Jacki Out Yonder

08/01/2024

About a week after Colorado Parks and Wildlife announced initial evidence of invasive zebra mussels in the Colorado River near Grand Junction, the agency has confirmed more signs. The species, which is known for its...

07/06/2024

30 years ago the Storm King Fire took the lives of 14 wildland firefighters near Glenwood Springs, CO.

July 6 marks the 30th anniversary of the Storm King fire, a deadly South Canyon blaze on Storm King Mountain outside Glenwood Springs that claimed the lives of 14 wildland firefighters in 1994.  Thanks to...

07/02/2024

06/26/2024

by Mike Koshmrl, WyoFile WIND RIVER VALLEY—Biologists Tucker Russell and Rene Schell stopped in their tracks.  Spooked out of a daybed, a mule deer

06/24/2024

Choose more environmentally friendly options besides balloons👇🏼

Erik picked up this strand of ELEVEN balloons out of the hayfield this afternoon. They were losing helium and would have been essentially invisible in another few hours, and then stood a good chance of getting mowed, raked and baled in the dense grass to be potentially eaten by a cow, horse or goat this winter. This is often fatal to the animal, causing intestinal blockage or choking. With the long strings wound right into the bale, an animal may not even realize what it’s consuming until it’s too late.

Please, on behalf of not only livestock but wildlife, skip the balloons when you’re decorating for your party this summer! Releasing balloons, whether accidental or intentional, is littering, plain and simple—and it can truly have deadly consequences.

For our readers who want receipts, here a few articles about the effect of balloons on both livestock and wildlife:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/agriculture/farming/8494881/Farmer-wins-compensation-after-Red-Nose-Day-balloon-kills-cow.html

https://www.postandcourier.com/news/balloon-hazards-real-or-overblown/article_c9a7e1b2-56bb-5e14-acc6-d64898653e83.html

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-norfolk-46058916

https://www.king5.com/article/tech/science/environment/balloon-pollution-dangerous-for-farm-animals-and-wildlife/281-588896532

06/15/2024

06/14/2024

“It really erodes the empathy people have for the animal and for wildlife conservation intent."

06/11/2024

nothing is a better send off from the Rocky Mountains than seeing Ian Munsick at Red Rocks.

06/08/2024

06/06/2024

Miners 850 feet deep in the Hubert Mine – Nevadaville, Colorado 1895.

06/05/2024

I should be packing but instead I needed to show everyone the cutest fawn I came across in the backcountry!

★ Remember: View animals from a distance and do not pet or pick them up! If you find a young wild animal without its mother, more than likely the mammals are hiding their young and come back periodically.

Any guesses to how old this pronghorn fawn is?

06/03/2024

05/29/2024

05/27/2024

Dale Gregory of Casper never quite grew out of his childhood dream of being a Wyoming mountain man. Now he lives the lifestyle and shares it with others at the Fort Caspar Museum because he says it's important to keep the history of the West alive.

05/26/2024

Colorado: Slide-Rock Bolter

It's the late 1800s, and the good folks of Colorado are minding their own business, mining for gold and silver, and generally trying to make a living without freezing their butts off.

Meanwhile, some particularly imaginative locals start spinning yarns about a creature that's part whale, part demon, and all trouble.

This beastie supposedly haunts the slopes of the Rockies, lying in wait for some poor unsuspecting soul to come traipsing along. 🌲🌨️

The Slide-Rock Bolter, they said, wasn't just any old monster. No, this thing was the size of a blue whale, with a face only a mother could love and a mouth that could swallow a herd of cattle whole. 🐋👿 But the best part?

It didn't just walk or slither around like a regular cryptid. Oh no, it would hang out on the top of steep slopes, clinging on with its hooked tail, waiting for the right moment. And when some unlucky tourist or nosy miner came into view, it would let go and slide down the mountain like a bat out of hell, gobbling up anything in its path. 🏔️👀

Now, you might be thinking, "Is this for real?" Well, there are some stories that’ll make you think twice before hiking those trails alone. Take the tale of Old Jim Peterson, a miner who swore up and down that he saw the Bolter one evening after a few too many sips of his homemade moonshine.

He claimed he watched the beast plummet down a slope, flattening trees and boulders, before vanishing into the night. Of course, most folks just thought Old Jim had been hitting the bottle a bit too hard, but he was adamant. 🍻👀

Then there's the story of the Estes Park incident. Back in 1908, a group of tourists reported seeing something massive sliding down the side of a mountain, causing a small landslide.

When they got to the bottom, they found nothing but a trail of destruction and a lot of scared wildlife. Some say it was the Bolter; others say it was just a particularly aggressive avalanche. But hey, where's the fun in that? ⛰️😱

Now, if you're planning a trip to Colorado, don't go canceling your reservations just yet.

The Slide-Rock Bolter might be a figment of frontier folklore, but it’s part of what makes Colorado’s history so damn colorful.

Plus, think of the stories you can tell when you get back. "Hey, did I ever tell you about the time I almost got eaten by a mountain whale?" Beats talking about the weather, right? 😅🌞

In the end, the Slide-Rock Bolter is a prime example of how wild and wonderful local legends can be.

05/21/2024

A line of automobiles on Fall River Road in Rocky Mountain National Park • Circa 1925!

05/21/2024

05/17/2024

When my grandfather divorced my grandma, she was a young mom of four children with no professional experience. She believed this narrative reiterated by Harrison Butker in his speech to Benedictine College that her vocation was to be a wife and a mother. This was 60 years ago and it left her as a single mother feeling completely powerless.

To hear this misogynistic narrative repeated in 2024 to an audience of men and women graduating college, no less, telling women their greatest accomplishment will be in finding a husband and raising his children (just one of countless problematic messages by Butker), makes my skin crawl. 

My grandmother always instilled me the importance of building my own financial independence. She always used her story as an example to never hand your power over to someone else.

I love being a mother. I love being a wife. They are two of my greatest accomplishments. Two of MANY, including a lucrative career that started with my education. I will always, ALWAYS be more than a wife and a mom. Because my grandmother taught me to put on my own oxygen mask first… in every sense. 

And that doesn’t diminish me; it makes me stronger. I am a strong woman raised by strong women. And with every generation, we will continue to get stronger because we teach each other along the way.

The only people afraid of a strong financially, independent and successful female, is men like this. And the only reason they are afraid is because it diminishes their power and their control. Think about that.
**
Follow me for more at Celeste Yvonne.

05/17/2024

Glenwood Springs, CO

05/16/2024

this is my official application for “Horse Girl” on Yellowstone

One of my dreams since a young girl has been to own a horse 🤩 Gretchen did amazing during this shoot and made us look amazing!🫶🏻

05/14/2024

05/13/2024

If you have information that could help investigators, if you may have seen Lucas Macaj, or if you were in the areas listed above on May 12, please contact someone. You don't have to tell them who you are, but please tell them what you know. CALL or TEXT the National Park Service Investigative Services Bureau Tip Line 888-653-0009, ONLINE form www.nps.gov/ISB or EMAIL [email protected].

05/12/2024

J.O.Y.

05/12/2024

FUN FACT FRIDAY: Our 3 Favorite Narrow Gauge Train Rides in Colorado open for Summer on May 25th! Mark your Calendar and make reservations today!
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Cripple Creek & Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad, a unique 4-mile round-trip narrow gauge train ride, shares Cripple Creek and Victor's rich history only a dynamic gold town could produce! Our gift shop has Thomas the Tank items and books on Cripple Creek. The first ride this Spring is May 25, 2024.
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Leadville Railroad - Our gem high above the clouds in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Passengers ride along the old Denver, South Park Pacific and Colorado Southern Railroad line to the Continental Divide. The first ride this Spring is May 25, 2024.
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Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad is America's tallest and longest Narrow Gauge Railroad; 64 miles of wild, scenic, and rugged National Forest. A 19th Century Railroad Operating in the 21st Century between Colorado and New Mexico. The first ride this Spring is May 25, 2024.
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LOOKING FOR A RAIL ROAD MUSEUM in Colorado?
All Aboard Westcliffe Depot Museum in Custer County Westcliffe/
Colorado Model Railroad Museum in Greeley
Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden
Forney Museum of Transportation in DENVER
Galloping Goose Historical Society in Dolores
Gunnison Pioneer Museum in Gunnison
Moffat Road Railroad Museum in Granby, CO
Pueblo Railway Museum in Pueblo
Pikes Peak Trolley Museum in Colorado Springss
South Park Rail Society in Como Depot and Roundhouse
Trinidad Railroad Museum in Trinidad
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Leadville and Twin Lakes, Colorado Visit Chama, NM Cripple Creek District Museum and Information Center - Colorado Cripple Creek Heritage Center Visitor Information and Museum-Colorado Victor Lowell Thomas Museum

05/12/2024

Photo from last night. Says Wyoming. Photo by Keith Wagner, member of LCFA's PIO Team.

05/10/2024

Estas son las ruinas de la mina "Volcán" en New Castle, Colorado. Hasta ahí llegaban en ferry los mineros que vivían en el pueblo para recolectar carbón que después era transportado en tren.

Los mineros frecuentemente se quejaban del fuerte olor a metano en su interior. Con tres explosiones que dejaron cerca de 100 mu***os entre finales 1800 y principios de 1900, por fin fue clausurada y se acabó la industria del carbón en la zona.

La última explosión en 1918 volvió a prender el fuego en su interior, el cual sigue ardiendo hasta la actualidad. La "cicatriz" que el fuego ha dejado todavía es visible desde la autopista I-70, y al igual que en "Burning Mountain" o la "Montaña Ardiente" no deja que la nieve se acumule en esa zona e incluso, en ocasiones puede verse el v***r saliendo de ciertas partes de la montaña.