Colorado Central Articles From — February 1997

Brief by Central Staff

Outdoor recreation – February 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

On clement days in the off-season, Great Sand Dunes National Monument was a great deal: Free.

But those days are past. On Jan. 1, it became one of 50 National Park Service areas in a “demonstration fee project.”

This means that the rangers will be staffing the gate all year, instead of just in the summer. Read the rest of this article

Column by Hal Walter

UFOs – February 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

Some years ago, when my wife and I were looking for a new home after selling our old house in Wetmore, we had our eyes on a smallish A-frame log house near Rosita.

Among the palatial amenities was a fairly expansive view of the Sangre de Cristo Range. The agent told us that the last person to look at the house had given her a business card identifying him as a “UFO investigator.” She said he was interested in the place because he would be able to watch UFOs cruise from his living room. Read the rest of this article

[amazon-product]1555661718[/amazon-product]Review by Ed Quillen

Nature – February 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

Land above the Trees – A Guide to American Alpine Tundra
by Ann H. Zwinger and Beatrice E. Willard
Line drawings by Ann H. Zwinger
Published in 1996 by Johnson Books
ISBN 1-55566-171-8 Read the rest of this article

[amazon-product]1555660479[/amazon-product]Review by Martha Quillen

Western History – February 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

A Quilt of Words: Women’s Diaries, Letters & Original Accounts of Life in the Southwest, 1860-1960
by Sharon Niederman
Johnson Books
ISBN 1-55566-047-9 Read the rest of this article

Article by Sharon Chickering

Leadville Transition – February 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

During winter months, the sun hasn’t begun to lighten the sky over the Mosquito Range when parents begin dropping off children at The Center day care facility in Leadville. Buses, either from Avon-Beaver Creek Transit, or from individual hotels and resorts, pass by The Center and other locations to pick up these parents for jobs in Eagle and Summit counties. The resulting ten- to twelve-hour days are long for both children and adults. Read the rest of this article

Essay by Ellen Miller

Recreation Industry – February 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

Growth problems brought about by ski area expansion have been making the news again and the U.S. Forest Service keeps looking only at the small part of land that will have skiers on it, instead of trying to analyze what it all means. Read the rest of this article

Essay by Ed Quillen

Tourism industry – February 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

One of the inspirations for starting this magazine occurred several years ago on a snowy afternoon while I was sitting in a saloon in Buena Vista, enjoying the view out its big window until a Copper Mountain bus pulled up and disgorged a dozen or so people. Read the rest of this article

Letter from Judy Lewallen

UFO book – February 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

Dear Martha Quillen:

You were much too kind to Chris O’Brien in your review of his book, The Mysterious Valley. Not to say that we shouldn’t take these allegations of strange occurrences lightly. I do believe that mind-boggling events do happen in the San Luis Valley. I am just not sure that these happenings are the effect of outside forces. Read the rest of this article

Letter from Ide Trotter

January 1997 edition – February 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

Dear Martha,

Loved your Letter from the Editor in the January Central. You had me eating out of your hand right down to the last sentence of the next to last paragraph. Had I tumbled to a failure in logic on your part? Highly unlikely, I’ve come to believe. Was there some misunderstanding on my part? Read the rest of this article

Letter from Paul Martz

Rural Economics – February 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

Editor,

Well, I’ve tried to read all the way through Lost Landscapes and Failed Economies before pronouncing judgment on it. However, after the first half, I’m still stuck with the same view I had after reading the preface. Read the rest of this article

Letter from Riff Fenton

Mosquito hunt – February 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

Dear Editor:

I was disappointed to see Surf Central give any credibility at all to the recent debacle reported on by the American Sportsman Channel.

At least you showed some sense by printing that night’s TV programming on the back page. We can only hope that nobody viewed the Winter Mosquito Hunt in Saguache. It was a travesty, and in no way “sporting”. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Transportation – February 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

285 Traffic Grows, and Grows, and …

If it seems to you that traffic is getting thicker on U.S. 285 as you get closer to civilization, you can take consolation in one fact — the Colorado Department of Transportation agrees. Read the rest of this article