“Back behind me on the trail of time, there is a place that is sacred to me. Sometimes I go there in my mind and I look upon it thankfully,” Steve Chapman wrote in one of his lyrics. …
Writers on the Range, an independent opinion service based in western Colorado, sent out close to 50 weekly opinion columns this year. They were provided free of charge to about 150 subscribing …
This morning, sitting in front of a beautifully decorated Christmas tree, my attention turned to the daily Bible study from a hunting devotional book I read to my Sweet Al every morning. An avid …
My early age perspective of Christmas was skewed as much as most every child’s is today. The premise that Christmas is nothing more than getting goodies and gifts overshadowed the story of the …
Imagine a best-selling, 900-page novel using “a sad, bewildered nothing of a river” as its centerpiece, connecting the earth’s geologic origin and dinosaur age to 1970s rural …
This holiday season is the most colorful time of the year. Decorating with evergreens, bright colorful lights, sparkly decorations and poinsettia flowers is meant to brighten the darkest time and …
“We comin’.” “We don’t want you.” “We comin’ anyway. We here.” Deion Sanders dug his feet into Colorado soil and planted them on the CU …
In the spring of 1957, after being discharged from active duty in the Army, I took a job as a rodman for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). As a rodman, it was my job to assist a field …
The writers Edward Abbey, Gary Snyder and Norman McLean all staffed high-elevation fire lookouts in the West — their experiences rich fuel for …
Even though one in five Americans is estimated to suffer from mental health illness, talk about mental health in the rural West remains muted. I’d like to talk about it this …
Thanksgiving is more than a national holiday. As the names implies, thanksgiving is the expression of gratitude. Unfortunately, according to history.org, in many American households, “the …
Unity is on my mind. Jesus is in my heart.
President Donald Trump’s first term was a disaster for America’s public lands. While the prospects for his second term are even more bleak, Westerners across the political spectrum …
I was waiting at a red light at a busy intersection when something odd caught my eye. Two clunky-looking, modified Jaguar sedans had pulled up and stopped next to me, but when I glanced over, …
When life changes direction on us and we wait for the dust to settle, there is a redefining moment — a time to reevaluate and rethink who we are, what we’ve lost, and how to move …
Twice a year, I hike a favorite trail in Oregon’s Cascade Range. I have done this for over 20 years, timing my hikes for early spring and fall. The first hike is for wildflowers; the second is …
When our children walk through the front door, they hear western music. Kitty Wells sings, “As I sit here tonight, the jukebox’s playing the tune about the wild side of life. It …
She was 28 years old and dealt with aplomb the hordes of picture-taking tourists and repeated motherhood. When she was killed by a car a few weeks ago, the loss of Grizzly 399 left people all over …
It was the summer of 2015 when the Animas River in southern Colorado turned such a garish orange-gold that it made national news. The metallic color came from the Gold King Mine, near the town …
Subway sandwiches are delicious. They taste good and are good for you. Not to mention, you, the buyer gets to choose what type of bread, meat, cheese and extras to put on your sandwich. Think …
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