Big Foot Mary was well known among ranchers and inhabitants of the Uncompahgre area for having, well, big feet (interestingly, the leader of the last wolf pack in the Bookcliffs and Roan Plateau was reportedly named Old Bigfoot, so maybe […]

Poaching leads to nothing good. The results can be unbearable. Take the trapper who stole two wild bear cubs from their mother on the Grand Mesa and sold the cubs to interested parties. John Duncan Hart, a longtime state and federal game warden in Mesa County, relates that the cubs went to a brothel on […]

Deep in the Dolores River Canyon, there lies a long-inactive wooden structure built off high hopes and steady dreams of gold.  This engineering feat is called the Hanging Flume, and miles of its fragmented remains cling to the canyon wall above the Dolores River, an hour and half drive from Grand Junction, Colorado.   The hanging […]

Early Mesa County settler Zelma (Jones) Parkes collected over 200 kinds of barbed wire, could “witch for water,” and knew De Beque, Colorado like the back of her hand. After her marriage to Elwood Parkes, they moved to a ranch on Clear Creek in 1939 and proceeded to dwell in De Beque for thirty one […]

In these days of quarantine and online schooling, parents of antsy, hyperactive kids everywhere are wondering how to provide discipline that works (my own kids have interrupted me several times as I write this blog post. Fun!). Discipline has always been a concern of classroom teachers, but interviews from teachers and former students in Western […]

Researching accurate historical information is one of the most fun and fascinating elements of writing the Local History Thursday blogs.  A wonderful free resource I use often that’s especially helpful if you’re stuck at home is the Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection.  This online resource offered by Mesa County Libraries features articles written all the way […]

Working at libraries, particularly those with vibrant historical collections, you meet all kinds of artifact hunters. Occasionally, they let drop a hint or two about how they go about their business. While I cannot vouch for the man in Denver who claimed to be following plans for the recovery of buried treasure (supposedly passed from […]

It appears that in every nook and cranny of Mesa County there exists an amazing hiking trail and better yet, an amazing hiking trail loaded with fascinating history.* Riggs Hill in the Redlands area of Grand Junction is one such trail.  As described on the detailed sign posted at the beginning of the hike, the […]