5280 Magazine September 2023

INSIDE THE BATTLE AGAINST COLORADO’S CAR THEFT CRISIS PAGE 32

WHY LUIS BENITEZ BELIEVES THE OUTDOOR RECREATION INDUSTRY NEEDS A SEAT IN D.C.

BY GEOFF VAN DYKE

7 RECIPES FOR A DELICIOUS FALL HARVEST FEAST PAGE 72

30

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GRAVEL BIKING Our Must-Have Field Manual For Trying The Hottest Thing On Two Wheels

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Contents SEPTEMBER 2023

Holy Gravel!

Combine gravel biking’s welcoming culture and ease of entry with Colorado’s seemingly endless maze of dirt roads and trails, and it’s clear why the Centennial State has become a mecca for the sport.

BY NICHOLAS HUNT

72

82

Andrea Murdoch, the chef behind Denver’s Four Directions Cuisine, shares how to celebrate the fall harvest through a feast replete with traditional Indigenous foods.

Luis Benitez wants to harness his experience as the former director of the Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office to create a similar entity in the federal government—but can he persuade Beltway politicians?

Firmly Rooted

BY PATRICIA KAOWTHUMRONG

Force Of Nature

BY GEOFF VAN DYKE

Slow-cooked bison and a trio of salsas

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5280 / SEPTEMBER 2023

Aaron Colussi; Natalie Warady (prop styling); Veronica Spera (food styling)

62

Contents SEPTEMBER 2023

20

40

26

22

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

12 Meet the photographer

who captured images for this month’s gravel biking feature.

CO M PA S S How Gregory Alan Isakov’s Boulder County farm helped inspire the Grammy nominee’s latest album. Plus: four local artists dismantling the West’s Marlboro Man stereotype.

18 ADVENTURE

42 E AT & D R I N K

CO LU M N S

AC T L I K E A LO C A L

25 WHAT’S HOT

32 CRIME

120 THE OVERSIMPLIFIED GUIDE TO: SPLITTING A LOG

When one writer stopped trying to keep up on the trail, she rediscovered the joy of hiking.

Top Chef alum Carrie Baird slings delightful a.m. eats at Fox and the Hen.

20 INTERSECTIONS

Three beekeepers making it deliciously easy to support Colorado pollinators.

Your guide to the best spots, fresh and classic, on Tennyson Street.

22 FASHION

What Coloradans can learn from University of Colorado Boulder head football coach—and recent GQ Sports Style Hall of Fame inductee—Deion Sanders.

26 TREND

28 REVIEW

Lucina Eatery & Bar invites diners to give themselves over to the culinary traditions of Latin America, South America, Spain, and the Caribbean.

88 DINING GUIDE

A Grand Junction–based task force may have finally figured out a way to put the brakes on runaway auto theft in Colorado.

Five tips for channeling your inner Paul Bunyan in time for the fall camping season.

BY SPENCER CAMPBELL

40 HIGHER EDUCATION

Colorado State University rests on land seized from Indigenous tribes, who have largely been ignored by CSU ever since. A new administrator, Patrese Atine, plans to build those relationships.

O N T H E C OV E R Photograph by Joshua W. Strong Waterton Canyon

BY KELLY BASTONE

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: Sarah Banks; Jimena Peck; Sarah Banks; Trinette Reed/Stocksy

15 ARTS & CULTURE

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FROM THE EDITOR

Onward & Upward

^ Denverite Luis Benitez on Mt. Everest in 2003

Geoff Van Dyke details in this month’s profile of Benitez (“Force Of Nature,” page 82), the 51-year-old adventurer now wants to galvanize the outdoor recreation industry at the federal level by creating a national office of outdoor recreation. “There are 22 state offices of outdoor recreation, but there’s a limit to what they can accomplish without federal coordination,” Van Dyke says.

“Creating a new federal office these days is a big ask, but given that outdoor recreation is an $862 billion industry in the United States, Benitez believes his mission is warranted. And advocating for outdoor rec seems to be one of the last issues both sides of the aisle are willing to support.”

I hadn’t seen Benitez since our longago coffee chat, but our paths crossed again in early 2023, right after he had left a private sector job to begin his latest campaign. This time around, we grabbed a hard cider about six blocks from the state Capitol, which seemed fitting. Benitez’s goal of having a federal office of outdoor recreation is an ambitious one, but if anyone can move mountains inside the U.S. Capitol, it’s a guy who has summited Mt. Everest six times.

LINDSEY B. KING

Joshua W. Strong had been an avid cyclist and adventure photographer for years, but those passions hadn’t collided until summer 2020, when Strong brought a camFreelance era to a local bike race. Since then, Strong, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, has been Photographer involved in Colorado’s cycling scene, making them the perfect choice to capture images for “Holy Gravel!” (page 62), 5280’s guide to gravel biking. For Strong, though, one of the most important aspects of gravel biking is diversity. “There are many ways individuals have faced barriers in the sport, whether that be gender, race, financial background,” Strong says. “I think it is important that the community do work to welcome, engage, and enable people to enjoy this wonderful sport.” That desire for inclusivity extended to Strong’s photo shoot for 5280, where they invited their own models to participate. “It was a great opportunity to ensure the models were all diverse,” Strong says, “and therefore showcase that there are so many more people who ride bikes than the typical stereotype.”

JOSHUA W. STRONG

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5280 / SEPTEMBER 2023

Editor lindsey@5280.com

CORRECTION

In July’s “Power To The People,” we wrote about Fisher-Dwyer Greens and Flowers; the name is actually Dwyer Greens and Flowers. We regret the error.

From top: Didrik Johnck; Arthur Mount

It was the summer of 2017, and I was working on a story about how Colorado land managers were seeing a distressing rise in what they called the loving-it-to-death phenomenon. Too many people were in the same outdoor spaces at the same times, and they often weren’t respecting the sensitive environments they were visiting. To learn more about how the state might address the growing problem, I had coffee on the 16th Street Mall with Luis Benitez, who was then the director of the nascent Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office.

Benitez wasn’t exactly what I was ex­pecting from the director of an agency housed within the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade. He was gregarious, confident, funny, compelling, and adamant that the state needed to find a way to protect its valuable natural assets not only because they were ecologically worthy of protection, but also because they were a huge economic driver.

“We’re never going to put a ‘closed’ sign on Colorado,” Benitez said then. “But this is an industry worth billions of dollars, and I think we can—and should— take care of our own backyard.”

Six years later, Benitez is, if possible, even more outspoken about and dedicated to that cause—so much so that he’s taking his convictions to Wash­ing­ ton, D.C. As 5280 editorial director

A partial list of places in Colorado where it’s OK to talk about guns: • Next to that Colorful Colorado sign (selfie!)

• After you hucked that backy off a cornice • Around the campfire • After anyone starts struggling emotionally • Before anyone starts struggling emotionally • In line for tickets at the big game (go local sports!)

• Between the opening act and the headliner • The front seat of a pickup on your way to work

• The tailgate of a pickup after youʼre done with work

• The gun range (of course) • The gun store (of course) • The gun show (OK we get it) • In the checkout line at the organic grocer • After that meeting that couldʼve been an email • While youʼre mucking the stalls

• The trailhead (Colorado has more than 1,400 of 'em!)

• While youʼre setting up a ground blind • During potlucks at your house of worship • When youʼre programming the code to your new quick access safe

• Over burgers (soy, beef, bison, whatever) • Waiting for a double oatmilk latte • When you drop your kids off • At the mechanic • With your parents • Around the kitchen table • Over the backyard fence • At the pool, lake, beach or swimming hole • The local brewery (you know the one) • Walking your dog to the dog park to play with dogs

• Everywhere not on this list too

LetsTalkGunsColorado.com Want to prevent gun violence? Talk about guns.

Talk about how they’re secured. How they’re used. And how to make sure the wrong people don’t get them. Because there are simple actions everyone can take to keep Colorado safe.

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A R T S & C U LT U R E

Home Field Advantage Gregory Alan Isakov has always had a green thumb, but it wasn’t until 2009 that the now 43-year-old singer-songwriter fully grasped the role farming plays in his creative process. Growing up in Philadelphia, the South African–born musician performed in local bands, but he moved to Boulder in 2000 to study horticulture at Naropa University, because a career as a touring musician felt unobtainable. “It was like playing Metroid and trying to beat the boss at the end,” he says.

Even so, Isakov saw a chance to make a living off his music alone after his songs caught the ears of some veteran acts, earning him invitations on three separate tours supporting Brandi Carlile, Ani DiFranco, and the Indigo Girls. Saying yes to all three meant turning his attention away from the farm he helped manage in Lyons, and Isakov was surprised by how quickly he felt out of balance and stifled creatively.

PHOTOGRAPH BY REBECCA CARIDAD

SEPTEMBER 2023 / 5280

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A R T S & C U LT U R E

WESTERN PROMISES

CONTINUED

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5280 / SEPTEMBER 2023

Four local artists are disrupting the West’s Marlboro Man stereotype as part of Cowboy, a venue-wide exhibition (September 29 to February 18) at the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver. —SPENCER CAMPBELL

IN PLAINS’ SIGHT During the summer of 2021, Denver photographer Juan Fuentes documented the lives of modern-day Mexican cowboys in the Eastern Plains town of Bennett—from rows of water tanks and fence lines (“Untitled,” pictured) to cowboy hats being sold alongside El Torito Regio sauce at local markets—for his series 36 Miles East.

Appaloosa Bones, Isakov’s sixth fulllength album, was released on August 18.

NOTE TO SELF Grace Kennison’s “I Remember Being Alone”—in which a sword-wielding angel bears down on a cowgirl holding a knife to a snarling dog—“explores my desire to pull myself out from under the hard, isolate American soul.” The painting, in other words, is an acknowledgment of white women’s culpability in genocide and settler colonialism. It is also a rejection of the belief that violence was justified to tame the West. “I am expelling myself from the fantasy that it represents,” says Kennison, who is white and lives in northern Colorado, “naming the killer, and moving again toward liberation.”

SIGNS OF THE TIMES Buffalo Bill Cody’s famed Wild West show featured cowboys from around the world, including the American-occupied Philippines. Those Filipino horsemen were largely forgotten until visual artist Yumi Janairo Roth and gender studies scholar Emmanuel David, both Filipino Americans and professors at the University of Colorado Boulder, launched We Are Coming.

Named for Cody’s messianic marketing slogan “I Am Coming,” the project displayed those men’s names on the marquees of vintage Western venues, and the MCA Denver will even install a marquee of its own.

Clockwise from far left: Courtesy of Gregory Alan Isakov; Courtesy of Juan Fuentes (“Untitled,” from the series 36 Miles East, 2021); Courtesy of Yumi Janairo Roth and Emmanuel David (“We Are Coming” (Boulder, CO), 2022)

“I think in 2009, I played 200 shows, and I sort of lost my mind,” he says.

He also lost any energy to write new material. “I was depressed,” he says, “and I was like, that’s bizarre.”

Isakov realized that getting his hands dirty was integral to both his artistic process and his well-being.

In 2014, he bought Starling Farm, a bucolic, six-acre parcel in Boulder Country (complete with a sheep pasture and studio space) that provides vegetables to roughly a hundred customers and a handful of local restaurants. Not only does the pastoral environment give the troubadour plenty of earthy metaphors for his lyrics, but the exactness of cultivating heirloom vegetables is also a salve against music’s mercurial nature. “With songs, you can get really excited about them, but then when you come back to them later, you’re like, Why the fuck aren’t they working now?” he says.

“With farming, I know exactly how many beets to put in a 50-foot bed and to germinate them at exactly 78 degrees. It’s so calculable, and that’s refreshing.”

Working at Starling Farm helped keep Isakov grounded—literally and metaphorically—while writing and recording Appaloosa Bones, his sixth album and a follow-up to 2018’s Grammy-nominated Evening Machines. The record, unveiled on August 18, recaptures the nomadic, unsure days of his early career, which included playing gigs at Appaloosa Grill on Denver’s 16th Street Mall to earn rent money. The project took five years to complete, partly because Isakov was content to take his time and partly because he wrote so much: He composed 35 songs for the album before weeding out 24 songs to get to the final 11. Now Isakov faces another busy tour across North America and Europe to promote the release, including shows this month at Mission Ballroom (September 2) and at Red Rocks Amphitheatre (September 4). But as soon as that’s over? The soil beckons. —CHRIS WALKER

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A DV E N T U R E

In Step

Why I no longer strive to keep up on the trails.

It wasn’t the moose blocking the path that stopped me. It was my husband— when I walked straight into his back.

At least 10 minutes had passed since I’d last seen the flash of his blue shirt amid the pine and fir trees in Rocky Mountain National Park. That wasn’t unusual: Our hikes often turned into solo missions. His six-foot-two frame and singular focus on our destination (be it a lake, summit, or cascade) regularly outpaced my it’s-about-the-journey hiking style.

I was so surprised to crash into him—and to see a moose 50 yards in front of me—that I didn’t even glower at him for leaving me behind. Our speed disparity had irked me for years.

It was an incompatibility I couldn’t square with the rest of our relationship.

What was supposed to be quality time together left me feeling abandoned, and I began to lose the joy of hiking— along with my breath—while I tried to keep up.

I knew the issue wasn’t that he didn’t care or wanted to hike without me; it just felt as impossible for him to match my languid pace as it was for me to speed up and not feel like I was in a trail race.

It was on a path near Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve in 2016 that I finally realized that, if I was ostensibly hiking alone, I could hike however I wanted—while letting my husband hike his own way, too. I needed to let go of my frustrations and let the fun back in. A few months later, while trekking the Village to Village Trail at Beaver Creek Resort, I focused less on where my husband was and more on why I was lacing up my boots in the first place: I was surrounded by wild silvery lupine and pink fireweed.

TAKE YOUR TIME

Three trails well-suited to leisurely fall hiking. —DS

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5280 / SEPTEMBER 2023

The wind whistled as it blew through the aspen trees.

By not trying to make the math work, I began to appreciate that our different styles came with perks. We both get the safety of a hiking partner, but I’m also able to revel in my solitude (at least until we meet up at the next fork in the path). I can puzzle through a story I’ve been struggling to write or daydream about adventures

Bergen Peak Trail, Evergreen This 10.3-mile round trip up 9,701-foot Bergen Peak near Evergreen will tax your lungs if you take things too quickly.

not yet taken. I still get to enjoy that all-important quality time on the way to and from the trailhead, at overlooks where we share a snack, and when we celebrate with a summit selfie. With more years and many more miles behind us, I’ve come to see that it doesn’t matter if our footsteps are out of sync because we are still a pair. And we don’t need a moose to force us back together. —DALIAH SINGER

Raccoon Trail, Golden Gate Canyon State Park It’s only a 3.5 mile-loop, but with some of the park’s best views you’ll have to stop for plenty of photos.

Blue Lakes Trail, Breckenridge From mountain goats to looming Quandary Peak, there’s plenty to admire on this 2.8-mile, above-treeline trek.

I L LU S T R AT I O N B Y B OYO U N KI M

INTERSECTIONS

Revolving Doors

Tennyson Street may have lost a few beloved businesses over the past decade, including Elitch Lanes and BookBar, but a slew of new boutiques and eateries—plus a few mainstays— has helped the six-block stretch between 38th and 44th streets maintain its reputation as one of northwest Denver’s premier retail and dining destinations. —ALLYSON REEDY chairs for cozy tippling. Griego says he wouldn’t have considered opening an after-dark destination here a decade ago, but these days the street feels safer after sundown. Top Tenn, located next to Griego’s tattoo studio, Monkey Fist, isn’t Tennyson’s only new spot for a nightcap.

The speakeasy-esque OK Yeah and golfthemed Crow’s Nest both opened earlier this year.

4 The Oriental Theater 4335 W. 44TH AVE.

The Oriental opened in 1927, just as movies got sound, but things went quiet midcentury when the suburbs lured its audiences away. Although there was a brief stint showing, ahem, adult films in the ’70s, the Oriental finally got loud again in 2006 when new owners brought the theater back to life as a music venue.

This month, catch first-wave punk band Dead Boys (September 12) and indie-folk quintet the Nadas (September 14).

5 Fenway Clayworks 4317 TENNYSON ST.

W. 41st Ave.

20

3936 TENNYSON ST.

Indie outdoors shop Feral started in a tiny Tennyson bungalow in 2016, but two years later, after the building’s landlord decided to redevelop the property, the shop moved into its current home: the century-old Berkeley Theater. Now it boasts the city’s largest selection of used gear and technical clothing, and if you can’t find what you’re 4 looking for secondhand, Feral has new equipment 5 as well as select rentals. Its W. 43rd Ave. repair program can extend the life of old gear, too.

TENNYSON ST.

W. 44th Ave.

1 Feral

3 1

W. 41st Ave.

2

5280 / SEPTEMBER 2023

2 Call Your

Mother Deli

3880 TENNYSON ST.

Andrew Dana and chef

Daniela Moreira weren’t going to open the 10th outpost of their Jewish deli—and the first outside of the Washington, D.C., area—just anywhere. They were looking for a neighborhood full of browsable shops where families can camp out for a few hours on the weekends, and with Dana’s best friend living in Denver, Tennyson Street caught the couple’s eyes. Their hunch paid off: When Call Your Mother opened this past May, the line for its honey-tinged bagels extended down the block.

3 Top Tenn Lounge 4110 TENNYSON ST.

Ortavio Griego recently launched his fourth business on the street, the wineand-classic-cocktail-focused Top Tenn Lounge, which found its niche with a simple menu and loads of leather club

From top: Sarah Banks; Courtesy of Fenway Clayworks

^

The Oriental Theater

After his 2022 holiday pop-up shop proved a hit, ceramicist Sean VanderVliet practically begged the building’s owners to let him keep selling his mid-mod-style pottery in the storefront through 2023.

That means you’re on the clock to snag his clean-lined lamps, sconces, pitchers, and mugs in person. (Don’t worry; his digital store won’t be going anywhere.) “Tennyson has the most communal feel,” VanderVliet says. “They really support their own.”

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FA S H I O N

Prime Style

The hapless Buffs aren’t the only ones who need their new coach, Deion Sanders, to revamp their vibes. Coloradans—ridiculed for their Chaco tans and penchants for plaid— could learn a thing or two about fashion from the recent GQ Sports Style Hall of Fame inductee, too. —MAREN HORJUS

Mojo Filter

“I don’t follow trends. I set trends,” Sanders told GQ. So maybe we have Prime to thank for the revival of the oversize, full-frame shades he’s worn for decades, like these from Boulder-based Optic Nerve. $30

You won’t catch Coach Prime wearing his signature bandana on the sidelines anymore, but he’ll still rock a rib-knit turtleneck. Grab a similar version (for what we imagine is a similar price) designed by Italy’s Marni at Boulder boutique Canoe Club. $1,195

1996 Retro Nuptse Jacket

Sanders was famously fined for shirking NFL-licensed garb on the sideline in favor of a puffy black ski coat.

“We didn’t have nothing that big and thick that kept me warm,” he told GQ. You can still snag that ’90s look with this boxy jacket made

by Denver gear giant the North Face. $330

Cowboy Hat

Sanders’ custom-made Colorado headgear (recreated here by the Mile High City’s Cowboy Up Hatters) features a deep cattleman’s crease on the crown, a 4.5-inch brim with slightly square corners, and a stark white color for added flash—as if Neon Deion needed any. From $750

Pantheon III

Sanders recently tweeted that being on time is one thing that requires zero talent. Match his current look—a light dial and black leather band—and his punctuality with Denver watchmaker John Atencio’s Rome-inspired Pantheon III timepiece. $1,195 22

5280 / SEPTEMBER 2023

Sarah Banks (hat); Courtesy of the North Face (jacket); Courtesy of Optic Nerve (sunglasses); Courtesy of John Atencio (watch); Courtesy of Canoe Club (sweater); Getty Images (grass)

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Eat & Drink W H AT ’ S H O T

Morning Munchies

From top: A strawberry and Campari cocktail, croque madame, and smothered breakfast burrito

Most kids fantasize about becoming movie stars or firefighters. But chef Carrie Baird, formerly of Bar Dough, and Michael Fox, owner of Dis Burrito (which makes freezer-friendly a.m. wraps for local grocers, coffeeshops, and catering gigs), both dreamed of opening breakfast restaurants as children.

So when the two connected in 2021, it was as if the sunnyside-up eggs had aligned. The duo’s daytime LoHi eatery, Fox and the Hen, debuted in June with a grab-your-own-hotsauce wall and throwback neon signage. “I really love tapping into that American nostalgia,” says Baird, who filled the menu with cheeky takes on breakfast favorites, such as Le Big Mac Omelette. Served with fries, the French-style omelet is stuffed with ground beef, smothered in an American cheese hollandaise, and sprinkled with lettuce, diced onion, pickles, and sesame bun breadcrumbs. Or try one of Baird’s Fancy-ish Toasts, a reference to the signature tartines she made on Top Chef in 2018.

Options include the croque madame (griddled sourdough layered with ham, Gruyère cheese, béchamel sauce, spicy tomato jam, and a poached egg) and a ricotta- and custard-stuffed brioche French toast with jam and granola. Both are vast improvements over the sugar cereals of your youth. —ETHAN PAN

PHOTOGRAPH BY SARAH BANKS

SEPTEMBER 2023 / 5280

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TREND

Lyons’ Spirit Hound Distillers, offers notes of oak, vanilla, and warm spices.

Third-generation beekeeper Pontus Jakobsson and his wife, Lara Boudreaux, are behind this Front Range honey empire. Named for Jakobsson’s grandfather, who taught his father and him the family trade back in Sweden, Björn’s was born in 2013 and has since grown to encompass 150 hives across Boulder County; retail stores in Breckenridge, Steamboat Springs, Littleton, and DIA; and 25 local farmers’ market stands. Those looking to embrace raw honey’s reported medicinal benefits will find myriad options, including honey infused with congestion-clearing oshá root and a variety blended with propolis, a substance made by bees from tree and plant resins purported to have antibacterial properties.

BUY: Björn’s Sweet and Spicy honey ($29 for 10.5 ounces), a collaboration with Pueblo’s Jojo’s Sriracha, is made with Pueblo-grown red jalapeños. Drizzle over pizza crust for what Jolene “Jojo” Collins calls “hipster sopaipillas.”

HOMESTEAD IN THE HOOD

Buzz Worthy

With Colorado’s pollinators in peril, it’s never been more important to support our local bees and beekeepers. Thanks to these makers, it’s also deliciously easy.

There’s no way to sugarcoat it: Colorado bees are in trouble. Due to pesticide use, drought, and climate change, the Centennial State’s population of hive dwellers has declined 72 percent in the past 25 years—one of the steepest drops in the nation. That’s a problem, because these pollinators play a crucial role in our ecosystem and are responsible for one in every three bites of food we consume. In sweeter news, however, state lawmakers recently passed a bill limiting the use of bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides in the state, and there are several fiercely dedicated local beekeepers, including these three, caring for their colonies and producing award-winning products in the process. —CALLIE SUMLIN 26

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BEE SQUARED APIARIES

3 More Ways To Help • Plant bee-friendly native flowers.

• Choose pesticide-free seeds and forgo insecticides on your property.

• Buy organic produce to reduce agricultural pesticide use.

Berthoud beekeeper Beth Conrey boasts three prestigious Good Food Awards for her products, including a floral, rose-petal-infused honey. Even more impressive is her commitment to supporting pollinators: Between tending her 200-some hives, Conrey co-founded the statewide People and Pollinators Action Network nonprofit and donates two percent of Bee Squared’s gross sales to organizations that protect bees.

BUY: Bee Squared’s Spiced Rum Barrel Aged honey ($15 for 12 ounces), the result of a recent partnership with

In 2019, Sarah and Matt McLean were stung by the beekeeping bug. Their hobby evolved into Homestead in the Hood, a company Matt left his Denver Public Schools teaching job to run full time. With the bounty produced by hives dispersed among their own backyard in Historic Westminster and private properties in Erie, Lakewood, Centennial, and Denver, the couple handmakes everything from beeswax food wraps (a natural, biodegradable alternative to plastic wrap) to candles to specialty honeys flavored with lemon peel. Curious about beekeeping yourself? Homestead in the Hood also offers Beekeeping 101 classes as well as guided beehive tours, during which kids and adults can don bee suits and get an up-close, educational look at what happens inside the hive.

BUY: The palate-warming Winter Warrior honey ($17 for eight ounces) is boosted with bee pollen, clove, ginger, orange peel, and cayenne.

Clockwise from top left: Trinette Reed/Stocksy; Courtesy of Björn’s Colorado Honey; Sarah Banks; Courtesy of Jamie Erickson/Bee Squared Apiaries

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REVIEW

Leap Of Faith

Lucina Eatery & Bar invites diners to give themselves over to the culinary traditions of Latin America, South America, Spain, and the Caribbean. — ALLYSON REEDY ark Hill’s Lucina is an undeniably fun restaurant. Not like ordering-out-of-aclown’s-mouth fun or, ahem, watchingcliff-divers-plunge-off-a-waterfall fun. Instead, Lucina’s particular brand of amusement for diners is allowing them to try—and delight in—something they may have never eaten before.

It’s a trust fall sort of fun, where you’re nervous and giddy because you don’t quite know what’s about to happen, but you have a hunch it will be exhilarating.

Lucina’s namesake is chef-owner Erasmo (Ras) Casiano’s mother, who

P

^

From left: Owners Ras Casiano, Diego Coconati, and Michelle Nguyen; the banana con dulce de leche 28

5280 / SEPTEMBER 2023

made sure that everyone who entered her home was well-fed. The lineup of shareable Latin and Caribbean small plates blends Casiano’s Mexican upbringing with chef-partner Diego Coconati’s South American and Caribbean childhood. Everything about the restaurant, from the bench seating and floral-wallpaper-adorned bar to the dishes that blend surprising combinations of flavors and textures, is a soulful celebration of these bold cultures.

Dive into the unknown with the tlacoyo cochinita, a masa “boat” that holds kicky habanero-garlic crema and

pork that’s been slow-roasted overnight. Give the dish a squeeze of the quartered lime, rip off a chunk, and eat it with your hands. The presentation is intentional—this is the kind of restaurant where you’re encouraged to play with your food. It’s a messy bite, yes, but it’s also tender and warm with spices such as Mexican cinnamon and achiote.

Another must-have to start your meal is the pan de casa.The sourdoughmeets-cornbread textured loaf is delicious, but it’s the fluffy cloud of accompanying chimichurri butter that makes you overlook the $5.50 cost for a small serving. (We recommend upgrading to a large for $11.) While it is a bit of a downer that free bread at restaurants has all but disappeared, the upside is that, at least at Lucina, PHOTOGRAPHY BY SARAH BANKS

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REVIEW

the care put into the pre-meal carbs makes them well worth the price tag.

If the aguachile negro is available (the menu rotates seasonally), order it—even if just for the shock value.

The team burns garlic, onion, scallions, and four types of chiles to create an inky sauce called salsa ceniza.

You will wonder how something so pitch black can taste so bright, and you’ll happily dip the accompanying tostadas into the sharp, citrusy pool— taking care to grab a shrimp, a cucumber ring, cilantro, and onion on the way—while trying to solve that riddle.

Carrots have never been my favorite thing to see on a menu—they’re often so snoozy—but I closed my eyes and leaned into Lucina’s multifaceted rendition of the ubiquitous vegetable.

Casiano and Coconati toast a pile of rainbow carrots (zanahorias, in Spanish) in their giant pizza oven, the centerpiece of the open kitchen, and stack them alongside charred scallions and crispy pepitas. It all sits atop a swoosh of tangy crema agria (Mexico’s version of sour cream) blended with chives for a fancy, onion-dip-like accompaniment that has serious flair.

Alcapurrias, or Puerto Rican fritters, aren’t on many local menus, but you should give these fried parcels a try. Made with a ground yucca and taro crust, Lucina’s version has braised chicken spiced with cumin, coriander, paprika, and sofrito (the Latin American mirepoix of peppers, tomatoes, onions, and garlic). A little smoky and a whole lot crispy, the alcapurrias are best topped with the attendant tangy cabbage salad and then plunged into the spicy serrano crema, all of which cuts the heft of the batter.

Patrons dining at Lucina on Fridays and Saturdays are in for a different treat. The weekend-only paella is fantastic—but it does require patience.

Each 10.5-inch dish, which easily feeds two to three, is made to order and can take up to an hour to hit the table. But once it arrives, every bite is an adventure. The inclusions change weekly based on what’s fresh, but my paella pan brimmed with red peppers, mussels, trumpet mushrooms, chorizo, shrimp, saffron threads, and large chunks of salmon. My only complaint was that the rice, the best bits of 30

5280 / SEPTEMBER 2023

FOUND IN TRANSLATION We highly suggest branching out from the familiar offerings on Lucina’s menu. Use our primer on these items listed in Spanish to order like a pro. —AR ALCAPURRIAS \ al-kuh-pur-ee-uhz These giant pockets—stuffed with spiced chicken and sofrito at the Park Hill eatery—are a popular fritter in Puerto Rico. They are battered in yucca, taro root, and achiote then deep-fried to crackling perfection.

CONGRÍ \ kon-gree Tender black beans are cooked with fluffy rice and sofrito to produce congrí, which is often presented alongside plantains. The classic Cuban side dish is a satisfying addition to plates such as the churrasco y papas (chimichurriglazed hanger steak with potatoes).

MADUROS \ mah-doo-rohs Maduros are ripe plantains that are gently fried to caramelize the sugars (think: the best banana you’ve ever had). Ask for the side dish, devoured throughout the Caribbean and Latin America, with the mojo pork chop.

which should be scraped off the bottom of the pan, could’ve been crispier.

Lucina sources its desserts from Stanley Marketplace’s Miette et Chocolat (Casiano and Coconati also run the food hall’s Create Kitchen and Bar) and then assembles them at the restaurant. It’s a smart move, as one of Miette et Chocolat’s pastry chefs and chocolatiers, Gonzo Jimenez, is a member of Christina Tosi’s Bake Squad, the Netflix show that’s all about creating over-the-top treats.

Unsurprisingly, the banana con dulce de leche is extravagant, with piped dulce de leche white chocolate ganache, banana crémeux (a cross between a mousse and a custard), and an enjoyable crunch courtesy of the sablé cookie on the bottom.

Lucina is that rare-in-Denver place where you’ll want to bring all your friends so that they, too, can experience the unexpected culinary rush.The magic here lies in the uncertainty.Trust me, you’re in great hands.

^

A feast, including paella and charbroiled oysters, at Lucina

LUCINA EATERY & BAR

2245 Kearny St.; lucinaeatery.co The Draw: Inventive dishes inspired by the cuisines of Latin America, South America, the Caribbean, and Spain; lively vibe The Drawback: Some dishes are a little pricey Noise Level: Moderate Don’t Miss: Pan de casa, tlacoyo cochinita, zanahorias, weekend paella

MOFONGO \ moh-fone-goh This Puerto Rican specialty features mashed, fried plantains mixed with garlic and chunks of crispy pork.

Lucina’s dish is served with a generous side of sliced pork belly and topped with an herb salad.

PUPUSAS \ puh-poo-suhs In Honduras and El Salvador, thick, griddled corn cakes—or pupusas— are packed with meats, beans, or cheeses. At Lucina, the parcels are filled with ropa vieja: stewed beef, tomatoes, and sofrito.

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CRIME

How The West Was Won

32

BY S P E N C E R CA M P B E L L

Police believe car theft is key to cracking down on all kinds of crime.

ripping open cabinets and riffling through drawers, stealing firearms and much of the jewelry Kenneth had purchased for his wife, Peggy, during their 46 years of marriage. When a local deputy arrived, he found the Sanders’ TV in the driveway and a boot print on the splintered front door.

That same month, a task force created specifically to investigate car-related crimes met at the Mesa County Sheriff ’s Office for its regularly scheduled weekly operation. The group wasn’t designed to investigate burglaries like the one at the Sanders’ house, but the leaders of the task force, a Colorado State Patrol (CSP) initiative dubbed Beat Auto Theft Through Law Enforcement (BATTLE) West, had been trying something new to fight a rise in auto thefts.

From 2019 to 2021, car thefts in the United States increased by 25 percent, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB). The crime wave hit Colorado particularly hard: The number of boosted vehicles here skyrocketed 98 percent from 2018 to 2022, earning the Centennial State the dubious distinction of being, per capita, the car theft capital of the country.

Instead of solely targeting auto theft, BATTLE West had started offering to help law enforcement agencies in its western Colorado district pursue all property crime. The thinking behind the strategy: When a law is broken, a stolen car is typically involved. The Sanders’ burglary was a perfect example. After PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY SEAN PARSONS

5280 / SEPTEMBER 2023

Source photos: Getty Images (8)

On a Sunday morning this past March, Ted Ruckman drove his white Ford truck to the Palisade peach orchard his family has owned for four generations, killed the engine, slipped the keys into the console, and set off around a garage to fix a broken-down backhoe. While making the repairs, Ruckman heard the light crunch of gravel under tires but didn’t think much of it.

One of his neighbors headed to church, most likely. When he rounded the garage on his way to pick up more parts, however, Ruckman discovered his truck was gone.

Two days later and five miles away, as friends and family gathered for the funeral of Kenneth Sanders, a former U.S. Marine who died from cancer at the age of 71, thieves kicked in his widow’s front door. Several men tore through the Mesa County home,

A Grand Junction–based task force may have finally figured out a way to put the brakes on runaway auto theft in Colorado.

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BATTLE West received its briefing on the case, “it became a target of focus for us,” says Sergeant Brian Eldridge, the Mesa County Sheriff ’s Office’s liaison to the task force.

The investigation moved quickly. Questioning of Sanders’ son’s wife yielded the names of two potential suspects, Devon Krieg and Zander Saunders, who once had been friends with the daughter-in-law’s son. Based on surveillance of Krieg’s home, a judge signed a search warrant for the property, where officers found the Sanders’ personal documents; debit, credit, and social security cards; and 17 guns, which evidence suggests the suspects intended to sell to other parties. “The interesting thing was—and this was just happenstance—when we located the residence where all that stolen property was,” Eldridge says, “there was a stolen truck.”

Officers identified the white Ford hidden beneath blankets and a tarp as belonging to Ted Ruckman of Palisade.

THE DISAPPEARANCE of the Ford slowed operations at Ruckman Family Orchards, but to Ted, the loss felt personal. “The biggest thing was the audacity of people to take other people’s property. That’s not the way we live

out here. It was, it was…,” Ruckman pauses.

“They entered my space. This is my space.”

For most of Ruckman’s life in Mesa County, crime—especially car theft—didn’t seem like something he had to worry about.

Master Sergeant Scott Simons can empathize. Before the pandemic, Simon would hear about maybe one pilfered car a day in Grand Junction, where he has been based for most of his two decades with CSP, but that’s changed since 2020. “There were days with five steals, and none of them were related [to each other],” Simons says. “It’s not like an auto theft ring or they were taken from a dealership. It was just sporadic. They were popping up all over the place.”

Along with the crime’s growth came a change in its nature. Historically, people stole cars because they could sell them for money, either intact or by chopping them up for parts, or because they were looking for a good time. “Auto thieves today are not joyriders,” says Cale Gould, spokesperson for the Colorado Auto Theft Prevention Authority (CATPA). “They’re not Nicolas Cage in Gone In 60 Seconds. They don’t have great skills where they could steal high-end cars in 60 seconds. Auto thieves are career

criminals who steal cars for the entire purpose of committing other crimes.”

It’s CATPA’s mission to ensure they never get that chance. As part of the Colorado Department of Public Safety, CATPA collects one dollar from every auto insurance policy issued in the state to fund initiatives that deter auto thefts. Most of the time, the money—$5.7 million annually, on average— is disbursed to law enforcement agencies through grants, including the one that pays for BATTLE. Started in 2018, BATTLE split the state into four geographic regions (North, South, East, and West) with the intent of using additional resources—i.e., money—to entice agencies in those areas to work together to investigate stolen cars. As the statistics indicate, the plan didn’t work.

Then, in 2022, Simons was promoted to lead the Investigations Unit in CSP’s Grand Junction office, inheriting BATTLE West in the process. One of his orders from the higher-ups in Denver: Fix the task force. “They wanted to see some changes,” Simons says.

There are many reasons why car thefts in the United States have increased over the past few years. Anytime there’s economic uncertainty, there’s a rise in crime.

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CRIME

The NICB also points to the emergence of keyless fobs and drivers’ penchants for leaving them in consoles as making cars easy pickings for would-be robbers. On social media, a collective of crooks in Minneapolis who call themselves the Kia Boyz used social media to show followers across the country how to exploit functional flaws in Kias and Hyundais to boost the rides. Today, those brands comprise a quarter of all thefts in the United States.

There are institutional issues that make catching car thieves difficult, too. Many times, where vehicles are nabbed isn’t where they’re found, meaning they may have crossed jurisdictional borders. Furthermore, some police agencies, especially in rural areas, don’t have the resources to devote to auto theft, especially when they have decided that other crimes must take priority. Criminals are also aware that most law enforcement agencies will not pursue suspects in stolen cars because a chase can cause massive property damage and, sometimes, fatalities. Police believe it’s safer to catch up with the criminals later.

But why has Colorado seen a steeper rise in auto theft than other states? “That’s a million-dollar question,” Gould says.

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5280 / SEPTEMBER 2023

John Pickard has a theory. A commander with the Lakewood Police Department, Pickard leads the CATPA Metropolitan Auto Theft Task Force (C-MATT), which is separate from BATTLE but has much the same mission, only for the Denver metro area. In 2014, the Colorado Legislature decided that, to convict someone of auto theft, the state would have to prove that the accused thief knew they were in an ill-gotten ride. A person’s fingerprint on the gearshift, for example, was not enough evidence; they could have been a passenger. “We had lots of cases that were declined by the [district attorney’s] office,” Pickard says, “because they had a very difficult time showing that the person knowingly was in possession of the stolen vehicle.”

Facing this litany of obstacles, BATTLE didn’t seem to be making much of a dent in car crime. Part of the issue was that while auto theft was BATTLE’s mission, it wasn’t the primary concern of many local law enforcement agencies, who might be more focused on expending their limited resources toward, say, the shoplifting sprees plaguing their retail centers. But after surveying offenses in Mesa County, it became clear to Simons that car theft was connected to

just about every other type of crime. “It was very rare that you would arrest somebody for auto theft without some secondary charges involved,” Simons says.

In early 2022, Simons called Sergeant Justin Montover, who at the time led the Mesa County Sheriff ’s Office’s Property Crime and Investigations Unit, and together they began organizing weekly, daylong operations targeting property crime suspects. BATTLE West’s bankroll funded deputies’ overtime so they could work outside their normal shifts. Every Wednesday, the sheriff ’s office’s intel unit would print out a list of warrants for shoplifting, burglary, and other offenses, as well as a list of stolen cars in the area. The officers would then knock on the doors of suspects while keeping an eye out for any stolen cars near the premises. While in jail, those people couldn’t steal more cars. Montover was so committed to the project that he spent the allotted annual overtime budget in two months. “I’m not overly proud of that by any means,” Montover says.

But when Montover went to his superiors at the sheriff ’s office to apologize, they told him to keep going. “They refused to give the operations up,” Montover says. The task force

Photo: Julia Ordog

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CRIME

had proved so successful that Mesa County moved money around in the department’s budget to continue funding overtime pay until the next CATPA grant cycle started in 2023. The investment paid off. By the end of 2022, car theft in the BATTLE West region had decreased by 32 percent over 2021, compared with an increase of 11 percent across the state during the same time frame.

Perhaps more important, BATTLE West operations resulted in a decrease in all property crime in the area, and as arrests began stacking up, more departments and agencies within BATTLE West’s purview wanted in on the ops. Within a few months, the task force’s numbers swelled from a handful of Mesa County deputies and CSP’s two Grand Junction–based investigators to 20 or so officers from the Grand Junction, Montrose, and Cortez police departments.

Representatives from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation also joined the initiative. In terms of size, BATTLE West equaled an entire small-town police force.

“Everybody started realizing in different meetings and briefings that not only are

vehicle crimes falling,” Montover says, “but also all property crimes are falling—and some of these property crimes are related to violent crime.”

In an attempt to expand BATTLE West’s successes, CSP rolled out similar weekly operations across all its regions, including the newly formed BATTLE Southwest, in 2023. By the end of June, BATTLE North, for one, had worked with the Greeley Police Department to complete 19 missions, recovering 57 stolen vehicles valued at a combined $687,000. They also made 30 arrests on warrants for things like vehicle theft, aggravated robbery, felony menacing, and first-degree murder. “I think the charges that came on top of normal auto theft were far and away a greater impact to the community than just recovering the vehicles,” says Sergeant Jamie Colyer, who leads BATTLE North. Still, Colyer was happy to report that, after a 25 percent increase in 2022, car theft in BATTLE North had fallen 21 percent through June of this year.

JADE BEACH SPENT the winter in Bozeman, Montana, caring for his grandmother in hospice. After her death, he drove home

to New Mexico but stopped to visit friends for a few days in Lakewood—where thieves broke into his steering column and made off with his 1989 Toyota Camry.

Police recovered the sedan a few weeks later, when someone drove it to an unrelated court appearance and license plate readers in the parking garage identified the Camry as stolen. It’s now sitting in an impound lot and will reside there for the foreseeable future, as Beach, who lived in Denver for five years, isn’t sure he wants to retrieve a car whose value might be less than the impound fee. (The experience has left Beach feeling more than a little cynical about his former hometown. He now thinks of Denver as an “open-air insane asylum.”)

BATTLE doesn’t cover the Denver area because the metro requires more attention than a part-time operation can offer— as anyone who’s read headlines lately can attest. In July, a woman was shot in the hand after using an Apple AirTag to track her stolen Kia Optima to a parking spot in Aurora. Earlier in the year, a man also found his own pilfered car—and shot and killed the 12-year-old boy he found in the driver’s seat. In fact, if BATTLE’s regions had

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CRIME

been completely theft-free in 2022, Colorado would still have ranked sixth in the United States for auto robbery, thanks to the Denver metro, where more than 30,000 cars were filched. As such, the Mile High City has its own, dedicated CATPA initiative: Pickard’s C-MATT, a full-time task force of 12 officers and two civilians staffed by eight departments in Jefferson, Denver, Arapahoe, and Adams counties.

Denver is not only more active than the rest of the state, but its criminals are also more organized. In 2021, for example, C-MATT spent nine months investigating an enterprise that officers dubbed “the Sopranos” due to the blood ties of its members (as well as to one suspect tattooing “Sopranos Style” across his forehead). The Sopranos were more structured than car thieves in, say, Grand Junction, but they, too, boosted rides as conduits to other crimes. A grand jury eventually indicted four suspects from the group under Colorado’s Organized Crime Control Act, finding the faction responsible for $1.2 million in stolen vehicles, catalytic converters, and weapons.

Although his thieves are more coordinated than Simons’, Pickard has begun

incorporating BATTLE West’s approach as a piece of C-MATT’s overall strategy. “Anybody who is successful,” Pickard says, “others would be remiss not to try and look at their success to see if we can apply it to what we do.” Police agencies in the Denver metro have long helped their neighbors out after a serious crime. Now, C-MATT is offering aid more frequently for smaller offenses, Pickard says, “because, by golly, they’re probably going to be involved with a stolen car.”

Pickard isn’t the only one who has noticed BATTLE’s success. Captain Mike Ryan, who runs CSP’s investigative services section, says Governor Jared Polis personally contacted CATPA to offer congratulations. This past legislative session, lawmakers passed Senate Bill 23-257, which earmarked $5 million for CATPA’s prevention efforts, nearly doubling its annual budget. Applications that rely on multiagency cooperation, such as BATTLE, will receive priority access to the new funds. State legislators also approved SB 23-097, which makes stealing any vehicle a felony offense. (Previously, car theft charges were based on a value system; taking a clunker worth less than $2,000, for example, was a misdemeanor.)

While both bills received bipartisan support, not every legislator believes funding police initiatives is the answer. “Why are people doing nefarious deeds in the first place?” asks state Representative Lorena Garcia, one of 10 in the House who voted against SB 23-257. (Only one senator objected.) Garcia would rather that money be put toward social programs: “What we need to do is invest in our people.”

Ryan says the extra money will, in part, allow BATTLE to pay for bigger operations, including even more overtime for law enforcement agencies that have been clamoring to join the task force. In the future, BATTLE might be able to go full time, like C-MATT. As for concerns about state money going to a larger law enforcement presence? All Ryan can do is point to BATTLE West: “When we’ve seen nothing but increases since 2014 and suddenly our first significant reductions come right from the area that we just tested our new strategy out?

I don’t know if I’d say it’s an outlier as much as I’d say it’s a trend in the right direction.” m Spencer Campbell is the features editor at 5280.

Email feedback to letters@5280.com.

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HIGHER EDUCATION

New School?

With a peg-letter board serving as the office directory and a pendulum clock marking time like a metronome, the entryway to the presidential offices at Colorado State University feels like the set of a stage play about campus life in the 1960s. Even the massive elm trees shading the lawn beyond the building’s stone pillars testify to decades past. Yet I’m here to meet an administrator who’s expected to put CSU on a decidedly forward-looking path: In the newly created role of assistant vice president of Indigenous and Native American affairs, Patrese Atine is charged with improving the university’s rapport with a demographic that hasn’t, historically, enjoyed much consideration at this or other institutions of higher education across the United States.

CSU’s disconnect with Native Americans began with its creation, on land that had been seized from tribes. The LandGrant College Act of 1862 awarded federal land—including more than 10 million acres of Native holdings—to U.S. states and territories so they could establish colleges of agriculture and industrial arts. Colorado used its share to create the Colorado Agricultural College (now Colorado State University) in 1870, six years after the Sand Creek Massacre, in which some 230 members of the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes that once occupied that land were slaughtered by the 1st Colorado Infantry Regiment of Volunteers and 3rd Regiment of Colorado Cavalry Volunteers—both commanded by Colonel John Chivington of the U.S. Army.

The university’s land acknowledgment statement, published in 2019, addresses the school’s use of parcels originally occupied

by Indigenous tribes. The statement also recognizes CSU’s responsibility to offer an education that’s accessible to and inclusive of all, which was, in theory, the point of the Land-Grant College Act, even if in practice it almost exclusively helped white students.

Yet just 908 CSU students—or roughly three percent of the student body—selfidentified as Native American for the 40

Colorado State University rests on land seized from Indigenous tribes, who have largely been ignored by CSU ever since. A new administrator plans to build those relationships and improve Native Americans’ access to higher ed. BY K E L LY B AS T O N E

Patrese Atine, CSU’s new assistant vice president for Indigenous and Native American affairs

2023-’24 school year. (Of note: The U.S. Census estimates those who identify as only Native American account for 1.7 percent of the state’s populace.)

Meanwhile, a Pulitzer Prize–winning investigation published by High Country News in 2020 revealed that CSU was among at least 16 land-grant institutions across the nation that continue to profit from appropriated land: Mineral and grazing leases on acreage formerly occupied by Native communities generated $662,596 in revenue for CSU during fiscal year 2019.

PHOTOGRAPH BY JIMENA PECK

5280 / SEPTEMBER 2023

HIGHER EDUCATION

With the creation of this assistant vice president position, CSU joins a small cadre of land-grant universities that have decided formal apologies and land acknowledgments don’t do enough to right institutional wrongs against Native Americans. CSU hopes that putting an advocate for Indigenous Americans in the president’s office will allow it to boost recruitment and retention of Native students and staff, develop culturally responsive research initiatives, and steer the university toward healthier relationships with sovereign tribal nations within Colorado and beyond.

By mid-May, when I visit campus, Atine has logged just 10 weeks on the job. “I’ve spent the first two and a half months just listening, learning the history of the institution and hearing from students that are here and that have left,” Atine says. “I’ve reached out to institutions in our area that also serve Native populations to hear their backstories about what works—and what doesn’t.”

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STUDENTS DON’T HAVE TO identify as Indigenous to hang out in CSU’s Native American Cultural Center (NACC), a room within the Lory Student Center where colorful posters and bookcases surround long tables that make the space look more like a library than a lounge. But this is one place on campus where Native Americans don’t feel outnumbered: Here, freshmen meet with returning students who serve as mentors and tutors, and groups of young people plan leadership development retreats and awareness-raising events, such as the annual powwow and celebrations of Native American Heritage Month in November.

Established in 1979, the NACC has long been “a big factor” in persuading prospective students and their families to consider CSU, says the center’s director, Tyrone “Ty” Smith, a CSU alum who was born and raised on the Navajo Nation. Other schools may have multicultural centers that welcome students who identify with a broad array of cultural and ethnic backgrounds, but with those who identify as only Native Americans tallying just 2.9 percent of the total U.S. population, “they may feel they’re not represented, that their voices may not be heard at a multicultural center,” Smith says.

Furthermore, Native Americans already comprise a multicultural demographic spanning various tribal affiliations across rural and urban backgrounds. What they share is a common need for a supportive community—particularly as they adjust to a predominantly white university located within the predominantly white city of Fort

Collins. “Some may never have been underrepresented like that,” Smith says, “so they’re not yet comfortable with it.”

While the NACC has provided Indigenous Americans who matriculate at CSU with a more supportive atmosphere and more resources than they’re likely to find at most other U.S. institutions of higher education, it alone cannot reconcile the institution with past—and sometimes continuing—norms based on exclusion and injustice. For instance, in 2010, as CSU’s basketball team prepared to play its rival, the University of Wyoming, a group of students created a Facebook page that appeared to have been sponsored by CSU Athletics (but wasn’t) and suggested that fans re-enact a cowboys versus American Indians battle. Tiffani Kelly, an enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, was one of the CSU students who raised objections in her posts on the page.

“The aggression was horrific,” she says. “I was threatened with being beat up because I was voicing my opinion that this was a problem.”

Campus protests led to dialogue with Tony Frank, CSU’s president at the time, who was moved to pursue changes that could improve the school’s treatment of Native Americans. Frank supported the 2011 creation of the Native American Legacy Award, which allows members of tribes that were forcibly removed from Colorado to qualify for in-state tuition rates at CSU. In 2015, the university changed the name of its Pingree Park Mountain Campus to Colorado State University Mountain Campus to eliminate the reference to George Pingree, a participant in the bloodshed at Sand Creek.

But in 2018, a campus tour made national headlines after a parent grew suspicious of two prospective Native American students and called campus police. Officers removed the boys from the tour and subjected them to questioning and a search of their possessions—despite the fact that they’d done nothing wrong. “It wasn’t unique to CSU,” says Kelly, who by then had graduated and taken a position as assistant director of CSU’s NACC. Similar events involving nervous whites calling the police on bystanders of color have occurred across the country. However, Kelly says, “it made [Native Americans at CSU] feel like unless we’re performing at a powwow or prayer ceremony or as a mascot, we’re not accepted into general spaces.”

The incident rallied the broader CSU community around improving inclusion of Native Americans. Frank established a task force that morphed into the current Native American Advisory Council, which examines the challenges faced by Native students and

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HIGHER EDUCATION

staff. The group also proposes solutions: One was to establish a high-level administrative position that could channel Indigenous viewpoints into the institution’s top office.

“This is not DEI work,” says Kelly, who served as chair of the Native American Advisory Council and helped write the job description for the new assistant vice president position. “We’re talking about developing relationships with tribes, with sovereign nations.” Until now, individual students and staff have assumed the burden of acting as mouthpieces for their cultures and communities. The goal is for the new assistant vice president to collaborate with other Indigenous groups to execute those diplomatic functions, including those that influence research objectives and curriculum creation.

Says Kelly: “The position operates at a high level where systemic change happens.”

Its establishment places CSU among the forefront of land-grant institutions that have, since 2018, created similar positions to address Native American relations. The University of Arizona (situated within a state that includes several large reservations, such as the Hopi Reservation and Navajo Nation, for sovereign nations) has already instituted

senior vice president and assistant vice provost positions to manage Native American affairs. The University of Minnesota also created two executive positions for Indigenous issues: Most recently, in May 2021, the school appointed Karen Diver as senior adviser to the president for Native American Affairs, a position that was reminiscent of the one she held under President Barack Obama.

Schools that weren’t founded by the land-grant process see value in having an executive dedicated to Native American issues, too. In May 2023, the University of Colorado Boulder began looking for an associate vice chancellor of Native American affairs, and the University of Denver has worked to be more inclusive in recent years, too. “We would love to have a big-picture person like Patrese,” says Chris Nelson, associate professor at the University of Denver’s Morgridge College of Education, the Native faculty director for the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and the faculty adviser for the DU Native Student Alliance, a support group for Indigenous students that promotes awareness of those cultures across campus.

Like CSU, DU has also had to reconcile a legacy of unsavory beginnings: Its founder,

John Evans, was the governor of the Territory of Colorado and its superintendent of Indian affairs when the Sand Creek Massacre took place. After the university’s own John Evans Study Committee of 2014 found him culpable for the atrocity, DU added positions that could better support Native American students.

Nelson now collaborates with Stevie Rose Tohdacheeny Lee, the school’s associate director for diversity, equity, and inclusion, Native American initiatives (a position created in 2016). Both women spend most of their time supporting Indigenous students’ day-to-day needs, like adapting to campus housing and managing financial aid. “As people on the ground, we don’t have discussions with the chancellor,” Nelson says. “But an assistant vice president would have direct communication to top cabinet leaders and could actually shape policy and outreach.”

For his part, CSU’s NACC director Smith sees the assistant vice president position as delivering the strategic leadership that his office doesn’t attempt. “We’re busy, so having a voice for us at that level is so important,” Smith says. “It has been a long time in coming.”

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SITTING AT A POLISHED conference table on campus, Patrese Atine wears a gray pencil skirt and matching jacket that looks, I imagine, like something the 39-year-old purchased for her previous job. Before starting at CSU on March 1, Atine worked in Washington, D.C., initially as the government and legislative affairs associate for the Navajo Nation (she is an enrolled member of that tribe) and later as the director of congressional and federal relations for the American Indian Higher Education Consortium as an advocate for tribal colleges and universities (TCUs). She learned to read the capital’s pulse and how to sense the tipping point in negotiations there.

Now she’s recalibrating those instincts to northern Colorado.

She’s also asked tribal nations about past injuries and possible grudges against the university. “You have to address wounds,” Atine says. But she also says that simply initiating a dialogue builds brand-new bridges between Native American communities and Colorado’s institutions of higher education. “I’ve been asking critical questions about our engagement with tribal members,” Atine says.

“What do tribes want? And are we doing what’s best by tribes? And I don’t know that institutions of higher education have historically asked that.”

Growing up in Provo, Utah, Atine was drawn to Brigham Young University, which conducted “a lot of outreach and recruitment in my community,” she says. She felt comfortable on that campus, in part because BYU had amassed a sizable group of what Atine calls “urban Indians.” Her uncomplicated adaptation to college life isn’t typical of Native youth.

“One thing that I commonly hear from Native students is that they don’t feel like their cultures, their identities, or their communities are reflected in their coursework,” she says.

Consequently, some of the tribes’ most bookish kids gravitate toward TCUs, which are also land-grant institutions, but ones operated by the tribes themselves. These schools—none of which are located in Colorado but are scattered across other Midwestern and Western states—are chronically underfunded, Atine says, and typically lack sophisticated laboratories and other highdollar, high-tech facilities. But, she explains, they let Indigenous students learn in culturally centered environments that train them to occupy careers that are needed on reservations: teachers, veterinarians, and natural resource managers, among others.

Becoming a teacher was Atine’s initial goal while at BYU, but her experience in Provo, and later at Boston University (where she earned a Master of Arts in

HIGHER EDUCATION

education, policy, planning, and administration), afforded her broader horizons that eventually led her to the Beltway. “The best resource we have in the United States is our higher education system,” Atine says. “I’ve been telling Native students, ‘Be a specialist so you have a passion that you can carry on through your adult life.’ I feel that can happen with higher education.”

There are so many needs in Indigenous communities, though, that it’s difficult for Atine to know where to begin. Some tribal communities have told her they need help improving K–12 education so that higher education actually becomes a realistic option.

The University of Arizona, where the Office of Native American Advancement and Tribal Engagement is three years old, has already begun to partner on agricultural research spurred by tribal needs and interests. With Atine’s diplomacy, CSU could develop similar collaborations with Colorado-based tribes seeking insights into crop development and natural resource management.

The new assistant vice president has also been tasked with making CSU friendlier to incoming students who come from tribal nations. That includes hiring more Native

American faculty and staff to bolster Indigenous voices across campus. Curricula might also change to become more representative of Indigenous experiences and traditions.

“We’ve heard that to be successful, students need to see themselves reflected in coursework,” Atine explains. “What does that look like? I don’t 100 percent know.”

Atine also isn’t completely sure how she will spend the money she’s allotted. Each year, Atine will create a budget and will have the ability to recommend up to $500,000 in annual expenditures—taken from CSU’s land-grant income—to benefit Native American and Indigenous people. University spokesperson Nik Olsen says scholarships are a likely target.

Data illustrating the prosperity gap between Native Americans and the broader U.S. population is scarce, because the U.S. government does not track Native American wealth, and the statistics that do exist can be misleading. What little information there is, however, suggests that the gap is wide. Thus, even CSU’s $12,702 in-state yearly tuition for students from tribal nations can seem unattainable to many Indigenous Americans. Several Colorado schools (such

as Metropolitan State University of Denver and Fort Lewis College in Durango) offer tuition waivers for enrolled tribal members.

And last year, the University of Arizona developed the Arizona Native Scholars Grant to assist Indigenous-identifying Arizona undergraduates by paying for any tuition and fees that aren’t covered by Pell grants.

Money has also dominated Atine’s conversations with Colorado’s Native communities.

“Financial aid and scholarships remain at the top of the list of needs,” she says. Closing the wealth gap for Colorado’s Native Americans would be job enough. Helping the institution see and hear those populations is less quantifiable and, thus, potentially more difficult.

But amid nationwide declines in college enrollment (Colorado’s college-going rate for high school seniors in 2021 was 49.9 percent, more than 10 percent lower than the national average, and declines are projected for 2025 and beyond), CSU is motivated to pay attention to Native American populations. Atine says the consideration is long overdue. m Kelly Bastone is a Steamboat Springs–based writer.

Email feedback to letters@5280.com.

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SP ECIAL ADVERT ISI NG SECT ION

PRIVATE SCHOOL HANDBOOK • SEPTEMBER 2023 •

Your guide to Denver Metro private schools. Flip the page to learn more about the schools, find school events, and more.

Scan the QR code to find schools near you!

Private School Handbook

SP ECIAL ADVERT ISI NG SECT ION

Private School Directory  Accelerated Schools of Denver 2160 S. Cook Street Denver, CO 80210

ADMISSIONS: (303) 758-2003 acceleratedschools.org SPECIALT Y: Individualized programs, providing a unique and alternative approach to learning.

GR ADES/AGES: Middle School–High School For full profile, see page 53. .............................................................................  Aspen Academy

5859 S. University Boulevard Greenwood Village, CO 80121 ADMISSIONS: (303) 346-3500 ext. 125 aspenacademy.org SPECIALT Y: Internationally acclaimed academics, personalized instruction, leadership and entrepreneurial development, and service learning.

GR ADES/AGES: Preschool–Middle School For full profile, see page 54. .............................................................................  Colorado Academy 3800 S. Pierce Street, Denver, CO 80235

ADMISSIONS: (303) 914-2513 coloradoacademy.org SPECIALT Y: Creating curious, kind, courageous, and adventurous learners and leaders through transformative teaching.

GR ADES/AGES: Pre-K–High School .............................................................................  Dawson School 10455 Dawson Drive Lafayette, CO 80026

ADMISSIONS: (303) 665-6679 dawsonschool.org SPECIALT Y: Preparing students to bring their best to the world. With a focus on character education and leadership, Dawson offers college-preparatory academics, curated experiences and travel, and robust athletics, arts, and innovation programs.

GR ADES/AGES: Kindergarten–High School For full profile, see page 54.

 Denver Academy

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 Mackintosh Academy

7018 S. Prince Street, Littleton, CO 80120

ADMISSIONS: (303) 777-5161 denveracademy.org SPECIALT Y: Inspiring and empowering students with varied learning profiles.

GR ADES/AGES: Second Grade–High School (2-12) For full profile, see page 55.

ADMISSIONS: (303) 794-6222 mackintoshacademy.com SPECIALT Y: Innovative International Baccalaureate education tailored for gifted and creative students. Emphasis on service, socialemotional growth, and sustainability.

GR ADES/AGES: Preschool–Middle School For full profile, see page 58.

.............................................................................

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 Evergreen Country Day School

 Mullen High School

ADMISSIONS: (303) 674-3400 evergreencountryday.org SPECIALT Y: Education with intention.

Preparing and inspiring students to thrive and create a better world.

GR ADES/AGES: 18 months–8th Grade

ADMISSIONS: admissions@mullenhigh.com SPECIALT Y: Founded in the Lasallian tradition, Mullen is a Catholic, college preparatory high school that provides exemplary teaching through a community of faith, scholastic rigor, and care and vigilance for each student it serves.

GR ADES/AGES: High School For full profile, see page 58.

1036 El Rancho Road Evergreen, CO 80439

.............................................................................  International School of Denver 7701 E. First Place, Unit C, Denver, CO 80230

ADMISSIONS: (303) 340-3647 | isdenver.org SPECIALT Y: Multicultural, multilingual school with language immersion and International Baccalaureate education.

GR ADES/AGES: Preschool–Middle School For full profile, see page 56. .............................................................................  Kent Denver School 4000 E. Quincy Avenue Englewood, CO 80113

ADMISSIONS: (303) 770-7660 kentdenver.org SPECIALT Y: Serving diverse, passionate students in grades 6-12, Kent Denver School transforms lives of students and community through extraordinary educational experiences.

GR ADES/AGES: Middle School–High School ............................................................................. ............................................................................. ............................................................................. .............................................................................

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Denver, CO 80236

............................................................................  Ricks Center for Gifted Children,

University of Denver

2040 S. York Street Denver, CO 80208

ADMISSIONS: (303) 871-3715 du.edu/ricks SPECIALT Y: Differentiated educational programming for gifted students.

GR ADES/AGES: Preschool–Middle School For full profile, see page 59. .............................................................................  St. Anne’s Episcopal School 2701 S. York Street Denver, CO 80210

ADMISSIONS: (303) 756-9481 st-annes.org SPECIALT Y: Cultivating a community of curious and compassionate learners who are inspired to serve and enrich our world.

GR ADES/AGES: Age 3 through Grade 8 For full profile, see page 59.

Private School Handbook

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Private School Directory  St. Mary’s Academy 4545 S. University Blvd.

Englewood, CO 80113

ADMISSIONS: (303) 762-8300 stmarys.academy SPECIALT Y: The SMA family environment is guided in the Loretto School Values of faith, community, justice and respect. Academic excellence, global leadership, service, arts and athletics.

GR ADES/AGES: Age 3 through Grade 8 (co-ed), High School (all girls) For full profile, see page 57. ............................................................................. ............................................................................. ............................................................................. ............................................................................. ............................................................................. ............................................................................. .............................................................................

 St. Elizabeth’s School

 Valor Christian High School

1800 N. Pontiac Street, Denver, CO 80220

3775 Grace Blvd., Highlands Ranch, CO 80126

ADMISSIONS: (303) 322-4209 stelizabethsdenver.org SPECIALT Y: St. Elizabeth’s is an intentionally inclusive Episcopal school that has a commitment to excellence and believes that all students should receive quality education.

GR ADES/AGES: K–8

ADMISSIONS: (303) 471-3000 valorchristian.com SPECIALT Y: Valor Christian High School's mission is “to prepare tomorrow’s leaders to transform the world for Christ.” Valor provides a college preparatory program, within a vibrant Christ-centered environment that empowers students to excel in their passions and to grow in wisdom, knowledge, leadership, faith and service.

GR ADES/AGES: 9-12

.............................................................................  The Logan School for

Creative Learning

1005 Yosemite Street, Denver, CO 80230 ADMISSIONS: (303) 240-2444 x. 117 becky.godec@theloganschool.org SPECIALT Y: Inspiring gifted students to discover their learning path through individual units of study.

GR ADES/AGES: Kindergarten–8th Grade For full profile, see page 56.

............................................................................. ............................................................................. ............................................................................. ............................................................................. ............................................................................. ............................................................................. .............................................................................

School Event Calendar TOUR

2023

TOUR

2023

Accelerated Schools

Ricks Center Campus Tours

Accelerated Schools specializes in the individual student’s education and plans with the whole student in mind, no matter the learning difference, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, OCD, depression, or anxiety, as well as gifted and talented students who need to be challenged. We are proud to be part of one of the oldest non-profit private schools with “Open Enrollment” in the country.

We are excited to once again welcome visitors into our building. We will be offering both individual, small groups, and virtual tours. Come in and learn about our approach to learning and find out what makes Ricks Center a place where we can empower intellectually gifted children to thrive and achieve their full potential.

Accelerated Schools 2160 S. Cook Street, Denver, CO 80210

Schedule your tour today by visiting acceleratedschools.org. ........................................................................................

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International School of Denver Campus Tours

International School of Denver 7701 E. First Place, Unit C, Denver, CO 80230

Join us! Come to campus to see our unique educational model in action.

Visit isdenver.org/admissions to start your inquiry and find a time that works best for you. ........................................................................................

Ricks Center for Gifted Children at University of Denver 2040 S. York Street, Denver, CO 80208

To sign up for a tour, please visit du.edu/ricks/admissions/visit. ........................................................................................

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Visit Kent Denver School

Kent Denver School 4000 E Quincy Ave. Englewood, CO 80113

Visit us to see all that Kent Denver has to offer!

Tour our beautiful 200-acre campus and meet with community members to learn about the extraordinary educational experiences we provide. From our academic philosophy to award-winning programs, students develop and grow through active, self-directed learning in a caring, inclusive environment.

For details on upcoming events, or to schedule a campus tour, please visit kentdenver.org/visit.

SEP. 18, OCT. 17, DEC. 13 | 8:25 am

Colorado Academy Admission Preview

Colorado Academy 3800 S. Pierce Street, Denver, CO 80235

CA is seeking curious, kind, courageous, and adventurous students in Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12 from a variety of backgrounds. Admission Preview is a unique opportunity to learn about our school community, and we look forward to connecting with your family.

Visit coloradoacademy.org for more information. ........................................................................................

OCTOBER 1 | 9–11 am

St. Elizabeth’s All School Open House St. Elizabeth’s School 1800 N. Pontiac Street, Denver, CO 80220

Join us for a tour and interactive informational session in our spacious new Park Hill location! Faculty, administration, students, and parents will share more about our mission, programs, and community at St. Elizabeth’s School. All families that are interested in K-8 education are welcome! Reserve your spot today!

RSVP and find out more at stelizabethsdenver.org. ........................................................................................

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School Event Calendar SEPTEMBER 27 | 6 pm: PreK–8 OCTOBER 25 | 10 am: 2–6 DECEMBER 6 | 10 am: Pre-K–1

Mackintosh Academy Admissions Open House

Mackintosh Academy 7018 S. Prince Street, Littleton, CO 80120

At our September 27 “Taste of the Apple,” witness our Pre-K-8th grade inquiry-based International Baccalaureate program for gifted learners firsthand. On October 25 and December 6, join us for admissions open houses tailored to grades 2-6 and Pre-K-1 respectively.

Individual tours by appointment for grades 7 & 8.

Contact us at (303) 794-6222 or admissions@mackintoshacademy.com to RSVP. ........................................................................................

OCT. 5 & 24 | 5:30-8 pm

Explore Valor

Valor Christian High School 3775 Grace Blvd., Highlands Ranch, CO 80126

Meet our faculty, coaches, and administrative staff, see our state-of-the-art campus and experience Eagle spirit first hand. Everyone is welcome!

For more information and to RSVP, contact Admissions@Valorchristian.com ........................................................................................

OCT. 11 | 9:30–11 am

The Logan School Parent Information Session

The Logan School for Creative Learning 1005 Yosemite Street, Denver, CO 80230

Join us to learn more about Logan, meet Head of School, go on a student-led tour of the school, with time for questions after the tour.

Visit www.theloganschool.org/take-a-tour or email admissions@theloganschool.org .......................................................................................

OCT. 19, NOV. 2, DEC. 7 | 9:30-11 am

Aspen Academy School Previews

Aspen Academy 5859 S. University Blvd., Greenwood Village, CO 80121 Witness our extraordinary classrooms in-action!

Join our team and Founders to learn about the Aspen Academy culture and academics, see classrooms, and meet directors. This is a great opportunity for families to ask questions and talk with current Aspen Academy parents.

Learn more and register here: aspenacademy.org/visit ........................................................................................

TOUR

OCTOBER 21 | 9:00 am

St. Anne’s Parent Preview

St. Anne’s Episcopal School 2701 S. York Street, Denver, CO 80210

Join us for a campus tour and learn more about preschool through eighth grade at St. Anne’s Episcopal School. The Parent Preview begins at 9:00 A.M. in the School’s Outdoor Amphitheater.

Visit st-annes.org/parent-preview for more information and to RSVP for the October 21 event. ........................................................................................

OCTOBER 21 | 10 am - 1 pm

St. Mary’s High School Open House St. Mary’s Academy 4545 S. University Blvd., Englewood, CO 80113

At St. Mary’s Academy High School, students are inspired by the immersive environment with rigorous academics, integrated service learning, the arts, and athletics. They are honored and empowered as young women to be agents of change.

Contact Admissions at 303-762-8300. ........................................................................................

OCTOBER 27 | 10 am–12 pm OCTOBER 28 | 10 am–1 pm

Dawson School Open House

Dawson School 10455 Dawson Drive, Lafayette, CO 80026

 Scan the QR code below to find schools near you!

Friday is a set program. Learn more about Dawson's approach to education, and hear from faculty, students, and parents. Campus tour provided. Saturday is a drop-in atmosphere where you can talk to Dawson Admissions and faculty. Campus tours will be available.

Register at dawsonschool.org/openhouse or email admissions@dawsonschool.org. ........................................................................................

NOV. 2 | 8:30 am–12 pm

Denver Academy Open House Denver Academy 4400 E. Iliff Avenue, Denver, CO 80222

Enjoy a personal tour of our 21-acre campus by a Student Ambassador. Meet staff and learn about our studentcentered approach to education for those with varied learning profiles (including students with dyslexia, ADHD, and other learning challenges) in grades two to 12.

Register for an open house at denveracademy.org/openhouse or call 303-777-5161 to schedule a private meeting and tour. ........................................................................................

NOV. 5 | 8:30am MASS, 10-2pm TOURS

Mullen Open House

Mullen High School - Rilko Events Center 3601 S. Lowell Blvd, Denver, CO 80236

Please join us for our annual Open House! Through our student-led tours, prospective families have the opportunity to meet our faculty and staff, coaches, club moderators and learn more about our community, academics, faith, service, and what it means to be a Mullen Mustang!

Please visit our website to fill out an inquiry form to learn more about Mullen: www.mullenhigh.com/admissions ........................................................................................

DEC. 1 | 8:30–10 am

Evergreen Country Day School Open House

Evergreen Country Day 1036 El Rancho Road, Evergreen, CO 80439

Discover ECDS! You will have the opportunity to meet with the Head of School, tour our facilities, observe classes, take part in our town meeting and house program, and see how ECDS prepares its students to thrive and create a better world.

Contact Carlin Zia at czia@evergreencountryday.org 303-674-3400 x 108

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Interested in advertising?

Contact Heather Lowe at heather@5280.com or 303.468.4585 to find out more information.

Private School Handbook

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Accelerated Schools

EDUCATION WITH A HISTORY OF SUCCESS

OUR PROGRAM:

OUR VISION:

Accelerated Schools is an independent, coeducational day school for students in middle school and high school. Our positive atmosphere guides students that have not thrived in a traditional school setting to achieve social and academic skills. Our comprehensive learning environment supports the success of students with learning differences such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, OCD, depression, anxiety as well as gifted and talented students who need to be challenged.

We have created a student-centered learning environment led by teachers who are adaptable lifelong learners since 1974. We understand that all students have a set of necessary skills to learn for their future, as well as unique needs and goals to accomplish. We tailor our program to each student in order to address both sides of this educational paradigm. With an average class size of seven students, each student is enrolled with an individualized success plan based on their needs, interests, and remaining graduation requirements.

Our students receive no failing grades; if students are below grade level in any given subject, the teacher emphasizes the curriculum in that skill until they meet the mastery requirements for that subject.

OUR GOAL: Accelerated Schools exists to provide a unique, alternative, and rigorous approach to learning. Our goal is to produce highly skilled students that have a positive attitude toward themselves. We strive to give each student the tools to improve their overall academic skills, help them to have greater self-esteem, and be goal-oriented. We encourage and prepare them to be college-bound and have the confidence to move to the next level.

At Accelerated Schools, we offer High School and Middle School classes with open enrollment; any student may begin classes any day, year-round. If you find that your child has been unsuccessful in their current school, we are able to help.

ADMISSIONS: 303.758.2003 GRADES: 5–12 ENROLLMENT: 25-50 STUDENT/FACULTY RATIO: 7:1 TUITION: $25,750 (Middle School) $27,300 (High School)    

2160 S. COOK STREET, DENVER, CO 80210 • (303) 758-2003 • ACCELERATEDSCHOOLS.ORG SE P T E M BE R 2 02 3 | 52 8 0 PR I VAT E S C HO OL H A N DB O OK |

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Aspen Academy

EXTRAORDINARY FUTURES BEGIN HERE. LAUNCHING LEADERS WITH NEXT GENERATION EDUCATION. Aspen Academy in Greenwood Village, Colorado, is a national leader in innovative education. Through internationally acclaimed academics and small classes led by exceptional, award-winning faculty, we provide a foundation of rich academics and leadership, where students are empowered to lead purposeful and extraordinary lives.

For more than 18 years, Aspen Academy has focused on real-world skills, including

the nation's first integrated entrepreneurial development program. To date, we've helped launch more than 350 student-run businesses.

Our students receive 90+ hours of leadership per student, per year and 85% of Aspen Academy students are in the top 10% of U.S. students in math and reading. Here, your child's curiosity and joy of discovery will be cultivated along with a love of learning in school and in life. We would love the opportunity to meet you. Sign up for a tour today at aspenacademy.org/visit

ADMISSIONS: kate.shaw@aspenacademy.org ENROLLMENT: 400 STUDENT/FACULTY RATIO: 8:1 TUITION: $19,958 Pre-K to 3rd | $20,650 4th-8th

5859 S. UNIVERSITY BLVD., GREENWOOD VILLAGE, CO 80121 • (303) 346-3500 • ASPENACADEMY.ORG

Dawson School

MORE THAN A SCHOOL. DAWSON IS COMMUNITY. A community of educators, faculty, and parents who believe education should not only prepare students for academic success - it should prepare them for life.

Through a combination of relevant academics, curated experiences, arts, athletics, and innovation programs, and a focus on character education and leadership, we help students discover their individual potential and how to bring their best to the world.

Surrounded by open space and views of the Flatirons, we encourage you to come visit Dawson and see why our campus experience and safety is unmatched.

• Student:faculty ratio is 7:1, and our average class size is 15.

• 100% of our seniors are accepted at a four-year accredited college.

• 150+ colleges and universities come to Dawson annually to recruit our students.

• More than 70% of faculty carry advanced degrees.

• Experiential learning programs and travel incorporated into each division.

• State-of-the-art Innovation Center with maker spaces support an integrated technology curriculum.

• Two gyms, seven tennis courts, and numerous athletic fields.

• Extensive arts facility, including a modern performing arts theatre.

• Social campus with ongoing events, sports, and activities with surrounding communities.

ADMISSIONS: admissions@dawsonschool.org GRADES: K-12

ENROLLMENT: 520

TUITION: 6-12: $33,700 | 3-5: $30,590 | K-2: $27,070

10455 DAWSON DRIVE, LAFAYETTE, CO 80026 • (303) 665-6679 • DAWSONSCHOOL.ORG P SH B-54 | 52 8 0 PR I VAT E S C HO OL H A N DB O OK | SE P T E M BE R 2 02 3

Private School Handbook

SP ECIAL ADVERT ISI NG SECT ION

Denver Academy THE WAY YOU LEARN BEST

DENVER ACADEMY CHANGES LIVES. Founded in 1972, Denver Academy (DA) believes that students thrive when taught the way they learn best.

technology, arts programs, athletics, character development, and extracurricular offerings.

Hands-on learning and cultural experiences enrich each student’s education.

Denver Academy is one of the top schools in the nation dedicated to teaching students with varied learning profiles including dyslexia, ADHD, twice-exceptional students, and those with other learning challenges. Small classes of 12-14 students facilitate differentiated instruction.

Denver Academy’s innovative approach is based on the balance of classroom management, information processing, and academic literacy.

Flexible placement in several academic levels within each core subject allows faculty to teach to each student’s optimal level.

The 21-acre campus in Denver’s University Hills neighborhood is an exceptional learning environment. Denver Academy’s robust curriculum includes challenging academics,

At Denver Academy, students excel in their strengths and are equipped to overcome their challenges.

ADMISSIONS: 303.777.5161 enrollment@denveracademy.org GRADES: 2 to 12 STUDENT/FACULTY RATIO: 6:1 TUITION: $33,400 (Grades 2-6) $36,100 (Grades 7-12) (Need-based financial aid available)

4400 E. ILIFF AVENUE, DENVER, CO 80222 • (303) 777-5161 • DENVERACADEMY.ORG SE P T E M BE R 2 02 3 | 52 8 0 PR I VAT E S C HO OL H A N DB O OK |

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International School of Denver

MULTILINGUAL EDUCATION. GLOBAL MINDSET. EXTRAORDINARY IMPACT. AT THE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF DENVER, our students don’t just learn a second language–they become immersed in the culture of countries and communities around the world by learning from native speakers, participating in language festivals, and going on international trips.

With our inquiry-based, student-centered, globally-minded International Baccalaureate® (IB) framework, we prepare our students to become well-rounded and to think, behave, and see the world differently.

Our students learn how to think for

themselves, be curious, ask questions, process information, and connect dots across disciplines and concepts, preparing them to thrive in a world both inside and outside the classroom.

At the core, we are more than a school. We are a global community making the world a more compassionate and curious place, one student at a time.

Come see our unique educational model for yourself. Join us for a tour this fall!

Chinese. French. Spanish.

ADMISSIONS: 303.340.3647 GRADES: Preschool–8th ENROLLMENT: 700 STUDENT/FACULTY RATIO: 8:1 TUITION: ECE and Primary School (K1 - G5): $24,750 Middle School (G6 - G8): $27,250 (Financial assistance available)

7701 E. FIRST PLACE, UNIT C, DENVER, CO 80230 • (303) 340-3647 • ISDENVER.ORG

The Logan School for Creative Learning

WHERE THE LEARNING EXPERIENCE IS BOUNDLESS. THE LOGAN SCHOOL is a place where children are seen for who they are and their individual interests are the driver of their learning. Our mission is to cultivate the curiosities of gifted children. We create intentional spaces where our students’ needs are understood and met by expert teachers, and where they can find a community of peers. Students are supported to build a broad range of academic, social, emotional, and life skills through meaningful, handson experiences within their classroom

communities and in the world beyond.

Logan students are the heroes of their education stories.

“We are a community of lifelong learners driven by curiosity and passion. This is true both for our students and our faculty! The people I work with are curious, intelligent, and driven to support the diverse needs of the individual students that we serve. My job is challenging, interesting and rewarding every day!” - Logan Teacher

ADMISSIONS: 303.340.2444 ext 117 GRADES: K-8 ENROLLMENT: 243 STUDENT/FACULTY RATIO: 6:1 2023-2024 TUITION: $27,000

1005 YOSEMITE STREET, DENVER, CO 80230 • (303) 340-2444 EXT 117 • THELOGANSCHOOL.ORG P SH B-56 | 52 8 0 PR I VAT E S C HO OL H A N DB O OK | SE P T E M BE R 2 02 3

Private School Handbook

SP ECIAL ADVERT ISI NG SECT ION

St. Mary’s Academy

EDUCATION FOUNDED ON FAITH, COMMUNITY, JUSTICE, AND RESPECT

ST. MARY’S ACADEMY is Denver’s premier independent, Catholic school, spanning coeducational Preschool to 8 and an all-girls high school. Established in the Colorado Territory in 1864 by the Sisters of Loretto, the values of faith, community, justice, and respect guide the Academy and its students.

We continue to be a forward-thinking educational leader focused on a values-based and purpose-driven education with rigorous academics, integrated service learning, competitive athletics, outstanding faculty, and a commitment to individualized attention and developing the whole student.

Since its founding, St. Mary’s Academy has welcomed children of every culture, religious tradition, and economic background. We emphasize

understanding and appreciation of different perspectives. We focus on respect and how to treat each other – to love inclusively. This allows for a deeper understanding of others and of one’s convictions in an increasingly complex, multicultural, and multi-religious world.

Our values transcend time and make good people and great leaders. We encourage strong moral and character development in pursuit of the common good. We inspire leaders and change agents, teaching students how to think and problem solve in the spirit of teamwork and collaboration to prepare them for success in an ever-changing world. Our students are kind, compassionate, and empowered individuals who work, learn and have fun together every day on our beautiful 24-acre campus, centrally located in Cherry Hills Village.

ADMISSIONS: 303.762.8300 GRADES: Preschool–8th (Co-ed) High School (All Girls) ENROLLMENT: 680 STUDENT/FACULTY RATIO: 7:1 TUITION: $19,530-$25,640

4545 SOUTH UNIVERSITY BLVD., ENGLEWOOD, CO 80113 • (303) 762-8300 • STMARYS.ACADEMY SE P T E M BE R 2 02 3 | 52 8 0 PR I VAT E S C HO OL H A N DB O OK |

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Mackintosh Academy

KEEN MINDS. COMPASSIONATE HEARTS. GLOBAL ACTION. FOR OVER 45 YEARS, MACKINTOSH ACADEMY has prepared our gifted and creative students to contribute their unique talents and thrive in a changing world. As the Denver area’s first school dedicated to gifted learners, we combine years of experience with leading-edge curriculum and teaching practices. We emphasize innovation, inquiry-based learning, critical thinking, and service.

• International Baccalaureate Primary Years and Middle Years Programmes • Whole-child focus develops emotional intelligence, self-regulation and communication skills • Hands-on approach to learning nurtures creativity and innovation • Small class sizes in a caring community

• Vibrant arts, PE and Spanish programs integrate with classroom curriculum • Service learning empowers students to take action on real-world challenges • Tuition assistance available

CONTACT US FOR A TOUR OF OUR NEWLY UPGRADED CAMPUS!

ADMISSIONS: 303.794.6222 or admissions@mackintoshacademy.com ENROLLMENT: 130

GRADES: Pre-Kindergarten–8th

STUDENT/FACULTY RATIO: 7:1 TUITION: $23,000-$23,550 (Morning PreK $13,800)

(303) 794-6222 • MACKINTOSHACADEMY.COM

Mullen High School

ENTER TO LEARN. LEAVE TO SERVE. LASALLIAN. CATHOLIC. COLLEGE PREP. MULLEN HIGH SCHOOL is a Lasallian, Catholic, college preparatory school conducted in the tradition of the Christian Brothers to provide a human and Christian education for all. At the heart of the academic experience at Mullen High School is our commitment to our Lasallian, Catholic mission of fostering a personal, caring, and challenging atmosphere in our classes.

Official Colors of Mullen High School

Students complete a rigorous collegepreparatory curriculum, with optional Honors and Advanced Placement course offerings.

Additionally, as part of our Lasallian mission, Mullen also offers the De La Salle Program,

which initially provides academic support to help students transition to Mullen's collegeprep courses.

Our Educators attend with care and vigilance to the whole person, providing a rich and transformative educational experience that teaches the minds and touches the hearts of their students.

We welcome prospective students to come experience a typical day as a Mullen Mustang.

Visit www.mullenhigh.com/admissions to fill out an inquiry form to learn more about our admissions process.

BLUE: PMS: 289C C: 100 M: 64 Y: 0 K: 60

R: 0 G: 34 B: 68

GOLD (Metalic) PMS: 872 C: 41 M: 47 Y: 77 K: 17

R: 141 G: 116 B: 74

Secondary Colors American Gray

PMS: 430C C:0, M:0, Y:0, K:40

Tower Patina

PMS: 5483 C:53, M:5, Y:18, K:25

Red

PMS: 485C C:18, M:96, Y:92, K:8

Diploma

PMS: 7499 C:1, M:1, Y:10, K:1

Tertiary Colors

ADMISSIONS: 303.761.1764 ext 3317 GRADES: High School ENROLLMENT: 750 STUDENT/FACULTY RATIO: 12:1 TUITION & FEES: $18,200

3601 S. LOWELL BOULEVARD, DENVER, CO 80236 • (303) 761-1764 EXT 3317 • MULLENHIGH.COM P SH B-58 | 52 8 0 PR I VAT E S C HO OL H A N DB O OK | SE P T E M BE R 2 02 3

Private School Handbook

SP ECIAL ADVERT ISI NG SECT ION

Ricks Center for Gifted Children at University of Denver EXPLORATION IN EDUCATION

Located on the University of Denver campus, Ricks Center for Gifted Children fosters a community of thinkers, problem-solvers, and innovators through a dynamic and challenging gifted educational environment, offering programs for children ages three through eighth grade. Students at Ricks Center are empowered to embrace their creativity and curiosity, to explore their talents and passions and to elevate each other at an accelerated learning pace in this student-led culture.

We offer:

• Active, engaged, hands-on learning • Access to the University of Denver resources • Flexible, differentiated curriculum • Low student to teacher ratio

• Teachers who know, understand, and care deeply about gifted education and each individual student

• An empathetic, inclusive, and equitable school community

CALL OR INQUIRE ONLINE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT RICKS CENTER AND TO DISCOVER HOW RICKS IS THE BEST FIT FOR YOUR CHILD.

ADMISSIONS: 303.871.3715 GRADES: Preschool–8th STUDENT/FACULTY RATIO: 10:1 TUITION: Varies depending on level

2040 S. YORK STREET, DENVER, CO 80210 • (303) 871-3715 • DU.EDU/RICKS • RICKSCTR@DU.EDU

St. Anne’s Episcopal School

DISCOVER THE UNIQUE CHARM OF ST. ANNE’S EPISCOPAL SCHOOL. Nestled on a breathtaking 7.5 acre campus in Denver lies ST. ANNE’S EPISCOPAL SCHOOL, igniting daily inspiration for students ages three through eighth grade.

At St. Anne’s, we guide students through their educational journey in a nurturing environment where they will become curious and compassionate learners who serve and enrich our world through middle school and beyond.

Since 1950, we have embraced an inclusive ethos that nurtures and uplifts every child.

Classrooms boast cutting-edge technology as well as devoted educators who challenge

their students. Our objective is to cultivate a community characterized by integrity, humility, and compassion while offering an exceptional academic program that includes art, music, drama, technology, language classes, and a stimulating outdoor education program at our foothills campus.

Grounded in the values and traditions of our Founding Sisters, St. Anne’s fosters an unwavering sense of belonging and empowerment. Above all, our graduates possess a deep understanding of themselves, compassion for others, and a relentless drive to serve and uplift their communities.

ADMISSIONS: 303.756.9481 GRADES: Age 3 - Grade 8 ENROLLMENT: 430 STUDENT/FACULTY RATIO: 8:1 TUITION: $13,610 - $31,070

(includes daily hot lunch; need-based tuition assistance available)

2701 SOUTH YORK STREET, DENVER, CO 80210 • (303) 756-9481 • ST-ANNES.ORG SE P T E M BE R 2 02 3 | 52 8 0 PR I VAT E S C HO OL H A N DB O OK |

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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2023 6:00 – 8:30 p.m.

RECEPTION | DINNER & PROGRAM

SHERATON DENVER DOWNTOWN Join us for a very special DSF Homecoming Gala on Friday, October 20, 2023, to honor the accomplishments of Denver Public Schools (DPS) high school students, DSF Scholars, and Alumni, and thank the partners and supporters who help make DSF’s work possible!

Learn more, invest in a sponsorship, or purchase tickets!

Scan the code or visit

denverscholarship.org/gala.

Y T R A P R E T AF

Photos courtesy of Green Lion Images Ad sponsored by 5280

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Boulder County’s unpaved roads are perfect for pedaling.

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HOLY

GRAVEL! Combine gravel biking’s welcoming culture and ease of entry with Colorado’s seemingly endless maze of dirt roads and trails, and it’s clear why the Centennial State has become a mecca for the sport.

BY NICHOLAS HUNT

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P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y J O S H UA W. S T R O N G

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and a half ago, Front Range traffic had all but killed my will to battle other drivers on the way to my favorite mountain bike trailheads. And road cycling always seemed like a good way to breathe in car exhaust while dodging inattentive motorists. So instead of riding a few days every week like I did when I first moved to the Mile High City, I found myself sitting on my couch.

Friends told me I should try gravel cycling to fill the two-wheeled void in my life. Although it’s technically one of the oldest cycling disciplines—simply because paved roads were rare when bikes were invented—the practice of riding on rocky roads has been experiencing a renaissance lately. It felt like a fad to me. Gravel bikes aren’t as fast as road bikes or as capable as mountain bikes, I reasoned. But as I found out in spring 2022, when I bought a budget gravel rig to replace my aging commuter cycle, a gravel bike can do something no road or mountain bike can: take me from my front door near downtown Denver to the mountains and back again. My full-suspension bike would be too slow to tackle such a big ride, and a traditional road cycle would rattle me to pieces once I left the pavement. A gravel bike’s plump tires and relaxed frame geometry can absorb all but the chunkiest terrain while still being fast (enough) on pavement. Better yet, even living in the heart of the city, I can reach trout-filled streams, aspen groves, and bighorn sheep, all with minimal time spent riding in traffic, thanks to the metro area’s network of multiuse paths.

This epiphany reignited my passion for cycling, and I’m not the only one. “I think we were like 50 people strong for the first six months,” says Logan Fair, who created the Colorado Gravel Grinders Facebook group in 2016. Seven years later, the community has more than 5,600 members, more than half of whom have joined since 2020, when COVID-19 sent people socially distancing outdoors.

While pandemic restrictions have disappeared, the gravel boom hasn’t. Fair says the majority of people who’ve joined since 2020 are still riding, and new cyclists are adding to their ranks all the time. The market reflects this trend. Gravel bikes are one of the fastest-growing segments in the bicycle industry, with sales jumping 109 percent between 2019 and 2021.

Locally, Alchemy Bikes, a high-end bicycle manufacturer based in Golden, has seen a steep decline in riders who want a dedicated road bike. “It’s a little bit limiting,” says Bryce Wood, the company’s operations manager. “People want versatility.”

They also want to feel welcomed. Road riding has built a strong culture, one that’s dominated by white men and women, and mountain biking’s expensive gear, steep learning curve, and send-it-bro vibes keep many would-be riders away. But gravel cycling doesn’t have the same barriers to entry, says Marcus Robinson (pictured), a longtime cyclist and co-founder of Denver-based cycling advocacy group Ride For Racial Justice. Traffic and technical terrain are sporadic, meaning it doesn’t require specialized skills to get started. “It’s just an open road that has dirt on it,” Robinson says. “It’s the only place right now where I feel that I’m totally comfortable.”

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SLACK GEOMETRY For a stable ride, gravel bikes typically have a longer wheelbase and a less steeply raked headtube (the part of the frame that holds the front fork in place) than road bikes.

Too much rake, though—say, an angle of 66 degrees or less—and the bike “starts to steer like a boat,” Miller says.

At a 71.5-degree angle, the Rover’s headtube hits the sweet spot, he says.

ROTUND RUBBER Skinny tires go fast. Fat tires provide better traction and a more comfortable ride. The Rover comes with 40-millimeterdiameter tires, which Miller says is the most versatile size, but can fit up to 50-millimeter monsters.

Courtesy of Revel Bikes (bike)

A year

Gravel Bike Breakdown

Any bike can be a gravel bike if you ride it on gravel, but the discipline’s growing popularity is due, in large part, to a new breed of gravel-specific bicycles (which start around $1,000). And there’s a lot more to them than simply slapping some bigger tires on a road rig, says Adam Miller, founder of Carbondale’s Revel Bikes. Here’s what makes Revel’s Rover (from $4,000) perfect for getting on, and then off, the asphalt.

CARRYING CAPACITY Getting away from civilization safely means carrying more gear (see “Everyday Carry” on page 68) than you would on a typical road ride. The Rover features four bottle cage mounting points, which can also be used to attach bags and other gear.

WIDE HANDLEBARS Road bike drop bars (handlebars that curve back on themselves) allow riders to tuck into an aerodynamic body position. Gravel bikes have drop bars, too, but the lower parts of the bars also flare out to give the rider better control on bumpy terrain.

SIZING IT UP Finding a bike that fits is less like getting a new T-shirt and more like buying a suit. So think of Zack Allison—co-owner of Bike Sports, a Fort Collins bicycle fitting studio, event organizer, and race team—as your tailor.

FIRST read up on what various bikes are intended for to find a match for your riding style—whether that’s smooth gravel or chunky singletrack.

MOST BRANDS have sizing tools on their websites that use your inseam and height, but sizes can overlap, meaning a rider who’s five-foot-10 might technically fit on both a medium and a large.

“That’s when you need to find a shop and have them help size you,” Allison says.

SIMPLIFIED DRIVETRAINS Single-chainring drivetrains are popular with mountain bikers for their reliability and decreased weight, and the trend is making its way into gravel. Some riders still prefer to have two chainrings up front to make climbing easier and descending faster.

DON’T PLAN on a perfect fit when you first hop on the bike. At a minimum, you’ll need to adjust the saddle and handlebars, but you may also need to swap out some parts (such as the stem, which connects the bars to your fork and can change your handlebar position drastically). “If you have pain in an area,” he says, “move things to where you have less pain.”

PLIANT FRAMES Racers want stiff bikes that transfer all their power into forward motion. That also means they can feel every pebble on the road, so when you’re riding a trail that’s all rocks—i.e., gravel—you want a supple frame that can absorb some of that chatter.

TUBELESS TIRES Tubes are becoming a thing of the past, thanks to goos that coat the inside of your tires to plug any punctures on the go. You’ll need a tubeless-ready wheel, however, that can create an airtight seal between the rim and the rubber.

CYCLING HAS a lot of repetitive movements, and that’s a recipe for discomfort and overuse injuries, Allison says.

Consider a professional fitting (Bike Sports’ starts at $250), which will check things like proper knee angle and foot placement.

Free Wheels

The Front Range may be Colorado’s most densely populated urban corridor, but finding wide-open gravel isn’t a problem.

Paved Road

KEY

Paved Multiuse Trail Soft-Surface Multiuse Trail Gravel Road

Singletrack And/Or Doubletrack Trail

CHERRY CREEK STATE PARK

Difficulty: Easy Accessible via: Surface streets, greenways, vehicle, public transit As cliché as it sounds, this Aurora green space is an urban oasis, and the tangle of gravel roads and singletrack on the park’s southeast side won’t let you forget it. In rainy years, the prairie grasses and wildflowers can reach your handlebars, and you’re sure to spot eastern cottontail rabbits and prairie dogs— just watch out for the latter’s burrows, which they often build in the middle of the trail. It’s possible to make a 10-plus-mile-long loop of gravel and protected bike paths that more or less hugs the park’s perimeter, but with the 40-milelong, multiuse Cherry Creek Trail bisecting the park, you can ride pretty much as far as you want without having to cycle in traffic.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ARSENAL NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

Waterton Canyon

(just make sure you don’t pedal onto the intertwined hiker-only routes), and if you’re lucky, you’ll spy the resident bison herd. For a bigger ride, tack on the Perimeter Trail, a 14.2-mile gravel road sandwiched between a fence and the busy streets that hem in the west, north, and east sides. While the scenery is not particularly stunning, it’s a great place to clock some miles without worrying about getting clocked by a Subaru.

WATERTON CANYON

Difficulty: Easy Accessible via: Surface streets, vehicle

Difficulty: Easy Accessible via: Greenway, vehicle

The south side of Commerce City’s Rocky Mountain Arsenal has more than 10 miles of cruisy single- and doubletrack trails

Waterton Canyon is reachable from Denver by bike on the High Line Canal Trail or Mary Carter Greenway—save for the final stretch,

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where you have to navigate the roads and trails surrounding Chatfield State Park—so it’s a great escape from the city without getting in a car. (There is a parking lot, with a restroom, just across from the Littleton trailhead, and we won’t judge if you use it.) The closed-to-cars gravel road ascends 6.2 miles and around 800 feet along the South Platte River to the Strontia Springs Dam, but the slope is so gentle you’ll barely notice it. While the crowds typically die out after the first few miles, the views don’t, and if you’ve got burly tires—at least 40 millimeters in diameter—you can continue onto the Colorado Trail proper for chunky singletrack. Or, if you’re riding in summer, head to the swim beach at neighboring Chatfield to cool off before you head home.

BEAR CREEK LAKE PARK

Difficulty: Moderate Accessible via: Greenway, vehicle To avoid paying the $10 entrance fee, you can stash your car at the Morrison park-and-ride lot on South Rooney Road and cycle into this Lakewood park for free.

It’s also reachable from Englewood along the Bear Creek Trail.

However you arrive, expect some technical riding as most of the park’s trails are singletrack, ranging from the smooth-ish dirt on the 6.6-mile Mt. Carbon Loop to chunk on the North Park Trails.

Bear Creek Greenbelt Park, which connects to Bear Creek Lake Park to the east, is also home to various unpaved trails worth exploring.

HIGH LINE CANAL TRAIL

Difficulty: Easy Accessible via: Greenway, vehicle It’s easy to crank out miles on the High Line Canal Trail— heading west, it rises less than three feet every mile, on average—so it’s a good thing that, at 71 miles, it’s one of the longest continuous urban trails in the country. The first 35 miles or so from Waterton Canyon to Cherry Hills Village are gravel; then the route becomes paved pretty much the rest of the way to Green Valley Ranch, near DIA. Cottonwoods along the 140-year-old canal offer shade in the summer and a show in autumn, and you’ll also pass the occasional farm, pond, and park, as well as plenty of tidy backyards.

BOULDER COUNTY

Difficulty: Easy to expert Accessible via: Surface streets, vehicle, greenway

Boulder County

When people picture gravel riding, Boulder County is what they see. The area’s network of soft-surface regional greenways, multiuse paths, open space trails, and pastoral farm roads can be strung together for choose-yourown-adventure spins ranging from easy meanders to century rides. Standouts include the 2.3-mile Teller Farm Trail, a sojourn through farmland still used for crops, cattle grazing, and beekeeping; the 14-mile Coal Creek Trail, which connects Lafayette, Louisville, and Superior; and the East Boulder Trail, a mix of singleand doubletrack that snakes through the rolling prairie of White Rocks Nature Preserve, home to bald eagles and snapping turtles. While most of the gravel routes are easy to moderate, linking them into a longer loop usually requires navigating surface streets and speedy exurban traffic.

BUCKET LIST RIDES

Four epic gravel routes spread across the state’s most epic terrain.

1

BACHELOR LOOP HISTORIC TOUR, CREEDE

2

PHANTOM CANYON, CAÑON CITY

3

PONCHO & LEFTY’S LOOP, TRINIDAD

At just 17 miles, this relatively short—but steep— gravel route winds through Mineral County’s ghost towns and bristlecone forests. Ride the loop counterclockwise and, after suffering through around four miles of climbing, you’ll be able to cruise the rest of the way.

Expect a steady climb from Cañon City through rock tunnels and along trickling Eightmile Creek to Cripple Creek on this former railroad bed turned gravel legend. To make a 65-mile loop, take Shelf Road, which snakes down a neighboring canyon, back to town.

Stephen Beneski, co-founder of the Coloradobased publisher behind Gravel Adventure Field Guide, curated this 71-mile ride—which runs along the northern base of 9,633-foot Fishers Peak— for the company’s Trinidad/ Las Animas County pocket guide (see “Guiding Lights,” page 69). “You pass these arroyos, which are like mini Grand Canyons,” he says, “and pronghorn sheep run with you for miles.”

4

MOUNT ZIRKEL WILDERNESS LOOP, MEDICINE BOW-ROUTT NATIONAL FORESTS

Hikers have the famed Zirkel Circle (a 10.4-mile loop around the Mount Zirkel Wilderness).

Cyclists can make their own 153-mile circumnavigation of its namesake mountain by connecting various gravel and paved roads starting in Steamboat Springs. Check out thedirtyroads.com for a map and route description.

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Everyday Carry

Leaving the blacktop behind means you need to be prepared. These nine essentials will help ensure you make it back home on two wheels instead of two feet.

MULTITOOL Bike-specific models include the most common hex wrench sizes and screwdrivers to keep things tight.

Some can even mend broken chains.

SPARE TUBE If your bike still uses tubes, you’ll need an extra one if you get a puncture.

TIRE PLUGS There are some breaches even tubeless sealant goo can’t cork. Carrying a plug kit (or a spare tube) can get you rolling again.

WIND AND RAIN PROTECTION Colorado’s weather, especially during prime riding season, is volatile. Any light shell will work, but we dig that the Summit Barrier jacket ($85) from Pearl Izumi can pack down to the size of an orange.

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SNACKS Food that can replace the salts you’re sweating out—such as these chews ($2.45) from Boulder’s Skratch Labs—are a must.

PATCH KIT Having a patch kit can be the difference between riding and walking if your spare tube gets damaged.

TIRE LEVERS Use these to remove and re-seat a tire in case of a nicked tube.

EMERGENCY CASH Carry cash (and cards) in case of, well, emergencies.

Credits Tk

PUMP OR CO2 CANISTER Both will refill your tire, but we prefer a small hand pump (even though it takes a lot more work), because it can be used again and again for free.

Riding In Style

With gravel riding taking the best of both road cycling and mountain biking, it’s only fitting that it cribs their styles as well. Here, our guide to three distinct characters you may see out on the unpaved roads and the local companies that can help you get the look.

CONVERTED ROADIES

The loose garments worn by converted mountain bikers might make them slower, but they’re also comfortable and attract less attention during brewery pit stops.

Unlike roadies, who fawn over European cycling style houses such as Rapha and Café Du Cycliste, those coming straight to gravel don’t respect any style police.

PRO MESH JERSEY Cycling apparel giant Pearl Izumi, whose U.S. headquarters are in Louisville, combined gravel cycling’s all-terrain aesthetic with the slippy speed of aerodynamic road tops to create this limited-edition version of its staple Pro Mesh Jersey. Men’s and women’s; $150

RANGE TRAIL LITE TEE The laid-back fit and styling of this technical tee from Denver’s Pactimo mean it won’t look out of place on a mountain bike, but its long backside will keep your backside covered—even when you’re tucked over the bars. Men’s and women’s; $85

ANDERSON SHIRT This snap-button flannel from Denver’s Flylow can be worn to the office or on the trail, and while it may be decidedly un-aerodynamic, its stretchy nylon-spandex blend is quick-drying and rated UPF 50 for long days in the saddle. Men’s and women’s; $80

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+

+

CARGO POCKET BIB SHORTS Boulder-based Panache took its road cycling bib—basically, padded cycling shorts with shoulder straps that keep them firmly in place—and added two pockets on the back and a pouch on each leg for stashing cell phones, snacks, and other essentials.

Men’s and women’s; $209

ILEX SHORTS Mountain-bike-style shorts are great for riders who want more protection from trail rash in case of a crash. The Ilex shorts from Primal Wear in Denver sport a rear zippered compartment so valuables won’t rattle out. Pair them with a pair of bib liners to protect your tailbone and prevent chafing. Men’s and women’s; $100

SLATE JORTS You could make your own jorts with a pair of scissors, but Boulder-based Ripton & Co. offers a wide variety of performance denim bottoms, including these shorts made from a blend of cotton, elastane, and recycled polyester that are sure to be the stretchiest pair of Daisy Dukes you’ve ever owned.

Men’s and women’s; $65

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This spread, clockwise from left: Sarah Banks (products provided by Louisville Cyclery); Courtesy of Pearl Izumi; Courtesy of Pactimo LLC; Courtesy of Flylow Gear; Courtesy of Ripton & Co.; Courtesy of Primal Wear; Courtesy of Panache

COLORADO COMMUTERS

FAT-TIRE FANATICS

These recovering racers aren’t ready to give up the form-fitting jerseys and bibs that decrease wind resistance and show off the quads they’ve spent years building.

GUIDING LIGHTS

Three go-to route resources for Colorado and beyond.

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GRAVELBIKEADVENTURES.COM

Although it’s focused on Colorado and the Front Range, this website features a comprehensive collection of trail descriptions and GPS files for routes across the country.

THEDIRTYROADS.COM

=

This Steamboat Springs–based website has curated a list of monumental gravel rides across the state—and better yet, it includes GPS files for more than 50 of them and a handful of in-depth route descriptions.

GRAVEL ADVENTURE FIELD GUIDE

Visiting Mesa, Pueblo, or Las Animas counties or the San Luis Valley? Snag one of these free Colorado-made pocket guides at various bike shops in each area or order them online for a small fee.

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FIND A FRIEND

Like all things fun, gravel cycling is best when shared with others.

BEST FOR Changemakers

Forward Momentum

Marcus Robinson, a bike racer and co-founder of the Denver-based national nonprofit Ride For Racial Justice, explains in his own words why gravel cycling is his last safe space on two wheels.

After the murder of George Floyd, when the country was in turmoil, my wife said to me, “Baby, you can’t go ride by yourself anymore, because you could end up in a ditch.” I made a post on Instagram about that, and my co-founder, Neal Henderson, whom I’ve known for 18 or 20 years now, reached out and said, “We gotta do something about this.” That turned into us having a community ride in Denver just a few weeks later. About 75 to 100 people showed up, and we were having tough conversations from the seat of a bike. Those conversations were eye-opening for me and the rest of the folks riding with us. We just felt energized, and that turned into more community rides and bigger rides.

Then I reached out to the organizers of the Steamboat Gravel [SBT GRVL] race, and we came up with a plan to have 25 diverse riders from across the country participate in August 2021. We got sponsors and trained them virtually. We paid for the whole thing with crowdsourcing and just going into each other’s pockets to pull it off. Steamboat is a beautiful place, but there are not a lot of people who look like us there. But the city embraced us. Nobody honked. Nobody tried to run us off the road. Everybody was waving and giving directions. The community embraced us. We have tough conversations with the organizers, which is great. They’re learning from us, and we’re learning from them.

So gravel turned this light on. Our members think it is the best thing ever because they’re able to take their families out cycling and don’t have to be afraid of riding in the hustle and bustle of a city. I won’t go back to racing on the road. I don’t need that stress, and I don’t need the arrogance of it. And while mountain biking was new at one point, it was never really accessible. It takes a lot to do it. It’s technical, and gravel is not. We’re slowly working through our community, trying to get the grandmas and grandpas and the aunts and the uncles out on bicycles to show them how accessible it is and that they have every opportunity to do these types of things. Once they get out there, then the smiles begin.

Gravel has actually become more inclusive, not only toward Black folks but also for transgender folks, for LGBTQ+ folks, too. I think it’s so inclusive because it’s so new. The old ways of thinking and racing have gone by the wayside. Gravel is a place to be safe and express yourself and not be worried about, you know, getting hit or shot. We have younger, more diverse folks and more people who are more in tune with the universe, shall I say. They are carving out a space that looks like them. —AS TOLD TO NH 70

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Marcus Robinson’s nonprofit, Ride for Racial Justice, works to make everyone feel safe on a bicycle through an athlete program that funds the participation of cyclists of color in races and community rides across the country, including one in Colorado Springs this month (date TBD).

BEST FOR Digital Natives

With more than 5,500 Facebook members, Colorado Gravel Grinders is a great place to find IRL riding partners and group outings online, as well as to swap routes, trail conditions, photos, and advice.

BEST FOR Cube Dwellers

The only dress code when riding with Boulder-based Thank Gravel It’s Friday—which hosts Wednesday after-work women’s outings, Friday gravel spins, and monthly full moon cruises—is to wear a T-shirt.

BEST FOR Gravel Newbies

The 10- to 25-mile gravel rides put on by meetup.com’s Colorado Front Range Road & Gravel Cycling Group are nodrop, meaning you won’t get left behind even if you’re slow.

BEST FOR Anyone & Everyone

Boulder’s Full Cycle Bikes helps organize gravel outings on Wednesdays with Ride or Die Collective, a community of women, trans, femme, and nonbinary cyclists; on Thursdays with Boulder Cycling Club; and on Sundays via its own beginner, intermediate, and advanced shop rides.

Blazing Saddles Gravel races are some of cycling’s most accessible and welcoming competitions, not just because of the community that surrounds them, but also because you often don’t need a racing license from the Union Cycliste Internationale, cycling’s governing body, to participate, says Bike Sport’s Whitney Allison. These six local contests can get you started.

CROOKED GRAVEL MILEAGE

25 | 67

A moose led the peloton during the 2021 running of this Winter Park event put on by the Ride Collective, a Colorado-based event organizer that runs eight road, gravel, and mountain bike races in Colorado and New Mexico. So that should give you a pretty good sense of the terrain you’ll be riding through during the four-year-old race, which happens every July.

FOCO FONDO MILEAGE

12 | 32 | 50 | 118

Founded in 2015 by Whitney and Zack Allison, the FoCo Fondo offers the same prize purse for the top finishers in the men’s, women’s, and nonbinary categories. This year’s event, which took place in Fort Collins in July, had four routes, but only those riders who completed the 118-mile course in a specified amount of time received bolo ties as finisher medals.

GRASSROOTS GRAVEL MILEAGE

Josh Weinburg/Courtesy of FoCo Fondo

15 | 38 | 72 | 110

Take advantage of Pueblo County’s long riding season at this new four-course event with appropriately spicy names: the Mild, the Lil Chile, the Half, and the Whole. The race, which takes place this year over the weekend of October 14, is part of founder Adam Davidson’s mission to help boost cycling and cycling tourism in southern Colorado.

FoCo Fondo IRON HORSE BICYCLE CLASSIC’S LA STRADA LA PLATA GRAVEL MILEAGE

53 | 93

The Iron Horse Bicycle Classic, which sees roadies race a train from Durango to Silverton each May, is one of the most famous cycling to-dos in the state, and the event—which also includes mountain bike contests and untimed rides—added this gravel battle to its schedule in 2017.

SBT GRVL MILEAGE

THE RAD DIRT FEST MILEAGE

37 | 69 | 100 | 142

46 | 67 | 112

This race in Steamboat Springs partnered with both Ride For Racial Justice and All Bodies On Bikes, an organization that encourages all shapes and sizes to ride, to help bring 45 diverse competitors to the 3,000-plusperson event this past August.

Want your legs to hate you even more? The event hosted a Friday-night hill climb this year.

In 2021, wellness conglomerate Life Time added the Rad Dirt Fest (September 30 this year) in Trinidad to its roster of more than 30 national triathlons, marathons, and bike races, which include Kansas’ iconic Unbound Gravel event and the Leadville Race Series. Expect a slickly produced event and a competitive pace. m

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firmly

Andrea Murdoch, the chef behind Denver’s Four Directions Cuisine, shares how to celebrate the fall harvest through a feast replete with traditional Indigenous foods.

STORY BY PATRICIA KAOWTHUMRONG A D D IT I O N AL REPO RTI N G BY ETH AN PAN

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY AARON COLUSSI PR OP S T Y L I NG BY NATAL IE WA R A DY

FO O D ST YL IN G BY V ERO N I CA SPERA

Rooted

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Growing up in

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GRILLED GARDEN V E G E TA B L E S

You can opt for any assortment of seasonal veggies for this recipe. Murdoch favors squash, tomatoes, and corn—all grown in her yard, where she has cultivated a precolonial edible garden featuring produce native to the Americas, including traditionally Andean crops such as oca and mashua (potatolike vegetables).

She also hosts workshops on-site that teach aspiring gardeners how to sow their own seeds.

Serves 4 1 zucchini 1 yellow squash 3 bell peppers (yellow, red, and orange) 6–8 Tbs. sunflower oil ¾ tsp. sea salt 1 tsp. sumac ½ tsp. dried sage 12 oz. tomatoes on the vine 2 local or heritage corn ears, shucked and halved 1 bunch of green onions 1. Cut the zucchini and yellow squash into ¼-inch planks lengthwise and set aside.

2. Cut the tops and bottoms off the bell peppers and discard. Remove the seeds and white pith, then cut into quarters.

3. Whisk the oil with the salt, sumac, and dried sage in a large bowl and gently toss the vegetables—including the tomatoes, corn, and whole green onions—in the mixture.

4. Preheat the grill to about 400° and cook the vegetables directly on the grill. Turn them every two to three minutes until the tomatoes are blistered, the corn is amber-colored, the squashes and bell peppers are al dente (and have crosshatch grill marks, if you desire), and the green onions are wilted. This should take 13 to 15 minutes.

Previous spread: Getty Images (background). This page: Mali Textiles (hat); Valentich Goods (apron); shot on location at @thedenverstonehouse

Murdoch and her dog, Roja

an Anglo-American household in rural Ohio, Andrea Murdoch found herself far, geographiTHE MENU cally and culturally, from her Indigenous roots.

Grilled Garden In fact, it wasn’t until she was around 28 years Vegetables, page 74 old that the Andean native of Venezuela, who Jicama Slaw, page 77 was adopted and brought to the United States Shredded Bison, page 77 as a young child, embarked on a life-changing mission to explore Native heritages—both her Salsa Trio, page 77 own and those of other original inhabitants of Roasted Potatoes, the Americas. page 78 Already a chef trained in fine-dining techAndean Porridge, niques by the Culinary Institute of America in page 81 Hyde Park, New York, Murdoch first turned to Blueberry Lavender members of the Oneida Indian Nation to learn Spritz, page 81 about Indigenous culinary traditions.Their ancestral homelands include the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, area where she was living in 2015. “The generosity in sharing knowledge, their creation story, and so much more was so impactful and healing for me,” Murdoch says, “that I dove headfirst into this work of Indigenous foods, sovereignty, and etymology and haven’t looked back since.”

Six years ago, after moving to Denver to be close to the mountains that remind her of her brief time in the Andes, Murdoch launched Four Directions Cuisine, a catering company that fuses Native North, South, and Central American ingredients and techniques to produce dishes such as bison-stuffed arepas and Ute corn cakes. “As a displaced Indigenous person living on land originally stewarded by other Indigenous nations, I am responsible for learning their history as if it were my own,” Murdoch says, “and then sharing that knowledge in appropriate educational ways.”

That side dish of education can be heavy: Through her pop-up dinners, classes, and speaking engagements, Murdoch raises funds for and educates diners about causes close to her heart, such as the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls movement. (According to the National Institute of Justice, four out of five Indigenous women experience violence in their lifetimes, and Native women and girls are 10 times more likely to be murdered than people of other ethnicities.) Murdoch also connects violence against women with the destruction of Native lands, explaining that although crimes are committed by individuals, a long history of harmful government policies and the displacement of Indigenous peoples have created conditions ripe for these tragedies to occur.

As such, Murdoch hopes her food —including the fall-bounty-filled feast spread out on the following pages— inspires individuals to respect both the land from which her ingredients come and the earth’s historical stewards. ‘‘Stories are told when preparing and consuming food,” she says, “so I wanted to offer recipes that would cultivate an environment of people coming together to prepare food, talk, and be in relationship with one another.”

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firmly rooted J I CA M A S L AW

Jicama is a globe-shaped root vegetable originally cultivated in Mexico. Its starchy white interior has a slightly sweet, subtly nutty flavor that brings a pleasant crunch to salads. Murdoch’s slaw holds up well in the refrigerator for up to six days.

Serves 4 to 6 1 poblano pepper ½ medium red onion, julienned 2 bell peppers (any color), julienned 1 lb. jicama, peeled 1∕3 cup cilantro, chopped 2 tsp. sea salt ¼ cup sunflower oil Juice of two limes 1. Char the poblano on a grill, preheated to about 400°, or a comal (pan/griddle) on the stovetop on medium heat, turning as needed until the flesh is tender (about eight to 10 minutes). Once it’s cool, peel, seed, and dice the pepper and place it in a mixing bowl.

2. Soak the red onion slices in cold water for five minutes to tame the flavor. Drain and add, along with the bell pepper, to the bowl with the poblano.

3. Using a box grater, grate the jicama on the larger side and add it to the mix.

4. Toss together with the chopped cilantro, sea salt, oil, and fresh-squeezed lime juice. Add more salt if you prefer.

SHREDDED BISON

This recipe honors the Northern Plains Indian Tribes—whose cultures, spiritual lives, and traditions are interwoven with the bison that once roamed the Great Plains—and highlights the importance of protecting Indigenous foodways. Any cut of bison roast, such as chuck, will work in place of the top round.

Serves 4 to 6 2 lb. bison top round ½ tsp. sea salt

¾ tsp. dried sage ¼–1∕3 cup sunflower oil 1 medium white or yellow onion, peeled and quartered 3 Roma tomatoes, quartered 2 red bell peppers, quartered 4–6 garlic cloves 1½–2 qt. vegetable stock (enough to cover the meat) 1 small dried ají amarillo (or 2 Tbs. of ají amarillo paste or 1 fresh habanero or Scotch bonnet pepper) 1. Dry the bison by leaving it uncovered in the refrigerator overnight or up to two days, which will help the meat gain a nice sear.

2. Season the bison with salt and sage. In a cast-iron Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Sear the bison, turning occasionally, until it is browned on all sides (about five minutes).

3. Add the onion, tomato, bell peppers, and garlic and cook for three minutes.

4. Add the stock and chile. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and slow-cook on the stovetop for four to five hours or until the meat shreds easily when pulled with two forks.

5. Remove the protein from the liquid and shred. To make a thin sauce to serve with the meat, blend the braising liquid, including the vegetable pieces, until smooth. Taste and add more salt if you prefer.

Each salsa makes about 1½ cups GRILLED SALSA ROJA

Murdoch prefers to use sunflower oil sourced from a local company, such as Lamar’s Colorado Mills or Berthoud’s Healthy Harvest, whose goods are available online. If you can’t find kaleidoscope cherry tomatoes for this sweet, mild condiment, any multicolored variety of grape or cherry tomatoes will do.

1 poblano pepper 10 oz. kaleidoscope cherry tomatoes 3 Tbs. sunflower oil 1∕3 tsp. sea salt ¼ medium red onion, chopped 2 garlic cloves ¼ cup cilantro, chopped 1. In a medium bowl, toss the poblano and tomatoes—both uncut—in

From left: Jicama slaw; Murdoch serves friends Vi Bright, Kayla Banks, and Claire Westcott

SA L SA T R I O

Murdoch recommends making salsa—a food with origins in South America and Mesoamerica (a historical region that spans from central Mexico to northern Costa Rica)—with a molcajete and tejolote, or a mortar and pestle. “That just adds to the specialness, because then you’re downshifting from a quick, easy, mechanical process to a more intentional, handmade, ancestral process and tradition,” she says.

These three blends are designed to complement Murdoch’s shredded bison, but you can also enjoy them with anything you’d usually pair with salsa, from tacos to eggs.

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firmly rooted

sunflower oil and salt. Then char them on a grill, preheated to about 400°, or a comal on the stovetop on medium heat, turning as needed until their flesh is tender (about eight to 10 minutes). Peel and seed the pepper.

2. While the tomatoes and poblano roast, pulverize the red onion and garlic in the molcajete. When the tomatoes and poblano are ready, add them in and continue to carefully grind down the mixture into a chunky salsa.

3. Stir in the chopped cilantro. Taste and add more salt if you prefer.

SALSA VERDE

The slow-simmered bison plays well with Murdoch’s salsa trio.

A roasted serrano pepper gives Murdoch’s bright and acidic version of this classic tomatillo-based sauce, which dates back to the Aztec empire, a gently fiery punch.

6 (about 12 oz.) tomatillos, husked 1 serrano pepper 2 Tbs. sunflower oil ¼ tsp. sea salt 2 garlic cloves ¼ medium yellow onion, chopped ¼ cup cilantro, chopped 1. In a large bowl, toss the whole tomatillos and the serrano pepper in sunflower oil and salt. Then blister them on a grill, preheated to about 400°, or a comal on the stovetop on medium heat, turning as needed until their flesh is tender (about eight to 10 minutes). Remove the skins from the tomatillos and seed the pepper.

2. While the tomatillos char, pulverize the garlic and yellow onion in the molcajete. When the tomatillos and serrano are ready, add them in and continue to grind down the mixture into a chunky salsa.

3. Stir in the chopped cilantro. Taste and add more salt if you prefer.

SALSA MACHA

This versatile, crunchy chile oil is often made with a medley of dried peppers and peanuts, but Murdoch uses pepitas and sunflower seeds, both native to North America, in place of the latter due to the prevalence of peanut allergies. Look for the dehydrated peppers at local Mexican supermarkets such as Mi Pueblo or Lowe’s Mercado or from online retailers like Amazon.

If you can’t find any of these varieties, replace the missing amount with more of the other chiles or sub in another type.

8 dried chiles de árbol, stems removed 2 dried chiles morita, stems removed 1 dried ají amarillo, stem removed ½ cup raw pepitas ¼ cup raw sunflower kernels 8 garlic cloves 2 tsp. sea salt 1¼ cup sunflower oil 78

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1. Using gloves, roll the chiles between your fingers to remove and discard the loose seeds.

2. In a large skillet, toast the chiles over medium heat, stirring often until they’re puffed all over (about six to eight minutes). Be sure not to burn them or your salsa will be bitter. Set aside.

3. Toast the pepitas and sunflower kernels in the same pan over medium heat until mostly golden brown (about five to seven minutes). Set aside.

3. Pulverize the garlic in a molcajete.

Next, add the chiles and continue to grind. Then add the toasted pepitas, sunflower kernels, and salt and continue to pound; you want to crush everything without creating a paste.

4. Heat the oil in the small saucepan over medium-low heat.

Meanwhile, transfer the chile mixture to a heat-safe bowl. Slowly pour the hot oil over the chile mixture, pausing three times to let it seep into the ingredients and avoid burning the garlic. Cool and store in a glass container or jar in the refrigerator for up to one month.

R OAST E D P OTATO E S

Pick up La Salle’s Strohauer Farms fingerling potatoes, which have a buttery, starchy flesh, at select Whole Foods Markets, and merquén chile seasoning, a smoky blend of crushed Chilean peppers, at Savory Spice stores.

Serves 4 1½ lb. Strohauer Farms fingerling potatoes, washed and dried 4 Tbs. sunflower oil ½ tsp. sea salt ½ tsp. merquén chile seasoning 1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. In a large bowl, toss the potatoes in the oil, salt, and merquén seasoning. Arrange them on a halfsheet pan and roast for 30 minutes or until fork-tender.

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firmly rooted ANDEAN PORRIDGE

In Murdoch’s native Venezuela, mothers feed their babies porridge with nutrientdense quinoa and amaranth (a flowering plant that yields protein-packed seeds) to wean them off their milk. In addition to being hearty and comforting, for Murdoch, the porridge, akin to elevated oatmeal or rice pudding, is a way to connect with her ancestors. She uses pepita milk, a plant-based alternative to the traditional dairy version.

Serves 6 For the pepita milk: 2 cups raw pepitas 3 cups water 2–3 Tbs. agave nectar ¼ tsp. sea salt For the porridge: 4 cups pepita milk 1 cup quinoa flakes 2 Tbs. agave nectar 2 pints fresh berries, such as raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries 3 Tbs. bee pollen granules (Murdoch likes Björn’s Colorado Honey brand) 1. To make the milk: Toast the pepitas in a dry pan over medium heat until they are very fragrant and have taken on an oak color (about five to seven minutes). If they are any darker, your milk will be bitter.

Cover with water, soak for eight hours, and strain. Blend the pepitas on high with the water, agave nectar, and sea salt. Store in the refrigerator in a lidded container for up to five days.

2. To make the porridge: In a large saucepan, bring your pepita milk to a simmer on medium-high heat (be careful not to scorch the liquid).

Whisk in the quinoa and cook for about five minutes, whisking every minute or two to keep the porridge from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Stir in the agave nectar and remove from heat.

3. To serve: Spoon the warm porridge into small bowls and top with the washed berries and a sprinkle of bee pollen.

B LU E B E R RY L AV E N D E R SPRITZ

Murdoch sources dried blooms from Savory Spice to whip up a lavender sugar for this refreshing nonalcoholic sipper.

Makes 4 drinks For the blueberry-lime purée: 6 oz. blueberries 2∕3 cup agave nectar Juice of one lime For the lavender sugar: 2∕3 cup coconut palm sugar 1 tsp. dried lavender

SAVE THE DATE

Don’t feel like turning on the stove? Savor Murdoch’s cooking at one of these coming events instead.

September 7: Molcajete Youth Workshop, Loveland Public Library lovelandpubliclibrary.org September 8: Tracing Andean Culture Through Food lecture and cooking demonstration, Denver Botanic Gardens botanicgardens.org October 6: Chef Takeover, SAME Café samecafedenver.org

From left: Andean porridge; a batch of blueberry lavender spritzes

For each spritz: Lavender sugar Ice 3–4 Tbs. blueberry-lime purée Club soda Lime wedge 1. To make the blueberry-lime purée: Blend the blueberries, agave nectar, and lime juice until smooth (squeeze in more lime if you prefer a tangier drink). It will keep in the refrigerator for up to six days.

2. To make the sugar: Combine the coconut palm sugar and lavender in a clean coffee or spice grinder and blend until combined.

You can store the condiment in an airtight container, such as a mason jar, in a dry place for up to six months.

3. To serve: Cut a notch in the center of a lime wedge and run it around the rim of a glass. Put the lavender sugar in a dish that is larger than the diameter of your glass and dip the top of the glass into the sugar to dust the rim. Fill the glass with ice, add the purée, and fill it the rest of the way with club soda. Garnish with a lime wedge. m SEPTEMBER 2023 / 5280

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Denver’s Luis Benitez wants to harness his past experience as the first director of the Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office to create a similar entity in the federal government. But can the accomplished mountaineer get Americans— especially Beltway politicians—to see the benefit of coordinating our outdoor adventures?

BY GEOFF VAN DYKE

PHOTOGRAPHY BY SARAH BANKS

Not for himself, of course. From a tender age, Benitez was in close proximity to power brokers—and, in this case, he was mixing drinks for men with last names like Ashcroft and Busch and Danforth.

It was the late 1970s and early ’80s, and after school was over, Benitez would head to his maternal grandfather’s suburban St. Louis store, Kelly’s Sporting Goods. Bill Kelly hadn’t always been the proprietor of a retail business. He’d first made his name as a hunting and fishing guide who helped his clients achieve their goals on rivers or in duck blinds, from Missouri’s Ozarks to Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula and most everywhere in between. Some of those clients were men of considerable power and influence, and one day a few of them encouraged Kelly to open a sporting goods store. “The way my grandfather tells the story is that they were fly-fishing,” Benitez says. “They were all standing by the river, and they were like, ‘Bill, we have to order our shotguns from Scotland and our fly reels from England, and we pay a lot of import duties. We think you should open a shop.’ ” Kelly thought it was a grand idea, except he didn’t have the capital to establish a business of his own. So these men of considerable power and influence—Missouri Attorney General John Ashcroft, U.S. Senator John C. Danforth, and Augie Busch, as in Anheuser-Busch—told their friend they’d write him checks. He’d never have to pay them back, they said, but in return for their largesse, when the business became solvent, these men could walk in and grab, say, a hunting jacket off the rack and keep it. Maybe a fly rod and a reel and a pair of boots, too. If they wanted Kelly to guide them, he’d have to get the store’s manager to run the shop while they were off gallivanting in the wilds.

And so it came to be that, before long, little Luis was hanging out at Kelly’s Sporting Goods after school, stocking shotgun shells 84

5280 / SEPTEMBER 2023

and fishing rods and making highballs for these prominent men and running interference when their respective wives called the shop to ask where they were. “My grade school was a quarter-mile away from my grandfather’s shop,” Benitez says. “From the time I got out at 3 to 6 p.m. when my mom came to pick me up after work, this was my education.”

It was an education in both how power works and in the ability of outdoor pursuits to bring people together—the store’s slogan was “Where Sportsmen Meet”—that would serve Benitez well as he embarked upon a life full of ambitious undertakings. Some of those quests involved expeditions in extreme environments. In his 20s and 30s, Benitez summited Mt. Everest six times, including being a key member of the team that guided Golden’s Erik Weihenmayer, the first blind climber to reach the highest point on Earth. Benitez has also stood atop the tallest peaks on all seven continents, many of them multiple times.

In his early 40s, however, Benitez took on a different type of challenge: a desk job as the founding director of the Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office. As the head of that entity, created in 2015 by then Governor John Hickenlooper, Benitez was tasked with being the point person for the Colorado businesses and communities that

Previous spread and this page: Getty Images (trees)

LUIS BENITEZ LEARNED TO MIX A HIGHBALL WHEN HE WAS A YOUNG BOY.

I

rely on the outdoor recreation economy. He relished the opportunity to help protect Colorado’s lands and grow the state’s already robust outdoor economy.

When Governor Jared Polis’ administration arrived, Benitez took his outdoors experience and Rolodex to VF Corporation, the parent company of iconic outdoor apparel brands such as the North Face and Smartwool. But the long-term mission he had begun to execute at the Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office permeated his thoughts during his four years in the private sector. So much so that Benitez left VF Corporation in early 2023 to launch a new, very public mission: to create a federal office of outdoor recreation.

Benitez has begun this adventure at a time in which the idea of growing the federal government is anathema to roughly 50 percent of the voting public, and substantive—and seemingly intractable—issues like inflation, crime, health care costs, homelessness, immigration, and gun violence are front of mind domestically. It is, figuratively, a steep hill to climb. “If Lou says he’s going to do it, he’s going to find a way to do it,” says David Benitez, Luis’ younger brother by 11 years. “And if it’s not 100 percent achievable, he’s going to find micro-wins, and then, you know, everybody will feel like he did it anyway. It’s kind of an inevitability.”

n the state of Colorado, the phrase “outdoor recreation” conjures myriad images: hiking in the San Juan Mountains, fly-fishing on the Frying Pan River, cycling up Flagstaff Mountain, paddling on the Arkansas River, mountain biking in Fruita, elk hunting in the Never Summer range, four-wheeling near Camp Hale–Continental Divide National Monument, and skiing the Back Bowls of Vail Ski Resort. These excursions are among the primary reasons so many Coloradans choose to live here, and why so many tourists visit from around the world each year. The state sells adventure—it’s what we have that so many others desire.

The ability to recreate in these wild spaces is also an important reason people stay in Colorado and in other states that have a similarly wide variety of natural assets. This phenomenon is a byproduct of something referred to as topophilia, a term Hickenlooper often employed when, as governor, he touted Colorado’s wilderness and the impact it has on the state’s residents. Topophilia is derived from the Greek words “topo,” meaning “place,” and “philia,” meaning “love of,” and as early as 2005, it had been defined as “the affective bond with one’s environment—a person’s mental, emotional, and cognitive ties to a place,” in an Environmental Health Perspectives article.

Roughly a decade ago, Hickenlooper decided he wanted to leverage that love of place in the Centennial State while Benitez moved at the same time keeping its wildlands to Colorado from wild.That meant coordinating supervision Missouri decades over the vast and somewhat disparate ago to work at Outward Bound. outdoor recreation industry in Colorado by creating the Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office, the second such department in the country, after Utah’s. Naturally, the governor wanted to hire a savvy leader and a strategic thinker to head up the new office, but he also needed someone with wide-ranging experience in the outdoor world. He ultimately tapped Benitez, who at the time was working at Vail Resorts. “Governor Hickenlooper deserves so much credit for this,” says Conor Hall, who became the office’s director in 2022. “He was a real visionary in shaping the office and giving it a voice and putting it in Colorado’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade to give it a real economic development and jobs bent. Because this is really one of the key economic drivers for the state.”

Benitez says that in the early days of the office, he was given a desk, a computer, and a credit card for gas—and that was about it. His portfolio of responsibilities, however, was significantly more substantive. Hickenlooper’s charge to Benitez was to coordinate efforts to grow the outdoor rec economy while also improving awareness of the sector, including promoting education and workforce development, SEPTEMBER 2023 / 5280

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hen you have lunch with Benitez or watch him participate in a panel discussion, it’s easy to forget his mountaineering bona fides. In person, Benitez radiates energy, but like most mountain climbers, he is not physically imposing. He has enviable, wavy dark hair and perfect white teeth and, whether he is clean-shaven or sporting a full beard, he is eminently rugged in a way most men can only dream of. At the same time, at the age of 51, he looks more like a hip suburban dad—which he is—than, say, Nirmal Purja, the Nepali-born climber who is the most recognizable high-elevation mountaineer today.

It’s also easy to look past Benitez’s feats as a summiter of 8,000meter peaks because, for the better part of a decade now, he has toiled 86

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Benitez at Mt. Everest’s basecamp in 2003 with the Khumbu Icefall in the background

away at office jobs, much to the delight of his family, which had worried about his safety for years. The evolution is more logical than it might appear, but grasping the journey is easier if one demarcates Benitez’s working life into a series of acts: Act I: outdoor/mountaineering guide, world traveler, climber of big mountains Act II: town councilperson in Eagle, director of organizational development and then director of talent development at Vail Resorts, director of the Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office, vice president of global impact and government affairs at VF Corporation Act III: TBD It’s more difficult to draw a straight line from Benitez’s early life experiences through to his professional accomplishments. His father, Ramiro, was an aerospace engineer who’d immigrated to the United States from Ecuador in the early 1960s to attend St. Louis University.

His mother, Rosanna, was an artist and art teacher from Missouri.

His parents were the yin and yang that influenced his younger years, and Kelly’s Sporting Goods provided him a schooling in the ways of the world.

It was an early-childhood diagnosis of asthma, however, that in retrospect seems as if it could have thwarted Benitez’s adventures before they’d begun. For much of his upbringing, Benitez struggled to breathe, both at a lower elevation in St. Louis and when he visited his dad’s family outside of Quito, Ecuador, which sits at an elevation of 9,350 feet. Eventually, his parents found a doctor who prescribed several things; chief among the recommendations was simply spending time at elevation to strengthen his lungs.

Neither of his parents was particularly outdoorsy, but his Ecuadorian uncles were. Benitez and his family would visit every summer, and young Luis would follow two of his uncles—who were engineers by profession and mountaineers by hobby—on high-elevation trails and practice breathing in the thin air. “Bit by bit, things got better, got stronger,” Benitez says.

Toward the end of high school, Benitez worked summers as a hut boy in Ecuador’s high-elevation hut system, cleaning the backcountry cabins and assisting the cooks. He was good at the job and handled the elevation surprisingly well—so well that he was eventually promoted to a position that Benitez says translates from Spanish to “turnaround

Didrik Johnck

and spearheading health and wellness initiatives. “For a long time, I had recognized the layered benefits that come from outdoor recreation,” Hickenlooper, now a U.S. senator, says. “It’s not just getting people healthy. It’s also about maintaining spiritual health. It’s helping people recognize and value wilderness and open spaces of all kinds.

And it also creates jobs.”

Conservation and environmental stewardship also fell under Benitez’s purview. As participation in outdoor recreation has grown in Colorado, and across the country, that increased usage has burdened our wild spaces, and preserving those landscapes has frequently fallen to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). One representative example is the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative, which helps maintain trails on the state’s highest peaks. “We need to think of the outdoors as infrastructure,” Benitez says. “We need to think of trails like highways and rivers as bridges. We need to think this way because these things are resources that help drive our sector of commerce. These are not amenities; they are strategic, structural pieces of this economy.” Benitez argues that maintaining heavily used trails, for instance, should not fall to NGOs; most of the funding for and the work on projects like those should be carried out by state and federal entities working in concert.

A few years after Colorado’s office had been established, Benitez began looking beyond the state’s borders to expand his vision of a more unified and centralized effort to advocate for the outdoor recreation industry. In 2018, he rolled out the Confluence Accords, an early attempt to organize the various state offices of outdoor recreation that had been created around four pillars: conservation and stewardship, education and workforce training, economic development, and public health and wellness. “It became clear to me as more state offices were created that we needed to have our own Magna Carta,” Benitez says.

“Basically, the idea was to say to governors: ‘If you create this office, fine, you can choose your adventure and follow your own path. But if you choose to create this office and be part of the national consortium, you have to become a signatory to the Confluence Accords.’ ” Benitez freely admits that it was an “experiment,” but it has worked—to a point. Currently, there are 22 states with offices of outdoor recreation, 16 of which have signed on to the Confluence Accords. That leaves 28 states, including the four most populous in the nation, without such an office, and the offices that do exist have often experienced setbacks.

Montana, for example, has an office of outdoor recreation, but the current governor, who didn’t create the office, has decided not to staff it. The office in Washington state was nearly shut down as a result of budget cuts during the COVID-19 pandemic; directors from other states’ outdoor recreation agencies lobbied Washington’s governor to keep the office, which he did.

Ultimately, the state bureaus are at the mercy of their respective governors, which, even with the Confluence Accords in place, makes things unnecessarily unstable in the outdoor rec sector. As Benitez puts it, those offices need an air traffic controller overseeing things and holding those states, and their governors, accountable. Both he and Hickenlooper believe a federal office could do just that.

“WE NEED TO THINK OF THE T OUTDOORS AS INFRASTRUCTURE.”

that elation when you summit?” David says. “That feeling when you finally finish the climb is unparalleled. Everything else is erased when you’re at the top.”

person.” If clients got themselves in trouble on their expeditions, Benitez would be sent out to rescue them and bring them back to the hut. “I had grown up my entire life with asthma, learning pressure-breathing exercises,” Benitez says. “People would get freaked out because they couldn’t breathe the higher they got, and it’s hard to explain, but I could drop into this gear that was very comfortable and familiar because I knew how to pressure-breathe. I could stay calm when everyone else was struggling and falling apart.”

Benitez was mostly an indifferent student, both when he was younger and as he aged. Still, he attended the University of Missouri–St. Louis, where he studied political science, all while honing his climbing and mountaineering skills. Instead of completing his undergraduate degree, though, Benitez told his parents he was moving to Colorado to be a guide with Outward Bound, which offers experiential outdoor education programs. “They were like, ‘Luis, you’re throwing your life away to be a glorified camp counselor?’ ” Benitez says. (Benitez holds a professional mountaineering guide accreditation and has an executive MBA from the University of Denver.)

If the mountains of Ecuador instilled in Benitez a fascination with the high country, the mountains of Colorado forged in him a lifelong love affair. They also cemented in him an optimism and a stick-to-itiveness that’s common among mountaineers. Luis, his brother David says, is not the type of guy who finds excuses not to do something.

David recounts the story of when he and Luis were doing a multipitch climb in Colorado, maybe 20 years ago. The brothers were on the second pitch when David was ready to turn back. “I was like, ‘Lou, it’s gonna storm. There’s, like, a gigantic storm. I can see it.’ ” Luis told his younger brother not to worry. “We’re clinging onto the rock wall and getting slammed by sleet and freezing rain and ice, and Lou said, ‘It’s Colorado. Don’t worry, it’ll pass,’ ” David says.

“It didn’t pass.”

Twenty minutes later, the storm broke, but the temperature had plummeted, and David was freezing. “Lou said, ‘Come on, the only way you’re going to warm up is if you keep moving.’ So we kept moving, kept going up.”

The conditions were such that the brothers failed to complete the climb on that day, but Luis’ perseverance left a strong impression on his younger brother. That tenacity stuck with David and helped him reach the tops of mountains on other difficult climbs. “You know

he outdoor recreation industry economy in the United States accounted for $454 billion, or 1.9 percent, of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2021, according to the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).

For context, BEA data show that utilities account for 1.7 percent of the GDP and mining accounts for 1.5 percent. In 2021, the year for which the most recent data are available, the outdoor rec industry accounted for 4.5 million jobs.

Perhaps surprisingly, it wasn’t until 2018 that the BEA began measuring the footprint of the industry—which means no one really knew the full scope of the sector until five years ago. “The outdoor recreation industry has not been seen, or even understood itself, as a cohesive thing,” says Brad Garmon, the executive director of the Michigan Outdoor Recreation Industry Office and the 2023 chair of the Confluence of States, a coalition of states who have signed on to the Confluence Accords. “It’s partly tourism, but it’s also the ski hill operators and the people who serve the food at the resorts and the people who change the sheets in your hotel room. It’s the boat manufacturer and the RV manufacturer and the shoe manufacturer—it’s all part of the outdoor rec industry. For years, I don’t think that was understood.”

Not only is it now being recognized as a unified industry, but the data also reveal a sector that’s growing. The number of Americans participating in outdoor recreation—which includes a broad spectrum of activities, from jogging to camping to hunting—has grown for the past eight years. In 2022, the nonprofit Outdoor Industry Association’s most recent data year, the number of outdoor recreation participants grew 2.3 percent to 168.1 million, which translates to 55 percent of the U.S. population over the age of six. By contrast, 51 percent of Americans read a book in 2022, according to the Outdoor Industry Association.

All of which raises an obvious question: Given the size of the outdoor recreation industry, why isn’t there already a federal office dedicated to it? Benitez likes to say that, as a whole, the outdoor recreation industry has been too busy playing outside to get organized on a national level in a way that might result in an agency or office nestled within a cabinet-level department, such as the Department of Commerce or the Department of the Interior. “We’re the cool kids,” he says. “We do inspirational stuff, and that is a part of our narrative.”

Hall, the current director of the Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office, takes a slightly different view. “I think that’s right— to a degree,” Hall says. “But I think that’s a little bit overblown. I think it’s more a byproduct of being such a disparate and widespread industry. It’s a series of a whole bunch of different businesses that all have that through line of the outdoors. And so it’s just been a little bit harder to organize.”

There actually once was a federal-level Bureau of Outdoor Recreation (BOR), which John F. Kennedy established in 1963 and housed inside the Department of the Interior. The bureau was created in response to the findings of the Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Commission, authorized by President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s administration in 1958. According to a 2018 white paper titled “The Bureau of Outdoor Recreation in Post-War America” by attorney Jeremy W. Richter, “The Bureau of Outdoor Recreation was not to manage any land itself but concerned itself with policy, planning, aid, and coordination. The Bureau was interested in all outdoor recreation, both urban and rural.… The Bureau of Outdoor Recreation would work through CONTINUED ON PAGE 96 SEPTEMBER 2023 / 5280

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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 2022 list of Denver’s best restaurants. These selections are at the discretion of 5280 editors and are subject to change.

A5 STEAKHOUSE

$$$$

AFRICAN GRILL & BAR

$$$

LoDo / Steak House The team behind Forget Me Not and Tap and Burger offers a refreshing chophouse experience in a hip, delightfully funky bar and dining room. Reservations accepted. 1600 15th St., 303-623-0534. Dinner

Lakewood / African Head to this cheery restaurant for rich stews, fried fish, rice dishes, and friendly service. Get the chakalaka, a traditional vegetarian South African stew. Reservations accepted. 955 S. Kipling Parkway, Lakewood, 303-985-4497. Lunch, Dinner

$$$

Aurora / American Caroline Glover brings a warm dining experience to Stanley Marketplace with Annette. Enjoy a family-style menu featuring seasonal salads, toasts, and wood-grilled fare.

Reservations accepted. 2501 Dallas St., Suite 108, Aurora, 720-710-9975. Dinner

$

BANH & BUTTER BAKERY CAFE

Aurora / French Thoa Nguyen crafts French pastries inspired by her Vietnamese heritage at this East Colfax cafe. Go for the dazzling crêpe cakes. Reservations not accepted. 9935 E. Colfax Ave., Aurora, 720-513-9313. Breakfast, Lunch

$$

BELLOTA

RiNo / Mexican Go for elevated regional Mexican fare like shrimp tacos basted in butter infused with shrimp shells and the popular fried quesadilla de requesón. Also check out the Boulder location.

Reservations not accepted. 3350 Brighton Blvd., 720-542-3721. Lunch, Dinner THE BINDERY

$$$

LoHi / Contemporary Linda Hampsten Fox’s eatery, market, and bakery offers worldly fare inspired by her travels. Settle in for the smoked rabbit pecan pie with mustard gelato. Reservations accepted. 1817 Central St., 303-993-2364.

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Brunch

BLACKBELLY

$$$

Boulder / American Chef Hosea Rosenberg’s carnivore-friendly menu focuses on charcuterie, small plates, and daily butcher specials. Reservations accepted. 1606 Conestoga St., Boulder, 303-247-1000. Dinner

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Dialing It In

Phone your family and friends. This May, Call Your Mother Deli opened its first location outside of the Washington, D.C., area on Tennyson Street, bringing stacked bagel sandwiches, tender babka muffins, and other twists on deli fare to the Berkeley neighborhood. Try the exclusive-to-Denver Jetski, which sandwiches Colorado-sourced pastrami and brisket, sliced jalapeño, and generous amounts of melted American and cheddar in a cheese-encrusted bagel.

CALL YOUR MOTHER DELI

Berkeley / Deli This “Jew-ish” deli specializes in bagel sandwiches of classic and experimental varieties. The PB&J-inspired Grand Villa is a delightful upgrade from the childhood classic.

Reservations not accepted. 3880 Tennyson St., 720-756-7864. Breakfast, Lunch

$

DAE GEE

$$$$

CHEZ MAGGY

LoDo / French Acclaimed chef Ludo Lefebvre plates up Colorado-inspired French classics at this brasserie inside the Thompson Hotel. Don’t miss the expertly prepared escargot in garlic butter. Reservations accepted. 1616 Market St., 720-794-9544. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Brunch $$

COMAL HERITAGE FOOD INCUBATOR

Globeville / International Immigrant women from Latin America develop a rotating menu featuring their family recipes at this welcoming restaurant.

Reservations not accepted. 3455 Ringsby Court, Suite 105, 720-500-3455. Lunch

CORRIDA

$$$$

Boulder / Spanish This elegant Spanish steak house offers stunning Flatiron views and fabu-

lous cocktails and wines. Splurge on the Japanese wagyu. Reservations accepted. 1023 Walnut St., Suite 400, Boulder, 303-444-1333. Dinner, Brunch $$

Congress Park / Korean Enjoy bold Korean flavors at this Congress Park eatery. Order the pork bulgogi or try the bibimbap. Multiple locations.

Reservations accepted. 827 Colorado Blvd., 720-639-9986. Lunch, Dinner DAUGHTER THAI KITCHEN & BAR

$$$$

LoHi / Thai This upscale Thai restaurant from Ounjit Hardacre serves beautifully plated dishes and inventive cocktails. Try the lycheekissed massaman curry with Colorado lamb or the crispy soft-shell crab larb. Reservations accepted. 1700 Platte St., Suite 140, 720-6674652. Lunch, Dinner

DOS SANTOS

$$

City Park West / Mexican The menu at this modern taqueria features light, seafood-centric dishes, like a beer-battered fish taco. Reservations not accepted. 1475 E. 17th Ave., 303-386-3509.

Lunch, Dinner, Brunch

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

Sarah Banks

ANNETTE

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DINING GUIDE DRAGONFLY NOODLE

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EDGEWATER INN

$$

LoDo / Asian This eatery from restaurateur Edwin Zoe serves a multinational variety of Asian dishes.

Order any of the ramen bowls. Also try the Boulder location. Reservations not accepted. 1350 16th Street Mall, 720-543-8000. Lunch, Dinner Edgewater / Pizza This pizzeria has been family owned and operated for more than 60 years. Try the Howdy Pizza, a combo of sausage, peppers, mushrooms, and jalapeños. Reservations not accepted. 5302 W. 25th Ave., Edgewater, 303-2373524. Lunch, Dinner

$

EL TEPEHUAN

Englewood / Mexican The team behind this Englewood restaurant has been serving affordable Mexican food for more than 40 years. Reservations accepted. 3495 S. Broadway, Englewood, 303-781-0243. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

ELLYNGTON’S

$$$

Downtown / American Located in the Brown Palace Hotel, this is the home of Denver’s power meal. Indulge in the lavish brunch on Sundays.

Reservations accepted. 321 17th St., 303-312-5924.

Breakfast, Brunch

FAMOUS ORIGINAL J’S PIZZA

Five Points / Pizza Joshua Pollack’s New York– style and rectangular “grandma” pies are totally customizable and available by the slice. Try the meat lover’s with sausage, pepperoni, and diced Taylor ham. Reservations not accepted. 715 E. 26th Ave., 720-420-9102. Lunch, Dinner THE FIFTH STRING

$$

$$$$

LoHi / American At the Fifth String, chef Amos Watts offers his seasonally inspired cooking alongside an in-house beef butchering program. The results, such as the tallow candle bread service, are delicious and inventive. Reservations accepted.

3316 Tejon St., Suite 102, 720-420-0622. Dinner

FISH N BEER

$$$

RiNo / Seafood Kevin Morrison offers approachable, fresh seafood and a hearty beer list at this casual oysterette. Try the ceviche or wood-firegrilled whole bass. Reservations accepted. 3510 Larimer St., 303-248-3497. Dinner FOX AND THE HEN

$$

LoHi / American This sunny brunch eatery could make any morning brighter. The animal-style hash brown smothered in 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 GAIA MASALA AND BURGER

$$

Speer / Indian Go for divey tikka masala cheese steaks and smothered fries at this fast-casual Indian eatery, which serves up an excellent saag to boot. Also try the Boulder and LoDo locations.

Reservations not accepted. 609 Grant St., 720-779-0762. Lunch, 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. Don’t miss the karaage. Reservations accepted. 4450 W. 38th Ave., Suite 130, 303-993-4180. Dinner

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$$

KAHLO’S MEXICAN RESTAURANT

$$

THE GREENWICH

$$$

KP ASIAN CAFE

$$

HASU SUSHI & GRILL

$$$

LA CALLE TAQUERIA Y CARNITAS

$

HONEY ELIXIR

$$

HUDSON HILL

$$

LA FILLETTE BAKERY

$$

IL PORCELLINO SALUMI

$$

LOGAN STREET RESTAURANT & BAR

$$$

ISTANBUL CAFE & BAKERY

$

JAMAICAN GRILLE

$$

GQUE BBQ

Westminster / Barbecue This fast-casual joint serves award-winning hickory-smoked pork, brisket, chicken wings, ribs, and more. Also try the Lone Tree location. Reservations not accepted.

5160 W. 120th Ave., Suite K, Westminster, 303-379-9205. Lunch, Dinner

RiNo / Pizza Restaurateur Delores Tronco brings a slice of her favorite New York City neighborhood to RiNo at the Greenwich. Don’t miss the sourdough pizzas and inventive vegetable plates.

Reservations accepted. 3258 Larimer St., 720-868-5006. Dinner

Cherry Creek / Asian Try the Amazing Roll: chopped fatty tuna, cucumber, and scallion on the inside; avocado, crispy kani, eel, and special sauce on the outside. Reservations accepted. 250 Steele St., Suite 104, 303-722-9968. Lunch, Dinner

RiNo / Contemporary Nonalcoholic potions, boozy cocktails, sipping chocolate, and teas— along with a menu of light bites like brûléed goat cheese—are the draw at this stunning bar. Reservations not accepted. 2636 Walnut St., Suite 104, 720-328-5992. Dinner

Capitol Hill / American Head to this plant-filled bar for cocktails like the pineapple daiquiri.

Enjoy your drink with a cheese plate or spicy pickled okra. Reservations not accepted. 619 E. 13th St., 303-832-0776. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

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

Washington Virginia Vale / Middle Eastern Inside a shopping center on South Monaco Parkway, friendly owner Ismet Yilmaz prepares authentic Turkish pastries. Try the pistachio baklava. Reservations not accepted. 850 S. Monaco Parkway, Suite 9, 720-787-7751. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Lincoln Park / Jamaican This family-owned 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

JOVANINA’S BROKEN ITALIAN

$$$$

KACHINA CANTINA

$$$

LoDo / Italian This gorgeous LoDo eatery expands on traditional Italian fare by incorporating unexpected, seasonal ingredients. Reservations accepted. 1520 Blake St., 720-541-7721. Dinner LoDo / Southwestern Located in the Dairy Block, this spot specializes in Southwestern fare, such as pozole. Also try the Westminster-based sister location, Kachina Southwestern Grill. Reservations accepted. 1890 Wazee St., 720-460-2728.

Lunch, Dinner, Brunch

Westwood / Mexican Enjoy plates of mole and enchiladas verdes, as well as a menu of almost 30 different juices and smoothies, in a space decorated with the art of Frida Kahlo. Reservations accepted. 3735 Morrison Road, 303-936-0758.

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Aurora / Chinese At KP Asian Cafe, chef-owner Kevin Chu serves specialties from across China.

Try the Hong Kong–style noodle soup. Reservations not accepted. 12201 E. Mississippi Ave., Suite 111, Aurora, 720-456-7745. Lunch, Dinner

Valverde / Mexican This is a must-visit destination for taco lovers. Try the tacos al pastor and carnitas, and don’t skip the salsa bar. Reservations not accepted. 1565 W. Alameda Ave., 720-583-6586.

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

LA DIABLA

$$

Ballpark / Mexican James Beard Award finalist Jose Avila serves up comforting pozole and other traditional Mexican fare at this casual eatery.

Don’t miss the weekend brunch for chilaquiles, huaraches, and a killer house michelada. Reservations not accepted. 2233 Larimer St., 720-5191060. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Brunch

Montclair / French This French-inspired bakery makes magical laminated creations, including a brunch burger sandwiched between two croissant buns. Reservations not accepted. 6217 E. 14th Ave., 303-355-0022. Breakfast, Lunch, Brunch

Speer / Mediterranean From the owners behind Carboy Winery, Logan Street serves wood-fired fare, fresh pastas, and flatbreads that pair well with the house-made vino. Reservations accepted.

400 E. Seventh Ave., 720-617-9400. Dinner LUCINA EATERY & BAR

$$$

South Park Hill / Latin American Bold flavors from Latin America, the Caribbean, and coastal Spain tantalize at this lively restaurant. Try the mofongo, a plantain mash with pork belly chicharrón. Reservations accepted. 2245 Kearney St., Suite 101, 720-814-1053. Dinner MANGO HOUSE

$$

MERCURY CAFE

$$$

Aurora / International This immigrant- and refugee-led food hall is home to six outstanding culinary concepts: Urban Burma, Jasmine Syrian, Golden Sky Asian, Odaa Ethiopian, and Nepali Spice. Reservations not accepted. 10180 E. Colfax Ave., 303-900-8639. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Five Points / Contemporary Enjoy live music and plenty of vegetarian options, as well as gnocchi and a bison burger. Reservations accepted. 2199 California St., 303-294-9258. Dinner, Brunch

MISFIT SNACKBAR

$$

City Park / Contemporary Chef-owner Bo Porytko serves a rotating lineup of imaginative but familiar pub fare at this walk-up kitchen inside Middleman cocktail bar. Try the ever-changing chips and dip. Reservations not accepted. 3401 E. Colfax Ave., 303-353-4207. Dinner

DINING GUIDE MOLOTOV KITSCHEN & COCKTAILS

$$$

NEW SAIGON

$$

City Park / European The ever-changing menu at this aptly kitschy restaurant celebrates the cuisine of Ukraine. Try creative takes on borscht and Eastern European dumplings.

Reservations accepted. 3333 E. Colfax Ave., 303-316-3333. Dinner

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

$$$$

NOBLE RIOT

$$$

NOLA VOODOO TAVERN AND PERKS

$$

LoHi / French Chefs Tim and Lillian Lu serve elegant renditions of French bourgeoisie-style specialties (home-cooked comforts) in a romantic, light-drenched space. Reservations accepted.

3254 Navajo St., Suite 100, 720-769-8103. Dinner

RiNo / American Nosh on charcuterie boards, fried chicken, and other picnic-ready fare at this chic, sommelier-operated natural wine bar in RiNo. Reservations accepted. 1336 27th St., 303-993-5330. Dinner

Paid for by City of Carlsbad Lodger's Tax

Clayton / Southern New Orleans native and owner Henry Batiste serves his grandmother’s recipes for gumbo, po’ boys, and more. Reservations accepted. 3321 Bruce Randolph Ave., 720-389-9544. Lunch, Dinner

OAK AT FOURTEENTH

$$$$

Boulder / Seasonal This bright, open space just off the Pearl Street Mall offers a diverse, ever-changing menu of seasonal, oak-fired eats. Order the kale and apple salad, oak-roasted ocean trout, or a handmade pasta dish. Reservations accepted.

1400 Pearl St., Boulder, 303-444-3622. Dinner

OHANA ISLAND KITCHEN

$

OSAKA’S

$$

PADOCA BAKERY & MARKET

$

PARK & CO

$

LoHi / Seafood This Hawaiian-inspired eatery serves top-notch tuna poke, Spam musubi, Kalua pork, and more in a casual setting.

Reservations not accepted. 2563 15th St., 303-718-6580. Lunch, Dinner Boulder / Japanese Enjoy unique Japanese comfort food at this Boulder restaurant. Try one of the signature Osaka Burgers, which sub a savory Japanese pancake (okonomiyaki) for the traditional bun. Reservations accepted. 2460 Canyon Blvd., Boulder, 720-398-9115. Dinner

Montclair / South American This Brazilian bakery serves an assortment of sweet and savory goodies. Try traditional items, like the brigadeiro or the pão de queijo, with a latte. Reservations not accepted. 950A Jersey St., 720-520-007.

Breakfast, Lunch

Uptown / American This casual tavern serves sandwiches and salads but specializes in gourmet burgers. Try the Hatch green chile burger.

Reservations not accepted. 439 E. 17th Ave., 720-328-6732. Lunch, Dinner

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A HEARTFELT THANKS TO OUR 2023 MORGAN ADAMS CONCOURS SPONSORS

DINING GUIDE $

THE PORKLET

Aurora / Asian This fast-casual spot in a shopping center excels at producing renditions of katsu (fried cutlets encrusted in light, flaky panko breadcrumbs). The Volcano Fried Rice is a must. Reservations not accepted. 12201 E. Mississippi Ave., Suite 123B, 303-364-1287.

Lunch, Dinner

Q HOUSE

$$

City Park / Chinese Enjoy a modern take on Chinese cuisine executed by chef Christopher Lin, an alum of Momofuku in New York City. Try the braised pork rice. Reservations accepted. 3421 E. Colfax Ave., 720-729-8887. Dinner

QUIERO AREPAS

Platt Park / Latin American The entirely glutenfree menu offers delicious selections like the pollo guisado arepa, a flatbread that comes stuffed with shredded chicken, black beans, and cheese. Also check out the LoHi location.

Reservations not accepted. 1859 S. Pearl St., 720-432-4205. Lunch, Dinner

RANDALL’S

$

$$

Cole / Southern This neighborhood restaurant serves up comforting Southern fare with a side of warm hospitality. Try the fried catfish dinner.

Reservations not accepted. 3349 York St., 720-583-0473. Lunch, Dinner REDEEMER PIZZA

$$$

RiNo / Pizza Spencer White and Alex Figura, the duo behind Dio Mio, bring New York City–style sourdough pizza to RiNo. Nosh on full pies in the dining room or nab a slice from the walk-up window in the back. Reservations accepted.

2705 Larimer St., 720-780-1379. Dinner

RESTAURANT OLIVIA

$$$$

Washington Park / Italian This cozy yet modern neighborhood spot from the team behind Bistro Georgette specializes in fresh pastas and Italian classics like porchetta. Reservations accepted.

290 S. Downing St., 303-999-0395. Dinner

RIO GRANDE MEXICAN RESTAURANT

$$$

LoDo / Mexican Natural ingredients and fresh produce characterize this Mexican spot. Multiple locations. Reservations accepted. 1745 Wazee St., 303-623-5432. Lunch, Dinner, Brunch

SAFTA

$$$$

RiNo / Mediterranean Acclaimed chef Alon Shaya brings his modern Israeli fare to Denver.

Start with the creamy hummus and pillowy wood-oven pita before moving onto dishes like tabbouleh salad, short-rib-stuffed cabbage, and harissa chicken. Reservations accepted. 3330 Brighton Blvd., Suite 201, 720-408-2444.

Dinner, Brunch

SHI MIAO DAO YUNNAN RICE NOODLE

$$

Aurora / Asian This build-your-own rice noodle soup restaurant specializes in cross-the-bridge noodles from China’s Yunnan province and delicious boba milk teas. Reservations not accepted.

2000 S. Havana St., Aurora, 720-583-2839.

Lunch, Dinner

SOMEBODY PEOPLE

$$$

Overland / Mediterranean At this vegan restaurant, Sam and Tricia Maher and head chef Art

94

5280 / SEPTEMBER 2023

Burnayev run a pasta program with dishes that celebrate seasonal bounty. Reservations accepted. 1165 S. Broadway, Suite 104, 720-502-5681. Dinner SPUNTINO

URBAN VILLAGE GRILL

$$$$

Highland / Italian Enjoy the locally sourced menu at this Italian-inspired, husband-andwife-owned spot. Try the seasonal pasta or any dish with Southern Indian influences. Don’t miss the house-made gelato for dessert. Reservations accepted. 2639 W. 32nd Ave., 303-433-0949. Dinner

SUNDAY VINYL

$$$

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. Don’t miss the oysters or the desserts. Reservations accepted. 1803 16th St., 720-738-1803. Dinner

SUPER MEGA BIEN

$$$

RiNo / Latin American Chef Dana Rodriguez offers a combo of large-format, shareable items and Pan-Latin small plates. Try the slow-braised beef brisket with a cabbage slaw and steamed buns. Reservations not accepted. 1260 25th St., 720-269-4695. Dinner TABLE 6

$$$$

Speer / American This space’s warm and cozy atmosphere extends to the American bistro cuisine, which is elevated by haute foodie touches. Reservations accepted. 609 Corona St., 303-831-8800. Dinner

TAVERNETTA

$$$$

LoDo / Italian The team behind Boulder’s acclaimed Frasca Food and Wine offers the same attention to hospitality at this more casual Denver restaurant, home to dishes from across Italy.

Reservations accepted. 1889 16th St., 720-6051889. Lunch, Dinner

TEALEE’S TEAHOUSE AND BOOKSTORE

$$

Five Points / International Head to this charming teahouse-bookstore-market for loose-leaf and specialty teas and all-day fare like soups, salads, and sandwiches. Reservations accepted. 611 22nd St., 303-593-2013. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

TOCABE, AN AMERICAN INDIAN EATERY

$

Berkeley / American Feast on Indigenous fare like fry bread tacos, with bison, beans, lettuce, cheese, and salsas, or spicy potato- and corn-laden green chile stew at this fast-casual spot. Reservations not accepted. 3536 W. 44th Ave., 720-524-8282.

Lunch, Dinner

UCHI DENVER

$$$$

Curtis Park / Japanese James Beard Award– winning chef Tyson Cole combines unexpected flavors for his unique take on Japanese food. Visit for the daily happy hour. Reservations accepted.

2500 Lawrence St., 303-444-1922. Dinner

UNCLE

$$

Speer / Asian A bustling atmosphere defines this popular noodle house. The concise menu includes dishes such as Chinese-style steamed buns and, of course, noodles. Also try the Highland location.

Reservations not accepted. 95 S. Pennsylvania St., 720-638-1859. Dinner

$$$

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

Reservations accepted. 8505 Park Meadows Center Drive, Suite 2184A, Lone Tree, 720-5368565. Lunch, Dinner

VITAL ROOT

$$

VOGHERA RISTORANTE & APERICENA

$$$

Berkeley / American Justin Cucci’s fourth eatery focuses on creative, wholesome fare like cashew queso dip and sunflower risotto. Reservations not accepted. 3915 Tennyson St., 303-474-4131. Lunch, Dinner, Brunch

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

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

WHITTIER CAFE

Whittier / Cafe This cafe serves coffee, beer, and wine sourced from African nations and a small menu of burritos, panini, and more. Reservations not accepted. 1710 E. 25th Ave., 720-550-7440.

Breakfast, Lunch

THE WOLF’S TAILOR

$

$$$$

Sunnyside / American Chef Kelly Whitaker fuses Asian and Italian cuisines at this hip eatery. The results, such as 7X brisket braised in dashi and red wine, are uniquely delicious. Reservations accepted. 4058 Tejon St., 720-456-6705. Dinner

WYNKOOP BREWING COMPANY

$$

XICAMITI LA TAQUERÍA

$$

YAZOO BARBEQUE COMPANY

$

ZIN ZIN’S BURMESE CUISINE

$

ZOMO

$$

LoDo / Pub Enjoy fresh beer and pub favorites such as the bison burger at one of Denver’s first brewpubs. Reservations accepted. 1634 18th St., 303-297-2700. Lunch, Dinner, Brunch

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

Five Points / Barbecue This unpretentious barbecue joint offers a Deep South menu, featuring pork ribs and brisket. Reservations not accepted.

2150 Broadway, 303-296-3334. Lunch, Dinner

Aurora / Asian Sample traditional Burmese cuisine like beef samosas and mohinga (rice noodles in a split pea purée). Reservations not accepted. 14200 E. Alameda Ave., Aurora, 720-982-2477. Lunch, Dinner Englewood / Asian Owners Alysia Davey and Ryan Anderson serve family recipes inspired by their Vietnamese and Chinese roots. Reservations accepted. 3457 S. Broadway, Englewood, 720-739-8882. 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.

528 0 M A G A Z IN E P ROM OT ION

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Huge party with beer, music, food, silent auction and family fun!

Information and registration at TheBlueShoeRun.com

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SEP 28 OCT 1

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FO RC E O F N AT U R E

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 87

the states, which would serve as middlemen between the federal and local governments.”

In its 15 years as a discrete entity (in 1977, it was disbanded and its responsibilities were absorbed into the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service, which was abolished by President Ronald Reagan in 1981), the BOR had a marked effect that endures today. Its most lasting legacy may be its involvement in the passing of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965, which resulted in the creation of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF).The LWCF has been financed by entry fees and donations to the country’s national parks, and it provides money to states for use in outdoor recreation projects.

In order to access those federal dollars—still available today through the LWCF, which was permanently funded in August 2020 by the Great American Outdoors Act—states must complete Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plans (SCORP) every five years.

“Funds [are] available to states for both urban and rural recreational needs,” Richter writes.

“The idea of the SCORP was to use time and money more efficiently. The SCORP would keep the states focused on the most pressing of the outdoor recreation needs, rather than being sidetracked by lesser projects.”

The LWCF is just one example Benitez can point to as a reason to resurrect a federal office. But given that BOR shuttered less than two decades after its creation, it seems reasonable to be skeptical of Benitez’s endeavor, and indeed there are a number of obstacles to the creation of such an office. Existing federal agencies that operate in the outdoor space—the U.S. Forest Service, for example, or the Bureau of Land Management—might believe there’s no need for another federal office coordinating what they do. Furthermore, broad-based understanding of what outdoor rec is and does is a potential hurdle. “We need to make people aware of the impact of outdoor recreation and why it’s important,” says Katherine Andrews, the director of Arkansas’ Office of Outdoor Recreation. “That’s one of the biggest parts of our jobs—explaining to people why outdoor recreation is important and how it contributes to factors like health and wellness, conservation, and economic growth.”

Finally, funding is a concern at the federal level when the United States is running a $1.4 96

5280 / SEPTEMBER 2023

trillion budget deficit. Benitez, who started the Colorado office with a desk, a gas card, and a computer, says, in all seriousness, “That’s all you need to start a federal office. It could be one person with a minimal budget. We’re not talking about big government.”

Even with all those potential hurdles to clear, outdoor recreation and all it encompasses—the protection and stewardship of the country’s wild spaces, the creation of jobs, and the health benefits of recreating outside—is one of the last domestic issues that lawmakers from both sides of the aisle seem to agree on. “There are so many legislators now who recognize the importance of outdoor rec,” says Andrews, who works for Republican Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, whose administration has made outdoor recreation a priority.

“And, honestly, outdoor recreation is a very good example of a bipartisan issue. We see people from all across the political spectrum not only participating in the outdoors but also caring about the outdoors, both from a real, deep, personal connection and from a legislative and policy perspective. I don’t think it’s an uphill climb. I think Luis is really riding this awesome wave.”

I

t’s difficult to say whether Benitez’s formative years spent in proximity to powerful people or his years as a mountaineering guide at the highest levels or his innate determination will help him most in his effort to create a federal office of outdoor recreation, but his former boss has an educated guess.

“Luis approaches solving problems like he approaches a mountain,” Hickenlooper says.

“Especially with the larger, more complicated problems, he’s looking for a route. And once he’s got that route, then he’s analyzing it for weaknesses or places of risk. And then he’s figuring out how he’s going to resolve those places of risk when he gets to that point.”

As Michigan’s Garmon puts it: “I think the industry has always needed a sort of champion like Luis—someone who’s relatable, but also, you know, he’s summited Everest and can sit in Congress and chat with senators.

Luis is a force of nature.”

Benitez is well aware that if a federal office of outdoor recreation is to be created, it will not happen quickly. Such an office would be established by the president or by an act of Congress. Benitez clearly already has the backing of Hickenlooper—who met with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo to discuss the idea in July—and he says both Senator Michael Bennet and Representative Joe Neguse support the effort to create a federal office. This month, Benitez will speak at the Outdoor Economy Conference in North

Carolina, where he will press his case with the 22 state outdoor recreation office directors. “We need to have the directors have conversations with their bosses [governors],” Benitez says, “and be able to say, ‘Red, blue, purple—it does not matter. This is good for everybody. This is not bigger government; this is better government.’ ” Being Luis Benitez means not sitting around and waiting, so while he advocates for a seat at the federal table, he is teaching a class in the Masters of the Environment program at the University of Colorado Boulder. He’s also written a book about emerging political voices in the outdoor rec industry that’s tentatively scheduled to be released in spring 2024 by Di Angelo Publications.

Teaching, writing, advocating: Benitez’s third act sure looks as if it’s shaping up to be political in nature. He says he isn’t thinking about leading a potential federal office of outdoor recreation, but he’d be open to considering it if he were asked. He also says he wants the next lieutenant governor of Colorado to make the outdoors his or her bailiwick.

“Whoever the gubernatorial nominee is, I’m going to do everything in my power to push them to make the lieutenant governor responsible for this,” Benitez says. “Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the outdoor recreation industry office, and the tourism office. That can all belong to the lieutenant governor.”

Could Benitez be that lieutenant governor?

He’s coy when asked about the prospect, but he thinks maybe he could.

For now, though, the mountain-climbercum-educator-cum-politico is focusing on helping the industry he loves. Benitez’s wife, Katie Jacquemin, says the happiest she’s seen her husband of 10 years at work was when he was employed by the state government.

“The most passionate I’ve ever seen him in a job was when he was working with Governor Hickenlooper,” she says. “All the time I’ve known him, that’s the most passionate I’ve ever seen him about a job and a purpose.”

After a stint in the private sector, that passion has returned. “We need a deeper understanding of who we are as an industry, what we do, what our political power is, and what our voices could look like together,” Benitez says.

“That’s why you need a clearinghouse for all these things. Because until you do, people are going to do great stuff in their lanes. And don’t get me wrong: These lanes are awesome. But imagine the efficacy if we worked together. If we could just get our narrative a little tighter, imagine the power of that.” m Geoff Van Dyke is 5280’s editorial director.

Email feedback to letters@5280.com.

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COLORADO HOMES The property information herein is derived from various sources that may include, but not be limited to, county records and the Multiple Listing Service, and it may include approximations. Although the information is believed to be accurate, it is not warranted and you should not rely upon it without personal verification. Affiliated real estate agents are independent contractor sales associates, not employees. ©2023 Coldwell Banker. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker logo are trademarks of Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. The Coldwell Banker® System is comprised of company owned offices which are owned by a subsidiary of Anywhere Advisors LLC and franchised offices which are independently owned and operated. The Coldwell Banker System fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act.

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FORT COLLINS | $1,775,000 Experience the best of Ft Collins living in this remarkable property, located in the coveted Kechter Farm Estates. Boasting awe-inspiring unobstructed water & mountain views, this .45-acre lot is a true gem, offering privacy, luxury & unrivaled scenery. Indulge in the premier location backing to Fossil Creek Reservoir, with resort-style amenities & in a highly ranked school district.

Carrie Levi 970.567.5938 Jason Levi 970.426.8916 | jason@thelevigroup.net | TheLeviGroup.net

HIGHLANDS RANCH | $1,000,000 Remodeled six bedroom, four bath home in the Kentley Hills neighborhood. The eat-in kitchen features a gas range, reverse osmosis filtration system and a huge island. The kitchen opens to the spacious, family room with an updated gas fireplace and rustic wood beams. Don’t miss the primary suite with a remodeled five-piece bath and two large closets. This home is complete with a finished basement and three-car garage.

Jennifer Bub 303.253.4969 jennifer.bub@cbrealty.com | JenniferBubRealEstate.com

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guiding you home since 1906

WINDSOR | $2,999,999 Luxurious home: 6 beds/8 baths. 2.6 acres w/opt. to buy adj. lot.

Elevator, fireplaces, 3 kitchens, gym, & theater room. Backyard has gas fire pit, pool, hot tub, & shower. Zoned for horses. Separate 2,000 sf. ste. 6 car garage & 4-car /RV detached.

DENVER | Price Upon Request Beautiful modern prairie-style 5br/5.5ba home located in the highly sought-after Hilltop neighborhood. Featuring a grand suite complete w/2 walk-in closets & luxurious freestanding tub, finished basement, laundry room, mud room, office & loft.

Christina Larson 970.443.4111 You.re.Home777@gmail.com | DiamondHomesACutAbove.com

Tina Parks 720.232.4482 tina.parks@cbrealty.com | TinaParks.com

DENVER | Price Upon Request Falling Water offers 3 contemporary models. Homes come w/high ceilings, modern exotic wood finishes & designer's touches. Complete w/3 & 4-car garages, main level primary suites & basements w/wine cellar & wet bars!

DENVER | $2,250,000 This stately historic home offers five bedrooms and five baths, including a primary suite featuring a fireplace and an exquisite spa-like bathroom.

The finished basement offers a 360-bottle wine cellar, media room with/bar, bedroom and bath.

Dorie Lisowska 719.337.2442 dorio2006@hotmail.com | DorieSellsDenver.com

Darlene Emory 303.886.0671 samwyatthomes@comcast.net

CONIFER | Price Upon Request Historic 3br/2ba, 2,506 sf "Stone Lodge House" on 2.7 majestic acres w/charming exposed aspen beams, wood ceilings & stained glass.

Features sunroom, living room w/fireplace, updated kitchen, open great room & deck overlooking the pond & mountains.

CONIFER | Price Upon Request City & mountain views abound in this luxury 4br/4ba home on Conifer Mountain. This turn-key home has over $200K in updates. Boasting a two-story great room w/gas fireplace, formal dining room, updated eat-in kitchen, office, loft & finished basement.

Dawn Zalfa, JD 720.495.1225 dawn.zalfa@cbrealty.com | DZsellsRE.com

Salesa Hancock 720.818.0456 salesa.hancock@cbrealty.com | SalesaSellsHomes.com

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CASTLE PINES | $1,300,000 Amazing ranch-style 5br/4ba Castle Pines home w/an office, great room w/see-through fireplace, gourmet kitchen, primary suite & fully finished walk-out basement that backs to a beautiful greenbelt.

Conveniently located to schools & Elk Ridge Park.

WESTMINSTER | $1,290,000 5,500 SF, 6br/6.5ba property with a country feel is just blocks from every amenity of the city! Featuring multiple decks, sports court, sand volleyball court, dirt bike/BMX track, in-ground trampoline, fire pit, mechanic's dream garage & home theater.

Sandy Benson 303.718.1175 sandy.benson@cbrealty.com | SandySellsCOHomes.com

Julie Thelander 303.520.2308 julie.thelander@cbrealty.com | FindHomeColorado.com

BOULDER | Price Upon Request 3br/5ba townhome in Dakota Ridge is situated close to picturesque trails & parks that showcase breathtaking views of the foothills.

Featuring high ceilings, a primary suite w/5pc bath, professionally finished basement, 3 balconies & 2-car garage.

CASTLE PINES | $1,200,000 Beautiful 4br/4ba home nestled in the remarkable Forest Park in Castle Pines North. Offering an open floor plan, primary suite w/en suite bath & walk-in closet & walkout basement w/access to backyard w/pond.

20 mins from the DTC & easy access to I25.

Richard Harris 720.331.9855 ra.harris@comcast.net | HarrisHomesColorado.com

Karen Valdez 303.886.4545 karen@karenivaldez.com | KarenIValdez.com

CENTENNIAL | $1,200,000 5br/6ba Piney Creek Village home w/oversized 3-car garage backs to open space. This 6,116 finished SF open concept home offers high ceilings, office, living rm w/fireplace, gourmet kitchen, primary suite w/fireplace & professionally finished basement.

BOULDER | $1,200,000 Beautiful 4br/3ba home less than 15 minutes above the city in Boulder Heights. Featuring multiple decks w/foothill & city views, sunroom & 2 fireplaces. Located at the end of a cul-de-sac on 1.47 gently sloping acres that feature rock outcroppings.

Jill and Greg Svenson 303.522.0631 jill@jillgreg.com | JillAndGregHomes.com

Deborah Pixler 303.917.6771 deborah.pixler@cbrealty.com | pixlerperfecthomes.com

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PARKER | $1,095,000 Stunning rustic and contemporary farmhouse sitting on one-half acre in the Pinery Country Club and offers privacy and seclusion, while still being conveniently located near all the amenities. This home has been completely remodeled and move-in ready!

GOLDEN | Price Upon Request Genesee 4br/4ba home featuring a living rm w/fireplace, family rm, dining rm, recently remodeled kitchen w/custom frameless cabinets, quartz counters & SS appliances & 3 decks. Primary bedroom w/gorgeous, remodeled bathroom. Short drive to Golden.

Mary Ann O'Toole 720.530.6878 OTooleMaryAnn@gmail.com | MaryAnnOtoole.cbintouch.com

Amy Smoldt 303.949.9683 amy@mountaintimerealestate.com | MountainTimeRealEstate.com

AURORA | Price Upon Request Spectacular 4bd/3.5ba Blackstone Country Club Home w/views.

Updated w/designer finishes, great room, formal dining room, breakfast nook, primary suite, huge basement w/endless opportunity.

3-car garage and amazing landscaped yard.

Suzanne Alliano 303.359.9996 suzannealliano@gmail.com | SuzanneAlliano.com

CONIFER | $1,025,000 Impeccable main-level living on 4 acres of terrain that flow seamlessly into 1,000 acres of Arapahoe National Forest. 3br/3ba home offers an open vaulted floorplan, granite & stainless kitchen & dining area open to the great room w/gas fireplace.

Mike Fuentes 303.679.8055 Terry Robinson 303.898.3658

LITTLETON | $1,000,000 Unique opportunity to own a ranch-style 5br/3ba home on a private lot in a desirable neighborhood. Featuring high ceilings, designer paint, great room w/fireplace & finished basement w/wet bar, stone accents & fireplace. Near Chatfield Reservoir.

PARKER | Price Upon Request Stunning 5br/4ba Stepping Stone residence offering a gourmet kitchen w/SS appliances, study, fireplace, finished basement & 3-car garage.

Easy access to nearby parks, schools, shopping centers & dining options. Community offers a range of amenities.

Anzur & Associates 303.263.6808 AnzurTeam@gmail.com | RealDenverLiving.com

Erica Dufford 303.718.7573 ericadufford@gmail.com | EricaDuffordHomes.com

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BOULDER | $999,900 4br/3ba private, 1.2-acre mtn home, 5.5 miles up Lee Hill. Open floor plan, 2 eat-in-kitchens, 2 fireplaces, 2 separate entrances, 2 laundry rms. Cherry cabs, granite, ss appliances & cantilevered island. 2 Car Garage. 15 mins to downtown Boulder!

BROOMFIELD | $990,000 3br/3.5ba home backing to the Broadlands 8th fairway w/an open design. Gourmet kitchen w/an island, a pantry and a breakfast nook.

Main floor primary bedroom w/a 5-piece bath and walk-in closet.

Complete w/an unfinished basement and 3-car garage.

Deborah Lepercq 303.956.4003 deb@debsoldmyhome.com | DeborahLepercq.cbintouch.com

Dave Elmblad 970.376.4407 dave.elmblad@cbrealty.com | MyHomeByDave.com

LAKEWOOD | $982,000 Fully updated 5br/4ba, 3,700 SF home on a cul-de-sac near Southland Shire Park. Well-thought-out open floor plan. Featuring acacia wood floors, custom woodwork, gourmet kitchen w/high-end appliances, guest apartment in walk-out basement & large deck.

Gig Blitz 303.900.5545 gig.blitz@cbrealty.com | GigBlitzRealEstate.com

LITTLETON | $975,000 Spectacular 4br/4ba ranch w/3-car garage in Meadow Ranch, a private, gated community. This 4,766 SF home features a custom gourmet kitchen w/granite countertops & upgraded SS appliances, high-efficiency windows & finished, terrace-level basement.

Lars Swenson 303.242.1968 Mike Atefi 720.220.7911

GOLDEN | Price Upon Request 4br/4ba townhome. Kitchen w/SS appliances. Primary suite w/a fireplace, en-suite bath and walk-in closet. Lower level w/a living area, kitchenette, bedroom, full bath and a sliding glass door leading to a private patio. Complete w/a Trex deck.

LITTLETON | $950,000 4br/4ba Backcountry home features an open-concept floor plan w/ dining area, living space w/gas fireplace, high-end vinyl flooring & upgraded kitchen. Complete with a primary suite, covered deck and lower level w/wet bar & additional living space.

The Mailey Team 303.531.3010 SueAndJeff@MaileyTeam.com | MaileyTeam.com

Dawn Havery 720.413.0318 Dawn.Havery@CBRealty.com | www.DawnHaverySellsHomes.com

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guiding you home since 1906

MONUMENT | $945,000 Custom 4br/5ba home situated on a 0.80-acre lot, with easy access to I-25. Featuring a thoughtfully designed layout that delivers functionality & comfort. Complete w/gourmet kitchen, primary suite, finished basement, 6-car garage & RV parking.

EVERGREEN | $930,000 Captivating 4br/3ba property nestled in Valley Hi Estates. Boasting an impressive 2,800 SF & 1.34-acre lot, this magnificent home offers a well-appointed kitchen w/granite countertops & newer appliances, great room w/fireplace & primary suite.

Emel Shuck 719.396.9982 emel.shuck@cbrealty.com

Vicki Wimberly 303.210.8577 vicki.wimberly@cbrealty.com

EVERGREEN | $930,000 Remarkable 3br/3ba property nestled on a sprawling 1-acre of land.

Featuring light-filled living areas, vaulted ceilings, gleaming hardwood floors, beautiful stone gas fireplace & luxurious primary suite w/2 walk-in closets. Close to Flying J Ranch.

AURORA | $928,900 Beautiful 4br/4ba ranch home situated on a corner lot w/3-car split garage, community amenities & more. Built in 2019, it features over $200K in upgrades. Enjoy wide plank hardwood flooring, study, fireplace & gourmet kitchen w/solid stone counters.

Vicki Wimberly 303.210.8577 vicki.wimberly@cbrealty.com

Donna Jarock 303.718.6285 thanksdonna@gmail.com | HomesAndCondosDenver.com

AURORA | Price Upon Request Stunning 4br/4ba home features custom millwork, plantation shutters, hardwood floors & stone columns.

Enjoy an airy main w/a gas log fireplace, built-in sound system & eat-in gourmet kitchen w/double ovens.

Dine al fresco on the covered deck.

CC Signature Group 719.550.2547 info@ccSignatureGroup.com | ccSignatureGroup.com

LAKEWOOD | $895,000 Spectacular mountain and Red Rocks views from this 5 bedroom 4ba home on an oversized lot in Green Mountain neighborhood.

Featuring a 3-car garage, 10’ ceilings at the entry, upgraded kitchen w/granite countertops and family room w/gas fireplace.

Vicky Limpede 303.881.4901 vickyl_coldwellbanker@yahoo.com | Colorado1stTeam.com

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CASTLE ROCK | Price Upon Request JUST SOLD. Stunning 4br/4ba home w/5,000+ finished sq.ft. in Castle Rock. Backs to Open Space with views of the Rock. Main level laundry and primary suite w/a 5-piece bath and walk-in closet.

Complete w/finished walkout basement.

McLean and Ginger Giles 720.593.2378 team@gilesteam.com | GilesTeam.com

BROOMFIELD | Price Upon Request 3br/3ba home in a prime location features a stunning kitchen, open floor plan & office. Anthem Highlands offers miles of trails. Amenities include a clubhouse, fitness center, swimming pools, parks, ponds & basketball, tennis & volleyball courts.

Jennifer Kiss 303.828.7472 Michael Brassem 303.494.0990

LONGMONT | $800,000 5br/4ba home w/beautifully appointed finishes, hardwood floors, open-concept design, soaring ceilings & kitchen w/large island, granite countertops, ss appliances, painted cabinets & glass tile backsplash & 3-car garage. Near Ute Creek Golf Course.

HIGHLANDS RANCH | $800,000 Gorgeous, end-unit 3br/3ba townhome w/heated 2-car garage with Epoxy floors in Tresana. Featuring high ceilings, open floor plan, gourmet kitchen, dining room & private patio with Teak flooring. Close to shopping & schools. Resort-style amenities.

Erich Menzel 970.402.8457 Erich.Menzel@CBRealty.Com | HomeSalesInLoveland.com

Kristi McGee 720.703.4908 kristi.mcgee@cbrealty.com | KristiMcGee.com

DENVER | $795,000 Exquisite 2br/3ba 1,751 SF unit features an open floor plan, office, 14’ ceilings & floor-to-ceiling windows showcasing the stunning city views, plus a private balcony. Easy access to Coors Field, Pepsi Center & The Denver Performing Arts Center.

Robb Green 303.885.2924 robb.green@cbrealty.com | RobbGreenRealtor.com

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HIGHLANDS RANCH | $775,000 6br/5ba home in Highlands Ranch with updates throughout and an open floor plan. Enjoy updated kitchen and baths as well as a main floor primary suite. Basement w/an additional family room and a second primary suite. Complete w/a backyard and a patio.

CB Realty-Tolbert and Rutz 303.895.9493 Geri.Rutz@ColoradoHomes.com | MyNewColoradoHome.com

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guiding you home since 1906

ELIZABETH | $765,000 Nearly new, 5br/4ba Richmond beauty backs to open space. Loaded w/upgrades, this gem has a fully finished, garden-level basement, fenced/landscaped yard + 3-car garage! Featuring a spacious family room w/fireplace & gourmet kitchen w/quartz counters.

AURORA | $759,000 Stunning 3br/3ba home on a corner lot in the Hilltop section of Inspiration. This single-floor residence offers an elegant layout, 9’ ceilings, study & covered deck. The amenities of Hilltop Club include a pool, yoga studio, fitness center & more.

Adelia Redalen 303.829.6475 adelia.redalen@cbrealty.com | AdeliaColoradoHomes.com

Michael Cutbirth 720.339.9608 michael.cutbirth@cbrealty.com | MichaelCutbirth.com

CASTLE ROCK | $750,000 5br/4ba home w/an open-concept. Living area w/a fireplace. Gourmet kitchen w/SS appliances, double ovens and a large island. Primary suite w/an en-suite bath. Complete w/an unfinished basement, spacious sunroom, covered deck and 3-car tandem garage.

LONGMONT | $750,000 3br/2ba ranch home in Longmont w/an open floor plan and lots of natural light. Kitchen w/granite countertops. Primary suite w/a 5-piece ensuite and private patio entrance. Complete w/an expansive basement and a detached 2-car garage w/workshop.

Adrian Espinoza 720.799.4164 adrian.espinoza@cbrealty.com | EspiAgency.com

Amy Sonnanstine 720.466.3481 Amy.Sonnanstine@CBRealty.com | AgentAmyS.com

CONIFER | $735,000 3br/3ba mountain sanctuary in the Denver foothills on a 2-acre lot.

Featuring vaulted ceilings, gas stove, roomy kitchen, dining room & 2-car garage. The primary suite is a true sanctuary, with a private balcony offering breathtaking views.

CENTENNIAL | $725,000 4br/3ba Hamilton model w/formal living room, dining room and a main floor study. Kitchen w/a center island and a large pantry. Family room w/a gas fireplace. Primary bedroom w/a 3/4 bath. Complete w/a twocar garage and a "park-like" backyard.

Janet Ronneng 303.919.3096 janet.ronneng@cbrealty.com | RealEstateToRoots.com

Colleen Teitelbaum 303.668.8186 teitelbaumcolleen@gmail.com | CocoTeitel.com

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BOULDER | Price Upon Request SOLD 2 BED / 2 FULL BATHS / 1,004 SF / Carport. One-of-a kind condo in downtown Boulder. South facing amplifies the gorgeous natural light throughout w/breathtaking mnt views! Eat-in kitchen, quartz counter, wood floor, fireplace & balcony.

PINE | $699,000 Newer 3br/2.5ba upgraded mountain home on 2 acres featuring 4 outdoor living spaces, vaulted ceilings, big windows, gourmet kitchen, primary suite, patio and garage access. Guest studio or office is close w/high-end finishes. No HOA!

Deborah Lepercq 303.956.4003 deb@debsoldmyhome.com | DeborahLepercq.cbintouch.com

Alissa Skildheim 303.888.4814 alissa@comountainbroker.com | CoveringColoradoHomes.com

EVERGREEN | $695,000 3br/2ba home full of improvements & upgrades is located on a 1-acre mountain property. Featuring 3 decks, an open floor plan, hardwood floors throughout, a stone wood-burning fireplace & a spacious kitchen w/granite countertops & new ss appliances.

ARVADA | $679,000 The stunning property stands out not only for its remarkable features but also for its lightning-fast sale. In less than 48 hours, this exceptional home went under contract and was successfully sold in just 13 days.

Dawn Havery 720.413.0318 Dawn.Havery@CBRealty.com | www.DawnHaverySellsHomes.com

Sean Closset 720.308.7505 sean.closset@cbrealty.com | SeanSellsColorado.com

PARKER | $659,000 Extraordinary end-unit townhome, perfectly situated on the 16th hole of the breathtaking Pinery golf course! Gourmet kitchen w/custom walnut cabinets and top-of-the-line appliances. Living area w/a new fireplace. Complete w/new front and rear decks.

HIGHLANDS RANCH | Price Upon Request 4br/4ba home w/wood floors, stacked stone 3-way fireplace, kitchen w/rich 42-inch cabinets and SS appliances. Fully remodeled. Complete w/finished basement, large yard & amazing 42' deck. Nestled in West Highlands Ranch near Marcy Gulch Trail.

Mary Ann O'Toole 720.530.6878 OTooleMaryAnn@gmail.com | MaryAnnOtoole.cbintouch.com

Kristine Stirling 303.881.4768 kristine.stirling@cbrealty.com | KristineStirling.com

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LITTLETON | Price Upon Request 4br/3ba patio home in Littleton, including main floor office/bedroom & loft. Remodeled kitchen, SS appliances and a 5-burner gas range.

Unfinished basement w/nearly 1,200 additional sqft. Complete w/fenced patio on greenbelt. No maintenance home.

THORNTON | $650,000 5br/3ba home w. open floor plan. Open kitchen w/newer appliances and newer granite counters. Great room w/a gas fireplace. Primary suite w/a primary bath and walk-in closet. Complete w. finished basement, spacious backyard and a 3-car garage.

Kristine Stirling 303.881.4768 kristine.stirling@cbrealty.com | KristineStirling.com

Lotte Radoor 303.995.6153 lotte.radoor@cbrealty.com | www.lotte.realtor

PARKER | Price Upon Request JUST SOLD. 3br/3ba home w/2,400+ square feet of finished living area. Eat-in kitchen and great room w/soaring ceilings and views. Primary Complete w/an unfinished basement and a fenced backyard w/deck and garden beds.

PINE | $635,000 Secluded RIVER front retreat with amazing views! Cross your own private bridge to flat land with a multitude of uses! Featuring wood floors, wood-burning fireplace, 3-car garage & workshop. 7 minutes to 285 & Conifer amenities! Jeffco Schools!

McLean and Ginger Giles 720.593.2378 team@gilesteam.com | GilesTeam.com

Alissa Skildheim 303.888.4814 alissa@comountainbroker.com | CoveringColoradoHomes.com

BROOMFIELD | $630,000 Beautiful 4br/2.5ba 2-story house in Broomfield w/NO HOA & 3-car garage. Offering an open floor plan & tons of space for entertaining on the huge deck in the private backyard. This community is close to open spaces, parks, trails & public transit.

BLACK HAWK | Price Upon Request Wonderful 4br/2ba home in Black Hawk w/an open floor plan, woodburning fireplace, 2 single-car garages w/storage & workbenches, sunroom & outbuilding on 3.035 acres of majestic, wooded land. Enjoy breathtaking views of the Continental Divide.

Kristina Polson 303.359.2999 kristina.polson@cbrealty.com | KristinaPolson.com

Cyndi DeLaney 303.204.3834 cyndi.delaney@cbrealty.com | CyndiDelaney.cbintouch.com

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COLORADO SPRINGS | Price Upon Request Lovely 5br/3ba home offers soaring ceilings, a home office, gourmet kitchen, primary with 5-piece bath, loft, furnished basement and more. Enjoy easy access to nearby amenities and Colorado Springs!

LAKEWOOD | Price Upon Request Meticulously renovated down to the bones, this adorable 3br/2ba home offers main-floor living. Featuring an open floor plan, built-in shelving, double-paned windows, new ss appliances & 2-car garage. Located in a cul-de-sac near Alameda & Garrison.

CC Signature Group 719.550.2547 info@ccSignatureGroup.com | ccSignatureGroup.com

Carla Knight 720.626.9747 CarlaKnightHomes@gmail.com | www.CarlaKnightHome.com

PARKER | $620,000 Clarke Farms 4br/3.5ba charmer w/3-car garage features vaulted 2-story ceilings, wide open spaces, gas fireplace & extensive hardwood floors. Complete with an updated kitchen w/granite countertops, primary suite w/walk-in closet & finished basement.

CASTLE ROCK | Price Upon Request JUST SOLD. 3br/4ba home with a short walk to Meadow View Elementary, Castle Rock Middle School and Castle View High School. Features motorized shades, hardwood floors, vaulted ceilings, finished basement with kitchenette and private backyard.

Julie Thelander 303.520.2308 julie.thelander@cbrealty.com | FindHomeColorado.com

McLean and Ginger Giles 720.593.2378 team@gilesteam.com | GilesTeam.com

BOULDER | Price Upon Request 3br/2ba townhome located in the heart of Boulder, just moments away from the prestigious University of Colorado. This open floor plan boasts numerous updates, including new carpet & flooring, remodeled bathroom & brand-new dishwasher & oven.

Jennifer Kiss 303.828.7472 Michael Brassem 303.494.0990

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DENVER | $600,000 Stunning 2br/3ba townhome w/2-car detached garage in Lowry's Officer's Row, the perfect complement to low-maintenance living!

This rare corner unit features a wall of windows, oak floors, fireplace, soaring ceilings & newly painted kitchen cabinets.

Natalie Farn 303.434.8937 natalie.farn@cbrealty.com | NatalieFarn.com

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DENVER | $599,999 Like new 3br/2ba ranch-style home in a cul-de-sac just minutes from Downtown Denver. Built in 2018 w/newer flooring, finishes & appliances. This house is turn-key ready w/oversized 2-car garage.

Easy access to Highway 36 & I25.

WESTMINSTER | $599,900 Lovely 4br/3ba home offers great curb appeal, high ceilings, an open layout & No HOA. Featuring a main level primary suite w/oversized walk-in closet & updated shower, eat-in kitchen w/SS appliances & stone tile backsplash & fully fenced in backyard.

Chesley Kelley 720.382.8971 ColdwellChesley@gmail.com | ChesleyKelley.com

Heather McNicholas 720.255.7056 Heather@ListingBeautifulHomes.com | ListingBeautifulHomes.com

BROOMFIELD | Price Upon Request Renovated 3br/3ba luxury townhome w/main floor primary bedroom in the neighborhood of The Falls at Legend Trail, within The Broadlands Golf Course community. Featuring a primary suite, gourmet kitchen & 2-car attached garage. Easy access to Hwy 36.

Lorri DeLaney 720.313.7437 delaneylorri@gmail.com | LorriSellsHomesColorado.com

LITTLETON | $587,000 Farmhouse cottage with 3bd/3ba, oversized front porch, a low maintenance yard, and spacious kitchen w/new cabinets, quartz and newer appliances.

Complete w/a nice primary suite and unfinished basement. Only 2 blocks to the park!

Kristine Stirling 303.881.4768 Jan Selinfreund 720.427.5888

WESTMINSTER | $585,000 Updated 4br/3ba home in Lakeview Landing boasting one of the largest floor plans in the neighborhood at over 2,200 SF of living space.

Featuring hardwood floors, wood burning fireplace & 1-car attached garage. Near Standley Lake & trails.

BAILEY | Price Upon Request Gorgeous 3br/2ba west-facing mountain home in Bailey on 1-acre w/stunning views. The main floor greets you with an enormous great room w/fireplace, kitchen w/granite countertops, dining area, living room, main floor office & updated full bath.

Lisa Keener 720.272.8593 lisa.keener@cbrealty.com | LisaKeener.com

Carrie Bachofer 720.938.6109 realtorcarrie@comcast.net | CarrieBachofer.com

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DENVER | $570,000 2br/2.5ba townhome in Central Park w/an open concept design.

Kitchen w/modern cabinets, SS appliances and quartz countertops.

Primary bedroom w/mountain views and a walk-in closet. Enjoy a spacious loft and a laundry room. Complete w/a 2-car garage.

WESTMINSTER | $560,000 Stunning 3br/3ba tri-level home in Sheridan Green featuring a study & remarkable 400 SF family room/study/mudroom addition complete w/vaulted ceilings, gas fireplace & unique bar area created out of an airplane’s wing. Easy access to US 36.

Katie K. Portenga 303.242.5062 katie.portenga@cbrealty.com | PortengaProperties.com

Elisabeth Nelson 303.916.5859 Elisabeth.nelson@cbrealty.com

LAKEWOOD | Price Upon Request Stunning 3br/2ba Lakewood ranch w/oversized 2-car detached garage & finished basement near the Federal Center, St Anthony’s Hospital & Green Mountain. Well-maintained 1,896 SF home features an open floor plan with lots of upgrades throughout.

LaDawn Sperling 303.710.5817 ladawn.sperling@coloradohomes.com | LaDawnSperling.com

AURORA | $550,000 4br/3ba home boasting vaulted ceilings & open-concept main-floor living area. Eat-in kitchen w/modern appliances & granite countertops. Family room w/fireplace & backyard access. Primary suite w/vaulted ceilings, walk-in closet & updated bathroom.

Kimberly Brown 303.588.1768 Russell Brown 720.266.3005

AURORA | $549,000 Stunning, paired 3br/3.5ba home in Highland Villas features a well-designed floor plan w/3 separate living areas. The open concept design offers a spacious gathering room w/gas fireplace & light & bright kitchen & dining area. Near Southlands Mall.

COLORADO SPRINGS | Price Upon Request Tucked into a cul-de-sac of Tamarron at Rockrimmon, this 4br/3ba is not far from trails. Featuring a main-level office w/built-in shelving, kitchen w/cherrywood cabinetry & Corian counters, dining area w/fireplace & finished basement.

Katie K. Portenga 303.242.5062 katie.portenga@cbrealty.com | PortengaProperties.com

Angela Smith 719.210.8878 Angela@MovingUpWithAngela.com | MovingUpWithAngela.com

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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

guiding you home since 1906

AURORA | $535,000 3br/3ba home in Sky Ranch w/an open floor plan. Family room opens to the kitchen space w/a large island, SS appliances and a walk-in pantry. Primary suite w/a walk-in closet and a 5-piece bath. Complete w/a landscaped backyard and a covered patio.

GOLDEN | $525,000 4br/3ba townhome w/2-car garage & fenced outdoor space. Featuring hardwood floors, wood burning stove, open kitchen w/Silestone countertops & dining space. Primary bedroom w/private balcony & mountain views! Near Coors Reservoir & Maple Grove Park!

Donna Jarock 303.718.6285 thanksdonna@gmail.com | HomesAndCondosDenver.com

Kelly Redpath 303.548.4058 Kelly@kellyredpath.com | KellyRedpath.com

ARVADA | Price Upon Request 3br home on just under a quarter of an acre w/2-car garage near Old Town Arvada. Main floor includes a living room, kitchen w/ss appliances, laundry & family room w/fireplace. Featuring new carpet, new flooring in the kitchen & RV parking.

LITTLETON | $525,000 3br/1.5ba ranch-style home w/1-car garage in a desirable neighborhood & location. Featuring a large kitchen & dining area, living area & spacious fenced backyard. Near the Light Rail station, Bemis Library, parks & Littleton Public School system.

Carrie Bachofer 720.938.6109 realtorcarrie@comcast.net | CarrieBachofer.com

Emily Mate 720.466.3107 emily.mate@cbrealty.com

AURORA | $500,000 3br/4ba home w/many updates. Main level w/a living/dining room combo and an updated kitchen. Family room w/a gas fireplace.

Finished basement w/a rec space, a bar are, a full bath w/jacuzzi tub and laundry. Complete w/a deck and a 2-car garage.

LAKEWOOD | $475,000 Bright & updated 3br/1ba home is situated on a spacious lot just a short drive from Sloan's Lake & Downtown Edgewater in Denver. The home showcases a perfect blend of 1950s charm & modern updates.

Complete w/RV pad w/cleanouts & electrical hook-up.

Donna Jarock 303.718.6285 thanksdonna@gmail.com | HomesAndCondosDenver.com

Brandi Miller 720.442.1681 brandi.miller@cbrealty.com | BrandiMillerProperties.com

ColdwellBankerHomes.com

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

COLORADO SPRINGS | $465,000 Located off of the Country Club of Colorado golf course, this 2br/2ba, 1,783 SF townhome offers plenty of space. Featuring a spacious kitchen, bonus rm, heated garage & built-in shelving. Near Broadmoor Valley Park, Cheyenne Mountain & the Broadmoor.

AURORA | $459,000 Charming 3br/2ba Saddle Rock condo w/pool, hot tub & clubhouse.

Featuring an open concept, kitchen w/granite counters, vaulted ceilings, fireplace, 2 balconies & tandem 2-car attached garage.

Near Saddle Rock Golf Course & Red-Tailed Hawk Park.

Rob Thompson 719.337.7254 rob.thompson@cbrealty.com | RobThompsonHomes.com

David Armayor 303.669.1854 David.Armayor@cbrealty.com | MyColoradoHomeFinder.com

COLORADO SPRINGS | $450,000 Charming 3br/2ba home in the Sundown North Subdivision!

Conveniently located off North Powers near Cottonwood Creek Park.

Built in 1997, this 2,564 SF home flaunts a new roof & exterior paint & Pikes Peak view. Complete w/central AC & fireplace.

AURORA | $450,000 Charming 3br/2ba home w/2-car garage offers an open floor plan w/endless potential. Kitchen w/great cabinet storage & tile countertops.

Family room w/gas fireplace & wood flooring (laminate). Huge backyard is fully fenced. New A/C & exterior paint.

Rob Thompson 719.337.7254 rob.thompson@cbrealty.com | RobThompsonHomes.com

Kelly Ellis 303.921.5420 Kelly.ellis@cbrealty.com | ColdwellBanker.com/KellyEllis

DENVER | $450,000 2br/1ba home. Updated kitchen w/a built-in hutch, undermount cabinet lighting and high-end Bosch dishwasher.

Landscaped backyard w/mature trees, premium turf and a back patio. Complete w/a 2-car garage and a Tesla charger.

Close to Ruby Hill Park.

Bryan Kurtz 720.421.4580 bryan.kurtz@cbrealty.com | DenverKurtzKrew.com

ColdwellBankerHomes.com

LITTLETON | Price Upon Request 3br/3ba 2,415 SF Provincetown Landing condo located within close proximity to Marston Lake, Grant Ranch, Racoon Creek Golf Course, parks, restaurants & much more. Featuring a spacious kitchen, fireplace, large back patio & 2-car detached garage.

LaDawn Sperling 303.710.5817 ladawn.sperling@coloradohomes.com | LaDawnSperling.com

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

guiding you home since 1906

AURORA | Price Upon Request 3br/4ba townhome w/basement boasting over 2,400 SF, updated kitchen, open floor plan, finished basement & 2-car secure garage leading to the private patio. Community amenities include pool, clubhouse & tennis courts. Near public transportation.

COLORADO SPRINGS | Price Upon Request Low maintenance & main-level living in this spacious 2br/3ba Saddleback townhome w/2-car garage featuring an open floor layout.

Featuring large windows, skylights, brand-new carpet, fresh interior paint on the main level & finished basement.

Shannon Pace 303.919.2611 shannon@yourfreshstartgroup.com | YourFreshStartGroup.com

Angela Smith 719.210.8878 Angela@MovingUpWithAngela.com | MovingUpWithAngela.com

FOUNTAIN | Price Upon Request Charming 3br/2ba ranch-style home w/2-car garage boasting fresh new paint & trim throughout the home. This beautifully maintained property features a living room with a fireplace, new carpet, an unfinished basement & extended patio in the backyard.

COMMERCE CITY | $380,000 2br/2.5ba home w/an open floor plan. Living room w/volume ceiling.

Kitchen w/newer stainless appliances, cabinets with roll-out shelving and an island. Primary suite w/a 5-piece bath, walk-in closet and a balcony. Attached 2 car garage.

Hannah Espejo 818.643.9492 hannah.espejo@cbrealty.com | Hannah.EspejoCB.com

Cathy Schuster 303.478.6364 cathy.schuster@cbrealty.com | WestminsterRealEstate.com

LOVELAND | $349,950 2br/2ba 2nd-floor condo w/1-car detached garage & view of Equalizer Lake! Easy access to I-25 & near lakes, trails & much more! Featuring vaulted ceilings, great room w/fireplace & kitchen w/Cityscape cabinets, ss appliances & solid Granite counters.

DENVER | $340,000 Charming 2br/1.5ba updated townhome w/fresh paint & modern lighting fixtures. Featuring a kitchen with solid surface countertops, updated cabinets & breakfast bar, a living room with a wood-burning fireplace & unfinished basement.

Cheryl Melichar 303.817.6163 cheryl.melichar@coloradohomes.com | CherylMelichar.cbintouch.com

Christiana Barber 720.404.8757 cbhomesco@gmail.com | ChristianaBarber.com

ColdwellBankerHomes.com

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

GREENWOOD VILLAGE | Price Upon Request

ERIE | Price Upon Request

EVERGREEN | $1,225,000

Stunning 1.8-acre property offers a combination of elegance & luxury. This 5br/7ba home features a gourmet kitchen, main floor primary suite, walk-out lower level & pool w/pool house.

5br/5ba home w/mountain views on 2.48 acres w/gourmet kitchen w/42" custom cabinets, granite countertops, gas range & electric oven, walkout basement & wrap-around porch w/fireplace.

Beautiful 4br/4.5ba Saddleback Estates home has over $125,000 in key infrastructure improvements in the last 2 years making this property turnkey. Located on a wooded 4.7-acre lot.

Ryan Ramey

Janie Larson

Seth Larson

PARKER | Price Upon Request

ERIE | $1,025,000

CASTLE ROCK | $980,000

Contemporary 5br/4ba ranch boasts voluminous ceilings, designer upgrades & floor-to-ceiling tile surround gas fireplace. Amenities include a clubhouse, pool & Cherry Creek Trail access.

Beautiful 2020 4br/3.5ba home w/ soaring great room, walls of windows, spacious rooms, open floor plan. Mountain views, backing to open space and in a great neighborhood!

7br/6ba Castlewood Ranch home sits on a ½ acre lot backing to open space. Boasting a main floor primary suite w/5pc bath & 2 walk-in closets, hardwood floors & finished basement.

Eric Tack 303.295.2000 Karla Tack 303.956.8586

Karen Elmers

Ken Posen

DENVER | $975,000

LAKEWOOD | $880,000

LONGMONT | Price Upon Request

3br/2ba home w/a chef’s kitchen. Main floor w/a fireplace, 2 bedrooms and updated bath. Basement w/a fireplace, laundry, nonconforming bedroom and 3/4 bath. Complete w/a 2-car garage.

Meticulously upgraded 3br/3ba property on a premium lot, offering Beautifully updated Mid-century modern 3br/3ba home on a private southern exposure & a private setting. Featuring an open floor plan, spacious lot. Gorgeous new deck and primary bath. Soaring hardwood floors, office & well-appointed kitchen. windows with amazing mountain views and an open floor plan.

P.J. Farrell

Scott Beville

Karen Elmers

ERIE | $815,000

AURORA | Price Upon Request

PUEBLO | $750,000

303.565.6964

303.884.5368

720.937.2676

303.810.7708

303.905.6872

720.633.5458

720.353.0046

303.810.7708

Beautiful 5br/5.5ba home in coveted Collier's Hill with open floor 2br/2ba home w/4,000+ square feet. Enjoy an open kitchen and plan, office, primary bedroom with luxurious remodeled bath, newly adjacent spacious living room. Complete w/a serene open space, finished basement w/rec room, bedroom and bath. an extended patio, fire pit and grills.

Beautiful 5br/4ba custom home in Liberty Point Estates on a 1.12acre lot. This almost 5,300 SF home has captivating indoor/outdoor spaces & unobstructed Sangre de Christos views!

Karen Elmers

Jennifer Montoya, MBA

303.810.7708

ColdwellBankerHomes.com

Debi Haning 303.960.8252

719.232.3397

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

guiding you home since 1906

ELIZABETH | $750,000

HIGHLANDS RANCH | Price Upon Request

COMMERCE CITY | $685,000

This is a beautiful home with formal dining, a spacious kitchen, a breakfast nook area, a living/entertainment room, a primary suite with two closet spaces, & enjoyable outdoor living.

Lovely 3br/4ba Highlands Ranch home w/finished basement & hot tub in the backyard.

Gorgeous 4br/4ba ranch home w/2-car garage in Reunion that backs to open space. Featuring wood-look luxury vinyl floors, an open floor plan & finished basement. Near Reunion Rec Center.

Francesca Costa

Debbie Joseph

Kareem Howard

720.341.8208

303.842.8331

720.206.6568

TIMNATH | $649,000

WHEAT RIDGE | Price Upon Request

COLORADO SPRINGS | $615,000

3br/2.5ba home in Trailside w/high-end finishes throughout.

Kitchen w/all appliances and a spacious center island. Home includes built-in speakers, both inside and on the back patio.

2br/1ba home featuring a bonus room and a heated 2.5 detached garage on a beautifully landscaped corner lot. Minutes from the West Highland neighborhood, Edgewater & Sloan's. No HOA!

Perfectly appointed 5br/3ba ranch home w/walk-out basement in Bradley Ranch. Built in 2021 & situated at the end of a coveted cul-de-sac w/expansive views of Pikes Peak & Front Range!

The Choice Team

Colorado Home Group

970.658.5909

719.650.1203

Tina Parks

720.232.4482

CENTENNIAL | Price Upon Request

ARVADA | $585,000

CASTLE ROCK | $575,000

2br+/2ba home in the Four Lakes community w/a spacious living/ dining room area. Primary suite w/a walk-in closet and 5-piece bath. Complete w/a basement 2-car garage and in-ground pool.

3br/2ba home in an ideal location. Kitchen w/all appliances and generous counter spaces. Primary suite w/a 3/4 bath and great closet space. Complete w/a finished basement and backyard.

Cozy 2br/3ba beauty on a cul-de-sac in Plum Creek with mountain views! Featuring vaulted ceilings, updated kitchen w/granite counters, primary suite w/5pc bath & finished basement.

Debbie Joseph

Bruce McQuiston

Robert Keyes

303.842.8331

303.882.9235

719.244.1693

CONIFER | $575,000

WESTMINSTER | $565,000

JEFFERSON | $555,000

Charming 3br/2ba view home on 2 private acres features vaulted ceilings, open floor plan, gas stove fireplace, wood beams & barn wood paneling. Close to 285 with top-ranked schools.

Over 100K in upgrades done in this 3br/3ba Torrey Peaks gem!

Featuring rich plank flooring, open-concept family room & kitchen & family room w/fireplace. Near Ryan Elementary & 2 parks.

Completely updated 2br/1.5ba mountain home with unobstructed mountain views! Open floor plan includes a family room w/gas fireplace. Easy access to Hwy 285 & many outdoor activities.

Dawn Zalfa, JD

Charlene Rosenblatt

Tammy Nelson

720.495.1225

303.588.8472

970.389.6426

ColdwellBankerHomes.com

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

DENVER | $550,000

BRIGHTON | $550,000

MILLIKEN | $545,000

Spacious 1br/1ba luxury condo in the Park Lane community located across the street from Wash Park. Completely updated w/open floor plan, light laminate wood floors & neutral paint.

3BR/2.5BA home. Family room w/a gas fireplace. Kitchen w/LG SS appliances, glass tile backsplash and a pantry. Primary bedroom w/a 5-piece bath. Complete w/a basement and 2-car garage.

Waterfront Country Living! 3br/2.5ba home w/3-car garage backs up to Ehrlich Lake. Highlights include owned solar panels, LVP flooring, upgraded cabinetry & counters & upstairs laundry.

Lisa Heagney

Dan D. Gerlock

Shara Trutner

DENVER | $545,000

WESTMINSTER | $539,000

WINDSOR | $535,000

4br/2ba home minutes from parks, trails, public transportation, fabulous food, breweries & much more. This exquisite property showcases a stunning floor-to-ceiling transformation.

Perfect 3br/2ba starter home, centrally located between Boulder & Denver w/easy access to I-36. Complete with a remodeled kitchen & bathrooms. Near Standley Lake & West View Rec Center.

3br/3ba dream home in Windshire Park featuring an open floor plan including the kitchen w/granite countertops, ss appliances & pantry. Close to schools, shopping, dining & rec areas.

Vicki Zeeb

Sarah Yang

Martine Bonhoure

FLORISSANT | $525,000

IDAHO SPRINGS | $500,000

LAKEWOOD | $495,000

This beautiful Rocky Mountain retreat features 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, and a finished walkout basement. Updates include new flooring, interior paint, and remodeled kitchen and bath.

Rare 2-parcel offering w/mountain views. Summer cabin w/Divide views has water, sewer, electric, brick fireplace & 2.27 acres. There is a 2.27-acre vacant building lot that adjoins it.

IMMEDIATE OCCUPANCY! Rare opportunity to own this RanchStyle 4br/3ba Home - w/vaulted great room and dining areas open to the kitchen for ease of formal or informal entertaining!

Kylie Rupert

Terry Robinson

CB Realty-Tolbert and Rutz

GREELEY | $480,000

ARVADA | $475,000

COLORADO SPRINGS | Price Upon Request

Spacious and well-maintained detached patio home 4br/3ba nestled in an established neighborhood within west-central Greely.

Close to schools, hospital, UNC, FRCC, shopping and dining.

Fresh & bright 2br/4ba 2-story townhome with a garage & basement. Featuring a new basement bath & fresh paint. Complete with an enclosed patio. Close to schools, parks & shopping.

Gorgeous 3br/2ba rancher offers a plethora of recent updates and includes a gas fireplace, primary suite with a private deck, and fully fenced yard with garden beds.

Dawn Mathis

Barb Riley

CC Signature Group

720.338.8095

303.549.6203

303.842.8205

970.481.5263

ColdwellBankerHomes.com

720.326.8100

720.384.5646

303.898.3658

303.548.0753

720.930.0030

970.443.1781

303.895.9493

719.550.2547

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

guiding you home since 1906

ENGLEWOOD | $445,000

AURORA | $444,000

BOULDER | Price Upon Request

2br/2ba townhome in the Cherry Creek School District has been beautifully remodeled. Featuring an open floor plan w/fireplace, remodeled kitchen & low-maintenance vinyl plank flooring.

Spacious 2br/3ba townhome backing to a green belt featuring cathedral ceilings, great room w/fireplace, main level primary suite, loft & 2-car attached garage. Close highway access.

2br/2ba condo in the Chateau Village neighborhood featuring a generously sized living room w/fireplace, large windows & patio.

Near the carport & community pool & close to CU campus.

John Kinney

Ryan Cutbirth 303.324.7943

Jillian Fowler 303.884.2032 Tom Fowler 303.956.2575

COLORADO SPRINGS | Price Upon Request

DENVER | Price Upon Request

720.283.9000

WINDSOR | $425,000 Updated 4br/3ba tri-level home in the heart of Windsor features 2 living spaces & large sunroom. This large lot offers privacy all around & a finished shed w/heat, A/C & soundproofing!

Charming 3br/2ba rancher offers updated interior & new paint, light Conveniently located 2br/1ba duplex on a corner lot w/1-car garage fixtures & carpet. Enjoy an open concept plan w/gas fireplace, a featuring an open floor plan, hardwood floors, remodeled kitchen spacious kitchen, & fenced yard w/shed. w/granite counters & ss appliances & updated bath.

Josh Chapel

CC Signature Group

DENVER | Price Upon Request

AURORA | $414,900

COMMERCE CITY | $407,500

Updated 2br/1ba rowhouse style condo steps from Sloan’s lake.

4BR/2BA home on a large lot in the Meadowood neighborhood.

Kitchen w/a gas stove, quartz counters and reclaimed wood Living room w/carpeted floors. Upper & lower levels have 2 bedrooms. shelving. Complete w/a private patio and deeded single-car space.

Complete w/a lower, garden level, basement and backyard.

Bright 3br/2ba recently remodeled home w/detached garage on a large lot. Featuring an open layout w/new int/ext paint, updated kitchen & bathrooms, refinished hardwood flooring & more!

970.218.2220

Sarah Scott-Wilson 303.250.5323

719.550.2547

Illona Gerlock

303.809.1235

Lindsay Schulze

720.550.2282

P.J. Farrell

303.884.5368

COLORADO SPRINGS | $400,000

DENVER | $400,000

DENVER | $399,900

3br/2ba home boasting new carpet, updated lighting, refinished main level maple floors, vaulted ceilings, kitchen w/granite counters & deck. Only .6 miles to Portal Park & near UCCS.

Beautifully remodeled 1br/1ba condo plus flex space. Featuring west-facing mountain views, new flooring & updated kitchen w/Calcutta quartz counters. One block to Cherry Creek Mall!

Beautifully maintained 2br/1ba ranch home w/many recent updates including the kitchen. Located in the Sherrelwood neighborhood, offering convenient access to highways 25, 36, 70 & 76.

Barb Riley

Steven Gravlin

Jennifer Montoya, MBA

719.232.3397

303.548.0753

720.201.0266

ColdwellBankerHomes.com

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

COLORADO SPRINGS | Price Upon Request

AURORA | $385,000

Beautiful 4br/2ba home in Stratmoor South offers low maintenence yards, Cheyenne Mountain views and spacious backyard with cedar plank fence & new stucco exterior.

5br/2ba home w/full basement near Anschutz medical campus Exquisite first-floor end unit 2br/2ba condo in the desirable w/easy access to DIA, schools, parks, shopping & dining. Featuring Broadmoor community, just across from the prestigious Cheyenne a living room, dining area, kitchen & sprawling backyard.

Mountain Resort/Golf Club. Complete w/detached 2-car garage.

CC Signature Group

Marcyndah Cosner 303.881.1876

Christine Sullivan 719.660.5801 Anna Fish 719.650.9300

RYE | Price Upon Request

LAKEWOOD | $330,000

LAKEWOOD | $325,000

Charming 2br/1ba open-concept cabin. Featuring knotty alder paneling, wood burning fireplace, and pine flooring. This cozy mountain escape is a short walk away from Lake Isabel.

Spacious 2br/2ba condo featuring a living room w/fireplace, kitchen w/breakfast bar seating & newer ss appliances & private covered balcony. Near William F. Hayden Park & McIntyre Gulch.

Stunning mountain views of the Flat Irons of Boulder & The Foothills of Lakewood. Ground-floor 1br/1ba condo nestled above an open space park w/trails & easy access to the Light Rail.

CC Signature Group

Shari Weissman

Tyler Westcott

FOUNTAIN | Price Upon Request

AURORA | $317,000

AURORA | $300,000

Charming 3br/1ba rancher loaded w/recent updates throughout including new paint, flooring, furnace, driveway & more! Enjoy 2 fenced yards, 2 storage sheds & a new deck.

2br/2ba ground-floor unit featuring an open floorplan w/vaulted ceiling, fireplace, spacious kitchen & built-in display nooks. Close to I225, DTC, Lightrail & Cherry Creek Reservoir.

2br/2ba home w/great potential and an excellent opportunity for those looking to build some sweat equity. Complete w/a once fully finished basement and a generous yard.

CC Signature Group

John Kinney

Brandon Miller

DENVER | $294,000

AURORA | $285,000

PARKER | $265,000

Fabulous 1st-floor 1br/2ba condo in the Trails at Parkfield Lake featuring new paint, flooring & fixtures. Complete w/granite countertops & electric fireplace. Near Parkfield Lake Park.

Beautifully updated 2br/1ba condo in Heather Gardens community w/ extra room and enclosed patio, many amenities including golf course and close distance to rail station. Easy Parking!

19630 Victorian Drive Unit #A7, Parker, CO 80138. Parker condo that offers a taste of the urban lifestyle without being urban!

Rae Marie Heard

Mary Ann O'Toole

Jason Glowacki

719.550.2547

719.550.2547

719.550.2547

720.234.7918

ColdwellBankerHomes.com

303.229.9723

720.283.9000

720.530.6878

COLORADO SPRINGS | $373,000

303.619.4817

303.990.0702

720.661.3981

MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN COLORADO

DENVER7.COM

AC T L I K E A L O CA L

THE OVERSIMPLIFIED GUIDE TO:

Splitting A Log

Owning a red flannel and an ax won’t magically transform you into Paul Bunyan.

That’s why we asked the professionals performing at this year’s Lumberjack Festival (September 30 through October 1 in Littleton’s Clement Park) to help sharpen your skills in time for the fall camping season. — B A R B A R A U R Z U A

120

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Grab a splitting maul, which combines the sharpness of an ax with the hitting power of a sledgehammer, and a dry log, which is easier to splinter and burns more readily.

Place the doomed log vertically on a larger, sturdy piece of flat wood and look for cracks. These are weak spots, so aim your first strike for one of the fissures.

With your feet shoulder-width apart and your knees slightly bent, hold the maul over where you want to make contact.

Don’t take your eyes off the target.

Lift the maul above your head and bring it straight down, instead of swinging it on an arc—that way, if you miss, the maul won’t end up chopping you instead.

For the best ratio of surface area to burn time, continue cleaving the wood until you end up with pieces roughly 15 inches long by five inches wide.

5280 / SEPTEMBER 2023

ILLUSTRATION BY SIMONE MASSONI

Desert Run, Acrylic, 36” x 48” © Karen Roehl

Roehl Western Inspirations

Represented By: TieRRa MaR GalleRy 225 Canyon Rd, SanTa Fe, nM 87501 www.TieRRaMaRGalleRy.CoM kaRenRoehl.CoM

www.karenroehl.com