5280 Magazine December 2023

HOW TO MAKE (NEW) FRIENDS IN MILE HIGH PLACES PAGE 62

BAD SCIENCE SAID TWO COLORADO PARENTS KILLED THEIR KIDS—DO THEY DESERVE A NEW TRIAL?

BY ROBERT SANCHEZ

THE 8 WINNERS OF OUR ANNUAL TOP DENVER HOME DESIGN CONTEST PAGE 72

30

YEARS EST. 1993

THE DENVER MAGAZINE

BEST OF THE

Mountain West 22 People, Places, And Things That Make Living In Our Region So Sweet

DECEMBER 2023 | 5280.com

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668 GCR 66, Grand Lake This waterfront Bavarian chalet, situated on a double lot bordered by recreational open space, features stunning views of Shadow Mountain Lake and Rocky Mountain National Park.

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Contents DECEMBER 2023

50

Best Of The Mountain West

From a desert-dwelling sake brewer in Arizona to an independence-loving micronation in Nevada, here are the people, places, and things that make living in our region so sweet.

EDITED BY NICHOLAS HUNT

62

Some Friendly Advice

Despite the benefits of friendship, research shows that Coloradans are some of the nation’s loneliest citizens. It’s time we changed that.

BY SPENCER CAMPBELL

72 TOP DENVER HOME DESIGN

The High Life

The winners of our eighth annual Top Denver Home Design contest represent the pinnacle of residential design in Denver and beyond.

BY CHRISTINE DEORIO, MICHELLE JOHNSON & KATHRYN O’SHEA-EVANS

82

Through The Fire

In 2003, a blaze incinerated a Colorado Springs home and killed three children. Years later, their parents were convicted of their murders based on bad science. Do the parents deserve a new trial?

Montana photographer Tailyr Irvine

6

5280 / DECEMBER 2023

Rebecca Stumpf

BY ROBERT SANCHEZ

Contents DECEMBER 2023

23

34

28

24

F R O M T H E E D I TO R

tricky. But science says that companions are critical to our well-being.

CO M PA S S 23 EVENTS

Breckenridge celebrates the god of snow—one recordsetting shot ski at a time.

24 CULTURE

The seven best cultural events that we missed this year.

26 LITERATURE

Hermitage Bookshop shares its rarest tomes.

28 GEAR

The suit that’s defying death on the world’s highest peaks.

30 HEALTH

We explain the finer points of the FAMLI Act, which is set to start paying out next month.

42 E AT & D R I N K

CO LU M N S

AC T L I K E A LO C A L

The company behind A5 Steakhouse sets its sights on Detroit-style pizza with Red Tops Rendezvous.

40 ESSAY

Finding renewed purpose on the cross-country ski trails of western Colorado’s Grand Mesa.

124 THE OVERSIMPLIFIED GUIDE TO: SHOVELING A SIDEWALK

33 WHAT’S HOT

34 THE DISH

BY CHRISTIE ASCHWANDEN

Five tips that will help you avoid throwing out your back this winter.

Le Bilboquet’s executive chef, Sosthène Kaboré, serves up the secrets behind his scallop carpaccio.

36 REVIEW

Tu’s Kitchen, a Broomfield eatery from the former owner of Boulder’s iconic Chez Thuy, brings bold flavors to the ’burbs.

90 DINING GUIDE

O N T H E C OV E R Photograph by Matthew Wolter “Rose Hurley with her great grandson, Edzavier” by Chip Thomas, located near Bitter Springs, Arizona

5280 (ISSN 10826815) is published monthly by 5280 Publishing, Inc., 1675 Larimer St., Suite 675, Denver, CO 80202. Subscriptions are $19.95 for one year (12 issues). Back issues are available for $6.99 plus tax and shipping by visiting shop.5280.com. Periodical postage paid at Denver, CO, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send all UAA to CFS (see DMM 707.4.12.5). NONPOSTAL AND MILITARY FACILITIES: Send address corrections to 5280 Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 3000, Denville, NJ 07834. Canadian Post Publications Mail Agreement No. #40065056 Canadian Return Address: DP Global Mail, 4960-2 Walker Road, Windsor, ON N9A 6J3. 5280® is a federally registered trademark owned by 5280 Publishing, Inc. 5280 also owns trademark registrations for TOP OF THE TOWN, DENVER’S TOP DOCTORS, DENVER MAGAZINE, and COUTURE COLORADO. © 2023 5280 Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.

Clockwise from top left: Courtesy of the Breckenridge Tourism Office; Sarah Banks; Courtesy of History Colorado; Matthew Stacey

16 New or old, friendships can be

T H E P OSSIB IL ITIES AR E YOUR S TO DEFINE. Schedule a showroom appointment at Roth Living to curate your luxury Sub-Zero, Wolf, and Cove appliance suite.

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Rock Star Encounters

EDITOR

Lindsey B. King ART DIRECTOR

David McKenna DIGITAL DIRECTOR

Maren Horjus

ED I TO RI A L DEPUT Y EDITOR

Jessica LaRusso

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Robert Sanchez

FEATURES EDITOR

Spencer Campbell HOME EDITOR

Michelle Johnson SENIOR EDITOR

Nicholas Hunt

FO OD EDITOR

Patricia Kaowthumrong

SENIOR ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Jessica Giles

Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

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Barbara O’Neil

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Shannon Carroll, Dougald MacDonald CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Kelly Bastone, Laura Beausire, Christine DeOrio, Clay Fong, Courtney Holden, Sarah Kuta, Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan, Jenny McCoy, Allyson Reedy, Meredith Sell, Daliah Singer, Martin J. Smith, Andy Stein EDITORIAL INTERN

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Denver, you’ve never seen anything quite like this.

The first thing you notice at Total Wine & More isWalk the through unbelievable selection.

That’s because our doors and you won’t believe your eyes. everywhere youturn turn, in every Everywhere you there’s more.aisle, In fact,there’s— a typical store carries 8,167But unique wines,this: 4,874A unique well, more. believe typicalspirits storeand 2,693 unique 8,167 beers. unique Sure, we wines—with have unbeatable and prices, carries upselection to a quarter but we bet you’ll keep coming back for unrivaled service.

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L ETTERS TO THE E DITO R & D I NI NG GUID E

A LIFE WITHOUT

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5280 / DECEMBER 2023

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FROM THE EDITOR

The Friends We Keep

guidance on how to rebuild your roster of buddies. “Since the pandemic, it feels like we keep doing new things to try to feel better,” says Campbell, who himself has taken up (and put down) meditation, running, and journaling.

“Really, though, the one thing that is proven to make humans happier is fulfilling relationships. But knowing you need friends is much easier than actually making them—especially when you’re an adult.”

As we close out 2023 and look toward 2024, I don’t anticipate that a

new year will bring more friends than I can count on two hands. However, with a little help from my good pal Spencer Campbell, I hope I can both make new friends and keep the old.

LINDSEY B. KING

Editor lindsey@5280.com

Each year, architects, interior designers, and homeowners submit their spaces for a shot at winning a spot in 5280’s Top Denver Home Design feature. When home editor Michelle Johnson met with her team in July to decide on this year’s most worthy projects, they were faced with the difficult task of selecting from a record number of submissions. While whittling down the contestants wasn’t easy, Johnson notes that each of the final picks included in “The High Life” (page 72) displays a special element. “There has to be some sort of wow factor,” she says, “whether it’s the quality of materials used in the design or the striking architecture.” This year, Johnson is particularly excited about the accolade bestowed on the “whole home” winner. Although 5280 has given the award in the past, the team has not doled it out every year. For the 2023 champ, Christine DeOrio penned a longer piece that details the inspiration behind the home from both architectural and design standpoints. “Whether one of these spaces sparks a lightbulb moment for their own home’s design or introduces them to a local design pro they were previously unfamiliar with,” Johnson says, “I hope readers feel compelled to dog-ear the pages and use this feature as a resource.”

MICHELLE JOHNSON

Home editor

16

5280 / DECEMBER 2023

From top: Getty Images (Polaroid); Leo Patrizi/Getty Images (people); Arthur Mount

Have you ever done a mental audit of the number of humans you consider close friends? If so, would you need more than 10 fingers? This is a question I’ve pondered every so often throughout my life, probably because I’ve never needed any additional digits.

The figure has fluctuated, of course, but what’s most interesting to me is how the same people seem to come and go and often come back again. I tend to think this is a sign of a strong relationship, one in which life circumstances might draw you together or tug you apart, but the ties that bind are never really broken. Over the past few years, for instance, a distance has developed between me and a friend I’ve had for almost 30 years. It hurts and I miss her, but something tells me that we’ll find our ways back to each other one day. Friendships, I try to remind myself, need to be able to evolve, and this momentary disunity is just part of the evolution of this particular relationship.

I also try to remind myself that I’m not the only one low on kindred spirits.

In this issue’s “Some Friendly Advice” (page 62), features editor Spencer Campbell examines the unhealthy reality that Coloradans are among the country’s loneliest denizens—and provides some

GREAT LEADERSHIP MATTERS Inspired by the Presidential Medal of Freedom - the highest civilian award of the United States – the Colorado Governor’s Citizenship Medals honor Colorado leaders who inspire excellence and community service. Governor Polis, in partnership with CiviCO, will honor medal recipients on January 25, 2024 at the History Colorado Center.

Congratulations to the 2023 Colorado Governor’s Citizenship Medal Recipients!

Colorado Mountain Leader Medal: John Fielder Vanguard Legacy Medal: Dr. Carlotta Walls LaNier Emerging Community Leader Medal: Osvaldo Garcia-Barron Public & Community Service Medal: Lauren Casteel Corporate Citizenship Medal: Steamboat Ski & Resort Corporation Growth & Innovation Medal: John Street

THEEVENTCGCM.ORG | LIVECIVICO.ORG COLORADO’S LEADERSHIP FOUNDATION

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Delivers Holiday Magic for Everyone: The Ultimate Guide to Holiday Festivities in Downtown Denver SPONSORED BY

GRAND ILLUMINATION | NOVEMBER 24

mydenver truly sparkles during the holiday season, from exclusive events to local gift shops and restaurants at Denver’s most iconic locations. Whether you’re hosting family from out of town or seeking festive treats, there is something for everyone Downtown. It’s treasured moments shared with family and friends that make this time of year special and Downtown has no shortage of holiday magic for you and your loved ones.

We’re excited to share this ultimate holiday guide to help you discover and explore downtown Denver!

Denver’s Treasured Holiday Traditions The ideal parade experience for your family's night out.

BEFORE THE EVENT

MAIN EVENT

AFTER THE EVENT

On your way to the parade, stop by Civic Center Park to get your picture taken in front of The Mile High Tree and then grab some treats and hot cocoa from the Denver Christkindlmarket.

Our can’t miss holiday event is the longstanding tradition of the 9NEWS Parade of Lights, where thousands of people line the streets of Downtown to see their favorite floats and performances.

After the parade, the fun doesn’t have to stop! Make your way to Skyline Park to enjoy free ice skating in the heart of downtown Denver. Bring your own skates or we have plenty to rent.

 DENVER CHRISTKINDLMARKET

 9NEWS PARADE OF LIGHTS

18 • The Ultimate Guide to Holiday Festivities in Downtown Denver

 ICE SKATING AT SKYLINE PARK

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Explore Downtown’s Iconic Winter Wonderland Locations  THE DENVER PAVILIONS  A Must Experience: Wander through the brightly lit forest and see two popular Parade of Lights floats up close and get a picture with them!

 Gift Shopping Stop: 5 Green Boxes is a local Downtown treasure where you can find unique jewelry, accessories, home goods and unexpected gifts, all delightfully presented in a cheerful cacophony of pattern and color.

 The Holiday Special: Experience the fabulous Tinsel Town, a Christmas-inspired bar on the 3rd level of the Pavilions where guests can enjoy themed decor and specialty cocktails. Need some grub? Pop into any one of the Pavilion’s delicious restaurants from Maggiano’s Little Italy and Henry’s Tavern to 5280 Burger Bar, Lucky Strike and their newest restaurant, Que Rico.  Gift Shopping Stop: With a mix of local and national retail brands, the Denver Pavilions is the perfect stop to purchase gifts, and to see the brightly lit complex, an all-inone holiday destination.

 MCGREGOR SQUARE  A Must Experience: Snag some tickets and skates and spend the afternoon gliding across the McGregor Skate Ice Rink! A day of skating is never complete without some food and drinks.

Featuring a special popup, the Sleigh Bar at Milepost Zero, offers specialty cocktails that you can enjoy outdoors.  The Holiday Special: Every weekend from Thanksgiving until Christmas, bring your kids to meet Santa to share their wish list and spend the day shopping for your family. Hint: Shop for some fresh flowers at Flowers on the Vine!

 UNION STATION  A Must Experience: Kick off your holiday season on November 24 with Denver Union Station’s Grand Illumination.

Experience holiday hits with the Denver Dolls, a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus, horse-drawn carriage rides, face painting, festive drinks, the lighting of the Station’s outdoor 40-foot-tall Christmas tree featuring over 7,000 holiday lights, and more!

The holiday spirit doesn’t stop there! Every night from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. until December 31, enjoy an outdoor light show featuring interactive imagery created by local Denver artists projected across the Station’s historic façade. Santa will also be stopping by the Station every Sunday in December.  The Holiday Special: The now-open whimsical pop-up Miracle Bar, located in the former Kitchen Next Door space, will immerse guests into a non-negotiable state of Christmas spirit. And for those who celebrate the eight crazy nights, the bar also features a proudly designated Hanukkah table amidst the Christmas frenzy. You have until December 29 to check it out!

 DAIRY BLOCK  A Must Experience: Explore the Mistletoe Market every weekend from November 25 to December 17 and enjoy a wide variety of local artisans along with live music.  The Holiday Special: Fill your Saturdays with the ultimate holiday entertainment at Dairy Block! Start your day with storytime led by Cindy Lou and indulge in some hot cocoa and cookies while listening. If you’re lucky, you might see the "Mean One" himself and be able to get a picture with him. Then catch holiday carols performed by the Jingle Belles in the afternoon.  Gift Shopping Stop: Spend time strolling around FREE MARKET, a collective of women’s and home stores, a café, barber shop, and a Michelin-star restaurant. This vibrant market showcases the individual spaces with a shared fireplace common area—the best place to find something for everyone on your list this holiday!

 LARIMER SQUARE  A Must Experience: There’s nothing better than having a good laugh during the holidays. Catch a Comedy Works show at Larimer Square! Before the show, enjoy a margarita and guac at Tamayo.  The Holiday Special: Wander down the iconic plaza adorned with twinkling lights and enjoy the restaurants and shops that spill into the street.  Gift Shopping Stop: Curated with treasures from the past, Garage Sale Vintage is the spot to find unforgettable presents. The best part: you can shop with a house-made CONTINUED PG. 20  cocktail in hand.

The Ultimate Guide to Holiday Festivities in Downtown Denver • 19

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Fun Holiday Experiences at the Best Stays in Denver With family coming into town, there’s nothing better than to have them stay at some of Denver’s best hotels with extravagant holiday activities.  THE BROWN PALACE HOTEL AND SPA The iconic Brown Palace Hotel and Spa has been woven into Denver's history since 1892. It’s the perfect spa and salon spot to pamper yourself or give as a gift. Pick from holiday favorites like a 50-minute holiday spice massage, merry and bright facial, or a mistle-toe pedicure.

Don’t miss the Body Bar Experience with Rocky Mountain Soap Market on December 13 with light refreshments!

Start a new holiday tradition by spending either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day at Ellyngton's for a holiday reception-style buffet. Trust us, you will not be disappointed!

 SHERATON DENVER DOWNTOWN In the heart of the city, Sheraton Denver Downtown’s Bezel bar is transformed into Bezel Lodge, a cozy “Apres Without the Slopes” retreat. Perfect for Denverites and visitors, the Bezel Lodge creates a warm ski-themed atmosphere with firepits, outdoor heat lamps and blankets for guests. Settle in for a night of winter-inspired cocktails and bites with a small souvenir to remember an unforgettable night.

For those missing golf in the winter, you can experience an elevated golf experience just adjacent to Bezel. With two simulator bays and a range of virtual games, including Topgolf target games and fun options like Zombie Dodgeball and Carnival games, guests can enjoy the comfort of lounge seating, HDTVs, and convenient food and beverage service.

How To Score Big This Holiday The winning gift this holiday season is a pair of tickets to Colorado’s best franchises—the Colorado Avalanche or Denver Nuggets. See them both at Ball Arena Downtown!

More interested in being in the action and playing instead of watching?

Check out Flight Club where they bring a traditional game of social darts to an energetic level through a fast-paced and multi-player gaming experience.

This is the perfect place to bring your family or a big group of friends to socialize with some friendly, competitive games.

Play a crazy round of golf at Holey Moley Golf Club Denver! For your out-of-state friends and family, this special mini golf venue takes you on an adventure you’ve never experienced before where you will putt through pop culture references and dangerous waters!

Can’t Miss Holiday Performances & Exhibitions Featuring captivating talent and creativity, we’re diving into Denver’s special performances and art exhibitions you should experience this holiday season.

 A CHRISTMAS CAROL Presented by the Denver Center For Performing Arts, this classic holiday musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’ novel is a oneof-a-kind tradition in Denver. Embodying the emotion of the holiday season, this production is a family favorite. You have until December 24 to catch this show.

20 • The Ultimate Guide to Holiday Festivities in Downtown Denver

 NUTCRACKER! MAGICAL CHRISTMAS BALLET This beloved production is back at the Paramount Theatre for only two days, December 23 and 24! Performed by an exemplary international cast, don't miss the magic of this Christmas celebration.

Get tickets today before they sell out!

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The Season of Giving Amidst all the dazzling lights and traditions of this holiday season, we recognize that true magic lies in giving back to our community and contributing to making a difference, no matter how big or small. Here are some ways you can give:

COLORADO GIVES DAY On December 5, make a contribution to a Denver organization of your choice! Head to coloradogives.org for more information.

BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB: HOLIDAY TOY DRIVE Partnering with CBS Colorado, King Soopers and 97.3 KBCO, the Boys and Girls Club collect new and unwrapped toys at their annual Together for Colorado Toy Drive to ensure every kid is able to open a present during this holiday season. This year’s toy drive will run from November 24 until December 24. You can drop off toys at any of the participating King Soopers or at the Boys and Girls Club of Metro Denver.

Ring in the New Year As another year comes to a close, it’s never too early to start planning for an unforgettable New Year’s Eve celebration in Denver.

On December 31, you can either view a ball drop-style celebration at 9 p.m. at the Mile High Tree at Civic Center Park or close 2023 with fireworks on 16th Street. Pro tip: For the best NYE experience Downtown, book a restaurant reservation before the show and then stay the night at a hotel! The fireworks are presented by the Downtown Denver Partnership and co-sponsored by VISIT DENVER and the Downtown Denver Business Improvement District.

From the breathtaking Mile High Tree to the joyful festivities around downtown Denver, there's no shortage of heartwarming experiences to explore with family and friends. #mydenver is a destination for cherished memories, celebrating new traditions, and moments of togetherness.

So many experiences to choose from Downtown and many ways to start your planning. Check out winterindenver.com, milehighholidays.com, or dashingthrulodo.com to get started! Be sure to share your experiences with us on Instagram @thisismydenver and use # .

 MUSEUM FOR BLACK GIRLS Get inspired by stories and history at the Museum For Black Girls, an immersive pop-up sensory museum featuring over 15+ art installations located at the Denver Pavilions. This creative celebration of selflove invites you to witness the joy of black girl magic through art.

 MUSEUM OF ILLUSIONS DENVER

 MCA COWBOY EXHIBITION

Love mind-bending adventures?

Head to the Museum of Illusions Denver located on 16th Street. From perspective-changing rooms to captivating installations and images, the exhibits will leave you mesmerized!

On December 7, MCA in collaboration with Alan Brooks will host a conversation series with artists and scholars to discuss “complex history, stereotypes, and legends surrounding the American West through the intersection of contemporary art and American history.”

The Ultimate Guide to Holiday Festivities in Downtown Denver • 21

Courtesy of the Breckenridge Tourism Office

EVENTS

A Shot At Glory

Breckenridge’s Ullr Fest has celebrated the Norse god of snow since 1963, but it wasn’t until 2013 that two locals, Kristian Slaugh and Litch Polich, added a giant shot ski to the party. “We ended up collecting 60 skis,” says Polich, a partner at Breckenridge Distillery. “We bolted them together, glued plastic cups on them, and got 192 people to take a shot. We felt like we climbed Everest.” That unofficial world record (according to Polich, Guinness won’t sanction what it considers binge drinking) soon caught the attention of Park City, Utah. The ski town has organized its own mass toast every October since 2015, including a record-setting 1,340 shot-takers in 2022. It didn’t keep the title for long: Because Ullr Fest takes place later in the winter than Park City’s party, its organizers always know the number they need to regain the record and managed to top their rivals by 10 tipplers in 2022. So, after a decade of dominance, Polich is sure Breck can top the 1,363-person-strong challenge the Utah upstarts mounted this year. “I mean we’re the OG,” he says. “We have to keep taking it back.” Ullr Fest December 7 to 9; shot ski December 7, $15 —CHRIS WALKER

DECEMBER 2023 / 5280

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C U LT U R E

Our Bad

This magazine prides itself on covering the most interesting happenings in Colorado. With that said, nobody’s perfect.

Below, you’ll find seven cultural phenomena we failed to mention in our pages this year. The good news? You can still see, listen to, or read each one. —SPENCER CAMPBELL

5

1

In January, Colorado Public Radio launched Terra Firma, a podcast that serves up calming doses of serotonin each week thanks to the pastoral musings of writer and host CMarie Fuhrman and nature clips gathered by sound recordist Jacob Job.

3

6

Good Times Burgers & Frozen Custard, mountain goats, and Jamal Murray all make cameos in the music video for rapper Jack Harlow’s new single “Denver.” Released in April, the song is about insecurity—so we’re trying not to take that personally.

A young Boulder woman determined to become a nun died by suicide at 24. The Dear Alana, podcast, which wrapped up in September, examines her journals and interviews her friends and family to determine whether the Catholic Church—and conversion therapy—played a role in her death.

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2

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October’s Butcher’s Crossing, a screen adaptation of University of Denver professor John Williams’ 1960 novel of the same name, features gorgeous wide shots of the Rocky Mountains. Even more captivating, however, is watching a buffalo-hunting Nicolas Cage go full Apocalypse Now in the Colorado wilderness.

Last year’s holiday production of Beauty and the Beast proved so popular that the Arvada Center decided to double down on the fairy tales and deck the halls with Cinderella.

The show, which premiered in September and runs through December 31, updates the narrative with modern touches, including giving Cinderelly what she really wanted from her fairy godmother: an Instagram account.

Clockwise from top right: Courtesy of Penguin Random House; Courtesy of History Colorado; Courtesy of Saban Films; Mat Hayward/Getty Images for TAO Group; Getty Images; Courtesy of Tenderfoot TV; Getty Images (phone); Courtesy of Benjamin Rasmussen

Artist Virgil Ortiz’s Revolt 1680/2180: Runners and Gliders embraces sci-fi storytelling to bring attention to the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, when Indigenous tribes ousted the Spanish from northern New Mexico for more than a decade. The show runs through May 2024, a full year after its debut at History Colorado.

After adding to his hometown’s canon of noir with L.A. Confidential and The Black Dahlia, writer James Ellroy relocated to Denver. But he seems to be having difficulty leaving La-La Land behind: Published in September, his new novel, The Enchanters, takes on Marilyn Monroe, one of the City of Angels’ most bewitching and tragic idols.

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L I T E R AT U R E

Book Smart

Since it was founded in 1973 as a repository for rare and antique tomes, Hermitage Bookshop has seen a few major changes, including a move from downtown to Cherry Creek North in the early ’80s and new owners who took over last year. Its mission, however, remains the same. Although the Denver bookseller carries a wide range of titles, you’re still more likely to find a first-edition Hemingway on its shelves than anything from the For Dummies series. To celebrate Hermitage’s 50th anniversary, we asked general manager Sam Butler to share a few of the store’s most opulent opuses. —BARBARA O’NEIL

^

A staffer browses Hermitage’s rare book collection.

Gorillas in the Mist First edition

Author: Dian Fossey Year: 1983 | Price: $3,000

Author: Felix Salten Year: 1928 | Price: $2,000

Authors: Amos Alonzo Stagg and Henry Llewellyn Williams Year: 1894 | Price: $1,750

History: Primate conservationist and zoologist Dian Fossey gave this account of her life’s work studying gorillas in Rwanda to her friend Charles Southwick, an author and University of Colorado Boulder biology professor.

History: Maria Caroline Rosé-Schmutzer, daughter of famed portrait photographer Ferdinand Schmutzer, grew up in Austria across the street from Bambi author Felix Salten, who gave her this U.S. first edition for her wedding in 1933.

History: As one of American football’s first rulebooks, this volume is a snapshot of the game’s early evolution, including quirky regulations such as field goals being worth five points.

Sticker shock: What gives this copy its oversize price tag—other than its first edition status—is the inscription inside.

“Fossey’s signature is a really rare find,” Butler says.

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Bambi: A Life in the Woods U.S. first edition

A Scientific and Practical Treatise on American Football for Schools and Colleges

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Sticker shock: While not as rare as the 1923 German-language edition, which was often destroyed due to Nazi censorship, this copy of the first English translation includes the letter Salten wrote to Rosé-Schmutzer in his native German.

Sticker shock: The original owner was a professor of physical education at Columbia University, one of the Ivy League schools that helped invent the sport in the late 1800s by blending soccer and rugby.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY SARAH BANKS

GEAR

Death Defying

While most of Himali’s garments are made for the high country, the Boulderbased mountaineering brand’s 8000 Meter Down Suit is built to operate on an entirely different level. Literally. The company’s American and Nepalese Sherpa co-owners used their decades of climbing and guiding experience to design their ideal outfit for navigating the world’s tallest mountains. Here’s what makes their suit’s latest iteration ($2,000) perfect for the Death Zone—the region above 26,000 feet where there’s little available oxygen and the weather wants to kill you.

—COURTNEY HOLDEN

As guides, Sherpas perform plenty of duties that require ungloved fingers.

Co-founder Tendi Sherpa, a renowned mountaineer who’s summited Mt. Everest 15 times, requested that the suit include insulated chest pockets so he’d have an easy place to warm his bare hands between tasks.

Himali co-owner Ed Viesturs, the only American to summit every 8000er without supplemental oxygen, knows moving fast is essential.

So Himali sourced a lightweight fabric that uses interlocking, diamond-shaped threads to create a strong, ultratight weave. At just more than three and a half pounds, it’s one of the lightest suits on the market.

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While camping on Alaska’s Denali, Himali co-founder Dave Schaeffer noticed how much heat his sleeping bag’s neck baffle retained and decided that adding one to the suit was worth the extra ounce of fabric and insulation.

Early versions featured overlapping layers on the chest, each with its own zipper, for extra wind protection, but Mingma G. Sherpa, a leader of the first winter ascent of K2 in 2021, felt the second zip weighed too much.

The new version uses a single-zip design.

Wearing a prototype on Nepal’s 26,781foot Manaslu, Tendi Sherpa noticed that his body heat was melting snow caught between his pack and his back and moisture was seeping into the suit.

To prevent frostbite and hypothermia, the get-up now has a fully waterproof outer layer, something few competitors can say.

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H E A LT H

FAMLI Matters

In January, roughly 2.69 million Colorado workers will finally have access to three months of time off for childbirth, sick leave, and other difficult life events—with compensation.

Voters passed the Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) Act in November 2020, and for the past year, companies and employees have been paying into the program.

Now that FAMLI’s coffers are full, folks can start applying for benefits next month. But before you do, here are five key points to keep in mind. —DALIAH SINGER

The program embraces an expansive definition of family When someone gets sick, caretaking isn’t limited to parents or spouses. So lawmakers used a broad definition of family that includes those with whom you have significant personal bonds, as evidenced by shared finances, emergency contact designations, geographic proximity, and expectations of care when you fall ill.

What this means IRL: While the broadened definition applies equally to everyone, it was designed with inclusivity in mind, especially for 30

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members of the state’s immigrant communities who may not have relatives nearby and for those who identify as LGBTQ and otherwise might not be recognized as caretakers.

You’ll have to wait for job protection You don’t have to work a minimum number of days in order to qualify for FAMLI benefits, but you do have to have been employed at your current gig for at least 180 days to guarantee your position will be waiting for you when you get back.

What this means IRL: If you’ve started a new job and you or a loved one gets hurt, your employer can fire you if it feels that you’re taking too much time off.

Self-employed workers and independent contractors can opt in Most Colorado workers will

automatically pay FAMLI premiums.

Self-employed folks can participate, too, but once they opt in, they’re locked in to paying premiums directly to the state for three years.

What this means IRL: While you have to sign up for three years, there’s no enrollment period, so you can take leave immediately after opting in— you’ll just pay for it later.

It’s not clear how the IRS is going to deal with FAMLI pay Colorado won’t tax FAMLI benefits.

The IRS, on the other hand, has yet to say if the payments are subject to federal income tax. So far, residents of other states with similar laws haven’t had to pay up.

What this means IRL: You’ll want to talk to a tax professional before you file and share the state-provided 1099 form with them, just in case.

P H OTO I L LU S T R AT I O N B Y S E A N PA R S O N S

Source photos: Getty Images (4)

Paid leave doesn’t mean full pay Most Coloradans who have earned at least $2,500 in the past year are eligible for FAMLI. But benefits are doled out on a sliding scale, with the lowest earners receiving around 90 percent of their average weekly wage and applicants collecting a smaller percentage as their salaries increase. Regardless, there’s an $1,100 weekly max payout.

What this means IRL: The state’s benefits calculator (famli.colorado.gov) will ballpark how much you qualify for. And speak with your employer: It can’t require you to take PTO before or during your leave, but you may be able to use it to fill in the gap between your benefits and the rest of your wage.

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Eat & Drink W H AT ’ S H O T

Room For Squares

Red Tops’ Queen City Heat pizza

PHOTOGRAPH BY SARAH BANKS

Five-month-old Red Tops Rendezvous is a tribute to a Motor City treat. Restaurateur Kevin Eddy grew up in Detroit eating the metropolis’ eponymous pizza, a style characterized by a square or rectangular shape, cheesy edges, sauce on top, and thick, chewy crust. “I wanted to bring that part of my upbringing to Denver,” he says.

To do that, Eddy, who co-founded the Culinary Creative Group, the company behind A5 Steakhouse, Fox and the Hen, and other concepts, built a two-story eatery with a rooftop patio in Jefferson Park. After three years of planning and construction, Red Tops Rendezvous turned on its ovens in July. While executive chef Jacob Grant’s pizzas—focaccialike dough that’s studded with the likes of Italian beef and spicy giardiniera or with oyster and cremini mushrooms—are must-orders, don’t overlook the entrées, salads, and snacks. Our preferred before-the-pizza-arrives pairing? The strawberry-Campari-infused Yitsbeen cocktail with the Coney Knots, pigs in a blanket served with a side of chili for dipping. —PATRICIA KAOWTHUMRONG

DECEMBER 2023 / 5280

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THE DISH

Beyond The Bistro

A little more than a year into his tenure, Le Bilboquet’s executive chef, Sosthène Kaboré, is mixing up French fare with global influences.

Sosthène Kaboré originally dreamed of becoming an architect—but a lack of funding for college as an international student in the United States led the native of Burkina Faso in West Africa to abandon his studies to pursue another lifelong interest: food. “Cooking had been my passion since I was nine years old,” says Kaboré, 37, who helms the kitchen at Cherry Creek’s Le Bilboquet, an upscale French restaurant with locations in New York City and Atlanta. As a child, Kaboré’s mother often gave him cookbooks she picked up during her missionary travels to France, and the pair would make the recipes together. In 2010, the then 24-year-old withdrew from Arizona State University to move to New York City, where his foot-in-the-door moment in the restaurant business came from a dishwashing job. Over the subsequent 12 years, Kaboré worked at various eateries in the Big Apple and eventually landed a gig as chef de cuisine at Le Bilboquet’s Atlanta outpost. Last August, Kaboré relocated his knives to the four-year-old Cherry Creek location, where he, of

course, cooks the restaurant’s signature dishes—such as the juicy Cajun chicken with French butter sauce that’s been on the menu since 1986— but has also been introducing menu items with decidedly un-French flair.

SCALLOP CARPACCIO

1. Kaboré starts with thinly sliced, Massachusetts-sourced raw scallops.

The slightly sweet mollusks impart little fishy flavor, allowing the other components to shine.

2. To make a Japaneseinspired ponzu sauce, Kaboré mixes vinegar with tamarind—a sour fruit 34

5280 / DECEMBER 2023

Take the scallop carpaccio appetizer: The standout starter showcases an array of worldly ingredients, all of which are influenced by Kaboré’s extensive culinary travels. We asked him to help us break down the dish. —BARBARA O’NEIL

indigenous to tropical regions of Africa—and passion fruit juice for additional zing. “Lemon and yuzu are commonly used to make ponzu sauce,” he says, “but I wanted mine to be unique.”

3. The chef coats the scallops with his special zippy ponzu to give the carpaccio just the right tang, similar to the limey

goodness one might taste in ceviche. Then he tops each round with half of a gooseberry, a grapelike fruit native to North Africa and popular in restaurants throughout Europe.

4. Kaboré then sprinkles Peruvian pearl peppers— which have a hint of sweetness—to enhance the citrusy notes of the dish and to deliver both

the peppers’ rich, smoky flavor as well as a dash of mild spice.

5. To finish the starter, Kaboré places a delicate, fried baby wonton skin atop each scallop. “The scallop should be eaten in one bite,” he says. “The wontons add crispness and some texture while still letting you appreciate the different flavors.”

PHOTOGRAPHY BY SARAH BANKS

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REVIEW

Adventures In Dining

Tu’s Kitchen, a Broomfield eatery from the former owner of Boulder’s iconic Chez Thuy, brings bold flavors to the ’burbs. —CLAY FONG ntil just a couple of years ago, residents of the northern suburbs had to commute to Federal Boulevard to satisfy their appetites for Asian cuisine that went beyond Chinese and Vietnamese takeout staples. But rising commercial real estate prices in Denver and Boulder and the appeal of underserved markets in surrounding cities have recently led restaurateurs serving everything from dumplings and Korean fried chicken to hot pot and boba tea to bring their businesses to Denver’s suburbs. The wave of

U

^

From left: Sweet snails; owner Thuy Le

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migration has been particularly noticeable along U.S. 36.

One of those restaurateurs is Thuy Le, a co-founder of the now-closed T-Wa Inn, Denver’s first Vietnamese restaurant, and former owner of Boulder’s 30-year-old Chez Thuy, a citadel of Vietnamese cuisine now owned by her son. Last December, Thuy launched Tu’s Kitchen along the 120th Avenue corridor in a Broomfield strip mall with several other businesses that popped up in 2023, including Kirin Hot Pot and Hong Guan Chinese Restaurant. Thuy chose to bring

Tu’s—an unfussy eatery offering a massive menu of roughly 100 Vietnamese dishes—to the suburbs instead of Boulder to have a larger kitchen to accommodate catering gigs.

Those acquainted with Chez Thuy’s menu of Vietnamese classics will find Tu’s bill of fare somewhat familiar— but with new creations that diners will find to be much more savory than saccharine. While pho and noodle bowls are still the most popular selections, there’s a huge payoff if you move beyond those mainstays and build a spread of lesser-known specialties to share in the approximately 70-seat, kitschy dining room furnished with live plants and art depicting scenes in Vietnam and China.

Before exploring the unknown, though, the fresh spring rolls are an PHOTOGRAPHY BY SARAH BANKS

REVIEW

uncommonly delicious iteration of a common dish. In my experience, the quality of this particular starter is an excellent predictor of how the rest of the meal at any Vietnamese restaurant will go. Tired fillings, a dry and rubbery rice paper wrapper, or an off-tasting dipping sauce can portend bad things to come. Not at Tu’s. Thuy’s perfect parcels delivered on every count: Plump shrimp and slices of moist char siu (sweetbarbecue-glazed pork) were rolled in silky wrappers with bright herbs and paired with a traditional nutty dipping sauce.

The need for something conventional sated, my dining companions and I dove into the menu’s recesses.

The snails, a rare find outside of Denver, were the most intriguing course. The mollusks arrived in their shells atop a sizzling cast-iron plate adorned with fragrant basil and rich, earthy garlic butter and tasted closer to clams freshly plucked from the sea than the more mud-flavored escargot I’ve had the displeasure of sampling elsewhere. They were pudgy and firm rather than rubbery, and rivaled classic French versions in terms of both preparation and texture.

The soft-shell crabs, whole crustaceans that are lightly battered and fried to a golden crisp, were impeccable. The inherent sweetness of the shellfish was accentuated by the accompanying lettuce, cucumber, bean sprouts, and tangle of rice noodles, while the attendant fish-sauce-based dip introduced sweet and salty notes.

We enjoyed piling the crab and its accouterments into the lettuce and eating it all together as a wrap.

If you’re a vegetarian, you don’t have to worry about the same old, same old, either. One substantial option at Tu’s is the vegetarian hot pot, which features bean curd, eggplant, black mushrooms, bamboo shoots, zucchini, chayote (a type of squash), peanuts, and cashews. Everything was cooked in a creamy, coconut-based sauce that closely resembled a very mild curry, a dressing I used liberally on the steamed rice.

As a frequent diner, I’m aware that when I adventure past a menu’s typical staples—particularly when that 38

5280 / DECEMBER 2023

SHELL YEAH! You don’t have to travel to Ho Chi Minh City to devour Vietnamese-inspired preparations of fresh- and saltwater dwellers.

Try them at these local spots instead. —CF, PK & ETHAN PAN SEAFOOD EMPIRE

Lakewood Vietnamese Cajun fare has roots in New Orleans, where many Southeast Asian immigrants settled after the Vietnam War. Dig into a seafood boil, one of the cuisine’s staples, at this casual, nearly 17-month-old eatery in Lakewood, where whole shrimp, crawfish, and other pluckedfrom-the-water delights are coated in finger-licking sauces. 6981 W. Alaska Drive, Lakewood NEW SAIGON

menu has 100 items—I might encounter some, well, misadventures.

Two dishes that I ordered during both of my visits—the quail and lamb chops—differed in quality each time but were still serviceable. The three bone-in birds were topped with a black-pepper-heavy sweet and sour sauce, while the generously portioned lamb chops sported a five-spice and wine marinade. The seasonings—as well as a side of bracing, fish-saucelaced slaw—were always on point, but each protein was overcooked on my second helping. While the dishes were still enjoyable, memories of those earlier preparations, with spot-on rareness, made me pine for the previous dinner.

The reality that I was, in fact, longing for Tu’s food means those minor missteps won’t keep me from returning. And I know I am not alone: While the dining room is small and the strip mall location isn’t exactly swanky, the crowds suggest that crave-worthy Vietnamese cuisine is worth seeking out no matter where it might be.

^

The tofu, quail, papaya salad, and fresh spring rolls.

Athmar Park For more than 35 years, diners have cracked open an assortment of succulent shellfish at this relaxed eatery. Drizzle steamed cherrystone clams with ginger-infused fish sauce, or split a spicy-sour stew replete with mussels, squid, and lobster tails among a few of your friends.

630 S. Federal Blvd.

VIET’S RESTAURANT

TU’S KITCHEN

6500 W. 120th Ave., Broomfield tukitchenco.com The Draw: Big menu of wellknown and original creations rooted in Vietnamese tradition The Drawback: Inconsistent preparation Noise Level: Low Don’t Miss: Fresh spring rolls, soft-shell crab, quail, lamb chops

Westwood At Viet’s, patrons can choose from a variety of fruits de mer, from periwinkle snails to razor clams, prepared in their choice of sauce.

Indulge in the platter of grilled lobster tails crowned with melted butter and onions or the scallops sautéed with black mushrooms.

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ESSAY

The Business Of Joy It’s a bluebird day, and I’m skiing through a towering stand of spruce trees that opens into a vast meadow.

In the distance, I spot a black creature diving up and down through the deep snow beside the groomed trail. I recognize the animal immediately: Sir Walter Raleigh, a black Lab mix with floppy ears and boundless energy. When I reach his two humans, Nike and Jeff, the latter asks me, “Is this your first time skiing today?” It’s our own private joke. We’re both here all the time.

That wasn’t always the case. Nike and Jeff ’s regular cross-country ski habit started after their veterinarian told them their previous dog was overweight and needed more physical activity. The couple realized they too could 40

Finding renewed purpose on the cross-country ski trails of western Colorado’s Grand Mesa.

BY CHRI STI E AS CHWA ND EN

use some exercise, so they committed to cross-country skiing three days a week. The first time out, they could only go a few kilometers before running out of breath, but their fitness improved rapidly, and soon they were coming to the trails even more frequently. Turns out, the Grand Mesa isn’t just good for their health, Nike says: “Lots of life planning has happened as we ski our favorite trails.”

As a former competitive racer, I know firsthand how cross-country skiing can become a driving passion in one’s life. In fact, when I moved to the Western Slope in 2004 to escape the growing Front Range population, I settled on Cedaredge, in part, for its slower pace and proximity to the Grand Mesa’s ski trails.

The ski area here, which is run by a local nonprofit called Grand Mesa Nordic Council (GMNC), is a throwback to an earlier era. It doesn’t have a coffee bar, ski shop, lodge, or clubhouse (though it’s in the process of fundraising for a permanent warming hut). It doesn’t even have running water or electricity. What it does have are three groomed trail systems comprising more than 40 kilometers of mostly gentle, rolling terrain and views to four mountain ranges, plus backcountry trails. Volunteers set up tents and tables outside, from which Melissa hands out cookies and Karen serves hot chocolate made on a camp stove. Tom organizes I L LU S T R AT I O N B Y D A R YA S H N Y K I N A

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E SSAY

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races, and Diane times them. Danielle ladles soup, Don helps kids learn to ski, and Liane teaches good trail etiquette to skiers. By the end of my first season living here, I had become a volunteer, too.

Fast-forward to 2021, when the then 31-year-old organization had grown too big for the all-volunteer board of directors to manage on its own. The board started looking for its first executive director and asked me if I was interested in applying. The position sounded far less weighty than my gig as a journalist reporting on the pandemic, which had left me burned out and disillusioned. Still, I hesitated, worried that leaving full-time journalism would mean leaving my sense of purpose behind. Could I really abandon a career that had, for my entire adulthood, paid the bills, defined my work identity, and provided ample opportunities to do a little good?

BORN INTO A MILITARY FAMILY, I spent some of my formative years living outside Spangdahlem Air Base in West Germany, where my father was a pilot for the U.S. Air Force.

Back then, my dad’s job felt dangerous but vital. In 1989, he took me to witness the fall of the Berlin Wall so I could see for myself what he’d been fighting for. Joining the crowd tearing down that barrier helped instill in me a mission I longed to replicate in my own work: I wanted to make the world better, too.

Journalism offered me that chance. As a budding reporter in the mid-2000s, I traveled to Vietnam, where I reported on an underfunded effort to remediate dioxin, a chemical in Agent Orange that U.S. armed forces had dropped on forests during the Vietnam War. Some three decades later, dioxin was still harming people and the environment. After the New York Times published my story, donors stepped up to pay for the project.

Later, I published pieces about the faulty science behind a controversial American Cancer Society advertisement, which led to the discontinuation of the campaign, and about a certain statistical method causing imprecise results in sports science that started a conversation that prompted a top scientific journal to ban the practice. Even more gratifying: the letters people wrote, telling me how they had taken a story of mine with them to the doctor’s office to help them discuss an issue they’d been struggling with.

When a virus began spreading across the globe in early 2020, it seemed like another chance to make a difference. Suddenly, the entire world was turning to science journalists like me to understand what COVID-19 was and what its effects might be. Although terrified by the prospect of a global pandemic, I also felt as if I

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had spent my entire career training for the crisis.

I wrote about how superspreader events drove infections, the potential of contact tracing to stem the new coronavirus’ reach, and the limits of rapid tests. My work felt urgent and effective.

But as the pandemic wore on, public discourse became more polarized and politicized while certain government officials actively undermined trust in the media and scientific institutions. Settling into year two of writing exclusively about the virus, my resolve diminished as hate mail from anti-vaxxers and COVID-19 deniers piled up in my inbox and resistance to the emerging science became more widespread.

I tried to keep working, but my spirit finally broke when a beloved relative died of COVID19 after resisting my family’s pleas to get vaccinated. I felt helpless. It was one thing for randos on the internet to call me a delusional liar, but if my reporting couldn’t convince my own family that the virus should be taken seriously, what good was I really doing?

So I applied for the GMNC’s executive director post. Surely, I thought, running a ski area would be the opposite of writing about the pandemic—lighthearted and, maybe more important for my mental health, nonessential.

I could not have been more wrong.

MY NEW JOB requires lots of off-mountain work. I meet with the U.S. Forest Service to arrange permits and trail projects. I attend fundraising events. I write grant applications. I even do a little politicking to drum up support from local governments. But one of the most critical tasks during the season is being out on the trails to make sure all is in order and running smoothly. Yes, I now ski for a living.

Along with inspecting the trail conditions and talking with trail users, I make a habit of skiing to the Skyway overlook to admire the Book Cliffs and the Roan Plateau, and Utah’s snow-capped La Sal Mountains, far to the west. At the County Line overlook, I stop to take in the jagged San Juans and West Elks and the vast spread of forest and canyons on the Uncompahgre Plateau. The friendly conversations I happen into at these viewpoints give me a nearly daily dose of delight, but I’m also content to connect with other skiers by silently sharing the feeling of awe that comes from soaking in these expanses.

I know, firsthand, the healing power of nature. Fifteen years ago, my sister-in-law, Pia, died of cancer. The experience of witnessing her unraveling crushed me; her decline was like

watching a train wreck in slow motion. Skiing the Grand Mesa—the cold air on my face, my muscles firing, my heart pumping fast—helped me be present in my body so I could remind myself I hadn’t died, too.

But during the past few years, while working remotely for a political news outlet based in New York City, I’d lost that connection to the Grand Mesa. My body was here, on the Western Slope, but my head was elsewhere—caught up in virtual Slack conversations or trapped inside a Google Doc—for most of the day.

Now that my job is fully anchored in my local community and our public lands, I feel at home again—and more like myself.

I also feel responsible for ensuring that others have access to that same experience on the snow. In the past, I was the kind of skier who preferred solitude to socializing, but as a representative of GMNC, I have a duty to interact. The brief encounters on the trail have turned into one of my favorite parts of the job because, first and foremost, skiing is fun, so I tend to catch people when they’re reveling in the scenery and blissing out on endorphins.

When people write notes to me now, it’s usually to praise our grooming operations or thank us for making them feel welcome.

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EMAIL adresser@livsothebysrealty.com 44

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U LUCKY DOG

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E SSAY

Sometimes, however, these conversations reveal something deeper. During one of our Wednesday women’s clinics, where we teach beginners the basics and experienced skiers how to get stronger, someone told me that aches brought on by age make it difficult for her to run and hike anymore. Skiing provides a way for her to be active and feel comfortable in her body again. I’ve observed chance encounters provide social connections that counteract the loneliness that’s become an epidemic in America. One quiet morning under a gentle snowfall, I stopped to greet a middle-aged man who thanked me for my work. He then told me he’d recently lost his wife and skiing was helping him reconnect to the world without her. I understood exactly what he meant.

Interactions like this have helped me realize that I didn’t abandon purpose when I shifted my focus from science journalism to the ski community. The conversations allow me to see how this pastime enriches the lives of the people living in my community who’ve undertaken it. My work is absolutely essential because, at its core, the job is about making people happy and healthy—and that’s more important than I once gave it credit for.

This change of heart became clear to me one day this past winter, when I was skiing with a poet friend, Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer. We skied beneath a chattering of starlings, which, later that night, inspired her to write me a poem:

Together

we can do more for our community.

Join our network of donors working towards a thriving Greater Denver strengthened by its diversity and generosity.

Deep in the snowy woods, we startle at the sound of starlings as they braid above the branches.

How often do I miss the song of the moment?

But today, beside you I could not miss the sweet shushing of skis, the sacred huff of breath, the lyric of our laughter and the strong refrain of my heart as it wheeled like a starling, a wild and soaring thing drawn to fly with others, ready to sing for no reason except the joy of singing.

I’m now in the business of cultivating joy, and like the joy of singing, the joy of skiing requires no reason. It is purpose enough. m

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Christie Aschwanden is the author of the New York Times bestseller Good to Go: What the Athlete in All of Us Can Learn From the Strange Science of Recovery.

Email feed back to letters@5280.com.

NOVEMBER 17 – JANUARY 7 (Closed Nov. 23 and Dec. 25)

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BEST OF THE M O U N TA I N

WEST FROM A DESERT-DWELLING SAKE BREWER IN ARIZONA TO AN INDEPENDENCE-LOVING MICRONATION IN NEVADA TO A PURPOSE-DRIVEN PIZZA PLACE IN NEW MEXICO, HERE ARE THE PEOPLE, PLACES, AND THINGS THAT MAKE LIVING IN OUR REGION SO SWEET. EDITED BY NICHOLAS HUNT

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Arizona artist Chip Thomas, aka Jetsonorama, in front of his mural “I Am The Change” (original face paint by Raechel Running).

PHOTOGRAPH BY KYLE RM JOHNSON

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BEST OF THE M O U N TA I N W E S T

HECHO EN WESTWOOD Founded in 2020 as the RISE Westwood Collective, Hecho en Westwood’s original mission was simply to help the Denver neighborhood’s Latino- and BIPOC-owned businesses survive the pandemic. But what started as a support system, including an online shopping platform and centralized curbside pickup location for its members, has blossomed into a cultural force that bolsters Westwood’s economy and celebrates its community. Just this year, the neighborhood group launched the biannual Saigon-Azteca Night Market, in collaboration with other partners such as the Far East Center, and a free Danza Mexika after-school program for 18-and-unders. The Indigenous dance and spiritual tradition, which survived underground in Mexico after Spanish colonization, has seen a resurgence, says Hecho en Westwood Danza Mexika instructor Metzli Aragon. “We’re teaching the art of movement, the art of healing through movement,” she says, and that healing means reclaiming the culture that was forcibly taken from them. —NH

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Since their listing as WY an endangered species in 1975, grizzly bears have rebounded in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, a three-state region that includes Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks. A large part of that success can be attributed to No. 399. The 27-year-old sow bear became the region’s oldest known ursine mom when she was spotted emerging from hibernation this past May with her 18th documented cub in tow. The birth was a borderline miracle: Not only have Greater Yellowstone grizzlies seen sharp

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decreases in recent decades of the foods they depend on, such as cutthroat trout and whitebark pine seeds, but female Yellowstone grizzlies also only have about a nine percent chance of reaching No. 399’s age, much less reproducing at it. She faced plenty of adversity to get there, including losing cubs to car crashes and almost being culled after she chomped a hiker in self-defense in 2007. To help keep her safe, Grand Teton’s volunteer Wildlife Brigade scours the park for unsecured food and helps manage the paparazzi that No. 399’s celebrity can’t help but attract. —NH

REPUBLIC OF MOLOSSIA The Republic of Molossia celebrated its 25th birthday on May 26—an impressive feat considering the tongue-in-cheek micronation’s 38 citizens, three of which are dogs, have won multiple wars with no army. (It certainly helps when your enemies are imaginary.) Located about 45 minutes outside of Reno in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, Molossia does, however, have a navy of inflatable kayaks, a space program, currency backed by the value of cookie dough, and at least 29 national holidays. To mark His Excellency President Grand Admiral Colonel Doctor Kevin Baugh’s birthday, for example, there’s an annual pilgrimage to Olive Garden. Foreign tourists are welcome to visit the private, 11.3-acre property during monthly tours (April through October), but they should make a reservation due to the country’s petite proportions. Once there, His Excellency himself will give you a tour and even let you launch one of the space program’s model rockets.

Just be careful not to accidentally start another war with neighboring Mustachistan. —­Jessica Giles

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Previous spread: Katie Merz (staircase mural)

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SAMUEL D. HUNTER An Oscar darling this year, The Whale won two Academy Awards, including a best actor statue for Brendan Fraser for his portrayal of an obese writing instructor in his final days.

But the film also owes some of its success to its setting: Moscow, Idaho, which happens to be the hometown of the screenwriter, Samuel D. Hunter. In fact, the New York–based playwright sets most of his works in Idaho because its geographic seclusion makes it an unknown entity and therefore a blank slate for his audiences. In The Whale, which was based on Hunter’s play of the same name and draws on his experience attending a fundamentalist Christian school as a young gay man, that remoteness also reinforces the film’s themes of isolation and redemption. “I just feel so connected to Idaho,” says Hunter, whose great-greatgrandfather was Moscow’s first postmaster, “in this almost generational way.”

—Andrea Clark Mason

This spread, from left: Syler Peralta-Ramos; Amy Lombard; Grace Stufkosky

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ATSUO SAKURAI Despite 10 years of training and certification as a first-grade sake maker, Atsuo Sakurai wasn’t able to land a government license to start his own brewery in his native Japan. So in 2017, he struck out on his own in Holbrook, Arizona, population 4,858. He would have made the move anyway—the tiny Southwestern city is his wife’s hometown—but Sakurai wasn’t sure how Holbrook’s arid climate would affect sake’s production process. He needn’t have worried; the town’s dry air is perfect for small batch, premium junmai ginjo sakes, some of which he infuses with ingredients from the surrounding desert, including prickly pears and, at the suggestion of his Navajo father-in-law, herbaceous greenthread whose leaves are traditionally used for tea. His East meets Wild West creations are earning plenty of awards, including a best-of-class recognition for his new golden-hued Petrified Wood sake at the 2023 Los Angeles International Wine Competition. —Ethan Pan

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UNDER CANVAS LAKE POWELL– GRAND STAIRCASE With a private slot canyon, locally sourced dishes, West Elm–appointed safari tents, and a limitless red rock panorama, it’s no surprise this Utah glamping outpost from Denver-based Under Canvas has won a slew of awards since it opened in 2021. This past August, however, the Lake Powell location earned its most impressive accolade yet as the world’s first DarkSky-certified resort. In fact, Under Canvas didn’t just receive the designation; it helped develop the certification in partnership with DarkSky International, a nonprofit that’s been protecting the heavens from light pollution since 1988. The process took two years to complete and included ensuring the resort’s starry nights would continue to do van Gogh proud by installing low-intensity light fixtures, developing educational materials for its guests, and protecting local nocturnal species. —NH

ZOOEY ZEPHYR When Zooey Zephyr, the state representative for Missoula and Montana’s first transgender lawmaker, criticized a bill banning gender-affirming care for minors in April, Republican leaders forbade her from speaking, silencing her and her nearly 11,000

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constituents. Then, her legislative colleagues voted to exile her from the House floor for the remainder of the session after Zephyr held her mic up to protesters in the house gallery chanting “Let her speak.” “I wanted to stand with them and raise my mic and say, ‘I hear you,’ ” Zephyr says. Instead of muzzling her, the expulsion

led to more invitations from across the country to speak about LGBTQ rights, women’s leadership, and democracy, and the support she’s received back home has underlined her pride in her home state. “Montana, that’s where we stand up,” she says. “That’s where we fight back.”

—Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan

COLORADO MOUNTAIN BIKE ASSOCIATION It’s hard to believe, but as late as 2018, there were zero purpose-built, mountain bike-only trails in the pedal-happy Front Range. Today there are five, with at least three more scheduled to open in Idaho Springs next summer. This isn’t just a boon for local fat tire fanatics, who have long clamored for the professionally designed two-wheel turnpikes growing in popularity throughout the West, says Gary Moore, executive director of the Colorado Mountain Bike Association (COMBA), the driving force behind the building spree. Separating user groups can create a better experience for everyone. Take Rutabaga Ride, COMBA’s latest project. Before the intermediate, 3.5-mile singletrack opened in Jefferson County’s Lair o’ the Bear Park in May, everyone was forced to share the park’s steep, narrow, and rocky Bear Creek Trail. “Now,” Moore says, “hikers and runners are like, ‘We really appreciate you taking those hooligan mountain bikers and putting them on another trail so that we don’t have to fear for our lives!’ ” —NH

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This spread, from left: Rebecca Stumpf; Todd Abbotts/Abbotts Photography; Courtesy of Travis Burke

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VLADEM CONTEMPORARY

A few years before the New Mexico Museum of Art celebrated its 100th birthday in 2017, staffers realized the state-run institution had strayed from exhibiting living artists. Its new Vladem Contemporary gallery, a museum annex located in a converted warehouse that previously housed the state records and archive center, rectifies that.

The space devotes nearly 10,000 square feet strictly to contemporary art, including a chandelier of gnarled crystal by Lee Bul and a chrome, polka-dot pumpkin by Yayoi Kusama. The extra room, however, isn’t just about displaying more art; it’s about being able to amplify creators from diverse cultural backgrounds who were largely excluded from older styles, such as the modern art movement extending from the late 1800s to the mid-1900s.

Along with September’s grand opening, the museum also debuted its inaugural show, Shadow and Light ($12; through April), a celebration of the natural illumination that has lured artists such as Angela Ellsworth to the Land of Enchantment for decades.

—Barbara O’Neil

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THE RECORD EXCHANGE When Record Exchange marketing director Chad Dryden and three of his co-workers took ownership of the 46-year-old downtown Boise music shop in 2021, their mission was to help the store thrive. So they partnered with its neighbor Neurolux (the Idaho capital’s legendary indie rock venue) and a private investor with strong ties to the local music scene this past spring to buy the building the store had been leasing. With its home secure for the foreseeable future, the Exchange leaned into the latest music trend: vinyl.

To help do that, the store purchased 4,000 LPs from the family of a former customer who had lost a battle with cancer and placed memorial cards inside each album to share his story. It’s a perfect example of how Dryden and his co-owners see themselves less as the Exchange’s proprietors and more as its stewards. “If all goes as planned,” Dryden says, “when it comes time for us to retire, we will hand the store over to a group of employees much like the founders did with us.” —Visvajit Sriramrajan

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The National Park Service has recently begun intentionally highlighting a terrible truth: For its parks to exist, Indigenous peoples were forcibly removed from their homelands. At Yellowstone, part of that recognition takes the form of Old Faithful Village’s new Tribal Heritage Center. Launched last year by the park and its nonprofit partner, Yellowstone Forever, the center spotlights 27 tribes historically associated with the land. “It’s not a museum,” says tribal engagement manager Alyssa

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McGeeley, a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. “It’s very much a living space. The people are here and able to tell their own stories.” That includes hosting a different tribal artist each week from May to October with specialties ranging from beadwork to photography to storytelling. During its second year, the center’s popularity has boomed, and it now attracts thousands of visitors each day. Says McGeeley: “I hear people saying, ‘I came here for this.’ ” ­—EKH

Inspired by bloomers, Angela Ellsworth’s sculpture, Pantaloncini Work No. (indeterminate stillness) (Emma), is made of thousands of tiny pins.

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GEARTRADE Don’t call it used. It’s “unnew.” At least that’s how Salt Lake City–based Geartrade describes recycled gear. The digital consignment service underwent an overhaul in 2021 to make selling your old equipment and technical apparel painless. In practice, that means Geartrade sends you a free shipping label for the stuff you want to get rid of and, once the items arrive at its warehouse, set prices (which you have 48 hours to change to your liking), takes glamour shots, whips up product descriptions, markets the items on its website, and takes a small cut when they sell. That eco-friendly business plan earned Geartrade an Outdoor Retailer Innovation Award in front of a hometown crowd at January’s Outdoor Retailer Snow Show in SLC because the more used equipment we buy, the less that ends up in a landfill. But the company isn’t resting on its well-deserved laurels: It launched its own AI tool last winter to help identify and list the key features of each item, reducing processing time by more than 60 percent. —NH

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CHIP THOMAS In August, Chip Thomas retired after 36 years as a physician at the Navajo Nation’s Inscription House Health Center in Arizona, giving him more time to devote to his alter ego: the artist Jetsonorama. Travel U.S. 89 north from Flagstaff, and you can’t miss the larger-thanlife, black-and-white portraits of Navajo people he’s been placing on abandoned buildings, billboards, and water towers since 2009. Closer to home, you can find “Buffalo Soldiers: reVision,” a permanent collaborative exhibition with seven other artists that debuted at Colorado’s Fort Garland Museum and Cultural Center in June. In the show, Thomas’ works examine the 9th Cavalry—an all-Black Army regiment that was stationed at Fort Garland from 1875 to 1879—and the role it played in the displacement of Indigenous peoples. “As a Black man who has spent the last 36 years living and working on the Navajo Nation,” says Thomas, who now resides in Flagstaff, “I wanted to try to answer the question of why a Black person would come West and take part in massacring people whose situations weren’t dissimilar to his own.” —Stephanie Pearson

This spread, from left: Courtesy of the Record Exchange; Courtesy of Angela Ellsworth and Lisa Sette Gallery; Kyle RM Johnson

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FIELD STATION MOAB If packing for your adventures often renders your Subaru’s rearview mirror useless, book a stay at Field Station Moab. The lodge, which opened in its namesake town in April, earns its adventure-ready reputation thanks to an on-site rental fleet of trekking poles, kid carriers, mountain bikes, sleeping bags, tents, and climbing equipment. The rooms lean into the outdoor vibe, too, with a campy (in the literal sense) aesthetic that includes portable electric coolers instead of mini-fridges and select rooms with climbing portaledges rather than love seats. To help you put its gear to good use, the hotel also hosts Mappy Mornings where staff and fellow guests will point you toward the best hikes, rides, and rock climbing routes. Whatever your chosen adventure, a roaring campfire will welcome you back each evening. So go ahead and linger over that hot chocolate—you might be heading home soon, but all you have to pack for the return trip is a duffel bag. —Courtney Holden

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When this Albuquerque pizza joint opened in 2019, it likely became the first forprofit restaurant in the state to actively recruit employees with disabilities—a strategy the company continued when it expanded to Santa Fe this past December. At both locations, staffers learn how to churn out

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Restoration’s fluffy-crusted pies using picture-centric recipes, color-coded measuring cups, and other visual tools with help from recruiting and experiences manager Audrey McCoy and, occasionally, mentors from organizations such as Best Buddies International, a Miami-based nonprofit that

supports individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the workforce. “Hopefully, our model encourages others in Albuquerque and Santa Fe to adopt more diverse hiring practices,” says coowner and chief operating officer Jess Griego. After all, everyone deserves their piece of the pie.

—Patricia Kaowthumrong

TAILYR IRVINE

The Las Vegas Strip boasts no shortage of distinctive landmarks, so it’s quite an achievement for a new attraction to immediately steal the show. Yet that’s exactly what Sphere did in July when its 580,000 square feet of programmable LED lights—capable of transforming the entire exterior of the 17,385-seat performing and visual arts venue into a blinking eyeball, rippling drop of water, or photorealistic clone of the moon—debuted in Sin City.

The interior of the $2.3 billion building is no less impressive: another 160,000-square-foot LED screen wraps around the audience, seats vibrate with the action, and a state-of-the-art audio system can even direct specific sounds to different sections of the audience so patrons have unique experiences, including hearing shows in different languages. —Brock Muñoz

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This spread, from left: Courtesy of Sphere Entertainment; Matt Kisiday/Courtesy of Field Station Moab; Rebecca Stumpf

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In journalism, the loudest work often attracts immediate attention. Loud stories can also flatten intricacies, and they do not always age well. Tailyr Irvine’s photography is not loud. Instead, the 30-year-old, Montanabased Salish and Kootenai photojournalist embraces the subtleties of life within diverse communities, many of them Indigenous. Whether she’s documenting the powwow circuit, a ceremony for a newly federally recognized tribe, or the traumatic legacy of residential schools, she embraces moments of candid surprise with a deep respect for her subjects. This is both an art and a public service, and for it, Irvine, who contributes to the New York Times and National Geographic, was recognized with a Vital Impacts Environmental Photography Grant last May. The $20,000 award is helping Irvine chronicle the return of Montana’s 18,766-acre Bison Range, a wildlife refuge that the federal government carved out of the Flathead Indian Reservation, to the stewardship of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. That transfer—and the connection between people and land it enables—is crucial and complex, so Irvine’s work will surely speak volumes. —Abe Streep

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MEA Hospitality executive Chip Conley didn’t think of himself as middle-aged—until he was asked to mentor the young team behind Airbnb in his 50s. The experience inspired the now 63-year-old to found MEA (formerly Modern Elder Academy) to help individuals ranging in age from 30 to 70 embrace their middle years. In 2018, MEA opened its first resort in El Pescadero, Mexico—where guests can attend workshops on navigating life transitions between walks along the Pacific Ocean and yoga classes—and the company is now expanding. This past summer, it launched a wisdom booth in downtown Santa Fe, New Mexico, where locally nominated elders offer free advice to the community, and in 2024, it will debut a second resort on a 2,600-acre ranch 25 minutes outside the city. In addition to MEA’s core curriculum, the retreat will host thought leaders such as British essayist and novelist Pico Iyer, who often writes about how travel can change lives. —Jen Murphy

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KRISTIE WOLFE Kristie Wolfe started constructing her first short-term rental in 2013 on a half-acre plot on Hawaii’s Big Island.

When that jungle treehouse became one of Airbnb’s most-wish-listed properties, the hammer-slinging Idaho native recognized that duplicating the design elsewhere would be good for business—but also boring. So, guided by a belief that “the fun part is doing something completely different,” she has since added a hobbit hole in Washington state and a six-ton, mixed-media potatoturned-micro-hotel (sleeps two) in Idaho to her portfolio.

This summer, Wolfe returned to the skies with MoonPass Lookouts, a quintet of hand-built, glass-roofed fire watchtowers set to open in Wallace, Idaho, next summer.

“I just do the thing I am most interested in doing,” she says, “and then hope that people show up.” With her Indiegogo fundraising campaign, which offered discounted stays in return for help on construction costs, crushing its $20,000 goal by more than 2,000 percent in August, it’s safe to say visitors will do exactly that. —CH 60

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YELLOWSTONE FILM RANCH

Just north of Yellowstone National Park sits what appears to be an 1880s-era ghost town—but it’s actually possessed by Hollywood. The collection of 30 buildings, including a saloon, church, and brothel, is a giant movie set and a growing economic engine for its corner of rural Montana. “When we do a movie, we first seek [vendors] from Park County, then we go into [greater] Montana,” says Carter Boehm, a producer who founded Yellowstone Film Ranch in 2020 with director Richard Gray and businessman Cullen Davis, two fellow Livingston, Montana, locals. So far, eight feature-length films, including this year’s Nicolas Cage vehicle The Old Way, have been shot at the ranch, and that kind of steady work has helped convince a handful of professionals to relocate from both coasts. But everyone benefits, from area restaurants and hotels to the Livingston thrift shops where costume designers often spend their budgets. —EKH

VAUHINI VARA After tech journalist Vauhini Vara became disillusioned by the industry she covered and left to go to grad school, her father joked that she should write a book about their family’s coconut grove. Little did he know that the jest would inspire Vara to pen her debut novel, The Immortal King Rao. Published in 2022, the sci-fi family saga follows a young Dalit boy (a member of India’s lowest caste) raised on a coconut farm who grows up to become the most influential CEO in a world run by corporations. “I ended up finding in fiction a way to critique things about the tech scene that I [couldn’t in journalism],” says the Fort Collins–based author. The acclaim was immediate: In 2023, Rao was a Pulitzer Prize finalist and won the Colorado Book Award for general fiction.

As her own star rises—including the publication of her highly anticipated short story collection This Is Salvaged in September—Vara is elevating other writers of color as a mentor with Denver’s Lighthouse Writers Workshop’s Book Project and Periplus, a national writers’ community. —Daliah Singer

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This spread, from left: Courtesy of Crystal Peak Lookout; Courtesy of Scott Johnson/Yellowstone Productions; Rachel Woolf

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NATIVE SEEDS/SEARCH A lot has changed for Native Seeds/SEARCH since it was founded 40 years ago. During its first two decades, the Tucson-based nonprofit focused on documenting and gathering seeds from heirloom crops across the Southwest before they disappeared, eventually stockpiling some 1,800-plus varieties.

Since then, its mission has shifted to managing the seed bank it’s created, says executive director Alexandra Zamecnik. That means

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cyclically planting and harvesting its entire catalog to maintain its stores and distributing those seeds to Indigenous families and to schools and community gardens with regional or cultural ties to the Southwest. But Native Seeds makes some varieties available to gardeners and farmers everywhere, so its website is one of the few places you can procure certain native heirloom seeds, such as Colorado’s creamy Garcia Bolita beans. —EP m N DO EC VEMBER 2023 / 5280

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Friendly Advice Whether it’s your BFF or a fellow passenger on your RTD bus whose conversation makes the commute go by a little faster, friends make life better. (That’s not just Hallmark talking; Harvard agrees.) Despite the benefits, however, Coloradans are among the loneliest people in the country. It’s time we changed that.

BY SPENCER CAMPBELL | ILLUSTRATIONS BY SAM PEET

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The Platonic Ideal We all want great friends. We just don’t know how to find them.

During his toast at my wedding, my brother made a stink about not being my best man. To prove his superiority, he then gave the guy who’d landed the gig a pop quiz. What was my favorite movie? (Notting Hill.)

Who was my high school girlfriend?

(Trick question—she didn’t exist.)

How did I lose the peripheral vision in my left eye? (BB gun.) Finally, my brother delivered the punchline: How many friends did I have? That answer was easy. One. The best man.

I’ve always thought it was a sweet speech. Underneath all the humiliation was a subliminal declaration of love—for me, but also for my best friend and the important role he played in my life. And I wasn’t embarrassed at all. Sure, I had only one close friend, but my family was tight, I was vibing with then new coworkers in Denver, and I now had a wife who was legally obligated to hang out with me. I was thick with fulfilling relationships.

Eight years later, the bit wouldn’t be so funny. My best man and I live in different states, the work-fromhome revolution means I rarely see colleagues in person, and, while my wife is wonderful, I can feel her buckling under the weight of my undivided attention. (We have this running joke when I leave the house: She asks where I’m going. I say, “Out with the boys.” We both laugh because there are no boys.)

Is my situation sad? Sure. Is it rare? Not at all. According to a 2022 data analysis from Chamber of Commerce, a national real estate and small business research company, Denver ranks 27th out of 170 on the list of the loneliest cities in America, based on its percentage of one-person households. Maybe those loners have extensive friend networks that satisfy their social needs, but the research suggests otherwise: In 1990, 33 percent of U.S. adults surveyed 64

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GREAT MOMENTS in

Colorado Friend History

In 1980, two small planes collided over East Maroon Pass between Crested Butte and Aspen, killing all 10 passengers.

In tribute, friends of the deceased spent years planning and building a cabin near the site of the crash; in 1984, the Friends’ Hut, tucked at 11,370 feet of elevation beneath the south face of Star Peak, became one of the 10th Mountain Division Hut Association’s most remote—and beautiful—lodgings.

by Gallup said they had 10 or more close friends. Only three percent had none. By 2021, only 13 percent had 10 or more, and 12 percent couldn’t name a single close friend.

Those numbers aren’t only heartbreaking, they’re also unhealthy. Earlier this year, Robert Waldinger and Marc Schulz published The Good Life, a book culled from their work as directors of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, the world’s longest-running research project on happiness. Started in 1938, the venture has followed more than 2,000 participants over eight decades, and Waldinger and Schulz distilled the findings down to a single deduction, which they shared with the Atlantic this past January: “Good relationships lead to health and happiness.”

Good relationships encompass all sorts of dynamics. Family, of course, which you are born with, as well as romantic partners, who are only a dating app away. Friends, though, become difficult to find once we become adults, when unplanned interactions, shared vulnerability, and time (the most important ingredients for making buddies) grow scarcer.

This seems especially true in Denver, where 38.9 percent of households contain one person (compared to the national average of 29 percent), and in Colorado as a whole, where more than half of residents are transplants.

“You asked if it’s exciting or anxious or whatever [to make new friends],” says Rachel Greenwald, a Denver celebrity matchmaker and the New York Times best-selling author of Find a Husband After 35 (Using What I Learned At Harvard Business School), who also researches and teaches topics surrounding nonromantic workplace relationships through the Harvard Business School. “I would say it’s just hard because, for one thing, most people in older age groups have established friendships and lives and families.

Opportunities where both people have space to bring someone new into their lives are very rare.”

But it does happen. I’ve seen friends laughing together at the edge of my neighborhood playground, meeting up at a trailhead before a group run, erupting in a collective cheer when Nikola Jokić bounces a pass between his legs to (pal) Aaron Gordon. What’s their secret? To find out, we burst into their bubbles to discover how locals connect and maintain platonic relationships. What we uncovered is that making friends is scary, nerve-wracking, and awkward (basically, dating without the potential for sex). But when a match gets made, when two souls finally unite, the payoff is even better—and lasts much, much longer than with most of the clowns you meet on Hinge.

RUBR IC

Desperate Measures

After attending college in Knoxville, Tennessee, where I grew up, I was eager to explore the world following graduation. Some might say overeager: I moved to six places over the subsequent 12 years. Forced to start anew half a dozen times, I’ve developed a few infallible techniques for meeting friends should you—like more than half of Coloradans—find yourself living in a strange place, desperate to meet new people. Here’s what I learned in each city. —NICHOLAS HUNT FOMO IS FOR REAL

COMPANY LOVES MISERY

There wasn’t much going on in Bethlehem, a sleepy, blue-collar town, so I bonded with a colleague I thought I’d enjoy getting to know by smoking cigarettes on my back stoop with her.

We’d stare forlornly at the steel mill on the horizon while wishing we lived in hipster Brooklyn two hours away.

After setting a date for drinks with a college acquaintance and a friend of hers in Washington, D.C., the former bailed. Her friend and I hung out anyway and decided to infect our mutual acquaintance with a raging case of FOMO by rolling from the bar to a house party, sending her photos along the way. My college pal never ditched me again (though, oddly, I didn’t hang out with the friend much after that).

ALWAYS BEFRIEND THE BARTENDERS

They probably won’t be able to socialize much—their work schedules conflict with happy hour, late night, and the inbetween—but they talk to a lot of people, so they’re above-average matchmakers. In Little Rock, for example, the bartender at my local craft brewery set me up on a play date to ride bikes with another regular.

SEATTLE

BETHLEHEM, PENNSYLVANIA

DENVER

WASHINGTON, D.C.

SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS

YOU CAN BE ANYONE YOU WANT TO BE

Returning from a solo mountain bike ride in Santa Fe, I found a fellow Little Rock transplant waiting by my car because he had spied my Arkansas license plate. Despite the fact that I graduated from the University of Tennessee, I pretended to be an Arkansas football fan for a few weeks to cement our burgeoning friendship.

ALL IS FAIR IN LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP

The ex-girlfriend of one of my colleagues in Santa Fe had also recently moved to Seattle, so I DMed her on Instagram. I casually asked what ski pass she and her new partner were getting, bought the same one, and messaged them anytime the forecast called for snow. We skied all winter, and our bond got so hot (platonically speaking) that we spent the summer backpacking and tubing on the lake together.

HAVE YOUR CV READY

A member of my D.C. crew moved to the Mile High City around the same time I did, and during a happy hour that felt more like a job interview, she grilled me about my biking and skiing skills. Fortunately, I impressed: She offered me the position of being her husband’s new adventure buddy.

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Pals In A Pod

Both Olympic distance runners, Kara Goucher and Des Linden traveled in the same circles for years but were only acquaintances until this past January, when they launched Nobody Asked Us with Des & Kara, a semimonthly podcast on running.

“I’m in my 40s, and she was 39,” says Goucher, who lives in Boulder.

“Meeting a new friend at that age is awkward. It’s kind of like dating: I think I like you.” How did they overcome that discomfort to build a relationship that goes much deeper than 23 episodes (and counting)? By relying on ingredients experts agree are essential when forging a friendship.

1.

Unplanned Interactions

In 2020, Goucher, who had retired as a professional runner, attended the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, where Goucher finished fourth. After the race, Goucher and Linden, who lives in Michigan, bumped into each other in the lobby of the hotel where they were both staying.

The pair decided to turn the chance encounter into an afterparty, heading to a bar for some late-night cocktails. “That was the first time we had ever had a real conversation that wasn’t at a starting line or a finish line or a press conference,” Goucher says.

2.

Shared Vulnerability

Goucher once trained with the Oregon Project, a running team funded by Nike and coached by the famed Alberto Salazar. To outsiders, it seemed like an ideal environment. But in Goucher’s 2023 book, The Longest Race: Inside the Secret World of Abuse, 66

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Doping, and Deception on Nike’s Elite Running Team, she claims Salazar pressured her to take medication to lose weight, oversaw doping activities on the team, and sexually assaulted her during massages. (Salazar denies the allegations.) In 2013, Goucher began speaking to the United States Anti-Doping Agency, which banned Salazar in 2019, but her cooperation came at a cost. “There were people in the sport who were not nice to me, who didn’t want to be around me,” Goucher says. “And Des never did that.” At the 2020 Olympic trials, Linden asked about Goucher’s experiences.

“I was like, ‘Everything’s on the table,’ ” Goucher says. “I just trusted her. I felt a lot of respect from her. I knew she believed me, and I don’t always feel that way.”

3.

Time Together

GREAT MOMENTS in

Colorado Friend History

During the 2022 offseason, Aaron Gordon surprised Denver Nuggets teammate Nikola Jokić by attending one of the MVP’s Serbian national team games in Prague. “I just wanted to let him know that he got a brother,” Gordon told ESPN, “no matter where he is in the world.”

Goucher thought that asking Linden to be friends outright would have been embarrassing.

So floating the idea of a podcast about running (from the business of the sport to tips for recreationists) was, in part, her way of gauging whether Linden was interested in continuing to hang out. “That was kind of the awkward, want-to-be-friendswith-me? part,” Goucher says.

Since launching Nobody Asked Us in January 2023, Goucher and Linden have logged more than 20 studio hours together, from the first episode’s nervy first-date questions (“How did you find running?”) to number 18’s familiar catch-up on family dynamics (“How is your brandnew bearded dragon?”). “It’s two people who think they want to be friends,” Goucher says, “really dive in, and find out if they do.”

Till Death Do Them Part My parents got divorced 15 years ago. So why do they still hang out all the time? —BARBARA O’NEIL

With yellowing floral wallpaper in the kitchen and faux wood paneling in the living room, the Lakewood ranch house I grew up in looked like the set of a 1970s sitcom. The life inside felt like one, too. My dad was the funny, easygoing parent who would help me with math homework and let me, then only 10 years old, watch PG-13 movies. My mom, on the other hand, was strict—a Chilean immigrant with a thick accent and a stern look. They were Sam and Diane, Lucy and Ricky, Uncle Jesse and Aunt Becky: opposites who, together, formed a perfect whole.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, my mom sat me down on our gigantic La-Z-Boy recliner one evening and told me that, after a decade of marriage, my dad was moving out. Naturally, I was worried.

Would I spend my formative years in a McDonald’s parking lot hopping from my mom’s car to my dad’s? What about Christmas, which would arrive soon? Would I unwrap presents from my mom in front of that fake paneling before heading to my dad’s barren one-bedroom for Chinese takeout?

My questions were answered soon after, when my dad began dropping by the house for dinner and Monopoly so I could catch him up on the latest fifth-grade drama. The three of us spent Christmas together. My mom even helped him pick out furniture for his new place. And the togetherness continued in the years following their breakup: Every Sunday morning during high school, my mom, my dad, and I would grab brunch at the Village Inn down the road.

After I moved out, I figured that would be it. My parents had done an admirable job keeping their relationship cordial for my benefit, but surely the seams would begin to tear without their daughter’s presence to hold them together. But six years later, their friendship has never wavered. When I visit my mom now, she’ll often ignore me in favor of laughing at a (not-that-funny) Facebook meme my dad sent her. Occasionally, I’ll get a selfie of them together at the movies. They still frequent our Village Inn—usually without me.

A few weeks ago, I asked them why they stayed friends after the divorce. “I think we’re soulmates,” my dad said, “even if we’re not romantic ones.” My mom’s response was less effusive: “He’s a nice guy.” My friends are certain they carry on a secret romance, but I don’t think so. Both are still single, and the 15-year friendship they’ve maintained has taught me that relationships evolve. Casts change, new plotlines emerge, sets get remade. If you have chemistry, though, the show goes on.

Like At First Sight

It might be unfair, but first impressions often decide the fate of a friendship, says Denver celebrity matchmaker Rachel Greenwald.

Here are some tips that just might land you a second play date.

Break the mirror

Oh, you’ve been to New York?

Well, I’ve been to New York, too! Let me tell you all about it! That’s a conversational habit called mirroring, and it’s off-putting because it wrestles the microphone out of your prospective bestie’s hands. Instead, focus on support responses such as, “Oh? Tell me more.”

Button up

Body language is the most important cue for conveying interest. “Stand belly button to belly button with someone so that they know they have your full attention,” Greenwald says. And keep your phone in your pocket.

Compliments aren’t just for copulating

People like people who like them, so even though you just want to keep things chummy, don’t be afraid to give compliments. “ ‘I noticed you were really nice to the barista,’ ” Greenwald says as an example. “ ‘That’s really cool.’ Or, ‘Wow, those are really cool earrings.

Where did you get them?’

Those are verbal cues that you like the person.”

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With Friends Like This

We all have that friend. The one who ditches you for the cooler kids, says things that make you shudder, and pretends to be an out-of-control teen so they can appear on Maury. OK, that last example is unique to South Park’s Eric Cartman. Still, despite all of Cartman’s deviousness, Colorado’s favorite sons—Kyle Broflovski, Stan Marsh, and Kenny McCormick—continue to include the villainous fourth grader in their social circle. Why? To find out, 5280 (with the help of ChatGPT) asked Kyle, Stan, and Kenny for insight into the dynamics of their infamous foursome.

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(Sighs) You know, it’s kind of a mystery even to us sometimes. Cartman can be infuriating, offensive, and just plain mean. But deep down, there’s a history there. We’ve known each other forever, and I guess we’ve just been through so much together that it’s hard to completely let go.

Stan Marsh

Kyle Broflovski

Mph.

Stan: And you know what? No matter how crazy things get, we know we can count on each other. Cartman’s like that annoying family member you can’t quite cut ties with.

Mph.

Stan: Like that time he saved us from that evil robot at the amusement park.

Kyle: And the time he helped us expose that conspiracy with the cows.

(muffled)

Mph.

Kyle: Of course, there’s also the fact that we’ve tried to ditch him before, but somehow, he always manages to weasel his way back in.

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(muffled)

Kenny

(muffled)

Kyle: Kenny’s right. Despite his flaws, Cartman has his moments. And there have been times when he’s actually helped us out in his own messed-up way.

Kenny

Kyle: But in the end, I think it’s just part of the dynamic. We’ve all got our roles, and as much as Cartman drives us crazy, he’s still our friend in some twisted, messed-up way.

Yeah, it’s like no matter how messed up things get, Cartman is still part of our group. He’s been with us since the beginning, and even though he’s a total jerk most of the time, there are moments when he’s not so bad.

Kenny McCormick

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Stan: Yeah, like that time we tried to replace him with Token.

Why are you friends with Cartman after all the shit he pulls?

“If you want to find some quality friends, you gotta wade through all the dicks first.”

Kyle: Exactly. We might not always understand it, but it’s our own weird version of friendship.

(muffled)

Mph.

Kenny

—Eric Cartman

Stan: Yeah, Kenny, you’ve got a point.

It’s like he’s a necessary evil in our lives.

Kyle: And who knows? Maybe someday he’ll actually change. But until then, we’re stuck with him, for better or worse.

Kenny

(muffled)

Mph.

Rules For A Campfire* *Campfire is a metaphor for friendship.

Like many men of a certain age, Brian Carroll and Tyson Williams have a difficult time talking sincerely about their relationship. “I don’t really like him at all,” Carroll says. “I don’t know why we’re having this conversation.” Williams claims to daydream about murdering Carroll. “There are times when he’s building a raging campfire and I’m just like, ‘Ahhhhhh,’ ” Williams says, miming pushing his friend into the blaze. “But I don’t because—prison.”

The truth is that Carroll and Williams became adventure buddies soon after meeting in Boulder in 2010, forging an intimate partnership based on exploring—and surviving—some of the most remote and rugged wilderness areas in the West. During those outings, the pair dreamed up three rules for a campfire, which, they say, is a metaphorical guide to maintaining their friendship. (Note: Not pushing your friend into the blaze is an unwritten rule.)

1.

2.

This is important in a literal sense because of wildfires. It’s important in a figurative sense because adventuring too hard can lead to hanging off the side of an unstable scree field in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness Area in Idaho. “That’s the closest I’ve ever come to dying with Brian,” Williams says. “We put way too much in on that one.” Both military veterans, Carroll and Williams now think of themselves as each other’s battle buddy—the fellow soldier you pair up with to help keep you safe. “It’s their job to get you back,” Carroll says.

Just like a fire, you must tend to a friendship to keep it from extinguishing. “What we started doing years ago,” Carroll says, “is planning a trip every month. Maybe it didn’t happen every month, but there was always something on the calendar.” Although Williams moved to Durango in 2020, the pair continue to plot quarterly excursions over happy hour Zoom calls. The upkeep of their relationship, however, sometimes requires off-trail maintenance.

When Carroll turned up at Williams’ Durango home for a visit, for example, he found his friend doubled over with a severe stomach bug. “Brian’s like, ‘Don’t

Don’t Put Too Much Fuel Into The Fire

Stoke The Spark

GREAT MOMENTS in

Colorado Friend History

In 2018, friends Jessie Danielson, Faith Winter, Brittany Pettersen, Tammy Story, and Kerry Donovan all won election to the Colorado Senate. Dubbed the “Fab Five,” the Democrats formed a text chain during the race, which was particularly helpful when attack ads targeted one of the candidates.

“Our families are incredibly supportive,” Winter told People, “but it’s not their name on the thousands of pieces of mail going out or on the TV, so being able to talk to [the other candidates] going through the exact same thing…was so supportive.”

worry, I got you,’ ” Williams says. “Brian proceeded to cook for the next three or four days while I was trying not to vomit on my own child.”

3.

Don’t Give Up In The Rain

If you’re camping without a tent in New Mexico’s Pecos Wilderness—and it’s 40 degrees and raining like God’s on a cleaning jag—“don’t let that fire die out,” Williams says, “because your life literally depends on it.”

The same could be said of their friendship’s importance to their mental health. In 2022, Williams put his backcountry forays on pause following the birth of his first child, but withdrawing from nature took a toll on his well-being. At the urging of his wife, Williams called Carroll for a bike-packing trip to Wheeler Geologic Area (and its 28 million-year-old volcanic fields) near Creede. The trip was an emotional reset for Williams— and proof that although he felt removed and alone, Carroll was still there to support him. “By the end,” Williams says, “I was ready to get back home and see my family.”

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Friends With Benefits

Platonic relationships don’t just reward those involved; society reaps some sweet returns, too.

Here, three examples of friendships that benefited Coloradans—and plenty of other people.

THE MEET-CUTE

THE RELATIONSHIP

THE BENEFITS

Henry O. Wagoner met Barney Ford in the 1840s in Chicago after the latter arrived in town on the Underground Railroad—and promptly married Wagoner’s sister.

After relocating to Denver, Wagoner and Ford became two of the most successful entrepreneurs in territorial Colorado. Both focused mainly on hospitality (with Ford operating the elegant Inter-Ocean Hotel in Denver) and eventually counted themselves among the wealthiest Black residents of the state.

The friends were passionate about politics, notably lobbying Congress against statehood in 1862 if Black men were not granted the right to vote and for the successful 1867 legislation that prevented restrictions on male suffrage in U.S. territories.

Advocates for equal education, Ford and Wagoner also opened a school for Black children in Denver in the 1870s.

In the late 1990s, Denverite Sheryl McCallum performed a few readings of composer David Nehls’ then-indevelopment The Great American Trailer Park Musical in New York City. More than a decade later, during a visit to the Mile High City, McCallum attended an audition at the Denver Performing Arts Complex, where she was surprised to see Nehls, who had relocated to the state and was working as a musical director, behind the piano.

When McCallum moved back to Denver in 2014, Nehls, then the musical director at the Arvada Center, cast her in a production of I’ll Be Home for Christmas.

“I thank David for getting me into the larger Denver theater scene,” McCallum says. “Denver was a tough nut to crack.

But with David already being here and us having some history back in New York, whenever he did something, he would let me know. I got in the room because of Mr. Nehls.”

McCallum and Nehls co-wrote Miss Rhythm—The Legend of Ruth Brown, a DCPA production in which McCallum tells the story and performs the songs of the R&B singer “who built Atlantic Records,” according to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The show ran for six months this year, from May through October, at Garner Galleria Theatre.

During the 1940s, Denver native Edward White Jr. attended Columbia University in New York City, where he became close friends with Beat Generation pioneer Jack Kerouac.

In 1947, Kerouac traveled by bus and then hitchhiked to visit White in Denver, a trip that became the basis for the author’s seminal On the Road; White is portrayed by the character Tim Gray in the book. White, who died in 2017 at the age of 92, became a lauded architect who designed some of Denver’s most iconic buildings, including the Denver Botanic Gardens’ Boettcher Memorial Tropical Conservancy.

Despite his architectural achievements, White’s greatest contribution to art might be inspiring Kerouac’s signature style. “By the way,” Kerouac wrote to White before the writer’s death in 1969, “you started a whole new movement of American literature (spontaneous prose & poetry) when in that Chinese restaurant on 125th street one night you told me to start SKETCHING in the streets....”

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GREAT MOMENTS in

Colorado Friend History

In 2017, an Arapahoe Basin skier got stuck on a lift when his backpack became entangled with the chair, leaving him unconscious and dangling from the neck.

Mickey Wilson, an accomplished slackliner, climbed the lift tower and shimmied roughly 30 feet along a cable to cut his buddy free. “I told people not to use the ‘H’ word,” Wilson told the Denver Post. “I’m not a hero, I’m just a slackliner.”

10 Ways To Leave Your Friend

You can send a text, Rex. Drop it in the mail, Gail.

You don’t need to tarry, Mary. Just get yourself free.

Katherine Sleadd has lost a lot of friends. There was the middle school lip-sync contest partner who—with another girl listening in on three-way calling!—told Sleadd that her mom had forced her to be friends with her out of pity. As an adult, Sleadd split with someone over a dispute about a rental car (which, as you’ll see, wasn’t really about the rental car) in the United Kingdom. One chum got a little too close to Sleadd’s husband for Sleadd’s liking.

At this point in the story, you might be saying to yourself, “Wow, she sounds like a bad friend.”

Sleadd had the same thought, so the Denver-based trauma-informed life coach wrote How to Be a Bad Friend: The Hidden Life of Failed Relationships, published in April of this year. In the book, Sleadd outlines 10 archetypes, from “Clueless Friend” to “Jealous Friend,” using her stories as anecdotes.

But rather than teaching readers how to be malicious, Sleadd asks them to consider why we hurt the ones we like. “How aware are we of our own needs and desires in friendship,” she says, “or how much are we operating on what we’ve been told to want when it comes to certain relationships?”

The last thing we want to be, for example, is a difficult friend. Yet that’s what Sleadd was in the U.K., where the requirements for renting a car proved more complicated than she and her two companions had expected. When her friends balked and advocated for a bus, Sleadd refused to budge.

In fact, she told them they could go ahead, but she was going “to rent the fucking car.” Sleadd got the keys after hours of wrangling at the agency while her friends stewed, one later telling Sleadd she was “just a kid with shit to prove.”

In a way, the friend was right. Following the lip-sync contest embarrassment, Sleadd internalized that all she needed to do to keep connections was avoid inconveniencing others. “The truth is, difficult women are connected to their bodies and selves,” Sleadd writes. “The only reason we learned to call them difficult is because conformity demanded of women...to deny all their needs and desires in exchange for ‘love’ and safety.” But Sleadd couldn’t deny herself in the U.K. because she knew that traveling overseas would be a rare occurrence in her life. She was willing to let her friendship die on that hill.

And it did. After being called a kid, Sleadd responded by saying that maybe the friend was just mad that her own children didn’t listen to her. She’s not proud of the jab—or of being difficult—but, Sleadd writes, “I showed up as true to who I was in that moment as I could, resentment included, after spending many years compromising myself to put other people at ease. It was difficult. I was difficult.

This story is difficult.” But she had to be a bad friend, she believes, to become a more complete person.

Decrypting Girl Code

Strangers one day, ride-or-dies the next, kids seem to know the mystical secrets to locking down friends, which is why we asked Leila Parsons and Anna Skavish, nineyear-old Front Range BFFs, for insights into relationship building.

On making friends:

Leila: “It’s easier to become friends when you have a topic to talk about. Me and Anna usually just start a conversation by talking about a cartwheel in gymnastics.”

Anna: “Yeah, if you don’t share that many interests, you have to search to find even the littlest thing to talk about. Like, maybe the other person likes pasta?”

On fighting with friends:

Anna: “You can’t hang on to something that happened. You have to throw it into the garbage can and let the garbage man take it away.”

Leila: “We’ve had plenty of fights.

But, like, two seconds later we’re best friends. Classic girl code.”

On why adults have a hard time keeping friends:

Anna: “Probably because they need to be nicer to each other.

When you’re with your friends, you have to make sure you let go of the rest of your life and try to make them feel good.”

Leila: “So Anna might say my outfit looks awesome when she thinks it’s terrible. That’s just so I don’t feel bad because of her.” m

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The High Life

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YB E AY JA EV ME

SF

AN S LOR IO

Layers of native plantings, selected by Marpa Landscape Architecture, provide a soft counterpoint to the striking facade of this Boulder house—this year’s “whole home” winner.

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WHOLE HOME

Form Factor

When architect Ken Andrews first visited this double lot in Boulder’s Chautauqua neighborhood, he climbed onto the roof of the property’s decrepit house with his husband-and-wife clients, took in the panorama of the Flatirons, and said, “This is what it’s all about,” Andrews recalls. “They wanted to wake up and look at that view every morning.”

As his design for a new dwelling took shape, Andrews thought about the powerful geologic forces that formed the massive, angled slabs of red sandstone that make up the striking Flatirons. In particular, he considered the concept of vergence, which geologists use to describe the geometries of folds in rocks, from tiny crinkles to mountain-size bends.

“We imagined a stone fold that rises out of the ground and forms a series of walls in the landscape,” he says, referring to the limestone panels that seemingly emerge from this sloped property to adorn portions of the home’s shell. “[The limestone] comes up and creates shelter to the north, envelops the roof, and wraps around” to the southern facade.

Inside the house, an origamilike staircase introduces more eye-catching angles—and a unifying theme for the entire interior. “The wood stair occupies a stone-clad void that goes from the basement all the way up to the top floor,” Andrews says. “If you stand at the bottom and look up, you can see all the geometry in the ceiling above, which has an almost modern baroque quality—[the overall design] is about minimalism in terms of palette, but almost maximalism in that the geometry creates the experience.”

With such intentional architecture in play, interior designer Kristin Wynne’s mission was to choose furnishings that would complement, but not compete with, the structure’s beauty. “The interior materials palette is minimal and quiet with monolithic finishes that travel throughout the house, and the aim was for the furniture to act similarly,” she says. The material and color palette she arrived at—a mix of wood, wool, alpaca, velvet, and leather in a soft gradient of grays— emphasizes the architecture’s sense of calm, the play of light that washes across every surface, and, most important, the views of those iconic sandstone sentinels pointing west.

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▲ S M A R T S TO N E

By specifying quarter-inch-thick premanufactured limestone panels rather than full-depth stone, architect Ken Andrews and his team were able to cover the entire house with just one quarry block of material, which saved on structural and shipping costs. The thin slabs also function as a rainscreen and help manage heat gain and loss. ▲ W E AT H E R P R O O F W O O D

The exterior’s textural ribs are Accoya, a weather-resistant lumber product made from fast-growing, sustainably harvested wood. “You don’t need to do anything to treat it, and it’s incredibly stable,” Andrews says.

▲ B A S E M E N T - T O - TA B L E

The kitchen’s quartz-topped island is generously sized to accommodate family gatherings and the preparation of the large volume of food produced by the home’s lower-level aquaponics system, which sustains fresh produce and live fish. ▲SOLAR SYSTEM

A 13-kilowatt rooftop photovoltaic array powers both the house and a groundsource heat pump that warms and cools all the rooms by transferring heat to or from the surrounding earth.

DESIGN PROS

Architecture and interior design: Arch11 Construction: Harrington Stanko Construction Landscape architecture: Marpa Landscape Architecture DECEMBER 2023 / 5280

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POWDER ROOM

The Dark Side

Rather than fight with a windowless powder room in Golden’s Applewood neighborhood, Jamie Nusser of J Designs decided to lean into the space’s moody, dark look—but not without making some serious cosmetic upgrades. “It was your classic 1990s powder room: It had a dated wood vanity and bad, flower-print wallpaper; it really needed some love,” Nusser says. Now, the room feels like it would be right at home in a chic Manhattan boîte, thanks to glowing alabaster orb sconces and 3D ceramic wall tile made in Japan. “[The tiles] have this pillow shape to them, which gives the wall texture and dimension,” Nusser says. To draw the eye upward and add visual height to the small space, the designer applied a graphic, textured wallpaper to the ceiling.

To create contrast with the powder room’s dark hues, designer Jamie Nusser had the original red oak floors bleached a light blond hue.

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DESIGN PROS

Interior design: J Designs Construction: All You Need Home Improvements

Louisville-based art consultant Kate Meyers of Kate Finds Art helped the homeowners discover and settle on several pieces, including the faux trophy head.

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Queen’s Gambit The recently retired owners of this Observatory Park home wanted their study to serve a very specific purpose: “Their vision was to play chess [in there],” says designer Kim Blankenburg of Denver design firm Layers & Lines. So Blankenburg and her design partner, Molly Bevan, set out to create a comfortable space that could support hours of fierce matches. They worked with Denver-based wallpaper consultancy Walltawk to select a painterly paper for the ceiling that complements the walls’ existing charcoal hue. “We love how the wallpaper is very soft and waterlike; it’s a great contrast to the settee,” Blankenburg says, referencing the seat’s graphic, linen-blend velvet upholstery. “[The settee] was a pretty bold choice, so we wanted to add some calming elements.” Also helping with that goal: a tranquil landscape painting that hangs above the sofa. “It’s a very serene, more traditional-looking art piece,” Blankenburg says.

DESIGN PROS

Interior design: Layers & Lines Architecture: Goerig Design Construction: Gates Custom Homes

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▲ To ground the airy space, Blush Kitchens—a Denverbased cabinetry company—created custom, black-painted lower cabinets.

K I TC H E N

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Raise The Roof Although the owners of this Bow Mar Tudor were smitten with its ranch-style layout, they wanted their home to have a more open, airy feel. So instead of tweaking the house’s footprint, two Denverbased firms—Kaleidoscope Design and KGA Studio Architects—worked together to pitch the kitchen ceiling to 14 feet high and add vaulted windows. “The goal was to position the kitchen in a way that gave it lots of sunlight and visibility to the backyard,” says Cassy Kicklighter Poole, principal designer and owner of Kaleidoscope. To complement the new ceiling’s organic look, Kicklighter Poole incorporated timeless, nature-inspired materials (leatherbacked bar stools, quartzite countertops, concrete-domed pendant lights) throughout the room. “We wanted to introduce fresh finishes to the space but make them feel authentic,” she says.

DESIGN PROS

Interior design: Kaleidoscope Design Architecture: KGA Studio Architects Construction: Harko Construction

LIVING ROOM

Dim, Not Dull

An abundance of natural light is typically considered a desirable design element, but when Andrea Schumacher set out to revive a 1909 Denver Country Club Tudor’s living room, her first design move was, ahem, glaringly obvious. “It was so, so bright!” says the designer and owner of Andrea Schumacher Interiors, which is based in Denver. To tone down the space, Schumacher employed a palette of chocolate browns and true blues. And she applied a graphic, bamboolike pattern to the ceiling, walls, and window draperies. “[The pattern] envelops the space so you feel cocooned and cozy,” Schumacher says.

Dazzling above it all: a pendant lamp that resembles a gold-gilt palm tree.

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Custom armchairs in blue cotton velvet add a colorful counterpoint to the otherwise two-toned space.

DESIGN PRO

Interior design: Andrea Schumacher Interiors DECEMBER 2023 / 5280

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ENTRY

Built To Last

DESIGN PROS

Interior design: Inside Stories Construction: Sean Spicer

When renovating a historical home, a designer’s task becomes reminiscent of that old yarn about friendship: Make new friends, but keep the old. Or, in the case of the revamp of this 1910 Tudor in the Montclair neighborhood: Add novel touches, but keep the best of the original elements. To that end, Miranda Cullen, owner and principal designer of Littleton design firm Inside Stories, knew she wanted to emphasize the foyer’s existing architectural details. Cullen tucked graphic wallpaper between the open ceiling beams; chose a spotted, animal-print-esque runner to cascade down the original staircase; and swapped a dated light fixture for a modernist bubble chandelier that illuminates the arched detailing of the adjacent wall—which also serves a covert purpose. “The wall panel on the right-hand side leads to a secret powder room that we made out of a former coat closet,” Cullen says. The space’s clever design updates are meant to last for decades to come—just like the best friendships.

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The home’s massive weathered-steel panels rust over time; it’s part of the beauty (and requires zero maintenance).

EXTERIOR

Tucked inside the shadows of the Collegiate Peaks, this five-acre site in Salida would make a “Greetings From The Rockies” postcard envious. The couple who own the prime plot along the Arkansas River enlisted architect Mike Piché, principal of Studio B Architecture & Interiors in Aspen and Boulder, to build a home that would embrace— not overtake—the showstopping setting.

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for a flat, unobstructive roofline and floor-to-ceiling windows on either side of the home’s core. “With a piece of land like that, capturing the views is really what it’s about, and the architecture is pretty secondary,” he notes. In addition to using light-transmissible glass that limits heat gain, he designed deep overhangs to make the home as energy efficient as possible in an oft-extreme environment. But perhaps the greatest ode to the locale is the pattern etched into the exterior stucco, which was hand-troweled using a bespoke comb. “There’s an organic quality to the river flow and the beach and the sediment,” Piché says, “and we were trying to evoke that in the facade.”

Kimberly Gavin

DESIGN PROS

Architecture: Studio B Architecture & Interiors Construction: Hammerwell Landscape architecture: R Design

P R I M A R Y B AT H R O O M

Modern Oasis

Denver architect Dain Carlson’s advice for homeowners contemplating a striking look for their loo? Go for it. “Bathrooms are a really good place to do something interesting,” he says. “You might be afraid to use bold finishes in the rest of your house, but the primary bath is one of the most personal spaces that really only you get to enjoy.” For this University home’s primary bathroom, Carlson and his team at Factor Design Build opted for an oak vanity, handmade zellige wall tile in a blush hue, graphic blackand-white floor tile, and gold hardware and plumbing fixtures. “It’s a really good blend of masculine and feminine,” Carlson says of the eye-catching materials. m DESIGN PRO

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T H RO U G H T H E F I R E

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T H R OU G H THE

FIRE In 2003, a blaze devastated a Colorado Springs home and killed three children. Years later, their mother and father were convicted of their murders based on spurious science, a jailhouse informant, and a now-disgraced arson expert. Do the parents deserve a new trial?

BY ROBERT SANCHEZ ILLUSTRATION BY HOKYOUNG KIM

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THE FIRE

through the living room of the split-level house in northeast Colorado Springs. Flames moved quickly along walls and furniture, bursting through a picture window and igniting the enormous pine tree outside. Suffocating smoke flooded the home’s interior and pushed into the kitchen and the upstairs hallway and bedrooms.

Samantha Lembergs was among the first to arrive at 4107 Undimmed Circle. It was March 7, 2003, just a few minutes after 2 a.m., and the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) officer had on gloves and a jacket as she approached the burning house. When she got closer, the officer could see the front porch, and everything on it, was on fire. A trail of smoke poured out of an upstairs window; flames spilled out of another.

Two firefighters charged toward the left side of the house, barely registering the injured man on the sidewalk. Tim Nicholls was barefoot and in boxers, covered in soot and sweat. He was badly injured: Burns splotched his back and neck. Both of his corneas were singed. His right wrist was broken from a fall out of an upstairs window. As he sat, less than 10 yards from the fire, his screams could be heard above the crackle of the flames.

Lembergs felt the fire’s heat through her jacket as she rushed to Nicholls’ side. “I can’t see! I can’t see!” Tim yelled. Skin from one of his arms peeled off in Lembergs’ gloved hand as she steadied him. Later, as the officer walked the man to a waiting ambulance, she asked if there was anyone else inside. Tim told the officer that his three children were still trapped in the house.

CLARK GADDIE CRAWLED under the home’s partially opened garage door, careful not to dislodge the oxygen pack strapped to his back. The Colorado Springs firefighter yanked a hose behind This spread: A 2001 photo of Deb and Tim Nicholls with Jay, Sophia, and Sierra; attorneys Janene McCabe, Anne-Marie Moyes, and Kathleen Lord

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him and pulled it toward the door that connected the garage and kitchen. As part of the Engine 10 crew, Gaddie already knew the details: A 911 caller had said children lived in the house. Gaddie had been to nearly 700 fires in his 23-year career, and he knew how difficult it was to find frightened children in smoke and flames.

Adults ran for doors and windows to escape. Kids hid in closets and under beds and blankets.

Gaddie pressed a gloved hand against the wooden door leading to the kitchen and checked for heat. Behind him were two other Springs firefighters. Gaddie pushed open the door and was immediately hit with a blast of smoke-filled pressure. The firefighters steadied themselves and crawled inside. Gaddie’s flashlight transformed the smoke into a milky haze, but the men could see a line of fire growing on a wall directly above them. Gaddie opened his hose, but the flames wouldn’t recede. The firefighters moved slowly toward the living room, which had reached what is known as flashover, the moment when a fire’s radiant heat becomes so intense that everything instantaneously bursts into flames. “We would have pulled out,” Gaddie later said. “[But] when we’re told there’s kids [inside], we kind of pull all the stops out.”

Multiple firefighters searched the three upstairs bedrooms over the next several minutes. Eventually, 11-year-old Jay was found curled up at the end of the hallway. He was carried out the front door, where neighbors saw his limp body dangling from a firefighter’s arms. Five-year-old Sophia and three-year-old Sierra were found in their parents’ bedroom. Sophia was behind the door, partially covered with a blanket. In the smoke and darkness, firefighters initially mistook Sierra for a doll.

Not long after the three children had been taken outside, Deb Nicholls pulled onto the street in a white Chevrolet Camaro driven by an employee from the karaoke business she and Tim owned.

Deb, 35, had been at a nearby bar, auditioning a new karaoke DJ and sharing a few drinks with friends. As she and her designated driver crawled up the street in the car, Deb could see red and blue emergency lights, flames, and neighbors swarming the sidewalk outside her home. At least one neighbor saw Deb run toward the left side of the burning house to get a better look at her children’s bedroom windows. A police officer moved her back; a neighbor lied, telling Deb that the children had been taken out of the house alive. Tim had just left in an ambulance. You need to get to the hospital, an officer told her.

The coroner later ruled Sierra died from smoke inhalation and Jay died from smoke inhalation and thermal burns. Sophia’s brain was badly damaged from the smoke, and she died a short time after arriving at the hospital. Tim had second-degree burns and needed to be helicoptered to the University of Colorado Hospital Burn Center in Denver. Outside the Springs hospital, Deb paced and smoked a cigarette while her mother, Sandra Wilson, attempted to console her. Deb had cleaned the house before leaving for work, she told her mother. She’d lit several candles and left them for Tim to put out before he went to bed. “I killed all my kids,” Deb said.

Courtesy of the Nicholls family

EXPLODED

AN HOUR AFTER firefighters finally extinguished the flames, sometime before 3:30 a.m., the first of at least nine police and fire investigators began searching the house. They’d soon be joined by members of the CSPD Major Crimes Unit, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and an investigator from American Family Insurance, the company that held the Nicholls’ homeowner’s policy.

Over the next few days, investigators worked their ways through the 1,700-square-foot house—taking notes, videos, and photographs. The living room walls were burned black. Part of the ceiling had collapsed, and only ashes and outlines of furniture remained.

When the living room reached flashover, the blaze transformed from what’s known as a fuel-controlled fire into a ventilationcontrolled fire—essentially a fire that burns more intensely due to its reliance on the available oxygen rather than fuel. In this instance, the fire on Undimmed Circle needed oxygen and blasted out a front window and onto the porch and a nearby tree.

Ventilation-controlled fires are far more unwieldy and less predictable than fuel-controlled ones and are therefore more difficult to investigate. Fire investigators generally attempt to locate soot marks that resemble a V-shaped pattern along walls. When an object— like a lamp—catches fire, smoke and heat spread outward, creating a distinct “V” that marks an ignition point. But flashover significantly complicated matters. The living room was entirely charred, which eliminated many of the obvious signs that would have led investigators to a likely starting point.

In an interview with police hours after the fire, Deb mentioned the burning candles, but she didn’t have any other substantive information to offer. In the days and weeks after the fire, Tim, who was recovering from burns that covered about 10 percent of his body, was interviewed multiple times in the hospital.

As the 32-year-old answered investigators’ questions, a picture of what happened that night began to emerge: He’d been startled awake around 2 a.m.

Jay and Sierra were in their bedrooms; Sophia had crawled into her parents’ bed an hour or two earlier and was sleeping at Tim’s side. Tim walked to the top of the staircase and noticed the house seemed uncomfortably warm. He looked downstairs and noticed the light was off in the living room fish tank. After walking down the stairs, he could see that the stovetop light was out in the kitchen but that a neighbor’s porch light was on.

A house framer by trade, Tim thought a circuit breaker might have been tripped. He walked into the garage, opened an exterior door to reach the breaker panel, then heard a whoosh behind him.

A bright light emanated from inside the house.

Tim told police he ran into the kitchen, then to the living room, the latter of which was thick with smoke. As he rushed back up the stairs, a piece of ceiling collapsed on him, burning part of his back and neck. Panicked amid the smoke rising around him, Nicholls said he then ran to his bedroom, opened a window to get air, and lost consciousness.

He awoke a few moments later, under a window outside the house, with no idea how he’d gotten there.

P O R T R A I T S B Y M AT T N AG E R

Based on evidence at the scene, Kirk Schmitt, a Colorado Springs Fire Department (CSFD) investigator, estimated only a few moments had passed between ignition and flashover. The first 911 call came in at 2:01 a.m., and Engine 10 had pulled up six minutes later. Schmitt couldn’t square a burning candle with Tim’s story about the fire and what he now saw around him.

Erin, a Labrador retriever from the CBI trained to detect accelerants that can be used to start fires, did multiple walkthroughs with her handler, an agent named Jerry Means. As the pair walked the ruins of the house, Means gave Erin signals to search. In time, Erin “alerted” in 11 locations, including on part of the living room carpet. Any item Erin alerted on was sealed in a metal container, with the dog’s name on it, to be tested in a CBI lab. A small can of the household multicleaner Goof Off was taken from a basement shelf, as were samples from fuel containers found in the garage. Those, too, were shipped to the lab.

Investigators quickly opened the home to Robert Toth, a contractor who worked with American Family. Insurance companies

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and law enforcement enjoy a mutually beneficial relationship in fire investigations, sometimes working hand in hand to collect and interpret evidence. (Colorado law mandates that insurers share findings with law enforcement, upon request.) Toth understood the insurance calculus on house fires: Accidental blazes got payouts; an intentional fire set by the home’s resident did not.

After walking through the house, Toth was confounded.

Like Schmitt, the former Aurora firefighter couldn’t imagine an unintentional fire burning so hot, so quickly. Toth saw what he later called a “wonderful reservoir for potential ignitable liquids” at one edge of the damaged room. He collected his own samples from the scene and sent them to an independent lab in Texas for testing.

Several weeks after Jay, Sophia, and Sierra had been buried in neighboring plots at a Woodland Park cemetery, Toth continued to work the case. He’d eventually call one of the nation’s leading fire investigators, a Californian named John DeHaan. Fifty-five at the time, DeHaan had investigated hundreds of fires for agencies such as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) and was widely considered the field’s pre-eminent expert. He owned a private company, Fire-Ex Forensics Inc., which was based in Vallejo, California, 30 miles northeast of San Francisco. DeHaan had also edited six editions of Kirk’s Fire Investigation, long considered the bible among fire investigators around the world, and specialized in studying fires that involved human deaths.

At the time he got the call from Toth, DeHaan had created a cottage industry by testifying in arson cases. On the witness stand, he was succinct and self-assured; prosecutors often introduced him to jurors as the man who literally wrote the book on fire investigation.

DeHaan accepted Toth’s invitation to come to Colorado Springs. A month after the fire on Undimmed Circle, perhaps the most famous fire investigator in America was standing among the remains of the Nicholls’ living room.

T

HE COUPLE had moved to 4107 Undimmed Circle three years earlier, with three children. There was Jay—Deb’s son from a previous relationship—Sophia, and Sierra, who was only a few weeks old when the family moved into the home. Everything about the neighborhood exuded the suburban ideal: homes with big backyards, mature trees, immaculately maintained strips of open space, and community parks in the middle of it all. Kids walked to the nearby elementary and middle schools on winding streets with names such as Carefree, Nonchalant, Picturesque, Seesaw, and Teeter Totter.

In addition to the karaoke business Deb ran mostly on her own, the Nichollses owned a successful house-framing company. The two were fastidious with their own home, and Tim worked on

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it whenever he had time. He drove a beat-up truck; Deb got the white Camaro.

The fire stunned the Colorado Springs community. More than 100 people showed up at a church in Woodland Park to mourn the children’s deaths, and Tim left the Denver hospital, where he’d been recovering, so he could attend the funeral.

During the service, he wore sunglasses to protect his damaged eyes from the sunlight. At the cemetery afterward, he collapsed on Sierra’s grave.

Even so, Tim, the only person who survived the fire, became a suspect. “We did not want to believe this was intentionally set,” CSPD detective Rick Gysin told the Colorado Springs Gazette in 2008, five years after the blaze. “You don’t want to think of humanity like that.”

However, investigators eventually came to the conclusion that the fire was a triple homicide. CBI tests on the carpeting, on Tim’s sneakers and jeans, and on pajamas belonging to both Sophia and Sierra had come back positive for xylenes—colorless, flammable liquids that could be used as accelerants in fires—which gave investigators reason to believe the fire was intentionally set.

On top of that, Tim’s recollection of the fire changed with each retelling. At one point, he said he’d walked to the garage and Boulder defense attorney Gail Johnson represents those whom she believes have been wrongfully convicted, including Tim Nicholls.

THROUGH THE FIR E returned to a living room filled with fire; in another, it was heavy smoke. In one, he ran to a bedroom window to get air; in another, he was lining up his children to get out of the house. “What Tim Nicholls said didn’t make a lot of sense,” Derek Graham, part of the police homicide investigation team, told the Gazette in 2008.

“That was a big red flag from the beginning.”

INVESTIGATORS INTERVIEWED other witnesses, including Irma Woodworth, a neighbor who described Deb as devastated by her children’s deaths. Yet over time, an increasing number of people would offer statements that portrayed the couple negatively. Eventually, Deb would get drawn into the investigative web that had already ensnared her husband.

She hadn’t attended her children’s funeral, a fact that investigators noted with suspicion. But even seemingly innocuous details about Deb were scrutinized, too. An American Family Insurance investigator who interviewed Deb days after the fire recalled she wore a tracksuit and that her nails were painted red. The investigator also remembered Deb showing up outside the burned house with what appeared to be a new hairdo. One homebuilder remembered a phone conversation in which Deb cried over the family’s dog, which had died in the blaze.

Yvonne Valdez, one of Deb’s neighbors and best friends, remembered watching a distraught Deb attempt to fight police who prevented her from seeing whether her children’s back bedrooms were engulfed in flames. Valdez also detailed phone calls after the fire in which Deb was inconsolable.

But over time, Valdez started to tell investigators a different story. For years, Deb had battled weight issues. In 2000—after Deb had had a breast reduction, taken various medications, visited nutritionists, and tried different diets—Valdez suggested Deb try methamphetamine as a way to help her lose weight. Deb eventually started using meth habitually and lost around 100 pounds.

Valdez herself used meth, occasionally supplied it, and once unsuccessfully attempted to manufacture it in her house on Undimmed Circle, where she lived with her son. After a year of regular use, Valdez testified, Deb had built up a habit that, at one point, cost her $500 per week. The narrative of a drug-addicted wife and mother suddenly desperate for money gave investigators a possible motive, but the most damning accusations came from Deb’s mother, Sandra Wilson. A psychologist who’d abandoned her six children during their childhoods, Wilson had reconciled with Deb, but the relationship later became strained. Wilson argued often with Deb and claimed Tim had used methamphetamine with his wife. She said Deb struggled with parenthood and that she’d suddenly decided she wanted a lifestyle free from the constraints of her children.

Despite the case investigators were building against the couple, District Attorney Jeanne Smith, of the Fourth Judicial District, declined to file charges against Tim or Deb. A former deputy district attorney, William Bain, told the Gazette in 2008 that Smith was hesitant in part because the case was heavily reliant on circumstantial evidence. (Smith declined to comment.) “It would have been one thing if we had a confession from Tim Nicholls,” Bain, who is now a district court judge, told the Gazette in 2008.

“There was no way to prove that case beyond a reasonable doubt.”

In the fire’s aftermath, Tim and Deb moved from a hotel to a rental house. Tim had always seen himself as the fixer in the relationship, but the couple struggled. He’d met Deb at a karaoke bar in Woodland Park in 1994 and soon found himself enamored of Jay, who was two at the time. Tim had grown up without a

father figure for much of his life, and he didn’t want the same circumstance for the little boy. “I think he married Deb because he loved Jay so much,” Tim’s stepfather, Rick Broce, says.

At their rental home, the two vacillated between wanting to talk about their children and wanting to walk out the door and never come back. When Deb wanted to talk, Tim didn’t.

When Tim wanted to talk, Deb didn’t. One day, Tim framed their children’s photos and hung them on a living room wall.

Deb walked into the room and fainted.

TIM AND DEB separated in the summer of 2004, a little more than a year after the fire, and later filed for divorce. Tim stayed in Colorado Springs and continued to work in home construction, despite having shuttered the family’s house-framing business. He entered into a brief relationship and had a child with another woman. Deb moved to Traverse City, Michigan, where she’d grown up, and lived with her father.

Smith, the district attorney, was term-limited and replaced by John Newsome, a former prosecutor in the office. Newsome turned the office’s attention to the Nicholls case at the urging of police investigators and Deb’s mother, who’d written Newsome after his election, in 2005. (Newsome did not respond to a request for comment. Wilson died in 2015.)

On July 21, 2005, a grand jury indicted Tim based, in part, on evidence showing xylenes had been discovered during the fire investigation. Police arrested Nicholls while he was at work. He was taken to the Colorado Springs jail, where he shared a cell with a 41-yearold career criminal named Hiram Church, who’d previously worked with law enforcement as a jailhouse informant. Within days, Church sent a message to detectives that he had information to share.

During several conversations with investigators, Church claimed Tim had not only admitted to setting the fire that killed his children, but also that he told Church his wife had put him up to it. In Church’s retelling, the husband and wife conspired to commit the crime, with Tim spraying Goof Off throughout the house—including on a living room couch and in an outside vent.

The motive, Church said, was simple: The couple’s relationship was strained, in part because Deb owed a number of different people drug money. With their relationship already headed toward an end, a fire would allow them both to reap an insurance windfall and give them a way to restart their lives. Law enforcement officers believed the story. Within days of his first conversation with investigators, Church was released from jail on a personal recognizance bond that left him free to roam, without posting bail, until his next court date.

Tim’s trial began on March 19, 2007, and lasted almost six weeks. It included more than 20 prosecution witnesses, including Church, the fire investigator DeHaan, and Tom Netwal, a CBI chemist who’d reviewed burned samples found in the house. Netwal testified that samples initially identified by Erin, the CBI’s dog, were positive for xylenes. Tests of the burned material also suggested that Goof Off could have been used as CONTINUED ON PAGE 102 an accelerant.

One day, Tim collected and framed their children’s photos and hung them on a living room wall.

Deb walked into the room and fainted.

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Dining Guide

PRICE KEY

Average Entrée $ $$ $$$ $$$$

under $15 $16 to $20 $21 to $30 $31 and higher

SYMBOL KEY

Indicates a restaurant featured in 5280 for the first time (though not necessarily a restaurant that has just opened).

Indicates inclusion in 5280’s 2023 list of Denver’s best restaurants. These selections are at the discretion of 5280 editors and are subject to change.

A5 STEAKHOUSE

$$$$

LoDo / Steak House This unfussy chophouse by the team behind Forget Me Not and Tap and Burger features perfectly seared steaks, hearty sides, and draft cocktails. Never pass up the beef tartare katsu sando and the chickpea fries to start your meal. Reservations accepted. 1600 15th St., 303-623-0534. Dinner

$$

ANNETTE

$$$

Aurora / American James Beard Award–winning chef Caroline Glover’s Annette delivers a lineup of seasonal salads, pastas, wood-fired proteins, and other comforting bites in a modern, inviting space. Don’t skip dessert, particularly if pecan pie is on the menu. Reservations accepted. 2501 Dallas St., Suite 108, Aurora, 720-710-9975. Dinner AUDREY JANE’S PIZZA GARAGE

$$

Boulder / Pizza Expect perfect New York–style sourdough pies featuring inventive toppings at this joint. Try the Hot Honey Disco Pie with salami picante, mushrooms, and Calabrese honey.

Reservations not accepted. 2675 13th St., Boulder, 303-442-2032. Lunch, Dinner BLACKBELLY

$$$

Boulder / American Chef Hosea Rosenberg’s carnivore-friendly menu focuses on charcuterie, small plates, and daily butcher specials. Try the koji-cured heritage pork chop. Also check out the adjacent butcher shop and market, which serves breakfast and lunch. Reservations accepted. 1606 Conestoga St., Boulder, 303-247-1000. Dinner THE BRONZE EMPIRE

$$$

Cory-Merrill / Chinese This comfortable restaurant specializes in Chinese hot pot, which features an aromatic, bubbling broth for cooking fresh ingredients right at your table. Reservations accepted. 1591 S. Colorado Blvd., 720-599-8888.

Lunch, Dinner

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Meat Of The Matter

C Burger—a fast-casual burger-and-fries joint from the team behind Corrida and Bellota—is putting a green twist

on American classics. Located inside Sanitas Brewing Co.’s Englewood taproom, the six-month-old concept smashes patties made of regenerative beef sourced from Colorado producers dedicated to minimizing their environmental impact through restorative farming and ranching practices. That means you can savor the rich flavor of a lettuce- and tomato-topped double cheeseburger and support a more resilient ecosystem at the same time. Now that’s delicious.

$$$$

BRUTØ

LoDo / International Executive chef Michael Diaz de Leon highlights heritage grains and house ferments created by Mara King in a Latin-influenced, omakase-style tasting menu. Tack on the cocktail pairing to make the experience even more special. Reservations accepted. 1801 Blake St., 720-325-2195. Dinner CANTINA LOCA

$$

COMAL HERITAGE FOOD INCUBATOR

$

LoHi / Mexican Chef Dana Rodriguez’s welcoming LoHi taqueria invites diners to connect over plates of tacos, shareable entrées, and drinks infused with the Chihuahua, Mexico–born matriarch’s own line of agave spirits, Doña Loca.

Order the molcajete. Reservations accepted.

2890 Zuni St., 303-284-6738. Dinner RiNo / International Immigrant and refugee women develop the skills to operate their own food businesses by serving renditions of their family recipes at this indoor-outdoor eatery.

Try the pupusas or the plato caribe, fried fish with tostones and coleslaw. Reservations not accepted. 1950 35th St., 303-292-0770.

Breakfast, Lunch

C BURGER

$

CUCINA BELLA

$$

Englewood / American This fast-casual kitchen is the first in Colorado to source 100 percent of its beef from local regenerative farms. Try the classic double cheeseburger with a side of seasoned fries. Reservations not accepted. 20 W. Belleview Ave., Englewood, 720-432-5205.

Lunch, Dinner

Windsor / Italian Brothers Luis and Heriberto Gutierrez run this easygoing Italian spot in a strip mall. Go for the garganelli alla Burrata, a veggiepacked pesto pasta topped with creamy cheese, or any of the pizzas. Reservations accepted.

9660 E. Alameda Ave., Suite 104, 720-550-8957.

Lunch, Dinner, Brunch DAUGHTER THAI KITCHEN & BAR

$$$

LoHi / Thai This date-night-ready Thai restaurant from Ounjit Hardacre serves beautifully plated dishes and inventive cocktails with an elegant ambience to match. The menu features timeless favorites such as pad thai and massaman curry alongside a rotating lineup of rare-in-Denver specialties. Reservations accepted. 1700 Platte St., Suite 140, 720-667-4652. Lunch, Dinner

WANT MORE DINING OPTIONS? Visit our online listings at 5280.com/restaurants.

Lucy Beaugard/Courtesy of C Burger

AFRICAN GRILL & BAR

Lakewood / African Explore a bevy of dishes from across Africa at this warm and inviting restaurant run by the Osei-Fordwuo family.

Peanut soups, fried fish, samosas, and jollof rice are just some of the crave-worthy options you’ll order again and again. Reservations accepted.

955 S. Kipling Parkway, Lakewood, 303-9854497. Lunch, Dinner

TRAIL OF

LIGHTS AT

CHATFIELD FARMS

NOVEMBER 24 – JANUARY 1 various evenings, 5-8:30 p.m. (closed Dec. 25) Explore a winding path glistening with lights, Holiday Market (select nights) and seasonal treats.

Tickets must be purchased in advance.

Get tickets and full details at botanicgardens.org

PRESENTING SPONSOR

SUPPORTING SPONSORS

DINING GUIDE DRAGONFLY NOODLE

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LoDo / Asian This eatery from restaurateur Edwin Zoe serves a multinational variety of bao and noodle dishes. Order any of the slurp-worthy bowls of ramen with house-made noodles. Also try the Boulder location. Reservations not accepted. 1350 16th Street Mall, 720-543-8000.

Lunch, Dinner

EARLY BIRD RESTAURANT

$

Westminster / American This attractive breakfast and lunch spot offers a well-balanced menu and local ingredients. The all-day breakfast menu includes open-faced omelets and French toasts.

Also try the Greenwood Village location. Reservations not accepted. 11940 Bradburn Blvd., Westminster, 303-469-9641. Breakfast, Lunch

EDGEWATER PUBLIC MARKET

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Edgewater / International Satisfy your cravings for everything from wild game sandwiches to Ethiopian fare at this eclectic collective of nearly two dozen food stalls and boutiques. Tenants include Konjo Ethiopian, Lucky Bird, Lazo Empanadas, and more. 5505 W. 20th Ave., Edgewater, 720-749-2239. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner FOX AND THE HEN

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LoHi / American This sunny brunch eatery brightens up any morning. The animal-style hash brown smothered in American cheese and special sauce (an homage to In-N-Out) is a must-order.

Reservations not accepted. 2257 W. 32nd Ave., 303-862-6795. Breakfast, Lunch, Brunch

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5280 / DECEMBER 2023

FRASCA FOOD AND WINE

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Boulder / Italian The elegant cuisine always wows at Frasca, an ode to the cuisine of northeastern Italy from master sommelier Bobby Stuckey and chef Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson. Splurge on executive chef Ian Palazzola’s nine-course Friulano menu. Reservations accepted. 1738 Pearl St., Boulder, 303-442-6966. Dinner

$$

GLO NOODLE HOUSE

West Highland / Asian Blackbelly’s Chris Teigland and Ariana Pope bring Asian fusion fare to West Highland with Glo Noodle House.

Reservations accepted. 4450 W. 38th Ave., Suite 130, 303-993-4180. Dinner

GUARD AND GRACE

$$$$

Downtown / Steak House Chef Troy Guard’s modern steak house offers a chic setting for its elevated fare. Try the flight of filet mignon.

Reservations accepted. 1801 California St., 303-293-8500. Lunch, Dinner

HIRA CAFE & PATISSERIE

Aurora / Ethiopian Pastry chef-owner Hiwot Solomon pairs her from-scratch desserts and Ethiopian breakfast plates with house-roasted, single-origin coffee at this cheery cafe. Reservations not accepted. 10782 E. Iliff Ave., Aurora, 720-949-1703. Breakfast, Lunch

HOP ALLEY

$

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RiNo / Chinese From Tommy Lee of Uncle, this neighborhood hangout serves dishes rooted in

Chinese tradition with a touch of distinctive flair.

Try the Beijing duck rolled up in scallion pancakes.

Reservations accepted. 3500 Larimer St., 720-379-8340. Dinner IL PORCELLINO SALUMI

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INDIA’S RESTAURANT

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JAMAICAN GRILLE

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JERUSALEM RESTAURANT

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Berkeley / Deli This market and deli strives to provide the highest-quality, locally raised cured meats in Colorado. Pick a selection to take with you or enjoy a fresh salumi platter or sandwich in-house. Reservations not accepted. 4324 W. 41st Ave., 303-477-3206. Breakfast, Lunch

Hampden / Indian This spot serves traditional fare, including flavorful dishes like tandoori chicken.

Take advantage of the lunch buffet, and be sure to try the cinnamon bread pudding. Reservations accepted. 8921 E. Hampden Ave., 303-755-4284.

Lunch, Dinner Lincoln Park / Jamaican This family-owned Jamaican restaurant serves classic Caribbean-centric dishes like jerk chicken, fried plantains, and rice and peas. Reservations accepted. 709 W. Eighth Ave., 303-623-0013. Lunch, Dinner University / Middle Eastern You can’t beat this spot’s tasty, affordable, and traditional Middle Eastern fare, including gyros, baba ghanoush, and sambusas. Reservations accepted. 1890 E. Evans Ave., 303-777-8828. Lunch, Dinner

CLOSE TO HOME,

A WORLD AWAY.

C O LO R A D O A P P R E C I AT I O N O F F E R Make our home your getaway. As a token of our appreciation, The Broadmoor is extending exclusive nightly rates to our Colorado neighbors for select dates in January and February 2024. Enjoy weekday rates as low as $229 in January, and $269 in February. With weekend rates starting at $299. Offer includes: • Complimentary golf greens fees (cart rental not included) thru April 3, 2024 • Complimentary outdoor tennis and pickleball court time thru April 3, 2024 • Suites available at 25% off of published rates Savor delightful meals in our award-winning restaurants including three-course prix fixe dinners January 1st through February 29th* at The Broadmoor’s Ristorante del Lago, Golden Bee and La Taverne. Italian-centric Del Lago’s is $59 per person, gastropub Golden Bee is $49 per person, while the steakhouse Taverne’s is $69 per person.

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DINING GUIDE KAHLO’S MEXICAN RESTAURANT

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LA DIABLA POZOLE Y MEZCAL

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Westwood / Mexican Enjoy plates of mole and enchiladas verdes, plus a wide menu of juices and smoothies, in a space decorated with the art of Frida Kahlo. Reservations accepted. 3735 Morrison Road, 303-936-0758. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Ballpark / Mexican This lively eatery from James Beard Award finalist Jose Avila serves up comforting pozole and other traditional Mexican fare at affordable prices. Reservations not accepted. 2233 Larimer St., 720-519-1060.

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Brunch

LE BILBOQUET

$$$$

Cherry Creek / French An offshoot of the more than 30-year-old New York City establishment, Le Bilboquet serves upscale French fare in a posh setting. Try executive chef Sosthène Kaboré’s scallop carpaccio. Reservations accepted. 299 St. Paul St., 303-835-9999. Lunch, Dinner, Brunch LUCINA EATERY & BAR

$$$

South Park Hill / Latin American Flavors from Latin America, the Caribbean, and Spain tantalize at this restaurant. Head in on Fridays and Saturdays for the paella. Reservations accepted. 2245 Kearney St., Suite 101, 720-814-1053. Dinner

BRRRRRRR RREATH TAKING.

MARIGOLD

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MISFIT SNACKBAR

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Lyons / European This small, light-filled restaurant serves seasonally driven French- and Italian-influenced fare. The pink-peppercornlaced farinata (chickpea pancake) is a delicious mainstay of the frequently changing menu; the amaro cocktails are also worth exploring. Reservations accepted. 405 Main St., Suite B, Lyons, 303-823-2333. Dinner

City Park / Contemporary You’ll never be bored by the imaginative, flavor-packed offerings from chef-owner Bo Porytko at this eclectic concept housed inside Middleman cocktail bar. Start with the chips and dip: smashed potatoes with an everchanging house sauce. Reservations not accepted.

3401 E. Colfax Ave., 303-353-4207. Dinner

$$

NEW SAIGON

Westwood / Vietnamese This spot serves an extensive menu featuring delicious rice paper wraps, salads, pho, seafood dishes, duck, and more.

Reservations accepted. 630 S. Federal Blvd., 303-936-4954. Lunch, Dinner NOISETTE RESTAURANT & BAKERY

$$$

NOLA VOODOO TAVERN AND PERKS

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OSAKA RAMEN

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OTOTO

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PALENQUE COCINA Y AGAVERIA

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LoHi / French Chefs Tim and Lillian Lu serve elegant renditions of bourgeoisie-style specialties (French home-cooked comforts) in a romantic, light-drenched space. Tear into the perfectly crisp baguette to set the Parisian scene for your dining experience. Reservations accepted. 3254 Navajo St., Suite 100, 720-769-8103. Dinner, Brunch Clayton / Southern New Orleans native and owner Henry Batiste serves his grandmother’s recipes for gumbo, po’ boys, and much more at this Louisiana-inspired spot. Reservations accepted. 3321 Bruce Randolph Ave., 720-3899544. Lunch, Dinner

RiNo / Japanese Jeff Osaka’s modern ramen shop features original noodle soups, bento boxes, and creative small plates. Try the mochi doughnuts.

Reservations not accepted. 2611 Walnut St., 303-955-7938. Lunch, Dinner

Platt Park / Japanese From the team behind Sushi Den and Izakaya Den, this sleek eatery breaks away from its Den Corner counterparts by focusing on more casual Japanese eats. Try the yellowtail collar grilled over white oak charcoal. Reservations accepted. 1501 S. Pearl St., 303-942-1416. Dinner

EXHIBITION NOW OPEN

Exhibición Ya Disponible Free with Museum admission Gratis con la entrada al museo WWW.DMNS.ORG

MYSTERIES OF THE

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5280 / DECEMBER 2023

Littleton / Mexican Sip on a wide variety of mezcals and snack on ceviche and flautitas at this neighborhood favorite bar and restaurant. Reservations accepted. 2609 W. Main St., Littleton, 720-928-3318. Lunch, Dinner

THE PLIMOTH

$$$$

Skyland / American An emphasis on locally farmed and foraged ingredients results in an ever-changing menu of seasonal dishes, like cauliflower paprikash and maple-glazed winter squash. Reservations accepted. 2335 E. 28th Ave., 303-297-1215. Dinner

It’s about

.

DINING GUIDE Q HOUSE

City Park / Chinese Enjoy a modern take on Chinese cuisine at this City Park eatery operated by chef Christopher Lin, an alum of Momofuku in New York City. Try the braised pork rice served with pickled mustard greens and braising jus. Reservations accepted. 3421 E. Colfax Ave., 720-729-8887. Dinner

$$

$$$$

QUALITY ITALIAN

Cherry Creek / Steak House This upscale spot in Cherry Creek serves a smart mix of steak house fare and American-Italian favorites in warm, contemporary environs. Reservations accepted. 241 Columbine St., 303-532-8888.

Dinner, Brunch

$$

RED TOPS RENDEZVOUS

Jefferson Park / Pizza Detroit-style pizza, which is usually constructed with tomato sauce as the final topping, is the basis of this vibrant eatery’s name and menu. Go for pies like the giardiniera-spiked Italian Beef or the mortadella-laden Brick and Morty. Reservations accepted. 2917 W. 25th Ave., 303-955-5752. Lunch, Dinner

$$

REYNARD SOCIAL

LoDo / American Classic cocktails and upscale bites are the draw at the Reynard Social, located in the Thompson Hotel downtown. Try the earthy, umami-forward wild mushroom fondue with slices of grilled bread and assorted, citrusmarinated olives. Reservations accepted. 1616 Market St., 303-572-1321. Dinner

ROUGE WINE & BOURBON BISTRO

$$$

Greenwood Village / American From the team behind Pindustry, this 1920s-themed bar boasts an extensive wine list and international small plates, like lamb merguez and green curry mussels.

Reservations not accepted. 7939 E. Arapahoe Road, Suite 190, Greenwood Village, 720-8649463. Dinner, Brunch SAFTA

$$$$

SAP SUA

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RiNo / Mediterranean At Safta, acclaimed chef Alon Shaya and his team serve modern Israeli fare. Crave-worthy specialties include the crispy Persian rice with cherries and sunflower seeds.

Also check out the weekend brunch buffet.

Reservations accepted. 3330 Brighton Blvd., Suite 201, 720-408-2444. Dinner, Brunch

Congress Park / Vietnamese This smart eatery from husband-and-wife duo Ni and Anna Nguyen finds its culinary footing in Vietnamese flavors.

Herbaceous offerings like chrysanthemum green salad and culantro-capped tomato toast are favorites of the menu. Reservations accepted.

2550 E. Colfax Ave., 303-736-2303. Dinner SEOUL MANDOO

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Aurora / Korean This petite spot serves steamed and fried Korean dumplings that are made from scratch daily. Don’t miss the wang mandu (giant dumplings). Reservations not accepted. 2222 S. Havana St., Suite J, Aurora, 303-953-9590.

Lunch, Dinner

SPUNTINO

$$$$

STONE CELLAR BISTRO

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SULLIVAN SCRAP KITCHEN

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Highland / Italian Enjoy the eclectic and locally sourced menu at this Italian-inspired, husbandand-wife-owned spot. Go for any of the dishes with Southern Indian influences—a product of chef Cindhura Reddy’s heritage—like malai kofta gnocchi. Reservations accepted. 2639 W. 32nd Ave., 303-433-0949. Dinner Arvada / Contemporary Visit this farm-to-table spot in Olde Town Arvada for beautifully presented dishes made with local produce by chefs Jordan Alley and Brandon Kerr. Don’t miss the foie gras parfait or the hot honey fried chicken. Reservations accepted. 7605 Grandview Ave., Arvada, 720-630-7908. Dinner

City Park West / Seasonal Chef-owner Terence Rogers uses sustainably sourced ingredients and leftover or unused food items from his catering company, TBD Foods, to produce light and fresh fare at this casual cafe. Reservations accepted.

1740 E. 17th Ave., 720-242-6292. Dinner, Brunch SUNDAY VINYL

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$$$

LoDo / European This Union Station restaurant offers warm hospitality, exquisite cuisine, and an extensive wine list, all to the soundtrack of a vinyl-only playlist. Order the duck-liver-stuffed gougères (French cheese puffs) and any of the sweet treats. Reservations accepted. 1803 16th St., 720-738-1803. Dinner

DINING GUIDE $

TOCABE, AN AMERICAN INDIAN EATERY

Berkeley / American Feast on Indigenous fare such as fry bread tacos made with ingredients sourced from Native producers at this fastcasual spot. The company also has an online marketplace for Native-produced bison and pantry goods and donates prepared meals to tribal communities in need. Reservations not accepted. 3536 W. 44th Ave., 720-524-8282.

Lunch, Dinner TOFU STORY

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Aurora / Korean House-made tofu is the main draw at this airy Korean eatery from chef-restaurateur J.W. Lee. Order the spicy seafood soondubu stew featuring silken tofu with the individual-size, pressure-cooked rice that’s prepared tableside. Reservations not accepted.

2060 S. Havana St., Aurora, 303-954-9372.

Lunch, Dinner TRIBUTARY FOOD HALL & DRINKERY

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Golden / International Golden’s first food hall boasts eight different culinary options, including Generous Coffee, Opa Cocina!, Barefoot BBQ, Hello Poke, and Vito’s Pizzas & Pasta.

701 12th St., Golden, 303-856-7225. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner TU’S KITCHEN

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Broomfield / Vietnamese Thuy Le, former owner of Boulder’s Chez Thuy, delivers flavor-packed Vietnamese cuisine at her new restaurant. Try seafood specialties like the basil-topped snails served on a sizzling cast-iron plate. Reservations accepted. 6500 W. 120th Ave., Broomfield, 303-975-6001. Lunch, Dinner UNCLE

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Speer / Asian This reliable Pan Asian noodle house from chef-owner Tommy Lee has a revolving menu of steamed buns, small plates, rice and curry bowls, and ramen. Also try the Highland location, which only has walk-in seating. Reservations accepted. 95 S. Pennsylvania St., 720-638-1859. Dinner UNRAVEL COFFEE

Virginia Village / Cafe House-roasted beans and high-tech tools lead to stellar espresso drinks at this Virginia Village coffeeshop. You can also enjoy nourishing toasts, salads, and smoothies from inside the comfortably modern space. Try the fig toast. Reservations not accepted. 1441 S. Holly St., 303-537-7773. Breakfast, Lunch URBAN VILLAGE GRILL

$

$$$

Lone Tree / Indian Chef Charles Mani serves classic and contemporary dishes from regions across India at this eatery inside Park Meadows Mall.

Order the chef’s tasting menu, a multicourse feast featuring Urban cauliflower, butter chicken, and other popular dishes. Reservations accepted.

8505 Park Meadows Center Drive, Suite 2184A, Lone Tree, 720-536-8565. Lunch, Dinner VITAL ROOT

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Berkeley / American Justin Cucci’s fourth eatery focuses on quick, healthy food. Grab a seat in the airy space and nosh on creative, wholesome fare such as cashew “queso” dip or a sunflower risotto.

Reservations not accepted. 3915 Tennyson St., 303-474-4131. Lunch, Dinner, Brunch

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5280 / DECEMBER 2023

VOGHERA RISTORANTE & APERICENA

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WATERCOURSE FOODS

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WHITTIER CAFE

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WOODEN SPOON CAFE & BAKERY

$

XICAMITI LA TAQUERÍA

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Berkeley / Italian Enjoy Italian-style tapas such as beef tartare, Burrata, and pancetta-wrapped scallops at this rustic-chic Berkeley restaurant.

Reservations not accepted. 3963 Tennyson St., 303-455-9111. Dinner, Brunch

Uptown / American This vegetarian icon has been serving wholesome food since 1998. The zesty soups, salads, and wraps are healthy and delicious.

Reservations accepted. 837 E. 17th Ave., 303-8327313. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Brunch

Whittier / Cafe This espresso bar, which supports social-justice-related causes, serves coffee, beer, and wine sourced from various African nations and a small menu of pastries, breakfast burritos, panini, and more. Reservations not accepted. 1710 E. 25th Ave., 720-550-7440. Breakfast, Lunch

Highland / American Start your morning off right with hot drinks, fresh baked goods, and pastries.

Or, stop in for a hearty sandwich at lunchtime. To satisfy your sweet tooth, pick up a slice of carrot cake. Reservations not accepted. 2418 W. 32nd Ave., 303-999-0327. Breakfast, Lunch

Golden / Mexican This long-standing joint serves cooked-to-order burritos, tacos, quesadillas, and alambres (skillet dishes). Reservations not accepted. 715 Washington Ave., Golden, 303-2153436. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

YAHYA’S MEDITERRANEAN GRILL & PASTRIES $$

City Park West / Mediterranean This family-run restaurant serves silky hummus, a variety of excellent grilled kebabs, and from-scratch sweets.

Try the beef koobideh. Reservations accepted.

2207 E. Colfax Ave., 720-532-8746. Lunch, Dinner

$

YAZOO BARBEQUE COMPANY

Five Points / Barbecue This unpretentious counter-service barbecue joint offers a Deep South menu, featuring slow-smoked pork ribs and brisket. Dig in at the outdoor picnic tables.

Reservations not accepted. 2150 Broadway, 303-296-3334. Lunch, Dinner

ZOCALITO LATIN BISTRO

$$$

Downtown / Mexican Formerly located in Aspen, chef/owner Michael Beary’s upscale Oaxacan eatery found a home in the heart of Denver.

Try the pork tenderloin with red mole sauce.

Reservations accepted. 999 18th St., Suite 107, 720-923-5965. Dinner

ZOE MA MA

LoDo / Chinese This cozy counter-service spot offers Chinese home-style cooking. Order the Sichuan braised beef noodle soup. Also try the Boulder location. Reservations not accepted.

1625 Wynkoop St., 303-545-6262. Lunch, Dinner

$

 These listings are in no way related to advertising in 5280. If you find that a restaurant differs significantly from the information in its listing or your favorite restaurant is missing from the Dining Guide, please let us know. Write us at 5280 Publishing, Inc., 1675 Larimer St., Suite 675, Denver, CO 80202 or dining@5280.com.

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T H RO U G H T H E F I R E

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 87

Schmitt, the CSFD investigator, described the char pattern he saw at the bottom of the living room stairs, which to him indicated an accelerant had been used to speed the spread of the fire. Means, the CBI canine handler, talked about the reliability of his dog, which Netwal reinforced, claiming to jurors that the canine’s sense of smell was more sensitive than the CBI’s own analytic devices. Wilson, Tim’s mother-in-law, portrayed a marriage derailed by drug abuse and Deb’s immaturity. Church testified that Tim had told him about spraying Goof Off and that the couple hoped to collect an insurance payout.

(In a court filing, a second inmate said that Church bragged that a jailhouse confession was his “get-out-of-jail-free card.”)

DeHaan testified the fire burned too hot and too fast to match Tim’s re-creation of the events and Deb’s claim that a candle could have started the blaze. Using thermal estimates based on the room’s size—plus the locations, sizes, and distances between furniture—DeHaan said it would’ve been impossible for a single fire in the room to move to nearby pieces of furniture.

Tim’s defense relied heavily on John Lentini, a fire expert from Florida, who routinely squared off against DeHaan in court. Lentini portrayed DeHaan’s work as incomplete, at best, and added that the CBI’s chemist misidentified compounds in burned items analyzed from the house; that fire investigators misread the scene; and that it was impossible to confirm the CBI arson dog’s accuracy.

On May 1, 2007, four years after the fire, a jury found Tim guilty on more than a dozen counts, including three charges of first-degree murder (felony murder), child abuse resulting in death, and animal cruelty involving the family dog. The jury found that Tim was innocent of conspiring with his wife to kill their children.

He was sentenced to three consecutive life terms and sent to the Sterling Correctional Facility on Colorado’s Eastern Plains. “This is the second-saddest day of my life,” Wilson said afterward. “The first was when I lost those kids. The horror is, I believe it’s true....

I’m here for Jay, Sophia, and Sierra. My wish is that they now rest in peace.”

DESPITE THE JURY’S finding that Tim was not guilty of conspiring with his wife to kill 102

5280 / DECEMBER 2023

the children, Deb was indicted seven months after Tim’s conviction. Deb had returned to Colorado Springs two years earlier, in 2005, in an attempt to restart her life in the city.

At her trial, in 2008, prosecutors relied on testimony from her mother and Church to link Deb to a conspiracy to kill the three children and burn the house for money. The American Family Insurance investigator testified about Deb’s red fingernails. Valdez, the neighbor and former friend, detailed Deb’s methamphetamine use. A police investigator who’d interviewed Deb hours after the fire recalled that “she’d act like she was crying, but there were no tears.” Wilson testified that her daughter didn’t attend the funeral and that her son-in-law wore sunglasses during the service. In addition to witness statements, prosecutors relied on the same fire science used at Tim’s trial the year before. Again, DeHaan connected the dots for the jury.

“We know what Jay, Sophia, and Sierra had become: impediments, chores, responsibilities that… she just couldn’t handle anymore,” assistant district attorney Amy Mullaney told jurors. “This is not a case… about poor, helpless Deb Nicholls, who, through no fault of her own, having a part in this, is ending up in the chair in which we now see her sitting.

It’s not a case about a woman, through no decision of her own, being whisked up by the hand of fate and plunked back down into the middle of a drug and partying lifestyle.

And it’s not a case about a horrible accident.

This is a case about meth, about money, and about murder in cold blood.”

In November 2008, the jury found Deb Nicholls guilty on three counts of firstdegree murder. She was sentenced to three life sentences and sent to the Denver Women’s Correctional Facility (DWCF).

B

OTH TIM AND DEB filed appeals, arguing that prosecutors improperly applied the available fire science and relied on an unreliable jailhouse informant in their cases.

Both appeals were rejected by the Colorado Supreme Court, generally the last place where a conviction in the state can be overturned.

But one Boulder defense attorney, Gail Johnson, knows that failed appeals don’t always signify a defendant’s guilt. In 2016, Johnson secured an exoneration for Clarence Moses-El, a Denver man who’d been convicted in 1988 of assault, sexual assault, and burglary and had been sentenced to 48 years in prison. After she met with Tim at the Sterling Correctional Facility, Johnson pored over thousands of pages of trial transcripts. “It was pretty obvious to me he didn’t do it,” Johnson says.

Deb, meanwhile, had been talking about her case with her father, Douglas Baumgardner, who had spoken with his daughter on the phone every day since she’d been sent to prison. Between check-ins and I-love-yous, Baumgardner scribbled notes on a yellow legal pad as he spoke with his daughter about a potential legal challenge.

Baumgardner had read about other arson cases in which the investigations mirrored the one at Undimmed Circle. There was Cameron Todd Willingham, a Texas man executed in 2004 for the arson deaths of his three children. Willingham was convicted, in part, based on fire science that included the similar too-hot-too-fast argument for flashover. A post-execution review of his case by fire experts determined Willingham likely did not commit the crime and instead was the victim of a shoddy investigation.

Another disturbingly similar case involved Amanda Gutweiler, who was indicted for the 2001 arson murders of her three children in Louisiana and faced the death penalty. Prosecutors questioned her lifestyle (Gutweiler’s three kids had different fathers), said she no longer wanted to be a mother, and argued she had killed the children for an insurance payout.

Just as in the Nichollses’ cases, DeHaan was brought in as an expert in the Gutweiler investigation and said in two different reports for prosecutors that accelerants must have been used in multiple areas to achieve flashover. Prosecutors later learned that there was no evidence of accelerants and that the crime scene had been compromised. The DA’s office then asked DeHaan to file a third report. In that account, DeHaan claimed he performed further tests and determined the fire’s origin was inconclusive. Gutweiler was released after spending four years in jail awaiting trial.

Deb had been in prison for 11 years awaiting a break in her own case—one that she and her father weren’t sure would ever come—when she learned Tim was visiting the DWCF. He was building sets for the University of Denver’s Prison Arts Initiative, which had brought a production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest to the prison. Tim got to attend the performance as part of his work with the group, which used inmates from Sterling as cast and crew.

Before the play began, Deb spotted Tim. A guard allowed the two to speak for about 20 minutes; it was the first time they’d seen each other in more than a decade. The pair talked about their children and asked each other how they were holding up. Tim pointed out Johnson, his new attorney, who was in the audience. He said Johnson thought there

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might be another avenue for an appeal. In fact, he told his ex-wife, his attorney thought Deb had the better chance for success.

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IN APRIL 2019, defense attorney Janene McCabe drove from Boulder to the DWCF to meet Deb. McCabe had been assigned the case after Deb wrote an appeal and a judge suggested she get professional legal representation. The prison sits on the northeast end of Denver, amid brown fields and aging warehouses. By that time, Deb had spent more than a decade of her life in the prison’s maximum-security unit, where she shared a single-windowed cell with another inmate and worked in the prison library. As McCabe and Deb met in the prison’s visitation room, the attorney thought Deb looked exhausted. Now 51, her hair was showing signs of gray.

Deb survived her days in prison mostly by distracting herself from the monotony of day-to-day life. In addition to her work at the library, she painted with watercolors and rode a stationary bicycle dozens of miles a week in the prison exercise room. Deb often thought about her children: her “mama’s boy,” Jay; Sophia’s serene nature; the happy clickclack of Sierra’s plastic Disney princess shoes echoing through the house.

She cried during most of her first meeting with McCabe, who’d spent weeks reading up on Deb’s case. “There was a lot of bogus science and bad investigative work obvious right from the beginning,” McCabe says. The attorney was also confounded by authorities’ deference to the CBI’s canine and to Church, the jailhouse informant.

As the pair sat together, Deb told her attorney about her family’s life before the fire, and about the aftermath. “Deb struck me as a typical Midwestern housewife,” McCabe says. Nothing about the woman in front of McCabe matched the story prosecutors told jurors at the trial. “It didn’t compute,” McCabe says. “Like, this is the meth addict who burned her house down and killed her kids and planned it with her husband?”

McCabe briefed Deb on their legal options.

Based, in part, on scientific evidence, Deb could file what’s known as a 35(c) motion.

A 35(c) of the Colorado Rules of Criminal Procedure allows defendants to raise “collateral attacks”—essentially presenting new evidence not previously available—with the original trial court, even after they’ve exhausted their rights to direct appeals elsewhere.

In this case, McCabe would largely focus on DeHaan, the fire expert who’d by that time been discredited for erroneous work in the Gutweiler case. DeHaan had not only initially claimed the Louisiana blaze was the result

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of separately ignited fires but also incorrectly calculated how much heat the burning furniture needed to generate to reach flashover.

He added that the fire burned too hot and too fast to match witnesses’ retelling of events, which he said meant an accelerant had to have been used, although none was found.

As with the Nichollses’ cases, DeHaan also used the concept of negative corpus—that is, because he could not determine an accidental cause, the fire could only be arson.

If a judge accepted the 35(c), McCabe explained, the decision could clear the way for a new trial for Deb. But getting a retrial based on new evidence is exceedingly difficult.

Minus convincing new evidence—newly tested DNA, for example—the American legal system is set up to have a judge or a jury be the final arbiter, with very little post-conviction wiggle room. “Appeals are virtually useless in unraveling the falsehoods that came forward at trial,” says Marc Howard, a professor of government and law at Georgetown University who heads the school’s Prisons and Justice Initiative, which aims to educate people about mass incarceration and is a leading criminal justice legal reform organization. “There’s a big myth about appeals. You think that means [a defendant] is going to be able to have another crack at making their case, but it’s over. Anything that gets admitted at trial is fact. Even if it’s lies, impossibilities, and junk science, it becomes fact.”

In a November 2013 hearing for Tim’s appeal, Judge G. David Miller was reluctant to move forward because he believed evolving fire science was not compelling enough to order a retrial. This wasn’t the “classic fingerprint missed at the scene by the cops…. Nor is it DNA,” the judge said at the hearing. “Science is constantly evolving in all fields. And one could make the argument in many, many, many cases that there’s been an evolution of some aspect of the scientific testimony that was provided a year ago, five years ago, 10 years ago.” DNA evidence, the judge said, was a “show-stopper.” Miller ultimately rejected Tim’s request for a new trial. The Colorado Court of Appeals affirmed the decision, and the Colorado Supreme Court later declined to review the judge’s ruling.

Still, there was hope for Deb. Since 1989, more than 79 people in the United States have been exonerated in arson cases. In 53 of those exonerations, there was false or misleading forensic evidence that had led to an initial conviction. If McCabe could make a strong enough argument in the 35(c) motion, she believed it could increase the odds of Deb getting a new trial.

MCCABE WAS WORKING in her office one day in the fall of 2019 when she got a call from Johnson, the attorney who was representing Tim. Johnson had learned that the Korey Wise Innocence Project (KWIP), at the University of Colorado Law School, was evaluating cases that had strong non-DNA evidence as the backbone for an appeal. Deb’s case seemed to be a fit for KWIP. In the 2000s, before Tim’s trial, Barry Scheck, co-founder of the Innocence Project, a national litigation and public policy organization that has funded appeals and expert testimony in hundreds of exonerations, formed an arson review committee to examine cases where defendants claimed they were wrongfully convicted. The work eventually would help focus court challenges based on non-DNA evidence where strong scientific components existed. In subsequent years, attorneys have had success overturning arson convictions across the country. Since 2013, according to data from the National Registry of Exonerations, at least 27 people convicted of arson-related murders have been exonerated.

McCabe contacted Anne-Marie Moyes, the executive director of KWIP. “I was immediately intrigued,” says Moyes, who’d read trial transcripts and reports and reached the same conclusions as McCabe. She noted much of the work on Undimmed Circle went against best practices from the National Fire Protection Association, a nonprofit that helps set standards for fire investigators. “I thought it was very straightforward,” Moyes says. “You have bad science, a jailhouse snitch, an arson dog—all those things that can be challenged because they’re just wrong.”

Moyes called a meeting with the Korey Wise board at CU and then phoned McCabe.

KWIP wanted in.

THE FIRE SCIENCE angle would serve as the basis for Deb’s 35(c) motion. For decades, defense attorneys across the country have chipped away at myriad myths underlying fire investigations, proving them to be consistently unreliable. The National Fire Protection Association has also attempted to remedy the unreliability of those investigations. In 1992, the group published NFPA 921, a pioneering guide that the organization hoped would help transform the field. Rather than relying on instincts and visual interpretations of scenes, NFPA 921 advocated for the scientific method and encouraged investigators to examine all evidence from a scene before making determinations about a fire’s origin and cause.

Perhaps the most famous denunciation of what was then accepted fire science occurred in 1991, in what is known as the Lime Street

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fire re-creation. At the time, a 35-year-old man named Gerald Wayne Lewis was suspected of killing six people, including his wife, in a house fire in Jacksonville, Florida.

Investigators discovered what they believed were obvious signs of arson.

Lewis said the fire had started accidentally on a living room couch where his son had been playing with matches. A police chemist reported the presence of gasoline on Lewis’ clothing. He was charged with six counts of murder and faced the death penalty.

Testing by fire investigators later revealed the gasoline conclusion was incorrect. Prosecutors turned to Lentini and DeHaan, who both thought Lewis’ explanation was implausible.

The pair was given access to a condemned house next to Lewis’ home and produced an elaborate re-creation of the fire.

Without using a liquid accelerant, such as gasoline, Lentini and DeHaan set a couch in the home’s living room on fire. They watched in astonishment as flames quickly took hold, tearing through the couch, then sending a column of smoke upward that hit the ceiling and spread a thick layer of hot gas overhead. Within three minutes, smoke was running down walls and filling the room.

The temperature skyrocketed, and the room exploded into flames. Windows shattered.

From a single ignition point on a couch, the room reached flashover in barely more than four minutes.

The men examined the living room and hallways afterward. Irregular spots that resembled pour patterns appeared on the burned floors. Pour patterns had once been a telltale sign of arson, but the test had proven they could occur as a result of flashover. The charges against Lewis were dropped.

Fire investigations across the country, however, continued to be woefully inaccurate. In 2006, 53 of the nation’s top fire investigators met at a soon-to-be-demolished hotel east of the Las Vegas Strip. ATF instructors created two, 168-square-foot rooms with open doorways in the hotel’s parking lot. They gathered similar queen beds, dressers, nightstands, and tables for each room. They then set fires at each end of the beds and let the fires burn for seven minutes. Afterward, instructors asked investigators to identify the 42-square-foot area from which the fires had originated and spread to other areas.

Just three out of 53 investigators successfully picked the correct section in the first room.

Another three of 53 picked the correct section in the second. “And it was a different set of three people,” says Steve Carman, a former ATF special agent who helped organize the test and now is president of Carman & Associates

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Fire Investigation in Grass Valley, California.

In other words, seasoned investigators picked the correct area less than six percent of the time. “What we recognized,” Carman says, “is there’s a problem.”

Chief among the issues, Carman says, is that investigators had been trained improperly, in many cases by colleagues who’d begun their careers in the 1960s and ’70s, when hunches and theories often trumped scientific reasoning when it came to fire dynamics. “The people who seemed to have the hardest time were the ones who’d done this for 20 or 30 years,” Carman says. “What is the commonality between all those people? Number one is most of them think they know everything and they don’t need to learn.”

Many of the investigators called to the scene on Undimmed Circle in 2003 had worked fires for decades. The most tenured among them was DeHaan, who’d been a criminalist for more than 30 years by the time he arrived in Colorado Springs. He’d been called by dozens of prosecutors over the years to investigate potential arson cases. At one point, he worked with the Discovery Channel to investigate the 1871 Great Chicago Fire.

Although he came to the Nicholls case at the request of American Family Insurance, DeHaan became an investigative cornerstone for Colorado Springs prosecutors. At the trials for both Tim and Deb, DeHaan ended up answering questions that fell well outside his range of expertise. In one instance, he was asked to diagnose the severity of the burns Tim suffered. Despite not having a medical degree, DeHaan called them superficial. In another, he was asked about canine behavior, specifically why the Nichollses’ dog didn’t bark to alert the family to the fire.

Despite the 2006 test blaze in Las Vegas that fire investigators had studied, DeHaan told jurors in both Tim and Deb’s trials in 2007 and 2008, respectively, that it was impossible for a single item—such as a burned couch—to initiate the kind of destruction he saw on Undimmed Circle. Indeed, in the years before and after the Colorado Springs fire, DeHaan investigated myriad blazes nationwide, and “fast and hot” repeatedly appeared as a centerpiece of his work.

He offered key evidence in several cases that subsequently came under question, including the case of Curtis Severns, who was sentenced to 27 years in prison in 2007 for intentionally setting his Plano, Texas, gun shop on fire. Two other experts believed that a frayed electric cord found at the scene created a chain reaction that burned down the building. Two years after the conviction—and two years after Deb

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T H RO U G H T H E F I R E

had been sent to prison—DeHaan admitted to the Texas Observer that it was “theoretically possible” that the fire was accidental.

Severns remains in prison.

There was also the Gutweiler fire in Louisiana. Calling the initial investigation “pretty dreadful,” DeHaan nonetheless examined grand jury testimony from witnesses who saw the fire and from others who said they’d been in the house before the fire and could describe its furnishings. He used that information, in part, to make the prosecution’s argument that the fire was intentional. He later changed his conclusion and wrote a final report claiming he’d performed additional lab tests that disproved his earlier findings.

When an investigative committee from the American Academy of Forensic Sciences questioned his report, DeHaan admitted he’d never run those additional tests. To Deb’s attorneys, there were far too many similarities between DeHaan’s work on the Gutweiler case and the methodology he used and the conclusions he reached at Undimmed Circle.

In 2015—three years after the Colorado Supreme Court rejected both Tim’s and Deb’s appeals—the American Academy of Forensic Sciences issued a 26-page report

that recommended DeHaan “be expelled from membership” for acting “unethically by inaccurately bolstering his own conclusions and testimony.” The report added that DeHaan’s “conduct dilutes the public’s confidence in the honesty and integrity of forensic scientists and the community as a whole, and perverts our system of justice.”

DeHaan resigned from the organization. He died in May 2022. Five months later, Deb’s attorneys filed the 35(c) motion.

MCCABE AND MOYES believed prosecutors at Deb’s trial had swayed the jury with a barrage of misinformation and misdirection. Even the most basic motive—that Tim and Deb killed their children for an insurance payout—fell apart when the facts were laid out appropriately.

“Everything about this case is speculation,” says Kathleen Lord, a KWIP staff attorney who is handling much of Deb’s case. “And the things [prosecutors] relied on to establish arson are now demonstrably unproven.” (Through a spokesperson, Colorado Springs prosecutors declined to comment.)

Not only did the couple not have life insurance for their children, they’d also secured a $28,000 home equity line of credit to fund

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improvements on their home before the fire.The house had new appliances, a new furnace, new carpeting, and an entirely renovated backyard that included an enormous play area for the children. At most, Deb’s attorneys estimated, the Nichollses would have gotten $10,000, beyond the replacement value of the home, if the house burned in an accidental fire.

Deb’s attorneys also considered the purposeful misdirection of evidence that was allowed in the original trials, which they claim was a sleight-of-hand tactic used to confuse jurors.There was no evidence, for example, that Deb’s methamphetamine use ran her afoul of drug dealers; there was also no proof that Deb was spending $500 a week on meth, as her former neighbor once suggested.

Maybe most critically, prosecutors relied heavily on the CBI chemist’s testimony involving xylenes and Goof Off but failed to mention that American Family Insurance’s laboratory results didn’t find accelerants in its tests. Furthermore, Deb’s 35(c) motion required that the CBI undertake an investigation of its own data in 2023. That examination revealed a consequential finding: Although xylenes had been found during the initial fire investigation, the CBI said they may not have been

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the byproduct of Goof Off. Instead, the report said that, contrary to a long-held belief by fire investigators, the xylenes could have been produced simply by objects burning at a very high temperature. Put another way, the presence of xylenes was insufficient evidence to conclude that the fire had been purposely set.

If the CBI’s new testing couldn’t confirm the use of an accelerant, then Goof Off couldn’t be proven to have been used to start the fire.

The lack of Goof Off in turn cast doubt on the jailhouse informant, who claimed Tim told him the product was used in the fire, which ultimately tied Deb to the conspiracy to burn the house down and kill the children.

Further, investigators didn’t collect a sample of unburned carpet found under a destroyed bookcase, which could have been tested to see if its chemical release matched the rest of the burned samples. Authorities also didn’t collect a living room lamp, which investigators noticed had a frayed cord but didn’t investigate further.

Investigators testified that Erin, the CBI’s canine, was extremely reliable; the investigative team also often repeated that the dog’s ability to sniff out accelerants can exceed laboratory testing capabilities. Deb’s defense argues in a supplement to its original 35(c) that only a few

of the canine “alerts” in the house yielded a confirmation in laboratory testing—and even in those positive cases, “trained canines cannot distinguish between hydrocarbons in ignitable liquids and hydrocarbons that exist at any fire scene when furniture and other items decompose at high temperatures.” Additionally, the attorneys argue, investigators were swayed by Erin’s alerts and built an arson case in large part based on the dog’s work.

In fact, NFPA 921 declares that canine alerts are speculative and “should not be offered as direct or circumstantial evidence of the presence of an ignitable liquid in a criminal or civil trial.” Colorado Springs prosecutors, through a spokesperson, declined to comment on the case because there are active motions.

Following his initial investigation at Undimmed Circle, Toth, the American Family Insurance investigator, claimed he’d performed his own tests involving candles and the spread of fire, which he said debunked the candle theory. But at Deb’s trial, he admitted he hadn’t recorded any of the tests and couldn’t prove they’d actually been performed.

This summer, it was announced that Deb’s motion would be heard again in a Colorado Springs district court, with the original judge

having recused herself. In October, senior judge Deborah R. Eyler of Pueblo was selected to preside over the case. If the motion proves convincing, hearings could begin in early 2024.

Because Deb’s case shares many of the same underlying facts as her ex-husband’s, Tim might have a similar path in court.

T

IM IS NOW 57. He’s built sets for his prison’s theatrical productions and trains dogs. So far, he’s spent more than a third of his life in prison, “hanging around people I probably wouldn’t have picked in my regular life,” he says in a phone call from the Sterling Correctional Facility. He talks to his mother and stepfather regularly.They’re keeping a room in their Woodland Park townhome for him.

He thinks often about his kids. He thinks about the old neighborhood, how the place on Undimmed Circle was the couple’s first real home. “We upgraded pretty much everything,” he says. New windows and doors; new carpeting and kitchen cabinets. They put in a sprinkler system. Tim built a sand pit for the kids. He redid the deck and built a miniature playhouse. “We made it a nice home,” he says.

Jay would be 31 now; Sophia 26; Sierra 24.

Tim thinks about fishing trips with Jay, how

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the two would visit comic book stores together.

He thinks about Sierra, his “daddy’s girl.” He remembers Sophia. He was at her elementary school one day, talking with someone, when he noticed his daughter had disappeared. He looked everywhere, then finally found her with a friend. “A little boy scraped his knee, and there she was, talking to him, occupying this kid’s mind so he wouldn’t think about how his knee hurt,” Tim says. He pauses. “That was so awesome. She had this amazing soul.”

The fire still occupies his thoughts. Tim remembers climbing the stairs, back up to the hallway. “The smoke’s following me,” Tim says. “It’s filling every available space.” When he opens the bedroom window, there’s smoke billowing past his head. The next thing he recalls is waking up outside to a nightmare.

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DEB REMEMBERS seeing her children in the hospital, how Sophia looked like she was sleeping, how her body had just one small burn on her leg. “That was it,” Deb says. She’s not mad at Tim for not getting the kids out. “I can’t put myself in his shoes,” she says on the phone from DWCF. “I’m not bitter or angry at him.”

In addition to the daily phone calls, her father tries to visit her a couple of times a year. Some of her siblings initially took their mother’s side but have now reconsidered. Sandra Wilson died from cancer, in 2015, and is buried next to her grandchildren. Wilson’s headstone reads, “The best grandmother ever.”

Deb often daydreams about what she’d do on her first day of freedom. She’d hug her father and thank him for believing her. She’d bake key lime and coconut pies for her attorneys. She’d visit her children’s graves. She’d find a way to visit the ocean. In her mind, swimming is the physical manifestation of freedom, a body unencumbered by constraints.

In the meantime, she’ll work in the library.

She’ll ride the stationary bicycle. She will paint. Deb’s almost finished her latest work, which is titled, “When I Look to the Sky.” It’s a reference to a Train song that was released the year her children died. The song’s lyrics deal with love and loss, about things taken away and replaced with memories.

The painting is of a wooden pier stretching far out into ocean waves. The sun is hiding somewhere, its golden hues illuminating the sky. In time, Deb says she will add a bicycle and a middle-aged woman at the end of the pier. The woman will have her hands extended skyward. She’ll be looking far in the distance, beyond the limits of the canvas, and into a vast openness only she can see. m Robert Sanchez is 5280’s senior staff writer.

Email feedback to letters@5280.com.

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THE OVERSIMPLIFIED GUIDE TO:

Shoveling A Sidewalk

Shoveling snow isn’t just winter’s most tedious task; it's also tailor-made for throwing out your back. To help keep you on the slopes and off the heating pad, Chad Singleton, a personal fitness trainer with CU Anschutz Health and Wellness Center, explains how to turn the chore into a snow day. — N I C H O L A S H U N T

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Protect yourself from injury with regular sets of squats, lunges, and dead lifts—three exercises that target your lower body—and planks to strengthen your core.

Stretching first will increase your flexibility. It will also help you engage all your muscles instead of favoring—and possibly overusing—certain groups. Singleton likes thoracic spine stretches, wall slides, and toe touches.

Engage and tighten your core before each scoop by taking a deep breath and holding it. “Imagine standing on a beverage can,” Singleton says. “If it's full, it can support you. If it has nothing in it, it will get crushed.”

Before you slide your shovel into the snow, bend your knees between 15 and 20 degrees. Once the spade is full, lift with your legs, making sure to use your glutes, hamstrings, and quads. Exhale as you finish the full motion.

Overloading your shovel with snow can strain your back.

So can twisting your body to toss the flakes aside. Instead, point your feet toward where you want to fling your haul. Repeat until the sidewalk is clear.

5280 / DECEMBER 2023

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Cherry Hills Village 2950 E. Stanford Drive

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Greenwood Village 2860 E. Willamette Lane

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