Crossing the Divide

06/20/2021

Fire season has descended upon the West and extreme and persistent drought conditions make our current situation frighteningly tenuous.

In Season 4, Ep 4, I reflect on 2020's historic Pine Gulch Fire, which blanketed our region with smoke and ash for weeks, at one point blowing up to what was, at the time, the largest wildfire in Colorado history.

Eric Coulter, BLM public affairs specialist for the Upper Colorado River District, and Jeremy Spetter, west zone fire management officer the Upper Colorado Interagency Fire Management Unit, join me to:

- discuss the logistics of fighting a raging fire in the midst of a raging pandemic

- describe in detail the unprecedented, extreme fire behavior exhibited by this weeks-long conflagration

- emphasize the various ways average citizens can both help prevent human-caused wildfire and aid firefighting efforts once a blaze has been sparked and the battle is underway

S 4, Ep 4 is now streaming! For ease of access, click on the Learn More button on our page or search for Crossing the Divide on your favorite streaming platform.

04/02/2021

Astrologer Dulce Bell-Bulley reflects on the past and projects into the future in Episode 1 of our 4th podcast season!

04/02/2021

Podcast Season 4 has officially launched! Join this intimate conversation with Astrology By Dulce, recorded in April 2020 while our global village stood on the precipice of a year and counting of isolation; deprivation; disease, death and disorientation.

Part reflection, part projection, Kosmic Voices follows Dulce's journey from a child in the African bush to a globetrotting adventurer to a full-fledged American citizen imparting years of gathered wisdom and spiritual gardening to Grand Valley residents.

For an easy link to all available platforms, click on Learn More above. Or search for Crossing the Divide on Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, Stitcher or Spotify. Also streaming on Amazon Music and Audible.

03/27/2021

.crocetto Has been such a pleasure getting to know you and explore your . I look at your work, with its emphasis on , and and I realize how often I am training my camera not on the greater but on what is right below my feet. There is something about the land in that makes the earth you’re standing on appear to be satellite image on a miniature scale.

Looking back thru my photos this morning and came across these images I snapped of mud running down the pavement after a . It made me think of your fabrics and how they develop and change over just like the natural environment.

03/23/2021

It’s been a recurrent theme throughout this past year. A raging pandemic that’s claimed half a million American lives and counting. And for many of us navigating it, the perpetual feeling that life itself has stagnated or stopped altogether.

And now, with the promise of some semblance of normalcy on the horizon, the senseless loss of 18 Americans, 10 of them right here in Colorado. 10 people struck down in the midst of going about the mundane tasks of everyday existence.

I started this project 3 years ago as a way to connect with a place in which I have struggled to feel a sense of belonging. I did it to restore a faith in humanity, and to share with those willing to listen small reminders that, despite the myriad examples of bad behavior that predominate our social media feeds - there are many among us plowing through the pervasive negativity to try to make our world a better place.

Most days I struggle to continue.

Because although the work is continually uplifting, it is hard to ignore the simple fact:

We are a culture in crisis.

But for today, I will push forward in the belief that doing this helps me fulfill my own promise and in doing so makes me a better person. And that maybe, just maybe, the collective will of each individual striving to achieve a higher purpose is what will move us forward to a kinder, more forgiving, more loving society.

03/18/2021

Podcast Season 4 is imminent!

Our upcoming season sees the launch of a new feature, The Daily Direct, a look behind the scenes at The Daily Sentinel, with exclusive access to the journalists and decision makers who deliver your local headlines.

A sneak preview of our 1st show - an interview with Publisher Jay Seaton - is streaming now! Look for the full podcast end of March.

Link in bio.

02/25/2021

Thanks to BLM Colorado for staging an opportunity to watch aerial seeding efforts in progress for the Pine Gulch burn scar in the wake of last year’s historic fire. Rehabilitation of affected areas is ongoing and a collaborative project with to balance terrain recovery and the needs of area wildlife.

Learn more about the Pine Gulch Fire and firefighting coordination in our upcoming Season 4 lineup premiering in March!
BLM Colorado Fire

02/15/2021

If you’ve already downloaded and listened to our last podcast of Season 3, “Climate Talks,” you already know something about this.

If you haven’t, click on Learn More above to access my conversation with former National Weather Service Meteorologist Joe Ramey to get the lowdown on his independent climate study of the Western Slope using data gathered over the past 100+ years!

“Confused about the ? Usually a strong jet stream confines Arctic air to the north, stabilized by a big difference in temperature between low and high latitudes. The smaller the difference in temperature, the more the wind belts meander (Via & )”

02/11/2021

Happy Thursday!

Hope you all enjoyed the Deep Roots series by CMU intern Lohgan McClung. Such a fabulous deep dive into a tiny, tucked away town with loads to love as told by some of its long-time residents.

If you’re not currently subscribed to our podcast on either Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, Amazon Music or Audible, you might have missed our last podcast of Season 3, Climate Talks, released just in the nick of time on Dec. 31st…

Climate Talks features former National Weather Service Meteorologist, Joe Ramey, discussing his independent study of climate change across the Western Slope and Eastern Utah conducted using 100 years of collected weather data. His findings might surprise you!

If you haven’t yet accessed Climate Talks on your favorite podcast player, click on Learn More above to download it now.

And while you’re there, make sure to hit SUBSCRIBE to insure you’re always up to date on our newest releases!

02/10/2021

(3/3)
“The mountains here just sort of wrap around you. How could you not love it here? Lee used to call it ‘High Country Heaven.’ After he was done with the navy, he knew he wanted horses. So he started that trail riding business for 96 Ranch and he would tell the history of the valley to everyone who would go on his tours. When Battlement Mesa was built and people started moving here, they all loved to go on those horse tours and hear his stories about the history and the people here. I could listen to those stories over and over and I knew I wanted to record them so I could have them forever. So, a few years before he passed away, we sat down together and did just that; we recorded them.”

02/09/2021

(2/3)
“In your younger years, I don’t think you realize what you have in your hometown. But after thirty or so years, you will. All of a sudden, you will want to be back home. Where family is. Where you know you’re loved. I’ve never lived in any other place as long as I’ve lived here. The way Lee made me a part of this community was so special to me. I was 55 years old when we got married, but I still took his last name; I knew I wanted to be a Hayward, because of how special the Hayward family was to this area.

"Lee was born into a ranching family and he went to school in this very schoolhouse. Lee loved this place so much. For so many years, he talked about wanting to fix it up and restore it to its former glory. Unfortunately, he passed away in 1998 and never got a chance to start on his dream. Well, in 2000, a friend of Lee’s convinced me to start a historical society; three years later we were given the school house. It very quickly became important to me to fix it up, just like Lee had always wanted. He just wanted to help his community in any way he could. And I guess in some ways, I just want to keep his purpose alive.”

02/08/2021

(1/3)

“In the year 1984 I was offered a job as the Western Slope Regional Director for The American Heart Association. For three years prior, I had been travelling around the country, and I decided it was time to settle down. I remembered driving past Parachute a few times and I had heard there was a lot of good housing there that they were practically giving away. So, I bought a car in Fort Collins and drove down here. I ended up finding a three bedroom/ two bathroom fully furnished modular here for only $187 a month, and I took it."

"After getting settled into my new job, I was at a little gift shop downtown and a man named Mike Salinsky said to me ‘you need to meet Lee Hayward. I think you would make an absolutely great couple,” to which I responded ‘eh, I’m not really looking for anybody.’ Of course, about two months later, I heard that Lee Hayward and the 96 Ranch had trail rides. I had always thought I’d like to go on a horseback ride in the mountains, so I called and made an appointment. The day I went to the ranch for my ride, it was a Sunday morning, so I assumed there would be a large group of people going on this horseback ride. However, when I drove up to the 96 Ranch I only saw two horses saddled. So, that’s how it started. Lee and I went out on a ride with just us two. After our ride, he invited me to have breakfast with him. That was the beginning of the greatest love of my life. Lee was some 22 years older than me, but I loved his energy, and most importantly, his love of this area.”