- Colorado's ski history is as deep as its powder and as full of surprises as a black-diamond bump run. Caryn and Peter Boddie have spent nearly a decade uncovering interesting historical nuggets in this state's long love affair with skiing. They have written two books on the lost ski areas of Colorado and continue to add new skiing yarns on their Lost Ski Areas of Colorado blog.
- The Rotary restaurant in Louisville had been open just two weeks when it was destroyed in the Marshall Fire in December. And yet co-owner Scott Boyd feels gratitude. Boyd didn't lose his home, or his business vision.
- Two Coloradans were working on a book about the state's boom and bust cycle when the pandemic hit. That meant historian Tom Noel and attorney Bill Hansen had to rethink their premise and rewrite in light of COVID-19's economic wallop. Their new book is "Boom and Bust Colorado: From the 1859 Gold Rush to the 2020 Pandemic."
- How the building off of Highway 550 has connections to a failed ski resort and a religious sect whose landmark Supreme Court case shaped religious freedom in America.
- The show "Jeopardy!" is known for featuring the brainiest of the brainy but this week, the TV quiz show upped its game by staging a professors' tournament. University of Colorado African American History professor Ashleigh Lawrence-Sanders is one of 15 higher-education academics who competed.
- A religious sect came to the San Juan Mountains in the 1940s and made history but left little information behind. Andrew Gulliford is a history professor at Fort Lewis College in Durango. He explores and writes about the southwest.
- When we sing, we may not hit all the right notes but Grand Junction vocal teachers Graham and Stefani Anduri can find harmony with others. They believe singing offers us all a glimpse at the essence of who we are. That's the core of 'Sing for Your Lives' classes led by the couple. The classes are for those who may not think of themselves as singers but want to use their voices musically. The Anduris, who are married and both have doctorates, used to teach voice at Colorado Mesa University. They left in 2020 to teach this different way of singing fulltime.
- Hanging Lake, that stunning, turquoise body of water above Glenwood Canyon, has been threatened by wildfire and marred by mudslides. Now, scientists are searching for the source of the springs that feed the iconic lake so they can save it. Hydrologist Tom Aley leads that effort.
- The Colorado Plateau is a huge, outdoor playground in southwest Colorado and three neighboring states. It has an abundance of national and state parks, monuments, and wilderness areas. Bill Haggerty's new guidebook, "Discovering the Colorado Plateau," reveals the hidden wonders.
- With the fall apple harvest underway, it's cider season! Pilgrims drank the stuff like water. Prohibition nearly snuffed it out. And more recently, artisanal hard cider -- a boozy cousin of apple juice -- has proliferated, with cideries popping up across Colorado-- meeting the demand for this farm-to-table beverage.
- This is the story of an apple scavenger hunt.
- Miles and miles of bike trails weave through the Grand Valley and cycling events draw locals and tourists alike. But you don't even have to enjoy riding to get in on this one -- a bike opera. "One Bike" is an opera based on a book by Grand Junction bike shop owner Chris Brown. Local music educator Scott Betts turned Brown's story into what he calls a folk/jazz opera.
- A unique piece of land in Colorado's most remote county will be preserved for the public. We first talked about this "island escape" in December when Hinsdale County was raising money to buy an archipelago from a private owner. That purchase is now official and the county's working on next steps.
- Back in the day, an annual pinto bean recipe contest in Cortez culminated in the crowning of a Pinto Bean Queen.
- Cyclists are usually focused on what's ahead -- on the road or the trail. But Grand Junction bike store owner and avid cyclist Chris Brown prefers to look backwards. He is a cycling history buff. He has a bicycle museum in his Brown Cycles shop, and this year he published a historical fiction book called 'Bicycle Junction.' It takes readers through 140 years of the Grand Valley's cycling-related past. As 2020 comes to a close, we are revisiting interviews with creative innovators in Colorado.
