The park is a hidden gem […]

The Lurker in a Sweeper

A man in a blue shirt examines a coniferous tree in a grassy wooded area, wearing a white cap and sunglasses.

A tale of a fishing … fish?  September is, to hear some tell it, one of the best fly-fishing months of the year. The weather is cooler, the water is cooler, the streams are low and clear, and the fish are really hungry. The colder water stimulates their metabolism and they feed with a renewed […]

High Country Summertime Fly Fishing

A man wearing outdoor gear kneels by the edge of a small stream while holding a fishing rod. Grass and shrubs are in the background.

By Dennis Smith Some anglers I know will tell you the best fly fishing in Colorado doesn’t really start until late June or early July. That’s about the earliest you can backpack into a cutthroat lake at 9,000 or 10,000 feet and be reasonably sure you won’t have to drill a hole in it to […]

Hooking Trout on the Big T

A brown mayfly with translucent wings and a long tail rests on a person's hairy arm, casting a shadow in sunlight.

By Dennis Smith There was a huge spinner fall on the Big Thompson that morning — Pale Morning Duns, we’d guessed, but then mayfly spinners all look alike to me; they could have been anything. It was late June and we just assumed they were Pale Morning Duns, but we didn’t really know. They stretched […]

A Short Ride in Co-op Country

A dirt path leads through a grassy field with trees, flanked by green mountains under a clear blue sky.

By Craig Johnson Coloradans have been riding bicycles in the mountains since the 1800s, but it wasn’t until the mid–1970s that the modern-day sport of mountain biking was born. The cradle of the sport was Crested Butte. In 1976, hobbyists on modified cruiser bikes called “klunkers” began racing to Aspen over the 12,705-foot Pearl Pass. […]

Texas 4000

A person smiling and standing outdoors in a cycling jersey with various logos. The background shows a modern building.

On May 20, University of Texas students embarked on a 70-day, 4,000-mile bike ride from Austin, Texas, to Anchorage, Alaska, to raise funds for and support the fight against cancer. Beginning 18 months prior to the ride, called the Texas 4000, each student trains for the race, raises $4,500, completes 50 volunteer hours, and maps […]

Focus On… A Community Tradition

Outdoor concert at sunset with a crowd sitting and standing on a grassy field, a stage on the right, and mountains in the background under a cloudy sky.

By Ashley Taylor, Editorial Assistant Strawberry Days Delicious food, live music, a parade and beautiful local art displays all in the heart of Glenwood Springs? Talk about the perfect way to welcome the summer season. Next month you can enjoy Colorado’s longest-running community festival: Strawberry Days. Voted “Most Fun Town in America” by Rand-McNally and […]

Struttin’ in Full Color

Two wild turkeys stand on grass with trees in the background.

By Dennis Smith I continually find myself amazed by the incredible diversity of feathers found in songbirds. Barnyard chickens, too, for that matter. Never mind waterfowl, herons, cranes, raptors and the wildly-exotic rainforest parrots, macaws and toucans; Asian and African pheasants and peacocks, flamingoes, bee eaters and such. From the tiniest hummingbird to the largest […]