Winter 2022-23 slammed much of Colorado’s Western Slope with a remarkable five months (out of seven, so far) of below normal temperatures. A bonus of monotonous gray days, plentiful snow, and bountifu...

Why are you spending time on this? Why is this a story? Why don’t you write about something "more positive?" It’s not unusual for journalists to field these questions, even among ourselves. We regula...

50 YEARS AGO April 12, 1973 - Greatly to her surprise, Miss Emma Lou Wilder, indefatigable secretary of the Ouray County Chamber of Commerce, was named Distinguished Citizen of the Year by Ouray Elks ...

50 YEARS AGO March 29, 1973 - A wrecker towing a car went out of control last Saturday night and tore out the bridge that crosses Skyrocket Creek just north of Ouray. The wrecker, a 1957 International...

“WOMAN FREE. Man Is Convicted of Manslaughter” was the lead story in the Silverton Standard on Sept. 28, 1912. The Dallavalles immigrated to southwest Colorado from Austria in the early years of the 2...

Dear Editor: My wife and I have owned a home in Ridgway since 2004. We occupy our home approximately four to five months a year. The remainder of the year is spent at our home in Tampa. We rent the Ri...

Dear Editor: A thank you to the Ouray City Council for not voting themselves raises. And I know that they do spend many unseen hours outside of the council meetings working for the citizens of Ouray. ...

A date to keep in mind during these fierce, late winter snowstorms is March 20, the first day of astronomical spring, the vernal equinox. An even closer date, March 1, ushers in climatological spring....

What do banks in Denver, Telluride and Delta have in common? Tom McCarty robbed them in the late 1800s. Tom was the oldest child of Dr. Alex McCarty and his wife, Mary. The family of six started out i...

50 YEARS AGO February 1, 1973 - The fits and starts of the Dallas Project (Ridgway dam) have come to a screeching halt, for the moment at least. There is no money in President Nixon’s budget, even pla...

It’s a welcome relief to see the daylight getting longer and brighter. January’s first 24 days were mostly gray and cold: eight cloudy, seven mostly cloudy, four partly cloudy. Three days were mostly ...

The glow of the holidays has worn off and the gray of winter has settled in, which means it’s the perfect time for a little pickme- up. It’s time for our 2023 Best of Ouray County readers’ choice comp...

Fort Uncompahgre was THE place on the Western Slope from 1828 until 1844. Like many “forts” in the West, including Bent’s Fort in southeastern Colorado, this wasn’t a military installation. It was a t...

Dear Editor: On the night of Dec. 19 I had the pleasure of a flat tire on U.S. Highway 550 in between Ouray and Ridgway. Woefully underdressed in Christmas pajamas and Crocs, I started grumbling and r...

Dear Editor: I wonder if any consideration has been given to change the name “black-out days” for days that certain pass holders aren’t allowed to ski to 'white-out days'? After all, it is skiing and ...

50 YEARS AGO January 4, 1973 - Although behind in its original schedule, work is now coming along smoothly on construction of the new Ridgway school, according to Samuel Avis, superintendent of Ridgwa...

Decembrrr! And we thought November was cold. But we humans do not lack company this winter season, both friends and relatives as well as snow and ice are our seasonal visitors. And there’s lots of ic...

If you'd like to attend the Ouray School Board's retreat this week, you're welcome to do so. But you'll need to drive almost 300 miles where there's a seat for you in a conference room in the Courtyar...

November 2022 has produced both warm fall days and a couple weeks of snow and high, damaging winds, but it’s not broken any records. In fact, the recent cold nights and colder days more closely resemb...

“Oh give me land, lots of land under starry skies above, Don’t fence me in.” 'Don’t Fence Me In' has been performed by Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, Willie Nelson and others. This song was written by ...