Late in the evening on August 16th, lightning struck a cliff face near the Flat Tops Wilderness igniting what came to be known as the Derby Fire. Residents from surrounding communities such as Dotsero and Sweetwater were evacuated amidst the fire’s unpredictable path. As of September 26th, the...

It all started with food, music, and a whole lot of laughter. The newest Foley Graduate Fellows—Mitchell Smith, Justin Deutsch, Alli Menendez, and Maggie Roszko first bonded over their shared outing to Blues, Brews, and BBQ. Good food and live music made the perfect backdrop for the beginnings of a...

The air around me is heavy with rain and salt. I feel far from Eagle County’s dry and steady sunshine. Here the Alaskan coastline changes quickly with the tide’s daily rhythm. New paths and creatures emerge as the ocean recedes. The closer I look, the more the beach reveals. Snails, mussels, and...

At the edge of Sweetwater Lake, a child stood quietly beside a gentle mare, brushing her with the care of someone entrusted with a secret. It was only Monday, the first day of camp, but something unspoken had already passed between them. A stillness. A knowing. A connection that didn’t need...

At my Kindergarten graduation circa 2005, I stood watching my friends confidently announce their future dreams. One by one, they rattled off their answers to the phrase, “When I grow up, I want to be…” I was surrounded by future firefighters, ballerinas, nurses, doctors, and professional soccer...

On May 28th, the Walking Mountains Youth Programs team packed into the van and hit the road before sunrise, heading East for a professional development day. Our destination? Greeley, Colorado, where we’d visit the Poudre Learning Center (PLC) and the University of Northern Colorado (UNC), home to...