Nothing is more quintessentially summer than getting on the river in a raft or a kayak on a wild western river. In a raft you can see wildlife, laugh with …
Drought Over in the Southwest?
As the summer rains come to the four corners area, white thunderheads loom over mountains still heavily covered in white snow from last winter. People have been skiing remote strands …
Bandelier Must not Become a National Park
Recently, Senator Martin Heinrich introduced a bill in the US Senate to change Bandelier National Monument to “Bandelier National Park”. His bill would raise the profile of Bandelier and …
When Simple Things Reveal Surprising Truths
Crested Butte early summer days, the snow retreats up the mountains until the last of it hides from the sun among the north facing peaks and their shading boulders. …
One of the Strangest Buildings in New Mexico
We went to Ojo Caliente Hot Springs to look for cactus flowers, soak in the springs, and check on the Rio Ojo Caliente that runs past the resort. Before …
Life Changing Hikes in Redwood National Park
Imagine an environment in the Western US that is climatic opposite the Southwest high desert. Imagine a place where every micron of soil has a green plant growing on …
Wolf Creek Pass Village: Forest Service Blows Off Court
March 1, 2019 Last January we reported that the proposed “Village at Wolf Creek” had been defeated after decades of litigation and opposition. What a surprise when this week the …
Natural Gas is not the Answer
New Mexico’s State budget is dominated by money from oil and gas production. It has been for 70 years. During that time our state has dropped to the bottom …
Brut IPA Bubbles Up
A cold and windy winter night in the mountains outside Santa Fe, I’m drinking a Brut IPA from Sierra Nevada Brewing Company. I have some hazy IPA stashed in …
Time to Close the Four Corners Generating Station
By Tom Ribe Standing on the mesas near Bandelier National Monument in about 1970 we looked across the Rio Grande Valley through a thick, often impenetrable gray smog that …