My adventure started Christmas Eve. It was cold and blustery and I had the park mostly to myself…
Category: Essays/Poetry
PHOTO ESSAY: Charter School ‘Food Security Task Force’ on Research Mission
“They were very scientific, but we learned about the shelf life of produce and how hard it is to grow in a 90-day growing season”, said 4th grader Zaiden….
ESSAY: We Went to Jail for Our Granddaughters
This essay by Emma Marris originally appeared in the High Country News on January 14, 2020. Every year, the same bald eagle appears in the READ MORE
DEVIL MOUNTAIN CHRONICLES: Killer Bees
They returned with an arsenal: pump spray tanks, gasoline, overalls, goggles, bandanas, helmets, gloves, duct tape, and of course, a 500,000 BTU portable propane torch kit….
OPINION: How Long, Oh Lord?
How much more time do we need? How much more time do we have?
ESSAY: Oh, Come Let Us Adore Him
This Christ-child was both God and man. He wasn’t an angel-spirit. And he lived a human’s life in the flesh and blood…
FICTION: The Flatlanders in Pagosa
Earnest had told ghost stories while the girls roasted marshmallows over an open fire. They all remember that magnificent Pagosa moon rising over Square Top…
DEVIL MOUNTAIN CHRONICLES: Send In the Clowns
The strange noise was still reverberating in my head. It had abruptly awakened me from a deep, dreamless sleep…
PHOTO ESSAY: The New (and Returning) County Crew Gets Sworn In
At Judge Wilson’s prompting, the officials, one by one, promised to uphold the US and Colorado Constitutions and to fulfill their duties, and then signed a copy of their oath…
EDITORIAL: My Father’s Notebook
I can imagine twenty Army Air Corps cadets frantically scooting their chairs over, to be closer to the two men in the room who would be easily able to identify an enemy plane…
ESSAY: Two Allocated Bottles of Beer
Candlelight. Placemats. A plate of ‘Ambrosia’ apple slices and Tillamook Pepper Jack cheese. Two slender souvenir beer glasses…
PHOTO ESSAY: ‘Ninja Warrior Challenge’ Raises $10,700 for Pagosa Charter School
“Everyone who completed the course and hit the buzzer at the end was awarded a ‘Ninja Warrior’ headband, and the students were motivational [to each other] because some of the kids didn’t want to finish the course…”
EDITORIAL: The ‘Blood Quantum’ Question, Part Three
Americans have always embraced division and separation, right alongside our fascination with equality and unity…
EDITORIAL: The ‘Blood Quantum’ Question, Part Two
Divisions established by law or by policy cut both ways, but they are always divisions…
EDITORIAL: The ‘Blood Quantum’ Question, Part One
“Native Americans in the U.S. are the only minority group that has to prove their Native-ness on an Indian Card…”
EDITORIAL: Fighting Fires, and Just Plain Fighting, Part One
When I wrote my letter in 1993, Clarissa and the two girls had already arrived in Pagosa Springs and were settling into a tiny, rented cabin on San Juan Street…
ESSAY: A Love Story
It was an arranged marriage. I hardly knew her, and I didn’t particularly like her. She was something of a compromise. Most certainly, it was not ‘love at first sight’…
ESSAY: Merry Christmas
Our cute (fake) Christmas tree is hung with ornaments collected over many years, and a small collection of gifts sits under the tree…
PHOTO ESSAY: A Big Chunk of Concrete
Our plumber showed the video evidence to PSSGID manager Gene Tautges, and got the Town’s approval to dig up the entire line…