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Backyard Bird Watching

A blue jay holding a peanut in its beak stands on a pile of mixed seeds and nuts. Snow is gently falling around.

I’m not exactly a dedicated bird watcher, but I am fascinated by the little buggers. I grew up in a tiny mountain town and spent much of my youth in the woods hunting, fishing, and doing other countryboy stuff. Birds were everywhere, so I naturally learned to identify them, but I was more interested in […]

Ski the Gems

Person in ski gear stands on a snowy mountain slope with a backdrop of snow-covered peaks under a clear blue sky.

There’s no better bonding time for me and my daughters than skiing in the Colorado Rockies. We spend the drive up talking and listening to music (I’m still trying to convince them that ’80s music is the best), and when we get to the slopes it’s equal parts adventure, fun, and friendly competition. Like most […]

Hot Fishing on Cold Days

Mountain range with snow-capped peaks and forested slopes under a partly cloudy sky. Vegetation in the foreground.

I’m no longer surprised by the number of anglers who fly-fish through the winter, though I once was. It’s not for the faint of heart or folks who like to stay warm, but still, winter fly-fishing has grown to the point where it’s fairly commonplace. Even if the local freestone streams are iced over, there […]

Be Thankful

A river flows past a grove of trees, with one tree displaying bright orange foliage among the green and yellow leaves.

Thanksgiving is almost here, and like millions of others, I’m thinking about some of the things I’m thankful for. Right at the top of the list, of course, is my wife and our family, and that we had the remarkably good fortune to have been born in the USA. Our clan has been remarkably blessed […]

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 […]