For those of you interested in identifying the constellations of Scorpius and Sagittarius in the night sky, the evenings of Sept. 3rd to 5th offer great opportunities to do so. Watch the waxing Moon hug the head of the Scorpion on the 3rd, move...
Late Summer in the mountains. After weeks of rain any time of the day, we've got a forecast of brilliant sunny weather for a few days. What to do?
The answer for my friend Todd Hoffman and me: a motorcycle guy trip. First we thought we'd head for the Utah desert, but it looked like it might be a bit warm, so we elected to stay in the high country. Mostly familiar, but always changing and the roads were made for riding bikes.
The destinations were easy, and the ways to get there, endless. We spent three nights on the road in Aspen, Denver and Gunnison. But the rides- not the shortest way to get to any of them. I met Todd at his place 3 miles up a gravel road outside of Ridgway. A gravel road is just a warm-up for my BMW F650GS. Todd was riding his recently rebuilt 1972 Norton Commando, a beautiful bike (I offered to be the baggage car with my new Caribou hard cases), especially if you're riding light.
Mountainfilm in Telluride and Aspen's Wheeler Opera House announce their third annual joint production: MountainSummit: Mountainfilm in Telluride. The event bookends the Main Event, the annual of gathering of the tribe in Telluride, which happens over Memorial weekend and opens Telluride's summer festival season with a bang: lots of conversations about preserving and protecting endanger people, places and ideas.
MountainSummit takes place Thursday, August 25 – Sunday, August 28. Among the films to be screened are “Magic Trip,” about the 1960s travels of writer Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters, Christopher Paine's “Revenge of the Electric Car,” a follow-up to Paine's 2006 documentary “Who Killed the Electric Car?”, and “Happy,” a multicultural examination of the universal truths about happiness, produced by Tom Shadyac ("I Am"). The event closer and what a grand finale it is: "Shakespeare High."
by Lisa Barlow
With the luster of Chez Panisse still casting its warm glow, San Franscisco has been a culinary beacon for the farm-to-table movement ever since Alice Waters opened the doors to her iconic restaurant exactly 40 years ago.
There is seriously delicious food to be eaten in this city. Much of it is influenced by Waters’ early recognition that good meals can only come from good ingredients. It is now more common to see the provenance of the string beans on your plate than it is to know the name of the chef cooking your food. But there is also another ingredient in ample supply here that is paramount to a good meal: technique.
If you're an early riser, this is a great time to identify our home planet Earth's closest neighbor - mythical Mars - as it dances at dawn with the waning crescent Moon in the easy to identify constellation of Gemini the Twins. Notice the...
Colorado Springs is often thought of as Denver’s ugly twin sister. But as any Pikes Peak loving fan will tell you, there’s much more to the place than its sprawl and its conservative bookends. It is not only Focus on the Family. Nor is it only the military. It is a vibrant, surprisingly fun city that feels as warm and as close-knit as a small town.
Admittedly, Andy and I met in that city, at Colorado College, so we may have that extra special spot in our heart for it. But the reason we return annually is not just because we want to walk down memory lane. We genuinely love the city. Here are a few reasons why.
Number 1. The Garden of the Gods. Yes, the park may get crowded at times. Yet, with its great sandstone rocks tipped up like giant whale fins, you can’t help but fall in love with the place. We love to run and rock climb there, and our kids love to scramble on the rocks. To me, Garden of the Gods is one of the few places in the world where you can know, without a doubt that the world is and always has been about change. Once, great seas flooded that basin. When the waters receded, massive tectonic forces shoved the stone up sideways with the same urgency that pushed the Rockies up. Sitting in that park, staring up at the patches of blue sky framed by red rock, watching ravens drift in slow circles is a sacred experience.
by Jon Lovekin
The Red Sox won the world series in 2004. This was an historic event and especially significant for long suffering Boston baseball fans. Meanwhile, within the southwest plains of Colorado other significant events were about to occur as well. Tonight was a full lunar eclipse, a spectacular sight anywhere but this night was going to be special. The excitement was building while driving to the Commanche National Grasslands south of La Junta, Colorado. The view port from there was going to be wonderful and all the camera gear was stashed in the truck. The light haze of front range cities is visible to the north but is greatly diminished under the vast, clear portal that exists on these high plains.
The gap gate off the county road was barely discernible within the fence line. No road was visible beyond it. Careful study of maps indicated that an access road into the national grasslands existed along the other fence perpendicular to the gate. The early summer winds had buried that fence and whatever road lay beside it under four feet of tumble weeds. There was no other access through the cactus and rock outcrops at this point. Taking a deep breath, and gearing down, the truck munched its way through the debris. There wasn't going to be a crowd out here!
by Eric Palumbo
"Figuring out who you are is the whole point of the human experience." - Anna Quindlen
Last month I packed into the northern terminus of the Colorado Trail (CT) in Denver, intent on backpacking to Durango over the ensuing four weeks. It was the culmination of months of dreaming, planning and conditioning.
Until a year ago I hadn't backpacked since the Boy Scouts. Then I met a girl (isn't that how it always happens) who rekindled my love for the outdoors. While hiking on Kenosha pass last year, we met a guy who was thru-hiking the CT. He joined us at our campsite for dinner where we shared grape soda and he shared his experiences.
If any of you are up around midnight over the next few days, take a look at bright planet Jupiter as it rises above the eastern horizon. It's brilliant beauty far outshines any other point of light in the night sky - except the...
Steve Gumble (and his SBG productions) is the force behind the Telluride Blues & Brews Festival, now in its 18th year and a sold-out success annually. So what's a nice guy like that doing in a place like Taos? The short answer: Making a good thing better.
Friends and producers of the Taos event were not in the Festival producing business like Steve. Their day job was running the mountain. So, they approached their friend Steve to grow a musical event with loads of promise.
The third annual Taos Mountain Music Festival takes place this year on Saturday, August 20 and Sunday, August 21. Northern New Mexico's music event of the summer features headliners Matisyahu, Railroad Earth, Ozomatli, and Leftover Salmon. Additional festival performances include Donna the Buffalo, Jackie Greene Duo, Afroman, Orgone, Dangermuffin, Langhorne Slim, Shannon McNally and Hot Sauce, Ryan McGarvey and Mariachi Luz de Luna.
