Once the harvest is mostly complete, we sure do know how to have fall festivals. Before the snow sets in and we all head indoors for the winter, the weekends are full of arts and crafts, wool, films, funnel cakes, chile and music. Fall festivals in northern New Mexico always remind me of how truly …
Continue reading Fall Festivals: Enjoying the best of the sunshine and small town beauty
Fifteen years ago when I moved from St. Louis out west, one thing I learned was that a home was something that many folks built themselves, even if they weren't contractors as a profession. This concept was new to me - that people who worked full-time in other jobs would build themselves a home. They …
As I travel the backroads of the west and explore the past of the old roads, the stories take me to other stories and yet other stories. The first time I traveled Imogene Pass out of Telluride, Colorado I found such a story. The Pass itself is magnificent. The road is a sight, and to …
Pearl Pass, Colorado, near Aspen, at a summit of 12,705' . Cira 1872, miners from Crested Butte built a make shift road from Crested Butte over Pearl Pass to the mining town of Ashcroft, and eventually made the road to Aspen. The road is one of the most difficult we driven. The boulders, the steepness, and the …
The 1870s around Silverton and Ouray Colorado were a boom with silver and gold speculators. If you're an adventuring type (and have the right vehicle, or enjoy the long hike) the history, views and treasures you'll see in the mountains around this area never seem to end. There are remains of old mines and old …
Continue reading Ghosts at old mining boom towns are worth the pass (if you’re up for an adventure)
Birds are crafty creatures. They’re busy bodies too. After a year of raising chickens my son have a pretty thriving business going. We have steady egg clients, and we have grown to enjoy our chickens like backyard pets. We have found that chickens are strange and beautiful creatures. They spend their days sunbathing–spreading their wings …
Dirt Road Journal 