Valley Voice February 2022

February 2022 . Issue 11.2

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February 2022

Valley Voice

Get Your Date Out of the Way. Eat Breakfast at Sharon’s on Valentines Day! 2851 Riverside Plaza Steamboat Springs, CO

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If were closed you can find most of our products at local liquor stores.

For those who live here and for those who wish they did.

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Valley Voice

February 2022

Rants...

Contents Serve Your City Page 4

By Gary Suiter/ Steamboat Springs City Manager

The 2022 Legislative Session Begins

Page 5

Routt County's Agriculture Economy

Page 6

Beer of the Sacred Father

Page 7

Me, Myself and I

Page 7

Farmers and Flour Mills: Part I

Page 8

Where Old and New Worlds Meet

Page 9

Sunday After the Winter Carnival

Page 10

May, 1970 Walter Reed Trauma Center

Page 12

Perfect Character, Not Perfect Voice

Page 13

By Dylan Roberts

By Scott L. Ford

By Sean Derning

By Joan Remy

By Ellen and Paul Bonnifield

By Fran Conlon

Publisher/Art Director: Matt Scharf mattscharf1@gmail.com Sales: VV Assistant:

valleyvoicesales@gmail.com Eric Kemper ericvalleyvoice@gmail.com

Valley Voice is published monthly and distributed on the last Wednesday of each month. Please address letters, questions, comments or concerns to: Valley Voice, LLC, P.O. Box 770743 or come by and see us at 1125 Lincoln Ave, Unit 2C, Steamboat Springs, CO 80477.

Or contact Matt Scharf: 970-846-3801.

Website www.valleyvoicecolorado.com. Subscription rate is $40 per year (12 issues). All content © 2021 Valley Voice, L.L.C. No portion of the contents of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the written permission from the Valley Voice.

By Ken Proper

By Johnny Walker

By Stuart Handloff

Smelling Winter Page 14

By Karen Vail

School Planning Page 15

By Brodie Farquhar

Old Downtown Future Debated

Page 15

A Kangaroo in a Gucci Jacket

Page 16

By Brodie Farquhar

By Phil Giffin

The Flood Page 17

By Aimee Kimmey

Oh Oh King Henry

Page 17

Your Monthly Message

Page 18

By Duane Koukol

By Chelsea Yepello

Official Fine Print

3

Comics Page 19

Fire at the cement plant…

Feeling inadequate by using hand warmers for the first time…

Observing weird clouds thinking your house is on fire…

Witnessing demanding people with a southern accent…

Finding out how much your house is worth, and having no idea where you would go…

Raves...

Steamboat Springs Winter Carnival is back!

Over 100 years of a great tradition…

Having an over average snowpack for 2022 – so far…

When new Routt County plow drivers find the center of the road…

When you meet some of the old time locals and hear some of the best stories…

Winter brings out the best outfits…

Say What?...

“Did he say he wanted to take me out to dinner or did he mean take me out of commission?”

“What you learned when you knew it all.

It’s what you remember that counts.”

“The best comedy show in town is watching the newbies try to get on the poma.”

"Saturday is the new Friday."

We go to press February 25th for the March 2022 Edition!

Send in your submissions

by February 18th!

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I just love to be on my skis, skiing with my friends, just going out into the mountains and being in nature and skiing some powder. That's the best thing. — Candide Thovex

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February 2022

Valley Voice

City of Steamboat Springs

S

Serve Your City

T S

Gary Suiter/ City Manager

We all have a heart, and I’m sure we all have a passion for something that stirs our soul whether that be the outdoors, growth, preservation, redevelopment, or an amenity such as the ice complex.

We care that those programs and services are here for our children, families, and friends now and into the future.

B

With that in mind, the city is looking for 22 individuals to share their insights as part of one of the following Boards or Commissions. You don’t have to be an expert; you just must be committed to serving, sharing your thoughts, being fair and impartial and live within the city. Let’s take a closer look at where we need support:

Steamboat Springs is a wonderful place because of the people that live here and the efforts that folks take to invest in the health, culture, development and recreation of our community. We all love the Yampa Valley and are working hard to make it the best it can be.

With Martin Luther King, Jr. Day just a few weeks behind us, it caused me to take a minute to reflect on some of his thoughts and this quote struck close to home:

“Everybody can be great. Because anybody can serve.

You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.” –Martin Luther King, Jr.

Planning Commission: The Planning Commission is a permanent committee appointed by City Council to review and act on issues and policies related to long-range planning, land use regulation, and community development.

Two regular and one alternate position which carry a three-year term are open. Members of the Planning Commission receive a Family Howelsen Hill Ski Pass and a Haymaker Golf Pass.

One regular, three-year position is open. HPC members receive a Family Howelsen Hill Ski Pass.

Parks & Recreation Commission: This commission serves as an advisory board to City Council looks to promote an enhanced quality of life by offering a broad range of safe and accessible resources including parks, open space, trails, and recreational services & facilities. Four regular and one alternate position with two-year terms are open. Members receive a Family Howelsen Hill Ski Pass.

Urban Redevelopment Authority Advisory Committee: URAAC makes advisory recommendations to the Steamboat Springs Redevelopment Authority (aka City Council) on matters related to the implementation of the Steamboat Springs Base Area Reinvestment Plan. Four regular seats with three-year terms are available. Committee members receive a Family Howelsen Hill Ski Pass.

Board of Adjustment: The BOA reviews requests for adjustments to standards related to single-family homes, duplexes, signage, and floodplains. Three regular and two alternate seats with three-year terms are open. Members receive a Family Howelsen Hill Ski Pass.

Ice Rink Advisory Committee: The IRAC advises the Parks & Rec Commission and staff on matters relating to the Howelsen Ice Complex and related programs. Four regular, two-year term seats have thawed and are open.

Members receive a Family Howelsen Hill Ski Pass.

Historic Preservation Commission: The Commission considers requests for design review, preservation related topics, nominations for National and City Historic Registers, and state income tax credits.

As you can see, there are so many areas where you can make a difference for your city. All you need to do is say YES to be a part of the efforts to shape our collective future. I hope you strongly consider one of the openings and make a commitment to your community. You can find information on each board/commission, applications, and details at steamboatsprings.net/apply.

If you choose not to serve on a city board or commission, I urge you to reach out to a cause you are passionate about and ask how you can help. You may only have an hour, a day, a month or a much longer stretch, but your efforts, and more importantly, your time, is a powerful force in helping the place you love.

I’ll close with the valuable words from Dr. Seuss, “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

Thank you for caring about your community and stepping up to serve.

Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.

-Kinky Friedman

On the corner of US40 and Hilltop Pkwy

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For those who live here and for those who wish they did.

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Application Deadlines

Planning..............March Parks and Rec....March BOA......................March HPC......................March URAAC.................March 2 IRAC.....................April

Valley Voice

February 2022

5

State Representative/ Eagle and Routt Counties

The 2022 Legislative Session Begins

By Dylan Roberts

A few weeks ago, the Colorado General Assembly began the 2022 legislative session. It continues to be the utmost honor and privilege to represent the people of Routt and Eagle Counties at the State Capitol - this time for my final session in the Colorado House. Although this is my last year as your State Representative, my commitment to those I serve is as resolute as ever.

My initial legislative priorities for this 2022 session focus on three main goals based on issues impacting our area: addressing the cost of living in our mountain communities (particularly when it comes to housing and child care), continuing to help businesses and workers recover from the pandemic, and improving public safety by cracking down on crime and protecting victims. Further, each bill that I have introduced has already secured bipartisan sponsorship.

Affordable housing I have dedicated much of my time over the last several months working on the issue of affordable housing given its vital importance for our communities and our economy. Last month, I was appointed as the Chair of the Affordable Housing Transformational Task Force , and we just finished our work deciding how to allocate $400 million we received from the federal government for housing.

Those recommendations, which I detailed in last month’s column , will now be turned into legislation for this coming session. I look forward to seeing those ideas turned into law and crucial funds being allocated towards our communities to help local governments, nonprofits, and private developers build more affordable housing.

Further, I am working with county commissioners from across the state and a bipartisan group of legislators on a bill that would allow counties to use their lodging tax revenue for vital workforce and community needs, like housing. This is a tool that communities have long asked

for - the ability to use the revenue brought in by tourists to support the workers and communities that serve those tourists - but have been prevented from doing so by state law. This year, we will update that law to allow local communities to decide for themselves how to utilize lodging tax dollars.

C

M

Y

CM

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Affordable Child Care I have introduced a bill aimed at increasing the number of affordable child care centers in our state and helping support small businesses and landowners. With bipartisan sponsorship, this bill would give a property tax exemption to landlords who choose to lease to a child care center. We know that child care is exceedingly expensive and scarce in our state - particularly in our mountain communities and the cost and lack of services hurts working families.

By passing this bill into law, we will give landlords a large financial incentive should they choose to lease their property to a child care center.

CY

CMY

K

Stopping rising crime I am working with my colleague across the aisle, Rep. Terri Carver, to crack down on crime, specifically retail theft.

We are sponsoring the Colorado INFORM Act which will cut off the shady online marketplace currently enabling criminals who steal from retail stores (including Home Depot, Wal-Mart, and others) and conduct “smash-and-grab” robberies. The bill requires third-party marketplaces who typically sell these stolen goods to verify their vendors, affirm they are not stolen items, and give the Attorney General and District Attorneys the authority to prosecute those who refuse to comply and help perpetuate organized retail theft.

Serving Northwest Colorado since 2001!

Offering ZIRKEL Wireless High-Speed Internet, Blast Ultimate WiFi 6, and ZIRKEL Phone.

970-871-8500 | www.zirkel.us #PoweredByLocals © Copyright 2021 ZIRKEL.

Help the Environment!

Reuse any plastic laundry container with a refill of quality, eco-friendly laundry detergent.

Funeral home atrocities The next bill I am bringing forward is also a bipartisan effort that seeks to prevent the atrocious acts committed by the Kent Funeral Homes across the mountain region.

Under current law, state agencies are unable to inspect funeral homes on a regular basis even while they are able to inspect other businesses like restaurants and salons.

That lack of oversight resulted in horrible conditions at multiple funeral homes in our regions which victimized many families who received unidentifiable remains and saw their loved ones treated with disgusting disrespect.

This is unacceptable. My bill will hopefully prevent that from ever happening again by allowing state inspectors to enter funeral home premises upon any complaint by a customer of misconduct.

This upcoming legislative session is as important as ever and while we face significant challenges in our state and communities, I am optimistic that we can take commonsense actions to address our area’s most pressing needs.

As always, my work is guided by those I represent and I invite you to contact me anytime at Dylan.Roberts.

House@state.co.us or on my cell: (970) 846-3054.

Rep. Dylan Roberts serves Routt County and Eagle County in the Colorado State House.

970 .879 .5717

2620 S. Copper Frontage Steamboat Springs, CO

It is more difficult to rule yourself than to rule a city. — Jordan Peterson

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1 to 9 10%

1000+ 12%

February 2022

Go Figure

500 to 999 7%

Valley Voice

Routt County's Agriculture Economy Routt County

By Scott L. Ford I have been involved with various economic development efforts in Steamboat Springs/Routt County since 1994.

After almost 30 years I still hear folks, including some elected officials, describe Routt County’s economy as a three-legged stool. Those legs being described as Agriculture, Mining and Tourism. I inwardly chuckle every time I hear the three-legged stool analogy to describe the local economy. Oh, if it were only that simple to describe Routt County’s economy as a three-legged stool. It is far more intricate. Routt County’s GDP as of 2019 was over $2.1 billion and growing. The stool analogy no longer works.

Rather than chuckle, over the next several months I am going to use this column to take a deep dive into each of these three industry sectors, aka the legs. Without question, each of these economic sectors are important and their value goes beyond what can be measured only in dollars. I invite you to join me as we start by reviewing Routt County’s agriculture economic profile.

The US Census Bureau does a comprehensive agriculture survey every five years. The data shown below is from the 2017 survey results. To begin with, in 2017 the market value of all agriculture products produced and sold represented 1.7% of the county’s total GDP for the year.

The 2017 Census reported that there are 887 farms/ ranches in the county. This number represents an 11% increase over the 2012 census.

Poetry

Me, Myself and I

By Joan Remy

I’m a proud Bronx Girl Who danced in the street Made mistakes Walked alone on the beach People were passing Some smiled Children playing in the sand Crystals sparkling From eons of time Waves splashing Over me Life continues Endlessly

Distribution of Farms/ Ranches by Acrage SizeThe aggregate number of acres in these farms/ranches

180 to 499County Routt 9% Distribution of Farms/ Ranches by Acrage Size

totaled 465,119. About 30% of the county’s land area is classified as agricultural.

10 to 49 To put this into perspective, the agriculture land in Routt County, if combined into a single parcel,40% would be slightly larger than the Denver/Aurora metro area.

1 to 9 10%

1000+ 12%

1 to 9 500 1000+ 10% 12% to 999 50 to 179 500 7% 22% to 999

Not all farms/ranches are created equal. Obviously, some are bigger and some are smaller. Some are viable operations producing enough income to sustain the owner(s); others are best characterized as “hobby ranches.”

In Routt County fifty percent of the farms/ranches are smaller than fifty acres.

7%

180 to 499 9% 180 to 499

10 to 49

9%

10 to 49 40% 40%

Another way to look at the scope of the county’s farms/ ranches is to understand the annual value of the agricultural product sales they had in 2017.

50 to 179

50 to22% 179 22%

Over 80% of Routt County’s farms/ranches had less than

Routt County Annual Sales of$25,000 ALL inAgriculture Products annual sales of agriculture products. To be

clear, sales and profits are two very different things. On an aggregate basis according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), Farm proprietors' income in Routt County had a total loss of $5.2 million in 2017.

Over $100,000 7% Over $50,000 to $100,000 Routt Sales of ALL Agriculture Products 6% County Routt CountyAnnual Annual Sales of ALL Agriculture Products Over $100,000 Over $25,000 to $50,000 Over $100,000 7% 5% 7% Over $50,000 to $100,000 6% Over $50,000 to $100,000 6% $25,000 to $50,000 Over 5% Over $10,000 to $25,000

Over $25,000 to $50,000 5% 8%

Over $10,000 to $25,000 8%

Over $10,000 to $25,000 8% Over $5,000 to $10,000

Less than $2,500 52%

Over $5,000 to $10,000 9% 9%

Less than $2,500 52%

Over $5,000 to $10,000 9%

It is beyond the scope of this column to delve into the nuances of how agricultural land is treated for property tax purposes in Colorado. Suffice to say that Colorado has some of the lowest residential property taxes in the U.S., making home ownership attractive. Taxes on vacant land with an agriculture tax classification are also extremely low.than These two underlying factors Less $2,500 is one of the catalysts 52% that contributes to the growth of increasing smaller farms/ ranches.

Next Month: What are these farms/ranches doing?

Over $2,500 to $5,000 13%

Over $2,500 to $5,000

Over $2,500 to $5,000 13% 13% Routt County

Number of Farms/ Ranches

950 887 Number of Farms/ Ranches RouttRoutt County County Number of Farms/ Ranches

850

799

750 950

950

650 850

887

550 850

593

750

450

650 750

350

550

325

450

1978

650 250

362 1982

550

350

450 250 350 250

362

325 1978

1982

325 1978

For those who live here and for those who wish they did.

438

405

610

494

799 610

593 1987

1992

405

1987

362 1982

887

799

1997 494 2002

438

1992

1997 405

1987

2007

2012

438 2007 2002

1992

2017

593

610

494 2012

1997

2017

2002

2007

2012

2017

Valley Voice

February 2022

7

Suds Central

Beer of the Sacred Father

By Sean Derning aka A Beer Fairy

the brewery fell into the hands of the state, according to author Nick Carr.

Brewmaster Franz Zacherl rented the brewery and began turning out the Salvator again. He purchased the brewery in 1813 and Paulaner’s Salvator doppelbock has remained on the brewery’s docket even since.

Plowed; Paulaner’s Salvator, Schneider-Weiss’ Aventinus and Weihenstephaner’s Korbinian

In Steamboat, February is a month where winter really starts to wear on locals. Sure, there are fun local activities like Winter Carnival and the corresponding winter sports, but the short days, below zero evening temps and long work weeks suck the fun out of this thankfully shorter month. One reason beer drinkers should look forward to this time of year is it is the beginning of the German Starkbierzeit, or Strong Beer Season, in and around Munich, Germany. And the locals there celebrate with the release of their own winter warmer beer; doppelbocks.

A very malty creation brewed since the 1600s, doppelbocks feature generous amounts of malt (hence the German name doppel, or double) and fewer hop additions.

The result is a beer that has a darker color, sweeter taste and higher alcohol content (ABV, or alcohol by volume) than traditional German lagers served during the rest of the year. The rich history of German doppelbocks will be explored, and several great examples available locally will be reviewed.

Rich history Around 1620, monks from St. Francis traveled from southern Italy and built the Paula Monastery on the east side of Munich (or Munchen, meaning ‘place of the monks’) near the Isar river in the town of Nockherberg, according to author Mark Dredge. It was a common belief that the monks brewed the heavier doppelbock to supplement their diet with this ‘liquid bread’ while they fasted during the 46 days of Lent. But according to Dredge, the monk’s beer was also shared to celebrate the Holy Father’s Feast which happened at the beginning of April around Easter.

In 1773, Valentin Still created the brewery’s recipe that is still followed today and in 1780, the monastery was given license to sell the doppelbock year round. It was here that the Paula Monastery became the home of Paulaner beer, one of the best recognized brands in Germany and the world. Their doppelbock, called Salvator, or Holy Father, would become the first doppelbock brewed in Germany.

But conflicts between European countries would not leave the brewery unscathed. When Napoleon Bonaparte took control of the region, the monastery was closed and

Today, according to Dredge, the Paulaner Salvatorfest festival is held in Nockherberg, and it runs for around three weeks in the lead up to Easter. Other Munich breweries also release their doppelbocks around this time. Salvatorfest’s opening ceremony begins with a barrel of doppelbock being tapped and the first mug offered to the Bavarian Prime Minister. Then there is a satirical political cabaret performance with singing and acting all directed at current politicians and the recent news. The ceremony and show are so popular that it’s aired on German television and a few million people tune in to watch it.

Rich profile As previously mentioned, doppelbocks tend to be sweeter without the familiar hop bite as the malt dominates. But not all German doppelbocks share the same grain bill in the brewing process. Doppelbocks such as Salvator use malted barley and bottom fermenting yeasts in their brewing process, resulting in lager beers. Other doppelbocks use some malted wheat with the malted barley and top fermenting yeasts in the brewing process to produce ales.

Colors of these beers vary as they can offer hues of copper, ruby and brown and most offer alcohol percentages that hover around 8%. The nose of these beers tend to be more bread-like instead of the toffee or brown sugar apparent in English old ales. Nuances of wheat and dark rye breads can be detected and the beers usually finish dry on the palate.

The beer is the darkest of the bunch, pouring a tan head and has a leather brown color. The aroma is sweet, like raisins and the taste reveals chocolate malts used in the grain bill. The beer clocks in at 7.4% alcohol and earned a 97 rating on www.ratebeer.com.

Schneider-Weiss’ Aventinus is Bavaria’s oldest wheat doppelbock ale, according to www.craftshack.com, and was launched in 1907 by then owner Mathilde Schneider.

Inspired by the women’s suffrage movement, she covertly operated the brewery after her husband’s passing and oversaw the creation of the brewery’s most coveted recipe.

Named after the 16th century Bavarian historian, Johannes Aventinus, the 8.2% alcohol beer pours with an off white, creamy head and what is most noticable are the thousands of tiny bubbles that offer an effervescence similar to that of a fine champagne. The aroma imparts smells of warm banana bread. First taste reveals a velvety smooth and sweet beer that dries nicely on the palate. This is a world-class beer that is worth seeking out as it earned a perfect 100 points on www.ratebeer.com.

Any of these doppelbock beers can be used in celebration, regardless of the size of achievement. If your day has been spent skiing/riding thousands of vertical feet or removing the ice-encrusted snow pile at the end of your driveway, hoist one of these beers and toast your victory, albeit temporary, over Old Man Winter.

-Sean Derning is A Beer Fairy and offers beer/brewery reviews and videos at Beerfairytales.com

Beer, Wine and Spirits!

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Dishes that work best when paired with doppelbocks include wild game such as venison or bison, pork and potatoes, Mexican dishes and charcuterie boards featuring aged cheeses and prosciutto or salami.

Rich taste For lager fans, let’s visit the ‘father of all strong beers,’ Paulaner’s Salvator doppelbock, which utilizes lighter Pilsner and darker Munich malts in the 400-year-old recipe.

The beer pours clear and features a caramel/orange tint and offers a generous tan head that leaves a nice lacing on the inside of the glass. Aroma reveals a scent of warm baked whole wheat bread, and the taste lingers sweet with a dry finish. Alcohol content is 7.9% and www.ratebeer. com rewarded it with a score of 90.

Another doppelbock lager worth sampling is the Weihenstephaner Korbinian. Named after Saint Korbinius, a Frankish bishop who was sent to Bavaria by Pope Gregory II to evangelize Bavaria, he later constructed the Weihenstephan monastery, according to www.wikipedia.com.

The discovery of agriculture was the first big step toward a civilized life. — Arthur Keith

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February 2022

Valley Voice

Bonnifield Files

Farmers, Grain Elevators, and Flour Mills: Part I

By Ellen and Paul Bonnifield

Photo courtesy Tread of Pioneers Museum

German-Russian Mennonites fleeing the military oppression of Russia stored Red Turkey wheat seed — hard winter wheat —in their bags. They located new homes and planted their seed on the free homestead land of Kansas.

Within a half century, Red Turkey Wheat dominated the West and the history of the world changed.

Farming in northwestern Colorado began on a tragic note.

Indian Agent N. C. Meeker was determined to force the White River Ute into farming. In mid-summer 1879, he made a long and difficult trip from the White River Agency to Denver where he purchased a threshing machine. (A thresher, as the word implies, beats the grain bundles, knocking the seeds from the unwanted parts of the plant.)

Next Meeker caused a crisis and demanded that the Army march to White River, kill the Indians' horses, and force them into farming. The Ute refused. The Battle of Milk Creek and the Meeker Massacre resulted. Following behind the army was the slow-moving thresher. During the first day of battle, John Gordon and two others were killed and the wooden thresher burned. In 1884, Adam Fiske rode to the battle site, salvaged all the iron parts of the threshing machine, and rebuilt it. For many years, his thresher served the early settlers near Hayden.

(The restored machine is on display at the Hayden Heritage Museum.)

Homesteading and serious settlement of the Yampa Valley began after the completion of the Fortieth Parallel Survey in 1881. The survey allowed for legal description of property lines — township, section, range, etc. The first settlers claimed the bottom land and began irrigation. Dryland farming followed and dryland farmers often depended on grain crops for income. But, without a dependable railroad for shipping to market, opportunity was limited.

Thresher located in Hayden: Photo courtesy Hayden Heritage Center

All pioneers needed flour. The first arrivals made an annual trip to Denver for supplies. The completion of the Denver & Rio Grande to Wolcott in 1887 shortened the distance and several homesteaders in the Yampa area supplemented their homestead income by freighting supplies from Wolcott to local communities.

Steamboat bankers and businessmen Metcalf and Milner envisioned another solution. They would build a grain elevator and flour mill south of the bath house. Their vision was grand and complex. Construction began in 1890 and finished in 1894 (perhaps 1896). The delay was caused by a lack of bricks which required a kiln that had yet to be built. The process first involved cutting timber and burning it to make charcoal. When completed, the kilns on Fish Creek supplied enough bricks to complete a mill elevator sixty feet high with warehouses on both ends.

A large water race was dug from the Yampa River to turn a giant water wheel. The wheel served two purposes: it directly supplied power for the equipment and later turned an electric generator.

Producing high quality flour required installing three fanning mills to remove dirt, weeds, bugs, and everything nasty. Then followed steam washing the wheat. At an early date, the only Carter Disk in western Colorado was installed. It only picked up wheat kernels thus assuring the end product was free of weed seeds and chaff. Then the wheat was mashed and ground into various grades of flour ranging from whole wheat to fine white baking flour. In 1912, the final addition was added to the building.

Through the years, Yampa Valley M & E Company had a series of owners and operators. In the depth of the Great Depression, 1934, it purchased $100,000 worth of grain R from Routt and Moffat county farmers. It produced "Rain- t i bow" and "Yampa Valley Best" flours, whole wheat and graham flours, white and yellow corn meal, "Joe Dandy" and "Yampa Valley Delicious Wheat Cereal," "Yampa Valley T Lay Mash," "Yampa Valley Growing Mash," and "Yampa t Valley Chick Starter." In addition, it provided custom feeds e f and grain storage. e Dillon and Ann Rich purchased the flour mill and eleva- a tor in 1946. Due to changes in markets, women no longer t bought bulk flour, thus in 1948, they stopped h a flour milling; however, the mill continued to average more than three million pounds s of custom processed grain and shipped car w a loads of grain. The elevator had a 31,000 bushel storage capacity. High water washed t out the dam in the river, limiting the use of w the water wheel to about two months. REA t t power was used the following months. In b 1958, Yampa Valley M & E burned. b s Craig had two flour mills and Dixon, Wyoming, one. The Craig Milling and Supply Com- c pany on seventh street in downtown Craig T burned in April 1916, but was quickly rebuilt C at another location. Spontaneous combus- m tion in damp grain was the most likely cause H of the fire. c An older Craig woman recalled that when t younger "we sewed articles of clothing from flour sacks." r o The sacks from the Craig flour mill had in bold print "Moffat's Pride." The prize material for young ladies under t panties read in bold letters "Moffat's Pride." The flour mill g w at Dixon, Wyoming, despite several efforts, never i succeeded. a The first quarter of the twentieth century was the golden t r age for farmers in northwestern Colorado. It was an t era characterized by great dreams, opportunities, and i resilience. Vast acres were homesteaded — the Great Divide colony west of Craig encompassed 131,000 acres. h a The total land filed on for homesteads in Routt County H exceeded the Great Divide. Great Divide farmers held their heads high with pride in 1915 when grain from their o fields won all four places, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in their s d highly competitive division at the State Fair in Pueblo.

R

For those who live here and for those who wish they did.

Valley Voice

Routt County farmers prided themselves when in 1924 they grew more bushels of grain per acre than any county in the state.

The theory of Scientific Dryland Farming, supported by the annual Dryland Farming Congress and promoted by every western railroad, assured settlers of success and, for the first quarter century, was successful. New machinery and improved seed illuminated the future. Herb Moore at Yampa purchased a Reeves Cross Compound gas tractor with twenty horse-power on the draw bar and sixty horse-power on the belt. It pulled eight fourteen-inch plows at two miles per hour. (To power threshing machines, saw mills, and other equipment, early tractors had a fly wheel designed to turn a belt attached to the fly wheel on another piece of equipment.) Herb also purchased a steam tractor from a rancher in Twenty Mile Park. Three men worked four days to drive the heavy steel-wheeled tractor home to Yampa. Once back on the farm, Herb plowed through sagebrush eliminating the heavy labor of "grubbing" it off. With new seeds and new land, farmers raised bumper crops. Wheat, oats, and barley were considered sure crops. Commercial dryland potatoes contributed a big crop in the Sydney, Hilton Gulch, and Oak Creek areas.

Train loads of potatoes were shipped from Craig and McCoy. On a few small acreages, field corn was successfully marketed.

Harvesting a grain crop required heavy labor. The binder cut the grain and tied it in a bundle. A man with a three tonged fork stacked the bundles in shocks. (Picture a Currier & Ives wood carving.) Men later forked the bundles onto a wagon with heads always toward the center. Next, the wagons traveled to the threshing machine where the grain was threshed and either sacked or dumped into wagons then hauled to a granary and hand shoveled into it. The introduction of the combine (combining the binder and the thresher) eliminated much labor. However in the upper Yampa Valley, binders and threshing machines remained in use until the late 1940s. At higher elevations, the season was often too short for the grain to fully ripen in the field. Grain bundles were stacked in a circle with heads always to the center. The heads being larger formed a high peak allowing rain and snow to quickly run off.

Here the grain finished ripening. During the slow months of winter, the grain was threshed. All too often, when stacks were opened, threshers found water had seeped deep into the stack destroying the fruit of a year's labor.

February 2022

9

Poetry

Where Old and New Worlds Meet

By Fran Conlon

The clock hands move; there is a chime, The final month is at its end, Concluding events I can redefine, And excess, the dross, I will suspend.

Some friends have passed; my group is thinning, I feel like the last man standing, Perhaps it's time for a new beginning, A fresh view with outlook commanding.

Photo courtesy Tread of Pioneers Museum another. The earliest farmers were forced to consume the grain locally — either feeding livestock and walking them to market or making flour and cereals — until the arrival of the Denver Northwest and Pacific Railroad (1909 Steamboat, 1913 Hayden and Craig).

On the north side of the tracks in Hayden in 1914 a small elevator began shipping grain; however, limited storage area meant grain had to be shipped and that required hand shoveling into railroad cars. In 1915, Charles Hasket began an elevator on the south side of the track. In 1917, he sold the business to ten wheat farmers who formed a co-op and constructed a large elevator. Shortly after organizing, more than a hundred farmers including several women joined the Hayden Co-operative Elevator Company.

It opened for full business in 1918. The elevator's grain storage capacity was 11,000 bushels with a two-railroad car storage cellar for root crops —primary dryland potatoes. The Co-op bought local grain and sold on the commodity market, thus giving local farmers a broader market.

Farmers who preferred to do their own marketing stored grain at the elevator.

Two other elevators were built in Craig and one at Elkhead. Expecting the Denver & Salt Lake Railroad to extend westward, an elevator was built at Maybell. Often farmers believed the local elevators were cheating them by under-pricing their grain or lower grading the grain. Grain was classified as No. 1, No. 2, No. 3. Farmers on Elk River, Deep Creek, and Twenty Mile Park, believing they could do better, organized a co-op and built an elevator near the Steamboat Springs depot and stockyards.

The Craig Milling & Elevator was a typical "Tin Elevator."

Two-by-fours were laid flat to form a solid four-inch wall.

The covered top allowed air to move through the elevator thus avoiding gas building up from the grain. Tin covered the outside.

Birth may seem like a dramatic affair.

At the edge of a new start, Possibilities abound. I must be aware, To launch my soul, and depart.

Come then the dawn with golden light, Stars shine, then hide at the dawn, A new world need not be in fright, But welcomed for where we now belong.

The horizon bends to open space, Room enough for me (and you) to show our face.

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Rain and snow was good, growing seasons were long, and prices were high until 1921. The future looked bright and sunny. No one knew the sun was setting and deep night lay ahead.

Next month: Darkness falls on farming.

Raising grain was one thing. Storing and marketing it was

Peace goes into the making of a poem as flour goes into the making of bread. — Pablo Neruda

10

February 2022

Valley Voice

Victims of Love

Sunday After the Winter Carnival

By Ken Proper

Photo courtesy Tread of Pioneers Museum

His proud papa was slapping everyone on the back within reach. What will they think of next, horses pulling riders on snow shovels?”

I snorted, “Ha, I like it. You should mention it to the committee.” Evidently, he did not see me almost get killed.

The event concluded and we walked to meet Uncle Thomas at the ski jump. He had several friends from Hot Sulphur and Grand County competing. Most were certain Ragnar Omtved would break his professional jumping world record in Steamboat. Fred Throckmorton won the amateur jumping with 220 points and Horace Jassen tied the athletic Francis Milner for second with 173 points. With the tie breaking jump Jassen got third.

“Hey, two fellows from my place in the top three. What do you think of that, mate?” Uncle Thomas boasted.

February 14, 1915 The Mid-Winter Ski Carnival was incredibly enjoyable and a totally new experience for me. It snowed hard on Friday, but the races were on. Maggie and I were busy all day with preparations for the two dances on Friday and Saturday nights. H. C. Dodge came into the hotel several times to supervise and then would rush off to the Armory to do the same for the masked ball. I brought my telescope to work and ran to the edge of Lincoln Avenue to watch the skijoring exhibition at 11 a.m. Skiers held a rope and were pulled by horses down the street at full speed. They raced a few blocks away, but I could see them well with my handy device. Someday I must get a pair of binoculars.

“Julius Brandon, I know you very well. You are searching for Corina in the crowd. She’s not there but plans to go with Angela tomorrow. That’s it, you’ve got a good look. Put the telescope in your pocket and come back to work,” Maggie shouted from the Hotel porch.

“Most amazing,” I said as I brushed snow from my hat and coat.

“Well, you can watch the real contest tomorrow.”

“Will Corina avoid me?”

“I don’t know.”

I stuffed my emotions and telescope into my pocket, “I wish we could see the jumping at Elk Park from here.”

“Julius, I’m glad the hillside is in the way. You can go to the top floor with your spy glass for the 10-mile cross country race at 3 o’clock. All the professional contests are tomorrow. They are the best. Now get moving with the decorations for the dance tonight.”

I served punch and bite-size sandwiches, “starters” as we British say, during the dance. I fit right in with the international atmosphere. I wished Corina would come to the dance. She did not. I continued to hope she would attend on Saturday night.

On Saturday, I stood next to the motion picture photographer as he filmed the unbelievable skijoring contest. He mentioned he was from the Hearst-Selig Company, and there were several still photographer/journalists attending.

The first couple of skiing contestants flew by, pulled with a rope with the horse’s hooves throwing snow on the shouting, excited crowd. Then I saw Corina and Angela on the other side of the street. “Corina,” I shouted. She did not hear me, I waved my arms and started running across raceway. Voices screamed, “Look out!” Two strong arms grabbed my shoulders, pulled me back, I landed in the snow bottom first and watched four horse hooves and a pair of skis pass inches from my feet. The skier madly yelled something at me. The two men hauled me through the parting crowd, plopped me against a building and angerly cautioned, “Pay attention to event action, don’t be a fool and get killed!” I looked up, saw only sea of bundled behinds closing like waves as the chaps passed through and returned to the action. I stood, leaped a few times, and searched for Corina. She had disappeared. Embarrassed, I jostled along the deeply lined crowd and buildings, jumping for a view. I saw her and shuffled to a different viewing location up the street. I lost her in the crowd again but kept searching. Hopefully, my stupidity wasn’t captured on film.

Du Bois joined me shortly, “I thought we planned to meet at the finish line.”

“I ran to the starting line for a brief look. The horses pranced around with steaming breath and riding cowboys controlled their natural animal fears of the hundreds of spectators. Amazing.”

“Did you see Corina and Angela?”

“Well yes, across the street.”

“Hmm, let’s go back to the finish line.” I followed du Bois along the throng with the occasional jump for a view of the other side. “I see that Francis Milner kid, with a straightahead nifty ride, had the fastest time and won the event.

For those who live here and for those who wish they did.

Then the professionals competed. The local crowd favorite, Carl Howelsen jumped gracefully, and powerfully athletic, but he only won the third-place prize of $25. He was hampered by an ankle injury suffered when testing the new jump, by overshooting the landing. Most thought he would not compete. Ragnar won the $100 first place prize and Fred Brunn of Chicago received $50 for second. Both thought it was the fastest and finest course in America.

“Are you coming to the dance tonight at the Cabin Hotel, Uncle Thomas?” I asked.

“I’ll come later. First, I’m going to the moving picture The Trey O’ Hearts at the Mutual Theatre. I want to pick out the sleight-of-hand tricks,” he replied laughing.

“Ho, legerdemain,” du Bois added and turned to me, “I’m coming to the dance, see you there,” he confirmed.

We three parted and I walked to the hotel to help Maggie with more preparations.

I nodded to the guard, entered the hotel, and heard music.

Angela brought her Victrola phonograph to the kitchen.

She and Maggie practiced the Turkey Trot dance to Molly Dear it is You I’m After. They sailed between the stoves with four hops sideways while alternating feet, then rose up on the balls of their feet and dropped to their heels.

“Look you can make it more ragtime by doing the One step,” Angela demonstrated. “Some say it is immoral.” She laughed, “Oh, Julius come here. Dance with us.”

“I saw you with Corina.”

“Really, we didn’t see you. The crowd was huge. We left early. She was cold.” Angela waved her arms at me like an Odysseus Siren, “Come on dance with us.”

“I don’t know, you look pretty good at this.”

“Don’t be silly,” She grabbed me with a twirl. “You can dance to any kind of music with the one step. It’s jazzy.”

“How about square dance music? Maggie asked.

Valley Voice

Photo courtesy Tread of Pioneers Museum

“Maybe, why not?” she said laughing again.

We danced while making more punch and hors d’oeuvre.

Twice as many guests arrived for the Saturday dance compared to the Friday’s. I kept looking for Corina. “She isn’t coming, Julius,” Angela informed me. I could not believe her. The dining room, now a dance hall, was full of a merry crowd. The band was very good and sported guitars, a ukulele, a bass, the hotel’s piano and a drum. They played popular tunes like Magic Melody; I’m Simply Crazy over You and M-O-T-H-E-R. Angela grasped my hand when they played Molly Dear… and pulled me out to the middle of the floor. We were a hit with the one step.

“Now aren’t you glad we practiced,” she said as the crowd surrounded us and clapped.

Later the band played Love Here is my Heart and du Bois said, “Adrian Ross wrote this tune. He’s from Normandy!”

I replied brashly as he and Maggie stepped out with the Fox Trot, “He’s popular on London’s West End too.”

Finally, James Norvell climbed up on the stage and shouted, “Welcome to my hotel. I’m glad you are all enjoying yourselves.”

February 2022

Carl Howelsen.”

They thundered and applauded again. Carl waved to the group with a sheepish smile. Ragnar jumped from stage and shook Carl’s hand.

“And now the presentation of the awards by Judge Gooding,” Mr. Norvell announced.

The older man took a while going up the stairs and a bit out of breath said, “It is my honor and pleasure to announce these awards. Boys 15 and under race first-place prize, a birch pair of skis with bindings, goes to 10-year-old Hollis Merrill. Second place prize, a wool sweater goes to George Wither.”

A fellow walked up to me from the crowd and asked, “You’re the English fly-fisher, correct?”

“Indeed.”

“I’m A.M. Gooding Junior, that’s my father up there. What’s your name?”

“Julius Brandon and this is my friend Anthony du Bois.”

“A pleasure to meet both of you. I enjoy that trout fishing; we’ll have to go out sometime.”

“It’s warm enough and the ice is breaking. We could go next week.”

“It will have to be later. I must go back to college, Denver University, on Monday.”

“Law, did you attend college?”

Du Bios and I shook our heads. I added, “I had the advantage of excellent tutors while growing up.”

“Enjoying the guards at the door too?” Maggie whispered.

I shushed her.

“This spring,” A.M. replied irritated.

He continued, “As most of you already know, Ragnar Omtved won the professional jumping today and will soon receive his prize of $100, along with all the other winners of our Second Mid-Winter Carnival from Judge A.M. Gooding. But first, I’m offering now another $100 to Ragnar to break his world record in Steamboat Springs tomorrow, Ragnar?”

“Good luck with that,” JJ slurred and then looked at me saying, “I’m in the money buckaroo and you aren’t.”

Glaring silence from me. He shrugged his shoulders and grinned cruelly. Then he walked over and put his arm around a woman. She promptly pushed it off.

He raised his hand as the multitude cheered and bounced to the stage. “I accept the challenge.”

I stiffened with rancor as du Bois cut in, “What do you think about the Statewide Prohibition Amendment?”

They cheered again and Norvell added, “If you go the distance but fall, I’ll pay $50.”

“Well, I’m a Democrat, the same as my father, we voted against. The party opposed it and continued endorsing the existing local option. Mr. Leckenby’s editorial claimed it was a blunder by our party, unified the Republican Party and elected the new Governor Carlson. There will always be bad eggs.” He looked at JJ. “It’s a by-product of our agrarian society roots. You can’t stop a problem by just banning the cause. It’s far better to deal with it in an educated way. It should be repealed and replaced with compassionate legislation.”

Frank Blackmer announced, “The committee will add $25 to that offer.”

The throng roared in approval. Ragnar waved his hand to imply, silence please. “Thank you. This is one of the best venues I have competed at. I will be back next year. My thanks, also, to the man who created it and the man who I rustled coins to watch jump in Norway, as a boy,

“I agree,” I said and scanned the crowd looking for Corina.

A.M. observed my distraction. “It’s good to meet you. I look forward to fishing with you soon. I’ll show you some good places.”

“Sounds good. It’s always a pleasure to meet another angler.”

A.M. shook our hands and wandered closer to the stage.

“I’ve been looking for her too. I haven’t seen her,” du Bois said.

“It’s probably best to just forget about her,” I grieved and then realized, I am drawn to her like helpless steel to a magnet.

My gloom and I sat in a chair next to the wall. I wanted to talk to her, ask her why she did this to me, but she was a married woman. It was a stupid and possibly a fatal thing to do.

Today, Ragnar went the distance, broke his own record and on the second attempt, fell. His binding broke at the landing and he badly twisted his ankle. He could not try again for the world record. He implied he would attend but not compete in Grand County. Hors de combat, as du Bois said. Uncle Thomas explained to his mystified Hot Sulphur friends, it means unable to compete. Ragnar left town with $175 in his pocket. I wondered if I should leave too. I do not wish to compete because it would be fatuous, desperate and, dare I say, deadly. Maybe something will change. I just want to be happy and bury this mawkish sentiment.

“What are you studying?”

Just then J.J. Hysser stuck his head into our conversation and garbled with whiskey breath, “The budding attorney, going to graduate?”

A loud, “Ohhh…” came from the crowd.

11

A new fictional novel about the early years in Steamboat Springs, Colorado

“There’s trouble. I pity the woman he just married.”

“Hear, hear,” du Bois said.

Ken Proper’s novel Victims of Love is available at:

. Off the Beaten Path . Tread of Pioneer Museum . Ski Haus . Steamboat Creates at the Depot . Steamboat Trading Co. . KenProperBooks.com

People don't notice whether it's winter or summer when they're happy. — Anton Chekhov

12

February 2022

Valley Voice

Adventure... A Guide to Life's Challenges

May, 1970 - Walter Reed Trauma Center, Wash. D.C.

By Johnny Walker

I just turned twenty. Very few people get the chance to begin life again. There is no magic to it, you just have to be dead... and come back!

I awoke one afternoon to a different world. The room was all white and full of busy people, all dressed in white gowns and white masks. A woman leaned over me and said, “Hello Johnny. Welcome back.” I leaned forward to scan a very charred body, my body! I felt no pain. My left hand felt numb and seemed to be gone. My head was wrapped up like a mummy. My chest and arms were being scrubbed clean of charred skin by people whose faces I couldn’t see.

I leaned forward and anxiously asked, “What, the hell happened to me?” A nurse gently pushed me back down and said, “Take it easy and I’ll tell you where you’ve been.”

She took this moment, out of all the room’s busyness, to tell me where I was and what was going on. “You are in the trauma center burn unit at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington D.C.” She went on to explain. I’d encountered a 4000 volt mainline while throwing construction trash out the 4th story into a dumpster below. A heavy wire in the trash got hung up on the live wire and then led the high voltage through me before falling into the dumpster and starting the fire. The electricity had grounded through my arms,, my stomach, and the back of my head. The electrical shock blew me into the building and started an electrical fire where I laid, dying under the smoke. My arms, torso, and hands have received 3rd degree burns.

My left hand is now strapped to the table and laid there, open to exposed bones and burned tissue.

She said I would soon be going into surgery. Most of the rest of me, from the waist up, also received 1st, 2nd and 3rd degree burns. She went on to tell me that the fire set had off several alarms, but I lay hidden, unnoticed, under the smoke until a fireman tripped over my body. He checked for breath and pulse, of which there was none. The fireman began CPR, and at this point, I interrupted the nurse and said, “I remember watching my rescue.

The only sense I had was vision. I was watching from three feet above my body, no smell, no sound and no pain! I could see that I was badly burned, mostly charred flesh, and a fireman straddled my chest, but I felt no fear and no anxiety, just curiosity. I must have been in a fire? Then all went black.

The next second I opened my eyes and now I see you.

What’s your name?”

I was initially in the burn unit for 6 weeks, although the skin grafts over my chest, arms and head took more than a year and the reconstruction of my left hand, took almost three. I never saw that nurse again. I never looked back.

Maybe because I knew, at that moment, I felt that my life had just begun. I couldn’t wait to get started.

I knew that on the day I get out of this hospital I would buy the boat that I’ve been dreaming of since I was a little kid. I was raised on the Columbia River and lived in a maritime and fishing community. I would find the right boat and recondition her for ocean travel, probably

an older wooden sloop. I'd sail away to distant tropical islands, maybe for the rest of my life. That was the dream.

Now comes the rest of the story!

After a year of skin grafts and hand surgery, I bought that boat. She was a little 24 foot ocean going sloop that needed some attention. I named her Tumbleweed to fit the style of my travel dreams. She had no engine, and so no electricity, refrigeration or modern electronics. Tumbleweed was a fully traditional sea going craft that would need nothing that I couldn’t fix myself, and I could take her anywhere I wanted to go. With a few months of ship’s carpentry, a rigging overhaul, and new paint I was ready to leave the harbor. Tumbleweed was, at last, southbound.

For the next three years I travelled with the predominant wind, ate fresh food from the sea, and navigated by the stars. I had bought the boat with the last of my savings, but could live well on my $204 a month disability claim.

During that first year of cruising I’d occasionally hitch back to D.C. for a week of continued hand surgery. Eventually, my hand was rebuilt, minus a few fingers, and, with that, the disability funds ended. By now I had learned some skills at woodworking which helped my modest budget. I’d sailed to many Caribbean islands, lingered at some, and then came back.

Most of my sailing on board Tumbleweed was single-handed over the open ocean but not without mishaps or close calls. I’d been grounded on reefs, beached on a remote island, and once my boat sunk for nine days in 20 feet of muddy water. Sailing alone on the ocean and cruising the islands taught me values that I didn’t know that I needed.

I discovered my own interpretation of God, right there below me, above me, and all around. My after-death experience was now complete and life can go on.

Having been blessed with this opportunity to travel for those three years, I now longed to be in the mountains, maybe continue life under canvas... maybe in a tipi? I kept the Tumbleweed for another fifteen years. She served my growing family well, including many winters in the islands, school on board, and enjoying a more bohemian lifestyle, but Steamboat Springs was always our home base and forty-five years later we still call Steamboat home. Our summers are spent in a tipi, immersed in nature, somewhere under the stars. We call it the WildRose.

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Valley Voice

February 2022

Piknik Theatre

Perfect Character, Not Perfect Voice

By Stuart Handloff

As Piknik Theatre begins planning for our first musical production in several years this upcoming summer season, I think back to my first days as a drama teacher at Steamboat Springs High School in the late 1990’s.

Although I had directed several straight (non-musical) productions, I had never produced a musical. In response, I did what every teacher does at some point: panicked.

Fortunately, I had some connections with the academic performing arts community in Colorado and learned that UNC-Greeley had the best musical theatre program, not only in Colorado but the intermountain west. A few more phone calls had me talking with the UNC faculty and putting together a plan. The short-term solution included lots of cobbled together ideas that, thanks to a brilliant musical team of Brian and Christel Houston and a very capable group of high school seniors, came together for a successful run of the Loesser/Swerling/Burrows classic, Guys and Dolls. This show has always been one of my favorites and led to my first discovery as a musical theatre director: you better like the music for the show you choose because you’ll be hearing it A LOT! After surviving my first musical, I was able to do more planning by year two, including sitting in the musical theatre classes at Perry-Mansfield and attending a summer workshop at UNC. This work became the foundation for some concepts that over the years generated some first-rate high school productions, including Sondheim’s Into the Woods. While this is considered one of Sondheim’s more accessible shows, it’s still Sondheim, which means incredibly complex rhythm and word structures. It’s still my favorite of all time and the cast of former students still wax nostalgic about the 13 weeks we spent rehearsing and performing. If you want to spend a couple of hours watching a really good (and free) performance, go to this YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=kqCsQCsinK4. It features one of my former

college classmates, Joann Gleason as the Baker’s Wife, and is filmed in front of a live audience, which makes all the difference when watching recorded performances.

The most important lesson I passed along to the student actors for this show was that musical theatre is all about perfect character, not perfect notes. Listen to most any Broadway soundtrack and you’ll hear strong, “belting” voices, rather than choir or operatic singing. Idina Menzel in Rent or Wicked is a classic example. Broadway actors must perform 8 shows a week for weeks on end and developing vocal strength - relying primarily on the chest and abdominal (hence the term “belt”) - is critical. You lose your voice as a musical theatre actor, you lose your job.

Musical theatre numbers all tell a story. Vocal clarity is critical for the audience to understand what’s being told.

Perfect notes are rarely understood easily, and the point of the story can be lost. This story is usually emotionally charged; or else why sing? Another general note for understanding musicals is that the actors will speak dialogue until the emotional content becomes too great, and then they sing. When the singing emotional content becomes too great, they dance. But these heightened emotions are critical in developing compelling musical stories. Often the emotions are heightened beyond the bounds of realism, but we audiences are always willing to suspend reality if it supports the story. In West Side Story, the character Tony falls in love with Maria during the course of a single song.

And from there the tragedy, the musical version of Romeo and Juliet and one of the greatest American musicals of all time, unfolds.

Although any musical theatre company will spend the first days and weeks of rehearsals learning the music, once the words are mastered, it becomes all about the acting. The term I learned in my early teaching years was “Act/Sing.”

First learn the music, but then focus on how this music supports the acting and development of the character.

Ultimately the audience will judge the quality of a performance more by the excellence of the acting than the sound of the voices. Another classic American musical, Chicago, written by Kander/Ebb/Fosse, has rich, powerful characters whose voices and songs help define who they are as people. Catherine Zeta Jones, as Velma Kelly, was known for her acting skills and didn’t perform on Broadway until years after she won an Oscar for the movie version of the show. Then there’s the “Cell Block Tango” number where several female inmates on death row rationalize their homicidal actions with their own personal narratives all culminating with: “He had it comin’!!!!”

Piknik Theatre 2022 will not be nearly so violent. We’ll be performing a musical adaptation of the Frog and Toad books, A Year With Frog and Toad, outdoors at the Yampa River Botanic Park in July and August. While the story is definitely family rated, you’ll still see and hear charming and endearing characters tell their story through music. The musical numbers will support the story and the heightened realism told through music will touch your heart and bring a tear to your eye, or maybe a few tears.

Crying at musicals is part of the ritual after all. While the actors may not always hit perfect notes, they will succeed if they create a beautifully sentimental (in all the good ways) story about the meaning of true friendship.

13

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Trauma is a fact of life. It does not, however, have to be a life sentence. — Peter A. Levine

14

February 2022

Valley Voice

'Boat Almanac

H

Smelling Winter

unlike coyotes and dogs that tend to be easily distracted, know exactly where they are going and will not be deterred unless a tasty option appears.

By Karen Vail

B

“

I was on my hands and knees sniffing a small brown spot on otherwise untarnished snow by some tracks. Yes, definitely red fox! Unfortunately, I could not entice anyone in the group I was leading to partake in the sniff test. Their loss! One of the joys I have been focusing on in winter is the aromas of a winter landscape. Many years ago, I wrote an article that literally cried out in anguish about the lack of sensory experiences in the winter. Well, I thought, I need to change that attitude! So, I started paying attention to the landscapes I passed through and what my nose was telling me. Surprisingly, there are some amazing aromas. Maybe winter’s scents are even more pronounced because there is no competition from delightful wildflowers, rich soil and all the other olfactory pleasures of summer.

The most pronounced scent that literally can stop me in my tracks is a musky, almost skunk-like, odor. It can be strong, and you literally pass into and out of it quickly.

I usually have to backtrack to find the source. There might be a small brown splotch or yellow stripe on the snow, usually on top of a little mound. Or you might end up at a tree trunk. Then look around for a petit set of tracks.

S P

Red foxes create a rather unique track pattern. They are very dainty perfect steppers, meaning they place their hind foot in their front footprint, and their trail is very straight with one foot right in front of the other. Foxes,

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Following fox tracks is fun and easy.

Fresh tracks might H even give you a f glimpse of the fox b hunting or resting D ahead of you if you track slowly and T carefully. Along t the trail of the red a fox you will catch s whiffs of scent marks along the A way. These animals t leave prodigious i amounts of scent t marks behind; some g researchers found t foxes can mark up to 70 times an “ hour when they are looking for food! (https://naturallycuriouswithmaryholland.wordpress.com/2012/01/06/ D d red-fox-scent-marking/). Both males and females leave fi these scent marks, along with scat, that advertise terril tory or presence and its dominance and sexual status to J all other foxes passing by. They place scent and scat along e the boundaries of their territories, usually placed on top of c rocks, stumps or vegetation or humps on the snow, as well a as the intersection of trails. February is peak breeding m season for red foxes and the male’s scent marks become t incredibly strong and musky during this time. Red foxes c also mark inedible bits of carcasses and carrion. Why a mark something that is not edible? We may think of many d wild animals as being uber competitive and anti-social, but researchers found that the marking of the red foxes was a “ way of announcing to other foxes that they don’t need to t waste their time here at this inedible food. p Ok, still game for some more sniffing? Many other animalst

are entering their mating season where communication “ in the form of scent becomes stronger and more prevas lent. Coyotes, bobcat, mink and raccoons are all known p to scent mark and place scat in strategic places. Coyotes t become more vocal during this time of the year when females come into heat and their marking, by both male and female coyotes, during this time increases. The scent markers I have sniffed out smelled like strong dog urine (don’t ask how I know this!), compared to the strong musky odor of red foxes. Female coyotes come into heat only once a year for 2 to 5 days. Her mate often marks on top of her urine, and often a spot of blood from the female can be seen in her urine or dropped around the scent mark. The other animals I have not experienced myself but the books and articles I found all listed them as great ways to identify specific animal activity and territory. So, give it a try. Go forth and sniff! Stop and inhale winter’s aromas from musky animal signatures to woodsy conifers and tangy flowing water.

We’ll see you on the trails!

Valley Voice

Hayden Surveyor

School Planning

By Brodie Farquhar

“Good fortune is what happens when opportunity meets with planning.” – Thomas Edison HAYDEN – The planning that went into the design concept for building the new school complex was fairly extensive, but more planning for the future of the Hayden School District is needed, according to the school board.

Tammie Delaney, the new chairperson of the board, said the board will work with the Center for Public Deliberation at Colorado State University, in designing an extensive strategic planning effort, with a 2022 winter kickoff.

According to the Center’s website, “Our aim is to improve the way our community is able to talk through complex issues so that we can arrive at better decisions. Deliberation requires open spaces for citizens to come together, good and fair information to help structure the conversation and skilled facilitators to guide the process.”

“We need a neutral party to facilitate the process,” said Delaney. With the help of Center staff and facilitators, the district will start to set a course for the future. One of the first steps will be recruiting 20 community members for long-term service on the steering committee by the end of January. The committee and the Center for Public Deliberation have a number of tasks and tools including data collection, community survey and meetings. Also develop a profile of future graduates and draft a comprehensive multi-year plan that includes strategic priorities aligned to an overarching vision. There will be a process for a consensus and building an approval.. The community is about strategic plan priorities and would make recommendations for the next steps to support the implementation.

“We will examine the best practices and the tools and techniques used in strategic planning,” said Delaney. The process could last at least a year, and will use data from the recent Hayden Town Plan.

“There’s good data in there,” said Delaney, who is no stranger to strategic planning. She’s been involved in the past in the county’s 2020-30 Visioning effort, as well as the 1999 Ag-Alliance planning process.

February 2022

15

Hayden, Colorado

Old Downtown Future Debated

By Brodie Farquhar

Hayden’s old downtown on Walnut Street could be in for a significant change, as town government considers the demolition of two old buildings in favor of a new business incubator and second-floor rental apartments.

The buildings in question are on the west side of the street and are the old Ferry Carpenter office and the next door larger building which was the Yampa Valley Bank and a saloon. Carpenter was a rancher, attorney and community leader, and was the first director of what ultimately became the federal Bureau of Land Management, back when the Taylor Grazing Act was created by Congress and President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Carpenter is regarded by historians as key to bringing peace to warring cattlemen vs. wool-growers in the West, over grazing rights and damaged range forage.

The two buildings are badly weathered by sunshine, wind and snow, and probably haven’t been officially used in some 50 years or so. The Town of Hayden bought the structures from Al and Kathy Deepe in late 2019 for $26,000. At the time, there was discussion about the future renovation of downtown buildings in an effort to honor local history and utilize space for a business incubator and rental apartments.

Since then, town officials have become aware of a number of issues about the buildings, reports Mayor Zack Wuestewald, including: • The upstairs and downstairs of this building was used as a meth house while it was vacant (before we owned it).

• The drainage impacts it's having on the neighboring property right now are damaging that building creating a huge liability (for next door property).

• The only pieces of the building we can save are the hard wood floors, some of the rock foundation areas at the front of the building, possibly windows, some roofing timbers, and the concrete area for the wood fire place. Everything else is failing to the point that we have to replace it. We are still going to work on saving the hardwood floors.

• With the amount of lead and asbestos and meth mitigation the building will be down to a shell by the time the building is even safe to start repairs.

• For the same cost as renovation we can get two additional residential units (three total) that will be affordable rentals for people in Hayden, at least half the maintenance costs of the renovated building model, and we will have certainty in the structure.

Meth houses are typically structures contaminated by the formulation of methamphetamine by drug-dealers and addict. The chemicals used in meth manufacture can be corrosive, explosive, flammable and toxic. Exposure to these chemicals can lead to brain damage, strokes and even death. Cleanup costs vary by the amount manufactured and how badly fumes or liquids have permeated wall board, flooring, drapes and carpeting.

Wuestewald said a joint meeting of the Town Council and the Planning Commission on October 28, discussed the situation and ultimately decided that tearing the buildings down and replacing them with a business development incubator and rental apartments was the way to go.

Tammie Delaney, a long-time advocate for historical preservation, isn’t quite sure about that decision and would like a fuller, community-wide discussion before the buildings are demolished in April. To that end, she’s been asking questions of town leaders, and wonders if the historic buildings might yet be saved.

In an email, she ruminated that “From an authenticity perspective and bringing vibrancy to Walnut Street, it would make one heck of a ‘destination’ country western dance saloon and I love how it even has a history as such.

With upstairs converted into 3-4 overnight rentals it could have additional lodging options which are desperately needed.

There’s two different ‘interested parties’ on the saloon/ dance hall concept. I fall into the visionary, not developer category yet I think this could be a catalyst towards revitalizing Walnut Street IF it had a use that then encourages other businesses to ‘come along side’.”

Hayden, Colorado - 1942

With foxes we must play the fox. — Thomas Fuller

16

February 2022

Valley Voice

Looking Good in the Outback Located at Neste Auto Glass

A Kangaroo in a Gucci Jacket

By Phil Giffin ©

Great Prices, Services & Parts

Sailboat racing is big news in Australia and the Cup races drew reporters from all over the world to distant Perth.

Among them was a German film crew.

According to the report, one quiet weekend this adventuresome German crew hired a lory for a ride out into the bush to film wildlife in the Darling Range northeast of Perth. Our intrepid German newsmen spent a long, hot day bouncing along dusty trails deep into the jarrah forested hills without spotting a single animal. At this point the Perth papers suggested that the old Rudyard Kipling expression, “Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the mid-day sun” should be extended to include “German newsmen.”

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I’m a news junkie; I consume a newspaper or magazine every morning along with my jam and toast. Fortunately, my 30-year career in international sales took me around the globe and I soon discovered the joys of reading the local English language newspapers. Thus, in September 1983 I was in Perth Australia as the America’s Cup Sailboat Races were held.

In keeping with my normal routines, I read all the local newspapers, skipping all reports of the ongoing borough elections, wool and iron ore pricing, and national scandals, and focusing on the major attraction of Aussie newspapers, tongue-in-cheek humor. We Americans, I was told by my Aussie friends, are fascinated with murder and mayhem, domestic and international. Aussies, I countered, are obsessed with politics, and “bum-sniffing” (rugby), and humorous stories of dubious credibility.

I didn’t catch the results of the America’s Cup races before leaving Perth, but it was soon obvious. The Aussie victory filled the local news for the next month (year?). The Aussie's boat won for the first time in more than 100 years!

Later, in Melbourne I noticed an interesting follow-up story, the headline read, “Nationwide search for kangaroo in Gucci jacket.”

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By late afternoon, after jouncing about in a cloud of dust, and not having seen an animal, not even a bird, our German reporters gave up and turned about for the long ride back to town. Then, about dusk the animals began to appear. Suddenly, a very large male kangaroo leapt out of the scrub and smashed into the bumper of their truck. At last, they had found the exotic wildlife they were seeking. Unfortunately, the “roo” was unconscious. No problem. The crew leaned the comatose animal up against an embankment, dressed him in a cap and leather jacket, and began filming an interview with a star “rugger” (Australian rugby player). The cameraman was perfectly positioned to record the interview, and the animal’s departure as he shook himself awake and ran off wearing the cap and jacket.

Within days, newspapers throughout the land were carrying the story of a “Kangaroo in a Gucci jacket,” advising that the owner of the jacket was offering a reward for anyone recovering the keys to the rented lory from the jacket pocket. A Dutch friend of mine living in Melbourne later told me that the story spread widely in Germany where an interesting epilogue soon appeared. German papers reported that in the blackness of night during the long walk back to Perth (remember this was before cell phones), one of the men fell receiving a gash to his head. After a long, tiring night, the adventurous film crew emerged from the bush and rushed their bloody friend to the nearest Australian hospital.

The German newspapers reported one further complication, not generally provided by the Australian press. At the hospital an unnamed member of the surgical staff mistakenly scheduled an Aussie patient for stitches to the head and the German newsman for a lobotomy. Fortunately, the surgery was successful. The German awakened in the recovery room, smiled at the nurse, and spoke his first words, “g’day mate.”

Valley Voice

February 2022

Tales from the Front Desk

The Flood

Poetry She frowned, that sounded bad.

By Aimee Kimmey

Moments later, with the plumber in tow, she knocked on Mr. Smith's door. He was a frail, nervous looking creature with extra-large glasses and very little hair.

The story you are about to read its true, more or less...

He opened the door for them, "Come in."

Thursday. 11:32 am. Front Desk.

The plumber whistled at the pool of water leaking out of the bathroom, "Yep, you got yourself a proper flood! ...

Looks like it's just water, that's a good sign."

Despite the steady stream of needy guest, the clerk snatched up the phone on the second ring, "Front Desk?"

"Uh, yeah, hi." The man on the other end of the line sounded, nervous, unsure of his own voice. "This is, um, Mr. Smith in room 116. My, ah, toilet seems to be flooding..."

"Oh!" She grimaced, "I'll call the plumber right away, but it could take a while. Let's see what other rooms we have--" "That's okay," The man snapped, "I don't need another room."

The clerk raised her eye brow at the phone, "It's really no problem, we've got--"

He sloshed into the puddle and went to work.

The clerk smiled at Mr. Smith. Except for the flood, the room was immaculate. A tidy laptop sat at the desk, with a single coffee cup next to it. It was the only personal effect in view. Mr. Smith's cloths hung in the closet, an extra pair of shoes tucked neatly under them. A suitcase hid behind the shoes. He'd even made the bed; it was so crisp the clerk had to wonder if he'd slept at all.

"You know we keep a couple of rooms open for just this sort of thing." She said. "One of them is a suite, it's super nice--"

"No! Really, I'll just wait for the plumber." Mr. Smith hung up so fast the clerk was left gaping at the phone.

"No. Really. I'm settled in this room." Mr. Smith stood across the room, as if trying to pull himself into the least amount of space possible. "I would really rather just stay here."

Her partner passed the keys to the family she'd been checking in. As they left the lobby, she turned to the clerk, "What's busted now?"

"It would be no charge--"

"The toilet's flooding in 116..." The clerk flipped through the Rolodex.

"Oh, gross! Is that the one who's had the Do-Not-Disturb up all week?"

The clerk nodded, "Yeah. I don't think I've even seen the guy."

"No! Thank you, I've been here all week, I am not interested in moving." He stood firm, jaw twitching as he clenched his teeth.

"But the carpet..." She could practically feel the man's scowl drilling into her. But it was more than just irritation.

There was a bit of panic behind his huge glasses, like the thought of switching rooms was utterly terrifying.

Her partner tapped at the computer, "210 and 320 are open?"

"Okay, if you're sure?" He nodded vigorously, "Alright, I'll send house keeping up with a Shop Vac when the plumber's done..."

Pulling out the plumber's card, the clerk shrugged, "Says he doesn't want another room."

"Thank you." Mr. Smith smiled timidly at her, his shoulders relaxing ever so slightly.

"Seriously?" Her partner seemed skeptical. "Eugh."

The clerk's brain chewed furiously as she returned to the front desk. The thought of staying in a room where the toilet had flooded made her quiver, even if it was just water. But still Mr. Smith refused to move. Was changing rooms was worse than wet carpet for him? She couldn't fathom it.

The clerk reached for the phone. "Yeah. I'll see if I can change his mind when the plumber gets here."

Surprisingly, the plumber picked up right away, "I'm just across the street, and I’ll be there shortly."

But she could only bask in his miraculously fast response for the briefest of moments before the front desk was bombarded with guests again. Checking in, checking out, and needing more towels, pool access, and the low down on the area's best restaurants. By the time the plumber arrived the clerk had helped half the hotel.

17

Oh Oh King Henry

By Duane Koukol

Oh Oh King Henry The vacuum of disorder, chaos at every turn Oh Oh King Henry, after your war Did they long for your return?

Abiding themes in mature tragedies Look what we have found Brothers fighting brothers For what the family wealth And or golden is the crown Oh the disorder of such nobility In the courts of their day Well just kill him or her Box up the evidence and throw it all away The hidden King overhears The words spoken lamentation’s of a son Who unknowingly kills his father Plotting kills his son Oh we think once happy life But to be such an ugly soul For souls to be so-so undone But he sat upon that hill as others do now But for what and whom did they worship Only gold and silver much of yesterday Only the same somehow He carved his name in statues But the hours drug into days And the days into so many tired years And his shepherds looking on Only followed their stupid silly sheep And the King becomes distraught with lack of pageantry In his war The Battle of Towton Went back to his castle to indulge in pastoral meditation and sleep Oh, Oh King Henry, we still write poem and play About you such a noble King Oh you – Oh you King Henry Yet today

Her partner looked up as she returned to the front desk, "Convince him to move?"

The clerk shook her head, "No... He really doesn't want to."

"Meh, whatever," Her partner shrugged, "His choice."

She dialed up 116, "Hi Mr. Smith, the plumber is here."

It certainly wasn't what she would chosen, but clearly the man in 116 was content.

The man on the other end heaved a sigh of relief, "Oh thank goodness, there's an awful lot of water..."

"Yeah... you know what?" Smiling, the clerk nodded, "It is his choice."

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The only thing that stops God from sending another flood is that the first one was useless. — Nicolas Chamfort

18

February 2022

Valley Voice

Yepelloscopes

Your Monthly Message

By Chelsea Yepello Aries

security guard and demand the return of those discontinued chicken n’ waffle flavored potato chips.

March 21 - April 19

You’ve always had a soft spot for solicitors and attempt to be more open minded than your neighbors. You’re happy to listen to their spiels and accept their pamphlets, as long as they can successfully complete seven levels of a complicated, potentially fatal and pietistic obstacle course that you constructed to earn access to your front door.

Taurus

April 20 - May 20

Gemini

May 20 - June 20

Leo

Getting your mouth washed out with soap doesn’t have the same effect nowadays as it did when you were a kid. Soap used to be made by cooking the fat rendered from a slaughtered cow, sheep or goat, then mixed with water and a corrosive substance derived from wood ash. The result was a bitter, greasy and smelly goop that lived in the crevasses of your mouth long after the punishment was over. These days, getting your mouth washed out with a $12.00 artesian lavender and warm vanilla soap, made with purified water, organic coconut oil, aloe vera and shea butter marbled into smooth cheery colors and encased in gold flake just isn’t the same.

August 23 - September 22

Libra

September 23 - October 23

You will always have a date for Valentine’s Day. If you are alone or married, single by choice or dating, you will have a date for Valentine’s Day. If you let yourself go or take care of yourself, if you are young and hopeful or old and tired, you will always have a date for Valentine’s Day. If you are rich or poor, own a car or live in a car, you will always have a date for Valentine’s Day. Its February 14th… yeesh, get a calendar already.

Scorpio

October 24 - November 21

You can’t believe everything you see in the news; you have to take the information with a grain of salt. So, when the correspondent reports that a giant squid is attacking Hawaii, making thousands homeless and causing catastrophic damage, you have to remember that it could all just be one big exaggeration… Maybe there is no such thing as Hawaii.

June 21 - July 22

Sometimes you just have to march right in there, introduce yourself in a loud confident voice, elbow a couple old people, fight off a

Next-Level Functionality

Virgo

Your latest romantic interest will open you up to new adventures, motivate self-discovery and pursue your unrecognized dreams. Unfortunately, this will lead you to a rather unnerving night in the woods with a gas can, a match and an unavoidable, involuntary stint in a mental institution.

You’ll be surprised by how many of life’s problems can be solved with regular physical exertion, a healthy diet and generally not paying attention to your surroundings.

Cancer

July 23 - August 23

Confucius says: Squirrel that forgets where they buried their nuts… Accidently plants a forest.

Sagittarius

November 22 - December 21

Yes, you have always been an animal person.

Animals like you too, because you are kind and gentle to them, but they also like you because you're covered in delicious juicy meat and don't do a lot of cardio.

Capricorn

December 22 - January 19

After you find yourself crawling on all fours, closely following a little ant to watch where it carries a tiny piece of bread, you will be happy to realize you haven't lost your sense of childhood wonder. Your date however, really didn't expect this during your romantic picnic in the park.

Aquarius

January 20 - February 18

You will soon reach the halfway point in your life. You can look back to the times you walked around in diapers and babbled incoherently to yourself and look toward the future when you walk around in diapers and babble incoherently to yourself.

Pisces

February 19 - March 20

Once upon a time on a clear summer night, a traditional ancient philosopher measured the stars in the sky, deciphered your future, printed the outcome on a tiny piece of paper, carefully inserted it in the center of a delicious dessert cookie and hand delivered it to a local restaurant for you to discover in your bag of Kung Pao chicken. And that my child, is how a fortune cookie is born.

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Valley Voice

February 2022

The Y-NOT WAGON

19

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Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?' — Martin Luther King, Jr.

20

February 2022

Valley Voice

Dinner menu featuring “Ring of Fire” Pacific Rim Island style food!

Pu Pus

Salads

Mana Pua: $15 2 mini steamed lotus buns filled with your choice: | kalua pork | teriyaki chicken thigh or wild mushroom served with house made kimchi

Seedz House: $8 Tossed spring mix, cucumber, grape tomato, red onion, carrotchoice of dressing; ranch, balsamic glaze, yuzu mirin, caesar, spirulina pesto

* Seared Ahi “Poke” : $15

Buddha Belly Salad: $15 Spring mix, organic rice, teriyaki sauce, carrot, house made kimchi red peppers, cucumbers, cashews, peas shoots, sesame seeds | Tofu + $4 | Wild Shrimp + $5 | Seared Yellowtail *Tuna + $8

Seared yellowtail tuna with a shoyu poke sauce, arugula, tomato, avocado, rice ball Coconut Mango Shrimp Ceviche: $16 served with wonton crisps Garlic Soy Edamame: $7

Siamin Noodle Soup

Organic Cafe & Beverages

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Ramen style noodle soup bowl, choice of rice noodle or chewy ramen noodle, egg, green onion, nori, bok choy, fresno peppers, togarashi sprinke kombu broth. $15

A Fresh Twist on Pacific Rim Cuisine New Hours: Lunch 10:30am - 3pm Happy Hour 3pm - 5pm Dinner 4pm - 8pm

ADD on protein + $5 | Shrimp | Chicken Thigh | Tofu | Kalua Pork | Bison Short Rib + $8

Da Kine Entrees Honey Yuzu Ginger *Salmon: $28 Seared salmon with a soy citrus ginger glaze with coconut basil rice noodles & mandarin cashew slaw

ADD chicken collagen broth + $2 Rich in calcium, magnesium, sulfur, sodium, potassium, glucosamine, keratin and other minerals.

Gochujang Tofu & Wild Hazel Dell Mushrooms: $22 Pan seared wild mushrooms and tofu in a sweet & spicy fermented soy bean sauce organic jasmine rice, yuzu mirin marinated cucumber tomato and arugula

Plates

Choose Protein and two sides: $17 Choice of Proteins: | Teriyaki Chicken Thighs | Kalua Pork | Kalbi Tofu | Island Curry Chicken Thigh or Tofu | *Lomi Lomi Salmon (salt cured salmon & tomato salad) | Garlic Shrimp w/ side Volcano Sauce | Ginger Garlic Veggie Medley Choice of Sides: | Mac salad | Slaw | Organic jasmine rice | Kim chi | House salad | Sautéed house veggies | Avocado | Mango salsa or hawaiian king roll Extra: | Add another protein: $7 | Extra side: $3.49

Rice Bowls

Family Meal Plan

4 or more people | $16 per person Two proteins, rice, mac salad and hawaiian king rolls (no substitutions)

undercooked, or contain raw or undercooked ingredients. Consuming raw or undercooked meats, poultry, seafood, shellfish, or eggs may increase your risk of foodborne illness.

Best kept secret in Steamboat Springs!

Signature Cocktails

Blended Pina Colada: $13 Rum, pineapple, coconut, banana, almond milk Guava Mojito: $12 Rum, guava, aloe melon mint liquor, soda water Organic Real Fruit Margarita: $13 Dragon fruit, guava, mango, strawberry, pineapple or raspberry Ring of Fire: $12 Vodka, orange juice, raspberry puree

Happy Hour | Garlic soy edamame: $3.49 | Kalua pork lettuce wrap: $3.49 | Teriyaki chicken slider: $3.49 | Mini rice bowl: $7.49 teriyaki chicken or tofu, curry chicken | $3 off all signature cocktails | $3 off wine by the glass | $2 off mimosas | $5 beer

Two for One Dinners with purchase of Drinks from November 11th to December 11th

$13.49

| Teriyaki Chicken Thighs & Rice | Island Curry Chicken or Tofu & Rice | Garlic Shrimp & Rice | Bulgogi Tofu & Rice

* These items may be served raw or

Kalbi Bison Short Ribs: $33 Slow braised short rib in a sweet and tangy garlic Hawaiian style sauce organic jasmine rice, charred baby bok choy

Spring Noodle: $14 Wild arugula, rice noodles, carrot, cucumber, avocado, red peppers, cilantro, sweet chili sauce | Tofu + $4 | Wild Shrimp + $5 | Seared Yellowtail *Tuna + $8

Kids Menu

Teriyaki Chicken Rice Noodle Bowl: $9 Grass Fed Cheese Burger Slider with Fruit: $9 Lil’ Plate : Chicken or Tofu, Rice, Avocado, Salad: $11 Cheese Quesadilla with Fruit: $ 7

For those who live here and for those who wish they did.

970.761.2276

1117 Lincoln Avenue Steamboat Springs, Colorado