Growing up in Fruita, I hated summer. It was hot and miserable. There was no air- conditioning in my father’s old Ford truck, and I’d either stick to the vinyl seats or itch for days if we put on the covers. My mother liked to call the area the “lunar…
Colorado Springs is overlooked as a travel destination, its charms overshadowed by Focus on the Family, tales of Ted Haggard and the suburban sprawl along Academy Boulevard. But the downtown and west side make for a delightful two-day getaway that doesn’t require breaking the bank for gas. Day One No…
When it’s hot out, there’s nothing so refreshing as a dip in 104-degree water. Afterward, the air feels cooler, tensions are gone, and the world seems an altogether better place. Whether for an afternoon splurge or a weekend of play, Colorado has plenty of hot springs ready and bubbling. Indian…
Ever since I read Huerfano: A Memoir of Life in the Counterculture, by Roberta Price, I’ve been obsessed with the south-central portion of our state. Her experiences living in a hippie commune deep in the Huerfano Valley, outside of Walsenburg, fascinate me. So whenever I get out of town for…
A few weeks ago on The Colbert Report, my favorite faux anchorman reported the discovery of an Earth-like planet orbiting a distant star. A professional devil’s advocate, Colbert saw this as (I’m paraphrasing) a reason to gas up the SUV, because there’s another friendly rock out there. Joking aside, is…
Jim Ruel joins forces with a trio of fellow Native American funnymen: Vaughn Eaglebear, JR Redwater and Marc Yaffee, who describes himself as a “Mex-i-jo” — Mexican, Irish and Navajo…
At present, the New York Yankees are practically cellar-dwellers. But back in the day, pinstripers Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig established legends that live on in Capturing America’s Game: Photographs of Babe Ruth & Lou Gehrig, a showcase that steps to the plate today at the Denver Art Museum. For…
In the heyday of 1960s idealism, filmmaker Ralph Arlyck lived and went to graduate school in the epicenter of hippiedom: San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. Above him lived a four-year-old named Sean who often wandered barefoot down to Arlyck’s apartment to talk about regular kid things, like how you need bones…
Any parent who’s lived to see a child die knows there’s no greater pain. Burying your offspring defies nature — but when a child dies violently, it also defies sense. Hence today’s declaration as a Day of Remembrance. The event has been around for eight years as Safe Night Colorado,…
Joe Brown is just waiting to get sued. Not that it’s a sure thing, “but it doesn’t mean they wouldn’t try,” he quips about the oil and energy industry apparatchiks who take a critical — albeit subtle — lashing in his new documentary, National Sacrifice Zone: Colorado and the Cost…
We all want to be something we’re not, and as the legions of Paris Hilton wannabes running rampant across the continent indicate, it’s not a passing fad. A lot of people must figure that if you just brush elbows with someone gorgeous, it might rub off a little. If that’s…
Every year in New York, millions of people gather to watch Manhattan’s largest parade: the Puerto Rican Day Parade. Over the years, the celebration, which started up in the 1950s, has spread to other cities; last year, Denver kicked off its own version with the Taste of Puerto Rico Festival…
The best thing about living in Colorado is the chance to escape Denver’s summer heat with a day in the mountains. Throw in some food, alcohol and music, and you’ve got yourself a time-honored tradition: the mountain-resort festival. What could be more Colorado than washing down the region’s best chili…
What’s the biggest misconception about Native American standups? According to Jim Ruel, who’s one-fourth of tonight’s Pow Wow Comedy Jam, it’s that “we’re not funny.” After a chuckle, he explains, “A lot of people have never been made to laugh by an Indian in their life, so it’s a new…
What in the world do you get when you mix musicians and jugglers with modern and contemporary art and video games? How about if you add a record-breaking paint-by-number canvas, African drummers, Brazilian martial-arts flash dancers and a free weekend at the Denver Art Museum? Answer: You’ve got one hell…
Just blink, and you’ll miss another change to the landscape in the Central Platte Valley. It’s really happening that fast in a now-populated land that just a few years ago was home only to railroad tracks and industry. Like any sign of progress, the burgeoning valley’s got its pros and…
In the spirit of The Falls, Blonde and We Were the Mulvaneys, Joyce Carol Oates’s latest tome — The Gravedigger’s Daughter — continues her celebration of human resiliency. Set in upstate New York in 1936, the story follows a family escaping from Nazi Germany and attempting to start a new…
“I love roller derby,” says Catherine Mabe, aka Jayne Manslaughter of the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls. “I love the game, I love the people involved in the sport, I love the history of it, and I am especially proud to be a part of the revival.” Mabe/Manslaughter loves roller derby so…
This year’s wet winter and spring means that more than just backyard weeds are on a rampage. River levels are up, too, so it’s a better time than ever to check out — or sign up for — the freestyle kayaking fun today and next Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at…
Surprisingly, the brainstorm that led to this weekend’s The Art of Drinking wasn’t fueled by alcohol. “Actually, when we moved to Denver, I was kind of astounded at how important alcohol was to people,” says organizer Bob White. “So I thought it was a good theme for what we were…
You’ve run marathons and completed countless sit-up reps for charity. You’ve harassed your friends to pledge money per page for the read-a-thon, and you’ve held your breath until you passed out to raise awareness for whatever animal was most endangered that week. There’s no doubt you’re a fundraiser extraordinaire, the…
What do we love about house tours? Snooping. Sticking our noses where they don’t belong, because for one day a year, we can. And dreaming: rampaging have-nots treading where only the haves have gone before. Kitchens That Cook!, the annual kitchen tour hosted by the Junior League of Denver, fulfills…
