The town of Crestone is the ‘Outer Limits’ of the San Luis Valley in a good way. Resting on the perimeter in the north part of the valley, 38 miles north of Alamosa, and 12 miles east of Highway 17, the town is easily accessible. During festivals and special events,…
Hear ye, hear ye, one and all, it is still Fall, as evidenced by the color still available on several trails in the San Luis Valley and along rivers, streams, and hillsides. September’s full dress of colors, and our festivals celebrating such, are over, but it does not mean the…
The mountain bike trails in Penitente Canyon are intense, beautiful, unforgiving, joyous and full of pleasures and perils for riders who are intermediate level to off the scale crazy, skilled and phenomenal. High praises to all riders who take these trails on for serious fun and adventure. Oh, and for…
The bounty of harvest season allows, for those of us who like to play in the kitchen, or those who want to learn the skills of cooking, to become mad food scientists! Eating fresh garden vegetables are about the nutrition they provide, the flavors we can ignite within them, while…
At a time when birthdays come with mixed feelings, I decided to visit a place where things were older than me. Way older! The Wheeler Geologic Area foot the bill by 26 – 40 million years. And I learned a new term – Pyroclastic breccia! So, my birthday was good!…
Having driven over Poncha Pass many times, I often wondered why I had never gotten off the beaten asphalt path of Highway 285, and stopped for a hike or a run. One explanation is that there are no brown Forest Service Access signs inviting me, and all of us, into…
Cruising through Alamosa on the main highways in the San Luis Valley will not yield finding a special community garden a few blocks from US 160, south on State Ave to 11th Street. All visitors and locals are invited to stop by the Boyd Community Garden and pull a weed…
My uncle, in describing his family’s visit to the Holy Land a few years ago, said, “It’s like seeing the bible in 3D!” In three dimensions of course, as they toured many of the places from the scriptures. Made sense, though my mental picture of Easter and the Resurrection was…
FREMONT HAUNT REVISITED – A DEEPER PERSPECTIVE A person could explore the San Luis Valley for a lifetime and not see it all. Alamosa is a gateway city to the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, a bunch of 14 thousand foot peaks and plenty of lower mountains, hot…
Here We Go! Rio Frio! Like major arteries and veins in our bodies to keep our internal systems running properly, a river also provides life giving elements to everything in its drainage basin, essentially, its ‘body.’ Little drops of rain and soft falling flakes become the life blood of any…