Wyoming Arts Council

Trip to Steamboat

Uncategorized | September 8, 2009

---

Went to Steamboat over the long weekend and saw nature through the car window and the view is alarming. There’s a fire burning in the pine forests, but it’s not the kind that throws smoke in the air. The trees are dying from the mountain pine beetle epidemic. Up close, there seem to be many more red trees than green in the Medicine Bow Forest, and a view of the slopes confirms this. Yes, we’ve heard about his problem for a few years now, but it’s gotten much worse in the three years since I last traveled to Steamboat. A forest fire draws firefighters and planes dropping fire-retardant, but it seems like this problem has been let to take its course and, as in controlled burns that get out of hand, is having devasting effects. Maybe there are no practical means to help stem the problem, but as impractical as spraying the forests seems, it seems much more impractical, even dangerous, to let the trees succumb to the pine beetle without some kind of intervention. Surveying the huge stands of evergreens, it may be too late. Here’s a link to a Colorado State University website that gives an overview of the pine beetle problem: www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/insect/05528.html.

While in Steamboat, I visited the Steamboat Art Museum (SAM). Formed in 2005, SAM held its first exhibit in December, 2006. They are housed in the historic First National Bank building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and owned by local rancher and amateur artist Helen Rehder, who gifted the building to the city in her will, with the stipulation that the building be preserved and used as a museum to promote the culture and heritage of northwestern Colorado. The museum’s gift shop is back dropped by three teller windows. Their current exhibit, Rare: Imperiled Plants of Colorado, developed by the Rocky Mountain Society of Botanical Artists, will travel the state throughout 2009 and 2010. The show features 40 contemporary illustraions (one is above) of endangered Colorado plants and was designed to promote awareness and conservation of these special and endangered species. The pieces selected are from the Denver Botanic Gardens Botanical Art and Illustraion program, where artists learn from professional instructors teaching a comprehensive education in the scientific illustraion of plants and fungi. Nearly 100 courses in the traditional media — graphite; pen and ink; colored pencil; and watercolor are offered each year. Comprehensive workshops in the rare classical techniques such as silverpoint, egg tempera, and carbon dust, as well as modern methods of computer art, are frequently taught. The curriculum can lead to a Certificate in Botanical Art and Illustraion, a recognition that is obtainable at only a few locations worldwide.

Spent an afternoon at the hot springs pool. Luckily, we’d already been there three hours when the lifeguard blew the whistle for “all out due to lightning.” There are no rain checks. Also took a couple of long walks along the Yampa looking for minnows and crawdads. It’s catch and release fishing only, and we saw one sweet spot with about ten big fish just below the rapids from some big boulders. The next day, a guy was flyfishing there, but didn’t catch any while we were watching him. Went up to ride the Gondola, but as we were about to go get tickets, they closed it because of lightning. Maybe next time.

A farmer’s market was going on the Friday afternoon we arrived. Booths sported smoked salmon, fresh fruits and veggies, bakery items, homemade furniture, raffia hats from Madagascar (I picked one of those up), live music, handmade paper bead necklaces from Uganda (purchased two), T-shirts with sayings of all kinds, my favorite being “Allergic to Cities” (got a blue one), and many other interesting hand crafted items. The downtown merchants also had a great sidewalk sale going on with end-of-summer bargains to be had. That night, just down the street from where we were staying, Cherry Poppin’ Daddies rocked the neighborhood until one at the Ghost Ranch Saloon. Saturday morning, we had breakfast at Winona’s where the blueberry pancakes are dinner-plate size and the Crab Benedict was delectable. The mountain air was refreshing and the weather was terrific with a few brief, “look, it’s raining and the sun is shining” showers.

On the way back, closer to Laramie, one of those big round hay bales had fallen off the back of a trailer hauling twenty of them. The bale was partly split open, revealing still-fresh sweet-pale green-colored alfalfa. I had always assumed that since the outside of hay bales were brown, the contents inside were also brown. Maybe the hay had just been baled. Just outside of Steamboat, I saw a man standing on his five-high-and-deep, twenty-long round bale rows, draping them with voluminous silver tarps. I noticed many hale bale rows with these “scarves.”
–Linda Coatney

---