Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2024 i 5280 Magazine

Despite being legal for years, marijuana bars and cafes have been basically nonexistent in Colorado. Why? Because regulations were so cumbersome it simply wasn’t worth the effort. That changed on January 8 when the state Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED) rewrote its rules to allow, among other things, weed hospitality businesses to sell the same amount as dispensaries of most products (like up to an ounce of flower) and axed a requirement for security cameras in consumption areas. “Cannabis hospitality is the next frontier,” says Brian Vicente, founding partner of Vicente LLP, a Denver-based law firm specializing in the marijuana industry, “and it’s been anticipated the state would eventually tackle it.” But Vicente isn’t convinced the new rules are simply to reduce red tape. With tax revenue from marijuana sales down…

BEER The Nugget Mountain Bar near Durango opened in 2018, but its shabby chic ski decor isn’t a put-on—the cabin was built in 1969. There, Berman chased a hike on nearby Cascade Creek Trail with a hazy IPA from Ska Brewing. BITES While Berman was scouting trails around Fort Collins, a friend turned him on to a well-kept local secret: Consuelo’s Express. The drive-thru’s green-chile-soaked breakfast burritos are the perfect fuel for a sunrise trek. CAMPING With cliff-top views, a slew of nearby trails, and plenty of piñon pines for ambience, the Saddlehorn Campground inside Colorado National Monument tops Berman’s list of Colorado bivouacs.…

When Bao Phommatha and Julia Vang opened Kuluka Boba & Sweets in November 2022, the best friends and business partners were worried their cozy Westminster boba and dessert shop wouldn’t be able to compete with national chains such as Mochinut and Dochi that have expanded to the Front Range. “We’re a small, family-owned business, so we don’t have a marketing or advertising budget,” Phommatha says. But word spread via social media about Kuluka’s mochi doughnuts—a cross between the Japanese rice cake and the American fritter—and now Phommatha and Vang sell more than 500 of the eye-catching treats per day. The pair spent a year experimenting with ingredient ratios, mixing techniques, and frying times to produce the ideal texture: soft and slightly chewy on the inside and crispy on the outside.…

In 2014, Westword editor and co-founder Patricia Calhoun was driving along I-70 near the Eastern Plains town of Genoa when she spotted an auction sign on the grounds of the World’s Wonder View Tower, a bygone roadside attraction featuring a 65-foot-tall tower with a boxy observation room protruding from its upper half. Calhoun’s journalistic instincts took hold. She soon found out that following the death of its latest owner, Jerry Chubbuck, in 2013, his family was putting much of the quirky on-site museum collection—including a two-headed calf mount—up for sale. Two years later, Calhoun and a group of friends found themselves holding the deed to the tower itself, with plans to reopen it to the public for the first time in more than a decade. 5280: How did the World’s…

Cyclists pedaling the bucket-list Rist Canyon Loop often roll into Masonville Mercantile’s lot at the intersection of Buckhorn Road and West County Road 38E. The sign on the 128-year-old, weathered wooden building advertising “cold beer and ice” promises refreshment, while a pair of vintage, nonfunctioning gas pumps makes passersby think they’re entering a convenience store. They most definitely are not. What are they walking into? For one thing, the shop is attached to proprietors Holly and Bruce Cook’s home. Touristy tchotchkes share shelf space with a collection of locally made artwork and jewelry. A lofted area toward the back holds a tiny bridal boutique (with a haunted mannequin model). Beyond that, there’s a community space and tearoom set up to host yoga sessions and quilting classes. Also on-site is an…

CRESTONE Coordinates: 37.91852, -105.66908 Odometer: 201 miles En Route To: Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve Nestled at the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, about 20 miles off CO 17, the Crestone Ziggurat definitely isn’t the weirdest thing to call the San Luis Valley home—see: aliens and 300-some gators (page 63)—but it may be the most eerily beautiful. Twisting skyward several stories into the air, the ochre yellow, concrete cylindrical tower stands atop a sand dune, with a ramp wrapped around the outside that leads visitors to its summit. The structure was commissioned and erected in the 1980s by a transplant to the area named Najeeb Halaby, a former CEO of Pan Am Air and head of the Federal Aviation Agency under President John F. Kennedy who…

Intentional intergenerational housing is a relatively new housing concept that pairs older adults and young people in one community. According to the University of Wisconsin's Center for Aging Research and Education, older adults can benefit from increased social engagement and physical positives like increased strength and balance, while younger generations gain increased empathy. That’s the idea behind the Village on San Juan, a Montrose housing community providing supportive housing to at-risk youth and adults over the age of 62. Created in part by Court Appointed Special Advocates of the 7th Judicial District, the development (which includes 30 supportive housing units) aims to provide a safe and beneficial environment for youth and older adults, with completion scheduled for later this year.…

Searching for solitude and mountain views, Darcy (who asked that her real name be withheld to protect her privacy) moved in 2003 to Red Feather Lakes, an unincorporated town in Larimer County about an hour from Fort Collins. At the time, the town of around 500 people had a health clinic run by a local doctor who would treat minor ailments like cuts and sprains. But when the clinic shuttered in 2012, residents of Red Feather Lakes (more than 45 percent of whom are over the age of 60) were left in the middle of a health care desert. “Most of us have to make the trek to Fort Collins for care, which can be a hassle,” says Darcy, who is now in her mid-70s. Darcy’s situation in Red Feather…

CU DENVER CHANGE MAKERS PROGRAM Founded in: 2023 Adults thinking about retirement, or those who have recently retired, meet twice a week (once on campus and once virtually) to learn how to navigate life transitions. Students attend lectures with topics ranging from community leadership to planning for long-term health. Plus, students can audit nearly any CU Denver class, meaning they can sit in on art, history, or even engineering courses. Student report card: “I was in the aerospace industry for 34 years, and the program helped me see that there’s a bigger world out there than just the career I had. I can apply my skills to more than just playing golf or pickleball every day,” says 61-year-old Alex Chernushin, who participated in the program during the 2023 fall semester.…

David Williams has been earning a living via editorial and commercial photography for 11 years, but the Denver-based creative is so dedicated to his mission of “documenting life” that he can’t help but capture images in his free time, too. “Whether I’m going to the grocery store or on a long road trip, I almost always carry a camera with me,” he says. That passion for memorializing slices of the day-to-day made him the perfect choice to traverse the state for “Hey, You Gotta See This!” (page 60), a feature that highlights some of Colorado’s quirkiest roadside attractions. Williams took his four-year-old son along to experience Morrison’s Tiny Town, a spot he grew up visiting, and he was happy to learn that three of the story’s locales are in the…

When Readers Take Denver (RTD) returns for its second annual gathering (April 18 to 21; Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center), attendees will have to adjust to its new scale. “The first year, we had about 1,000 people,” says writer Lisa Renee Jones, who founded the romance-focused book festival. “This year, we’re going to have 3,500.” Part of the reason for the explosive growth? Bookworms are in love with love: While print book sales were down in the first half of 2023, according to Publishers Weekly, sales of romance novels grew by 34.6 percent, making the category the fastest-growing adult fiction genre in the country. These authors—all of whom you’ll find at RTD—have helped set the mood in Colorado.…

If you hadn’t heard of chef Kelly Whitaker or his restaurants—Basta, the Wolf’s Tailor, Brutø, Dry Storage, and Hey Kiddo—before the Michelin Guide came to town last fall, you almost certainly know him now. After all, Wolf’s and Brutø each received a Michelin star, along with green stars denoting leadership in sustainability; Basta was named a high-quality-for-the-price Bib Gourmand restaurant; and Hey Kiddo nabbed a Recommended nod. The thing about dining at a Whitaker restaurant is that you know you’re in for an impressive mix of deliciousness and ingenuity. When I say Whitaker’s menus are innovative, I don’t mean unapproachable or pretentious. Rather, I mean there’s almost always a clever dish or an interesting ingredient (or both) that’s destined to lodge in my brain and send food-nerd me researching after…

MOSCA Coordinates: 37.70598, -105.87017 Odometer: 202 miles En Route To: Durango If you’ve driven along CO 17 north of Alamosa over the past four decades, you may have been one of the countless passersby who, intrigued by the homemade signs, pulled off to discover that alligators are indeed living in the arid San Luis Valley. But that stream of visitors nearly ended in April 2023, when a fire destroyed one of the Colorado Gators Reptile Park’s larger barns. “We had animals we really loved in there,” says Jay Young (pictured below), who manages the sanctuary with his wife, Erin. “We lost more than 100 snakes. We lost parrots. All but one of our lizards died. We lost about 30 tortoises.” The couple intended to close the doors while sifting through…

CONEY ISLAND BOARDWALK 10 Old Stagecoach Road, Bailey After living in Colorado for almost 23 years, I finally pulled over at this riverside wiener stand. Its 42-foot-long, 18-ton frank is surrounded by a wooden deck with umbrellaed patio tables, but inside, the dinerlike interior offers redtopped barstools, a circular booth, and a trip back to the 1960s. According to my postmeal Googlings, the Coney Island hot dog stand was built in 1966 on West Colfax Avenue, which seems about right. Four years later, though, someone put the hot dog on wheels and stationed it in Aspen Park, where it stayed until 2006, when it rolled into Bailey. There was a for-sale sign in the front window when I was there, so I hope the place doesn’t close. It’s a little…

THE OLD JAIL MUSEUM 85 W. Second St. North, Cheyenne Wells A little more than two hours of tumbleweeds east of Colorado Springs is the no-stoplight town of Cheyenne Wells—and perhaps the state’s coolest Old West jailhouse. Now known as the Old Jail Museum, this building was once the temporary home of the baddest of eastern Colorado’s bad men. Today, visitors (call 719-767-5865 to make an appointment) to the whitewashed, Romanesque-style jail—designed by famed Mile High City architect Robert S. Roeschlaub, whose CV includes Denver’s East High School—can see two 130-year-old cells along with day-to-day items, newspaper articles, and photographs documenting Colorado’s early Eastern Plains denizens. A striking feature is the second-story turret, which gave lawmen miles-long views across the mostly barren landscape. $5 for adults; kids free NATIONAL MINING…

5280: Why is combating ageism so important to you? Janine Vanderburg: When I took on this initiative, I was not prepared to be heartbroken by the stories I heard from folks my age about trying to live off $600 a month in Social Security while “help wanted” signs were everywhere. There’s proven research that shows that having a group of employees that are diverse in age is just as beneficial as racial and gender diversity. Last year, Harvard Business Review released study results showing that women are never the right age for leadership in the workplace. You’re either too young or you have kids and you’re seemingly too busy attending soccer games, and next thing you know you’re going through menopause and you’re just too old. It’s absolutely unfair. What…

When Kim Zimmerman moved from Georgia to Colorado in 2005, it didn’t take long for the hobby gardener to realize that our state’s clay soil and dry climate were a more challenging canvas. “I killed a lot of things at first,” she says. To learn how to work in her new terrain—and hone her artistic skills—she enrolled in Colorado-specific gardening and floral design classes. One of her biggest takeaways: Florists use a lot of environmentally harmful materials, including foam, chemical-packed flower foods, and plastic wrappers. So Zimmerman set out to start a sustainable flower business and founded Rowdy Poppy in her Whittier home in 2018. To fulfill her mission, she opts for natural, recyclable, and compostable materials whenever possible and grows most of her flowers locally to reduce the carbon…

On January 1, 2022, Joshua Berman greeted the new year with a herniated disk. But when a doctor told the then 48-year-old writer that he might avoid surgery by pairing a steroid injection with intensive physical therapy—especially a lot of walking—Berman had to laugh. For the past month, he’d been mulling over an offer from publisher Moon Travel Guides. The assignment? Hike hundreds of miles while cataloging Colorado’s best trails. Berman accepted the gig from his hospital bed and hoped it wasn’t a huge mistake: His back was an open question, and he was also raising three kids, penning an outdoors column for the Denver Post, and teaching Spanish at the Shining Mountain Waldorf School in Boulder. The added responsibility felt daunting. Berman started in March 2022 with Hogback Ridge…

KYRA KAUFFMAN Colorado State University Looking back on freshman year, if I knew what I was about to go through, I wouldn’t have done it. The very first thing I did was take a COVID-19 test before I could move in. Everything was dark, quiet, and hot. There were bad wildfires that year. It was eerie. A lot of college students rely on their orientation groups to make friends, but my entire first week was sitting alone on Zoom calls. When I came back sophomore year, I was so happy to see silverware and furniture in the dining hall. Just sitting down with people and sharing a meal was the first time I felt like I was in college. ANNIKA LEWIS Fort Lewis College I had been accepted to the…

1. SELECT There are usually six beverages to choose from on the nightly menu, which could include creations such as the gin- and yuzu-infused Two for the Show. But we recommend telling the bartenders what flavor profile you enjoy—boozy, citrusy, floral, etc.—and having them concoct a customized cocktail that will cost from $18 to $25 (“Within Reason”) or market price (“Let’s Be Unreasonable”). 2. OBSERVE Watch the barkeeps mix, shake, and stir a bespoke drink that screams you. My cues were bitter, anything green chartreuse-ish, and low ABV, and I was rewarded with a tulip glass holding a divine elixir of two kinds of sherry, Suze (a French apéritif), and a squeeze of lemon. 3. PAIR While you’re nodding with pleasure and whispering OK, yeahhhh between sips, order a couple…

VICTOR Coordinates: 38.70925, -105.17254 Odometer: 118 miles En Route To: Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument Roadside attractions skew kitschy, so you might imagine that a larger-than-life troll would fit into the same zany category as, say, a giant statue of Paul Bunyan. But Danish sculptor Thomas Dambo’s trolls are closer to works of art. Each one of the more than 120 sculptures he’s handcrafted around the world uses recycled materials and showcases a new character Dambo has imagined, complete with elaborate folklore. “Rita the Rock Planter” is no exception. Since August 2023, the wooden troll, which is positioned on its hands and knees pushing a pile of rocks, has been delighting hikers near the town of Victor, a 46-mile drive southwest from Colorado Springs. “I love the mountains, and I…

Kristine Burrows has dedicated a big chunk of her young life to old age. She earned a master’s degree with a focus on leadership and healthy aging from the Colorado School of Public Health in 2018, launched a statewide day program for older adults with disabilities through the Lakewood chapter of national nonprofit Easterseals, and eventually worked as director of aging, care, and connections for the Jewish Family Service of Colorado. So when the Colorado Department of Human Services (DHS) started hiring for a new role last year—senior specialist on aging—Burrows was the ideal candidate. The position wasn’t just any job-board gig, though. Its genesis was rooted in a bill that went into effect in March 2022: the modernization of the Older Coloradans’ Act. The act, which was updated for…

The state’s ballooning population of older adults means that a growing number of older Coloradans are living with HIV. In fact, more than half of all people nationwide who have the virus are over the age of 50. Living with the virus means older Coloradans might experience an earlier onset of age-related conditions, like osteoporosis, and they may be more at risk of mental health conditions like depression, too. When an older adult with HIV sees multiple doctors at different practices for different conditions, there’s also a higher chance for miscommunication or medical errors. For instance, a primary care provider who prescribes statins for heart health might not be aware of how that medication could interact with anti-HIV prescriptions. UCHealth’s University of Colorado Hospital found a new way to care…

Statistically speaking, fewer older adults enroll in universities to earn a degree; instead, a 2011 University of Georgia study suggests over-60ers attend college to further their personal growth. That’s why in 2012, Ireland’s Dublin City University started the Age-Friendly University Global Network, an international consortium that bestows its designation upon educational institutions that meet 10 specific principles. Anne Button, director of the CU Denver Change Makers program, spearheaded the university’s initiative to obtain the designation in 2022. Since then, Button and her colleagues have worked to make the campus welcoming of all ages by forming a committee to assess the school’s age diversity, which made courses more age inclusive. For instance, a macroeconomics class will now include units on the economics of the aging population and the labor market. In…