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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. Garden of the Gods 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.
21 August, 2011 /

By Ben Williams

Ford_ka I’m back in the UK for my sister’s wedding, and although it’s only been three years since my last visit,there are many signs that things here are moving into the 21st Century.

On a trip to visit my Grandma we were driving through a small village called Crick, and there in the fields were two immense 2 MW wind turbines ponderously circling.  Everywhere small 70-miles-to-the-gallon cars bustle about the narrow streets.  On top of a block of flats in Leamington Spa, two pairs of 300 KW wind turbines spin rapidly away.

31 July, 2011 /

This spring, Telluride Mountain School's high school traveled to Peru. Each student selected a topic to investigate such as water, nutrition and public health and produced four videos. Check out their amazing work. Branford Walker and Tucker Hensen   ...

08 June, 2011 /

This spring, Telluride Mountain School's high school traveled to Peru. Each student selected a topic to investigate such as water, nutrition and public health and produced the following videos. Check out their amazing work. “Soccer: The World’s Sport” Gregory Hope, Harry Kearney,...

05 June, 2011 /

By J James McTigue

The Baffin Babes are four rad chics with whom it would be fun to have a beer, go dancing, or ski tour 1200 kilometers in the Canadian Arctic over 80 days. Except you weren’t invited on the ski trip; they chose to do it all on their own.

Babes Swedish sisters Vera and Emma Simonson, along with Norwegian friends Inga Tollefson and Kristin F. Olsen spent 80 days traveling along the eastern coast of Baffin Island, the largest island in Canada and the fifth largest island in the world.

At Mountainfilm in Telluride they will be presenting their trip, the glacial scenery, and remote Inuit villages they visited, as well as the fun they had, in a multimedia presentation at 6:45 Friday night at the Sheridan Opera House and 9:30 a.m. Monday at the Palm. (Palm showing is free to the public).

26 May, 2011 /

Brakes On the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, about the time the Gulf oil spill was about to capped, Drew Ludwig decided to take a walk. A long walk. In August 2010, he traveled by foot 120 miles from the Ninth Ward of New Orleans to the Gulf of Mexico.

"I went to help. I went to work. I held lofty goals of an activist, and I wanted to use my hands."

And so he did, his hands and his unerring eye, recording images with his camera of people and places encountered along the way. Drew's motivation: break down the idea of "The Other," a complex concept lifted from the social sciences that defines the process by which individuals and groups create distance between themselves and those who do not seem to fit easily and comfortably into their cloistered worlds.

25 May, 2011 /

Renny Engbring, Sara Friedberg, Alicia DuPont, Keaton McCargo   Before leaving for Peru, we became interested in studying the importance of clean water in different communities. We gathered shots and interviews from people and places around Telluride. Next, we began researching the water quality of...

25 May, 2011 /

 By Claire Ricks and Marina Marlens “Nutrition” This video is to show the important role nutrition plays among the world in developing children. Using Peru to focus in on as a small fraction of this issue, we hope to put the spotlight on the massive...

23 May, 2011 /
[click "Play", Emily Shoff interviews her husband, Andy]     Excerpt from 2003…. Wandering the streets of Birmingham, Alabama with Telluride Mountain School’s students, it’s difficult to put a single word on all that I feel. Rage? Relief? Mostly what I feel is awe. Awe for all that has happened in this country. Awe for all that I do not know. I’m here with the 7th and 8th grade class to learn more about Civil Rights in America. For the past week, we have explored the Deep South, touring major battlefields from the Civil War and meeting with former Civil Rights activists. We have visited Memphis, seen the spot where Dr. King fell, and listened to some Blues musicians sing on Beale Street. Now, we’ve come to Birmingham, the heart of Civil Rights activism during the 1960s. 7th Grader Miles Galbo Jumps In on Beale St After a somber morning service at the 16th Street Baptist Church, the place where four little girls died in a bombing in 1963, we have just stepped out of the Civil Rights Institute and into its sculpture garden. One of the sculptures depicts a girl who struggles to free herself from the jaws of a police dog. The dog holds onto her tightly, gripping the hem of her dress. For the first time in a while, the group is silent. The girl speaks to them. She is not much older that any of them, perhaps even younger, and yet she risks her life for freedom. This has been a revelation for everyone as we learn more about the protest movements of the 60’s—learning about the children’s efforts in Birmingham and elsewhere. Across the South, children went to jail and risked their lives in order to draw attention towards the hatred and mistreatment of blacks.
21 May, 2011 /

by J James McTigue

What is Boggy Draw?

It sounds like a place Kermit the Frog lives. And, perhaps he does; but we didn’t find him. We did find ponds with leeches, horny toads, miles of mellow single track, and a few cacti stuck in the sole of our shoe.

We also didn’t find facilities. You have to bring your own water, pack out your trash and for the other: dig a hole; hold it; or pack it out.

Boggy Draw is essentially an open park of San Juan National Forest, situated about four miles above Dolores. The development is minimal: a trailhead, single-track and a dirt road to access sheltered alcoves among the Ponderosa pines -- stellar for car camping.

 

12 May, 2011 /