Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2020 i 5280 Magazine

IF YOU CANCELED YOUR TRIP TO ORLANDO, FLORIDA While nothing can replace Disney World’s Blizzard Beach, Arapahoe Springs—the on-site water complex at Aurora’s Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center—might help ease your kids’ disappointment. Through the end of the year, promo code ZJL scores you a $179 nightly rate, including a $50 resort credit, with each guest getting at least four hours of access per day to the indoor pool, outdoor pool, or lazy river (secure your slot as early as 10 days in advance; the areas are sanitized between groups). IF YOU CANCELED YOUR TRIP TO LONDON Get a taste of Old World elegance at the 128-year-old Brown Palace Hotel & Spa, where the $300 per night Palace Perseverance package grants you a room, a $100 food and beverage…

#1 WALK THE LABYRINTH AT THE STARHOUSE This nonprofit, nondenominational church—designed as a 12-sided star map symbolizing the zodiac—opened 30 years ago and is surrounded by 105 acres of forest. Tune in to the area’s energies with a moving meditation on the sevencircuit labyrinth (caveat: you must be a member, starting at $165 annually, to access it). Or find alignment during virtual celestial celebrations ($15 to $20 suggested donation). thestarhouse.org #2 MOVE YOUR BODY AT KAIUT YOGA BOULDER Kaiut is a biomechanical yoga practice that focuses on improving the functionality and mobility of your body, particularly in joints like ankles, hips, and shoulders—areas that may be especially tight for those who sit at a desk (or, recently, on the couch) all day. The Kaiut Yoga Boulder studio offers daily in-person…

Coffee \ ko-fē A beverage made from the seeds of the coffee plant—also known as the jolt of caffeine you require each morning to get from your bed to your home office, which is in the kitchen, adjacent to the coffee pot and that lifeaffirming bag of whole beans. Discover At: Boxcar Coffee Roasters; Conscious Coffees; Dragonfly Coffee Roasters (cross-reference with Roast magazine’s 2019 “Micro Roaster of the Year”) Hopped Tea \ häp-ped tē A nonalcoholic beer substitute made by combining tea, hops, and sparkling water. It’s like craft beer (IPA lovers, take note), except without the sugars, additives, and fermentation. Discover At: Hoplark HopTea Brewery and Taproom Juice \ jüs Liquid extracted from fruits and vegetables. Cold-pressed juices are made using a hydraulic press, which crushes the ingredients rather…

BAG ALL FIVE OF BOULDER’S PEAKS The 16(ish)-mile Skyline Traverse is a bucket-list hike for outdoorsy Boulderites. The all-day excursion follows mostly welltrodden singletrack, but some route-finding is required. Maren Horjus, an editor at the REI Co-op Journal, has conquered the route four times, always traveling a slightly atypical south to north route, checking off Bear Peak (8,459 feet) first, followed by South Boulder Peak (8,549 feet), Green Mountain (8,150 feet), Flagstaff Mountain (6,983 feet), and, finally, Mt. Sanitas (6,843 feet). Horjus shares four things to know before you make your own attempt. 1. The first peak [Bear] is the never-ending climb. It’s a slog. You go up this boulder-choked gully the whole way up until you gain the ridgeline. It’s invariably one of the best views in Boulder. 2.…

Groups outside the NPS have suggested this supply-and-demand-style idea: Charge more for access when demand is highest, thereby encouraging people with flexible schedules to travel during quieter periods. You’ve probably heard of this model in the context of city highway tolls during rush hour or Uber surge pricing; the same principle could incentivize park visitors to try a winter or shoulder-season trip. THE BIG IDEA A week at most of the top-tier parks costs $35 per car—a screaming deal—and doubling or tripling that fee could, in theory, dissuade a significant percentage of visitors. But putting a higher price on access to land that belongs to everybody raises all kinds of issues surrounding fairness and equity. And, if history is any indication, it’d be tremendously unpopular: When then Secretary of the…

It’s tough to say with certainty that a once under-the-radar campsite or backcountry lake is now overrun with selfie-hungry hordes because of Instagram hashtags. But land managers across the region anecdotally blame the social media platform for outing certain spots, from Grand Teton National Park’s Delta Lake to Glen Canyon National Recreation Area’s Horseshoe Bend vista, with geotagged glamour shots. THE BIG IDEA While there’s nothing wrong with taking pictures, asking visitors not to share the exact coordinates of every landscape photo they post could help. Boulder’s Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics made social media restraint part of its philosophy with 2018 guidelines that ask adventurers to “think before you geotag,” consider omitting specific location details, and promote Leave No Trace ethics. “We’ve been called out in terms…

When the City and County of Denver closed City Park Golf Course for construction in 2017, it planned to reopen the landmark come spring 2019. That date was pushed to fall 2019. Then spring 2020. And then, ultimately, to this fall. The main reason for the closure was to add a storm-water drainage system on the course’s western edge that will help prevent flooding in the eastern part of the city. But officials figured they could revamp the entire place at the same time. So, Denver added a driving range, a clubhouse with views of the downtown skyline, a short fourhole area for the First Tee of Denver program, and some modern flourishes, such as distinctly shaped greens, to the 18-hole course. Some complicated projects took longer than expected, but…

Staci Bishop was getting frustrated. A physician assistant at the Southeast Colorado Medical Clinic in Baca County—population: 3,585—she’d scheduled a video call with a patient living roughly 20 miles away. The patient’s weak internet connection, however, was distorting visuals and sound. “We muddled through, but had the situation been more emergent, we could have had a problem,” Bishop says. If the malady had been, say, a cut that needed to be examined for infection, the patient would have been forced to drive to the clinic—potentially exposing herself to a virus that’s killed hundreds of thousands. When the seriousness of COVID-19 finally dawned on the United States in March, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended switching many nonemergency visits, such as appointments with mental and behavioral health professionals and…

On Friday, April 19, 1935, Hugh Bennett entered Room 333 in a U.S. Senate office building in Washington, D.C., and seated himself at a conference table alongside members of the congressional subcommittee for public lands and surveys. Bennett, 54, directed the Soil Erosion Service, a division established by the U.S. Department of the Interior two years earlier, and he’d been invited to testify about the erosion problem on American farms. While the senators present knew about the dust raking the High Plains—including all of southeastern Colorado—they considered the issue a localized nuisance. Congress had been deliberating House Resolution 7054, which would fund a national soil conservation service, managed under the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Bennett was there to tell the senators why the resolution needed to pass immediately. That…

THE MYSTIC: ALBERT CHONG Photographer and mixed-media artist Albert Chong often explores spirituality, mysticism, and identity (the University of Colorado Boulder professor identifies as Afro-Asian and splits his time between Colorado and Jamaica). Chong’s I-Traits series of self-portraits—among the artist’s earliest works—are haunting and ethereal and incorporate the links between Jamaica, Africa, and Chong’s life in New York at the time. More recently, he’s been trying to figure out how to respond to the pandemic through his art; in his Visualizing the Journal series, he’s superimposing his journal entries from this time with images of objects or his face. albertchong.com THE RESISTER: MELISSA PICKERING An artist-in-residence at Boulder Creative Collective, this printmaker doesn’t shy away from political commentary. Her latest series is particularly astute: Tentatively called Echo Chamber, it explores…

Pick up a ready-made box of goodies at Cured (we suggest the Colorado Backcountry Picnic for two, $70; cured togo.com) and head to one of co-owner Will Frischkorn’s favorite al fresco spots. Setting: Wonderland Lake Details: The 23-acre body of water in north Boulder is surrounded by open space easily accessible by car, bus, or bike. For a quieter spot to spread out your blanket, Frischkorn suggests hiking up Wonderland Hill Trail (0.5 miles) to reach perches that overlook town, with views extending as far as Denver. Setting: Boulder Reservoir Details: Pedal from Cured’s downtown location to the 700-acre northeast Boulder site on two wheels (an e-bike from Pedego makes the 6.6 miles a breeze!), and then follow the perimeter trail to the lake’s east side for the best areas…

This notion sets off alarms for those who are dogmatic about access. And, let’s face it, restricting passage to public lands, to any degree, does feel un-American. More parks are facing the tough truth, though, that natural areas have a carrying capacity. “Having access when anybody wants to go is fine, until you get to a point where safety becomes an issue or people aren’t able to enjoy their time because it’s so congested,” says Mary Riddle, chief of planning and environmental compliance at Montana’s Glacier National Park. Some parks are already there. THE BIG IDEA In response to the miles-long entrance station lines and overflowing parking lots of recent years, several parks have floated the idea of requiring visitors to make advance reservations. But none had committed—until COVID-19. Rocky…

Yellowstone has Old Faithful, Yosemite its famed valley. Both are marquee destinations that attract the mountain lion’s share of tourists. But those people magnets represent a mere fraction of the natural wonders any given park offers. It’s not a bait-and-switch situation for park staff to instead suggest places like Shoshone Geyser Basin or Hetch Hetchy, respectively, which are spectacular in their own rights. THE BIG IDEA Notify visitors in real time when A-list destinations fill up and point them toward equally stunning yet less-crowded alternatives. In 2019, Glacier introduced its online Recreation Access Display, a frequently updated tool on its website that reports which parking lots and campgrounds have filled up each day and which still have openings (visitors centers in the park and in gateway towns also use the…

Social media platforms aren’t all bad, of course. Remember the Find Your Park campaign? The park service launched its media juggernaut of ads, events, and social media hashtags in the runup to the NPS’ centennial celebration in 2016. Meant to get a younger and more diverse crowd excited about national parks, Find Your Park was hugely successful at encouraging the next generation to discover public lands. In fact, the campaign reached a third of American millennials, according to the NPS. Jonathan Jarvis, NPS director from 2009 to 2017, sees a clear link between that marketing push and the record-breaking visitation that followed: “It piqued people’s interest, and I believe it did translate to a higher level of visitation.” It stands to reason, then, that cleverly concepted campaigns deployed via Instagram…

CREEPY CRAWLERS Even nightmares need romance. Starting this month, large groups of male Oklahoma brown tarantulas can be seen making multiple-mile treks across southeastern Colorado in order to reach prospective mates that have burrowed throughout the prairie. Because females prefer to make their homes in unplowed farmland, they’re most often found next to roads and highways. That means, until late October, males must dodge cars near Ordway and La Junta to reach them. A mid-September evening just before sunset is when you’re most likely to catch the parade, according to Visit La Junta, and CO 109 south of town in the Comanche National Grassland is one of the best spots to watch it. IN A RUT Come September and October, the elk near Estes Park engage in a ritual known…

300 Approximate number of homes Jack’s Solar Garden will power with its 3,276 solar panels, covering five acres of the property. Kominek plans to use the other 19 acres as an experimental site for agroforestry, a method of planting crops between rows of trees or shrubs (and possibly throwing livestock in the mix) to reduce soil erosion. 40 Types of plants that will be sowed under the array. The panels’ shade can create cooler, more humid microclimates, and scientists want to know if those pockets can sustain crops prone to withering in arid Colorado. To find out, researchers from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden will monitor how tomatoes, blackberries, herbs, and more fare. $327,600 Highest possible solar power revenue Jack’s Solar Garden could generate per year. Interested…

ISLAND FLAVOR Jamaican Mini Grille and International Jerk Market Lakewood West Colfax Avenue got a little more tropical this summer, thanks to Tammy Braziel and Randal Whyte’s three-month-old Jamaican Mini Grille and International Jerk Market. At the petite grocery store, you can find ground spices (curry powders and jerk seasoning) and pantry items (ginger extract and saltfish fritter batter) imported from the Caribbean island nation and beyond. But don’t head back to your own kitchen until you’ve ordered takeout from the market’s walkup window. Braziel and Whyte, who also own six-year-old Jamaican Grille in Lincoln Park, serve their juicy jerk chicken, rich oxtail stew, fried catfish, and other family recipes with the help of their son Antonio and daughter Royalty. The bone-in jerk chicken, beautifully charred and fragrant from its…

“The food truck called Tierra y Fuego Taqueria outside Upslope Brewing Company. [There’s also a new brick-and-mortar on Broadway.] Boulder hasn’t always been known for tons of Mexican food…it’s pretty special.” MUST-HAVE DISH: Whatever tacos are available, but the carnitas and barbacoa, in particular —KELLY WHITAKER, chef, Basta and Dry Storage “Sushi Zanmai. I’ve been going for 30 years. It’s owned by my very dear friend Nao Kanda. When I was young, I used to chuckle, looking at the old men that go to the same place for years and years. I’m that guy now.” MUST-HAVE DISH: Buri, which is fatty yellowtail belly —EDWIN ZOE, co-founder, Zoe Ma Ma and chef-owner, Chimera Ramen “LeFrigo. My favorite sandwich in Boulder is the Provençal. It has a hard-boiled egg on top of the tuna,…

You know that saying, “You’re not in traffic—you are traffic”? As Westerners, we understandably feel ownership over “our” parks and maybe more than a little annoyance at the tourists in flip-flops standing in “our” way on the trails. Let’s face it, though: By expecting to waltz into a parking spot at Bear Lake on the Fourth of July, we’re part of the problem. THE BIG IDEA Front Rangers can fairly easily head up to Rocky on a Wednesday in April. Or leave the car in Estes Park and bike through the gates in July. Or head for Roosevelt National Forest or Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area or Eagles Nest Wilderness—spectacular places not on the bucket lists of your average tourists from New Jersey—during high season. And we should. Even with its…

PRICEKEY (Average Entrée) $ UNDER $10 $$ $11 TO $15 $$$ $16 TO $ 25 $$$$ $ 26 AND HIGHER. SYMBOL KEY NEW Indicates a restaurant featured in 5280 for the first time (though not necessarily a restaurant that has just opened). 25 BEST Indicates inclusion in our annual list of Denver’s best restaurants, released each October. These selections are at the discretion of 5280 editors and are subject to change. A 25 BEST Acorn $$ Five Points / New American Contemporary American cuisine with Southern and Moroccan notes is served from an oak-fired oven and grill at this mainstay inside the Source. Don’t miss the bar’s inventive cocktails. Reservations accepted. The Source, 3350 Brighton Blvd., 720-542-3721. Lunch, Dinner African Grill & Bar $$$ Lakewood / African Head to this…