Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2024 i 5280 Magazine

$6.8 million Funding the National Western Scholarship Trust has awarded to more than 1,800 students who have entered animal care programs since its inception in 1983 20 percent Increase in incoming veterinary students that will be accommodated by the 2026 completion of the CSU Veterinary Health and Education Complex $90,000 Maximum student debt the USDA’s Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program will forgive veterinarians who practice in underserved regions in Colorado…

The first time I dined at Alma Fonda Fina, I fell in love. I was smitten with the sweet potatoes: wedges roasted into perfectly caramelized bites with whipped ricotta and a crunchy salsa of seasoned nuts and seeds. I excitedly texted my friends about the carnitas—you get a whole pork shank!—that had certainly ruined me for all other carnitas. I dreamed of the future meals I’d have at Alma, in which I’d giddily rip off chunks of sourdough flour tortilla and swoosh them into rich, flavor-layered moles. That first visit changed my definition of the ideal modern Mexican meal in Denver. The second and third times I dined at the LoHi eatery, those intense initial feelings settled into a deep liking. The usual Mexican menu staples, such as the guacamole…

1. Skyline Arch lost a large chunk of rock in 1940, expanding its light opening and creating its now distinctive look. 2. After two partial collapses in the ’90s, Landscape Arch is, in places, only six feet in diameter. 3. Wall Arch, which had a light opening 71 feet wide by 33.5 feet high, was the 12th largest span in the park—until it fell in 2008. 4. Rainbow Arch, a small span Jeff Moore had been studying to see if vibrations from nearby highway traffic could be detrimental, collapsed in 2018. SONICALLY BEAUTIFUL In March, an exhibit featuring Jeff Moore’s vibration recordings taken at various formations throughout the Colorado Plateau, including at Arches National Park, opened at the Denver Art Museum. Moore explains that he “sonified” the vibration data with…

Cairns and/or deliberate rock arrangements These stone configurations can be quite subtle, but if you look closely, you will sometimes see rocks organized in ways that are clearly not natural. They are pointing the way; follow them. Little arrow signs When you’re in the backcountry, by all means, enjoy the scenery, but also be on alert for these small arrow markers, which are easy to wander past if you’re ogling that magnificent arch in the distance. Footprints in the sand If you’re on a sandy path and feel like you’ve taken a wrong turn, you can often find tread marks in the sand that will tell you other people have been where you are. No footprints? Turn around and scan until you find some.…

Hours: The park is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Reservations and entrance fees: For the past two years, Arches has been using a timed-entry reservation system. You must purchase a reservation ($2) online at recreation.gov in advance of your arrival. The park releases timed-entry tickets on a first-come, first-served basis three months in advance. The tickets are released at 8 a.m. Mountain Time. A limited number of timed-entry tickets are also released each evening at 7 p.m. Mountain Time for the next day. In addition to the reservation, you also need to purchase a park entrance pass (private vehicle $30, motorcycle $25, bicycle/hiker $15). To enter the park, you will need your reservation, your entrance pass, and your driver’s license, which must match the name on…

PRICE KEY Average Entrée $ under $15 $$ $16 to $20 $$$ $21 to $30 $$$$ $31 and higher SYMBOL KEY ● Indicates a restaurant featured in 5280 for the first time (though not necessarily a restaurant that has just opened). ★ Indicates inclusion in 5280’s 2023 list of Denver’s best restaurants. These selections are at the discretion of 5280 editors and are subject to change. ★ A5 STEAKHOUSE $$$$ LoDo / Steak House This unfussy chophouse by the team behind Forget Me Not and Tap and Burger features perfectly seared steaks, hearty sides, and draft cocktails. Never pass up the beef tartare katsu sando and the chickpea fries to start your meal. Reservations accepted. 1600 15th St., 303-623-0534. Dinner ★ AFRICAN GRILL & BAR $$ Lakewood / African Explore a bevy of dishes from…

At 5280, we do our best to avoid factual errors. There are times, though, when we make mistakes, and when that happens—as it did in May’s “Denver’s Top Dentists 2024” list—we correct them. We made two sorting errors and missed some updates, which affected thirty-some dentists’ listings. We regret the errors and present the corrected information below. The corrected listings are also available at directory.5280.com/dentists. ENDODONTICS CENTENNIAL Sonia Gallego-Cubillos 6650 S. Vine St., Suite 200 303-797-3636 PARKER Shane R. Christensen ENDODONTICS OF COLORADO 19700 E. Parker Square Drive, Suite 8 303-805-4141 endoofco.com GENERAL DENTISTRY CENTENNIAL Phillip S. Johnson ARAPAHOE FAMILY DENTISTRY 6979 S. Holly Circle, Suite 225 303-779-1305 arapahoefamilydentistry.com COLORADO SPRINGS Jessica L. Duru SPRINGS DENTISTRY 6665 Delmonico Drive, Suite C 719-599-5700 springsdentistry.com Michael A. Lovato HOLLOW BROOK DENTAL 2160…

In June 1974, around 50 people armed with posters and balloons met in Cheesman Park for a “gay-in.” A half-century later, that humble gathering has transformed into Denver PrideFest (June 22 and 23), and it’s kind of a big deal. More than 550,000 people attended last year. With numbers like that, it’s no surprise that the Center on Colfax, the LGBTQ+ nonprofit that runs the festivities, has experienced a trend that belies the event’s DIY origins: a rise in corporate sponsorships. “You know the saying that goes ‘Keep Boulder weird?’ ” asks the nonprofit’s CEO, Rex Fuller. “Recently, we’ve been talking about keeping Pride queer.” To that end, while companies such as Nissan and Molson Coors Beverage Company will still pay PrideFest’s bills, Fuller and his team turned to three…

Yulia Boozer learned how to sew as a child in Ukraine, making small dresses for her dolls under her mother’s tutelage. Crafting those garments led to a love of fashion and design, but Boozer pushed those things aside after she moved to the United States in 2001 to study computer science. She wouldn’t craft another dress until April 2022, right after Russia invaded her home country. With the government’s attention turned toward the war, many children in Ukraine’s orphanages—especially those with disabilities—went without food, water, and medical supplies. Boozer immediately began participating in local volunteering efforts, through which she met Olga Funk, a fellow Ukrainian who had moved from Kyiv to Colorado in 2004 and was searching for local organizations sending aid to Ukraine. The duo started a nonprofit dubbed…

There’s so much more to mole—a traditional sauce and marinade infused with chiles, spices, and seeds—than the super-sweet, chocolatey versions served at many Americanized Mexican restaurants. To bring awareness to the diversity of renditions made in his home country, Curiel offers a different iteration every month. Look for these three on upcoming menus at Alma Fonda Fina. BLANCO To preserve this mole’s milky white hue, the walnuts, coriander, golden raisins, and chiles güeros that go into it are left uncharred. The sauce adds botanical notes to Curiel’s tetela, a griddled masa triangle that’s stuffed with baby zucchini and roasted corn. AMARILLO Thickened with masa, mole amarillo uses smoky Oaxacan chiles and meaty poultry stock to create a comforting, umami-forward complement to roasted chicken flautas that are dressed with queso fresco…

Human beings represent but a blip on the planet’s geologic time scale, so it’s no surprise that our modern brains can’t easily comprehend events that began roughly 300 million years ago. At Arches National Park, Earth’s long history of tectonic chaos—where landmasses continually slam into one another, shaping and reshaping both land and sea—is readily apparent, yet it’s the more recent forces that created this landscape that parkgoers are often curious about. “I’m not a scientist, but I understand the basics,” says Karen Garthwait, the park’s public affairs specialist. “I have to, because people always ask.” If you like to geek out on ancient cataclysms and ponder rock layers from the Jurassic Period, the Arches Visitor Center’s detailed displays are nerdvana. Those who want a (much) more abridged version of…

The allure of Delicate Arch, a freestanding sandstone sculpture that’s possibly the most recognizable natural stone arc in the world, is undeniable. So dramatic is its visage—red-rock striations encircling chiseled stanchions that rise inexplicably from a slickrock slope—that its likeness graces Utah’s license plate and an estimated 250,000 hikers make the three-mile round-trip trek to revel in its beauty each year. Popular though it may be, Delicate Arch isn’t nearly as accessible as many of the park’s other luminaries, making it harder to get to know this celebrity. We rounded up a few facts you might not have heard about this prehistoric knockout.…

Field Station Moab With two locations—one tucked near Joshua Tree National Park and the other in Moab near Arches National Park—Field Station clearly understands how to create an outdoor-adventure-forward accommodation. Staying at the 14-month-old, 139-room lodge, located just four miles from the Arches entrance, feels like putting on your favorite Patagonia jacket: It doesn’t look fancy, but it’s comfortable, functional, and fits just right. Little Luxuries: Score on-site rentals for things like mountain bikes, sleeping bags, and tents; join Mappy Mornings, during which staff will steer you toward can’t-miss hikes and bike rides; and enjoy the outdoor fire pit, where guests can sip on beers from the lobby bar. The Moab Resort, WorldMark Associate This two-year-old oasis offers studios as well as one-, two-, three-, and four-bedroom options that are…

As a kid, Chris Carlson didn’t want to join the circus. He wanted to be a stockbroker. By the time the Denverite graduated with a business degree in 2008, however, he was no longer so bullish on the markets. In search of direction, Carlson came across a photo of three-dimensional chalk art, a technique that uses precise geometry to allow flat images to leap off the pavement when viewed from a specific position. “I was fascinated by the illusion,” Carlson says, “so I just started practicing anywhere I could find a hard surface.” Despite having no formal art training, he took to the form, and after a video of Carlson went viral on You-Tube in 2012, he soon quit his job managing an assisted living facility to make chalk art…

Caroline Glover wants to take you on a journey. Inspired by the eateries Glover and her husband, co-owner Nelson Harvey, seek out when they explore other cities, six-month-old Traveling Mercies feels like a mini-vacation. “They are usually seafood- and cocktail-centric, with a concise wine list, and are smaller and off the beaten path,” Glover says. “We really wanted to create that type of spot.” To nail the ambience, Glover tapped Denver-based FAM Design, which transformed the petite space on the third floor of Aurora’s Stanley Marketplace formerly occupied by aviation-themed Sky Bar. Ochre, terra cotta, and ocean blue tones and a dazzling curvy ceiling accent the light-bathed room, making it a beautiful place to slurp oysters and sip martinis. Pop in for the herbaceous Kill Your Darlings spritz while you…

Most of the 1.5 million annual visitors to Arches National Park will spend much of their time looking up, or out, at the remarkable landscapes. But those who consider themselves eco-curious should also look in another direction: down. The top few centimeters of earth in and around Arches is known as biocrust, a rich, dynamic soil environment that is, quite literally, alive. Composed of multiple living organisms—the most important of which is cyanobacteria—biocrust’s tiny inhabitants are activated by water. After a rare sip of H2O, this blue-green bacteria “squiggles” around and leaves a lacy superstructure in the soil, according to Karen Garthwait, acting public affairs specialist at Arches National Park. “We often say it holds the place in place,” she explains. “It’s kind of gluing together the top two to…

5280: You seem to take joy in your job—is that true? Jesse Rainbow: I love all of it. I get to meet cool people from all over the world and show them things they’ve never seen before. We get to drive these crazy machines together. I talk to them about desert conservation, geology, and the history of the area. I try to tailor every tour to what lights up people’s eyes. Does your Apache and Yaqui heritage inform your tours? Totally. Some of this land used to be part of Native American turquoise trade routes. There’s also a lot of ancient history—old petroglyphs from the Fremont and Ancestral Puebloan peoples. We actually do a petroglyph tour that’s awesome. Plus, I like to talk about how Indigenous people used piñon, juniper,…

Moab isn’t the only tourist town to suffer from a lackluster lineup of restaurants (see: Estes Park), but that doesn’t make it any less disappointing when you’re ready to replace those hard-spent calories with something tasty. After nearly a week’s worth of eating (and plenty of input from locals), we concluded that the ostensibly upscale places weren’t worth the outlay and that the more casual the eatery was, the better the food we had. When it’s time to refuel—pre-hike, post-ride, or before bedding down—consider these munchtime options.…

Thanks mostly to human development, Colorado’s pollinators are dying. That’s not just unfortunate news for the insects; it’s a beeline toward disaster for native flora that depend on the insects for genetic diversity. With that in mind, in 2019 the Butterfly Pavilion launched Pollinator Districts, a designation that turns human-made sites—like roads, neighborhoods, and even entire cities around the globe—into insect refuges. Through the program, Butterfly Pavilion scientists either inspect existing communities or study the land of future developments before providing town officials or developers with recommendations on how to create buzzworthy locales that counteract the destruction of native plants often brought by development. “When you create a diverse landscape with native plants that are drought-resistant, you create an environment that attracts all sorts of wildlife,” says Patrick Tennyson, president…

Fireflies are native to Colorado, but you wouldn’t know it. These little glowing beetles typically thrive in wetlands, like in marshes at the edges of lakes and streams. They were once plentiful across the state, but today they’re only found in a few small pockets, including at Littleton’s Chatfield State Park and Fort Collins’ Riverbend Ponds Natural Area. Magical as they are to witness, the twinklers are more than meets the eye: Lightning bugs are a so-called indicator species, which means their population numbers are directly correlated to the health of the surrounding ecosystems. The fact that they’re hard to spot in Colorado today is alarming: It serves as proof that their native wetlands are being destroyed by development and water pollution. That’s why, in 2019, the Butterfly Pavilion started…

Most mornings last year, John Red Cloud would rise before daybreak in his home on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, in southwest South Dakota. He’d walk to the porch of his house and peer out at the shadows of undulating, grassy hills in the distance. Eventually, dawn would spread across the reservation, illuminating the ancestral land where Red Cloud had been born and raised and now was rebuilding his life. On those mornings, Red Cloud stretched his arms skyward and gave thanks to his creator. After spending nearly 12 years of his life locked up in Colorado prisons and another six months on parole in the Centennial State, he’d finally been allowed to return home. There had been times when he’d questioned whether that would actually be possible. In 2010,…