5280 Magazine May 2022

FROM THE EDITOR Market Madness The first time I bought a house in Denver, the city—and the country—was still trying to claw its way out of the Great Recession. Home prices in Denver had dropped 13 percent between 2007 and 2008; they fell another one percent between 2008 and 2009. The average home price in the Mile High City in 2010, when my then partner and I purchased our home, was $261,897. Today, the average is $798,417. I became acutely aware of how much Denver’s real estate market had changed when I went house shopping again in 2020. My real estate agent showed me properties for three months. The places I could afford were what one might politely call fixer-uppers, and anything that was in decent condition had multiple cash offers, all well…

Ufheil recently transitioned to working primarily on stories for 5280.com, but first she penned “Endangered Views” (page 76). VACATION INSPIRATION ”When my parents visited last summer, we explored Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, where I saw a placard about air pollution’s impact on the view.” INFORMATION OVERLOAD ”During the research process, someone I interviewed said, ‘I feel bad for you. Regional haze is the most complex part of the Clean Air Act.’ It actually made me feel better.” WHAT’S NEXT “I’m looking forward to bolstering 5280.com’s coverage of the environment and climate change.”…

For more than 50 years, the wranglers at Sombrero Ranches have moved nearly 400 horses from the outfit’s winter pasture, near Browns Park, to its headquarters, 12 miles west of Craig. In 1994, Sombrero rechristened the event the Great American Horse Drive, a City Slickers–like experience during which amateurs never failed to reach Big Gulch Ranch near Craig. That is, until COVID-19. After a two-year hiatus, 40 novices will once again take to the open range. Held May 3 to 8, the excursion begins with four days of riding, cookouts, and campfire serenades by team leader (and former America’s Got Talent contestant) Chris Petersen. Then, guests will begin driving the herd 60 miles over two days. Making it “gate to gate” isn’t easy, but it can be life-changing; onetime guest…

When the Frontier Drive-In debuted on May 14, 1955, more than 300 cars packed into its lot in the rural San Luis Valley. Whether initially drawn by opening night’s free admission or the opportunity to see Academy Award winner Edmond O’Brien avenge his murdered fiancée in Warpath, many in the crowd returned. Like movie houses and drive-ins across the country, the Frontier became a cultural lifeline for local ranching and farming families—until cable TV put it out of business in 1985. Now, 37 years later, Mark Falcone, a Denver developer whose Continuum Partners helped revamp Union Station, hopes to make the Frontier an artistic force in the region once again. The project is personal. Not only did Falcone fall in love with the valley when he helped the Nature Conservancy purchase…

SAGUACHE 1. NEW SKY RANCH Partners, artists, and former Boulderites Victor Rivera and Gigi Douglas plan to host free eco-focused workshops on everything from permaculture to green building techniques when their studio, glamping site, and creative retreat launches this summer. DEL NORTE 2. GENERAL SPECIFIC STORE Owners and Florida transplants Corey Hubbard and Ryan Methfessel often throw dinner parties and community art shows in the historical, tin-ceilinged upstairs ballroom of their new art emporium and curiosities shop. 3. MELLOW MOON LODGE After fleeing the East Coast in 2018, filmmaker and San Luis Valley native Sam Bricker and his wife, Jessica Lovelace, transformed a 1940s motor lodge into this minimalist retro retreat complete with a bike shop and bar.…

You leave your office in Denver, arrive at Union Station, and hop aboard a podlike car. Once you’ve settled in, the capsule whooshes into a dark tube. A mere hour and a half later, you pop out in San Francisco, ready to spend the weekend with a friend. This scenario represents the possibility of hyperloop technology, a theoretical method of ground transportation that moves faster than a jet through a vacuum-sealed tunnel. Although its potential sounds like something out of an Octavia Butler novel, a new partnership between Switzerland-based Swisspod and Pueblo’s MxV Rail could make Colorado the cradle of hyperloop travel. Swisspod traces its roots to Reddit, where, in 2015, Denis Tudor learned about a hyperloop competition sponsored by Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Tudor’s team won Best Design, and the blueprint became…