Here Lies White Buffalo Girl Just days into a forced relocation, 18-month-old White Buffalo Girl of the Ponca tribe succumbed to pneumonia. Against all expectations for the 1870s, the townsfolk of nearby Neligh, Nebraska held a funeral service where the girl’s father asked, through an interpreter, that those assembled care for the gravesite as they would one of their own. For more than 140 years, the people of Neligh have kept the promise made that day. [read more]
America’s E-Bike Evolution Since taking the world by storm two decades ago, e-bikes have been steadily increasing their foothold, even outpacing the number of electric vehicles sold. To some, they’re a lazy person’s plaything responsible for bringing unsustainable numbers of riders onto trails. To others, they’re a great extender—extending the range bikers can travel, the terrain they can tackle, and the age at which they can continue pedaling. And they can even make biking possible for those with physical limitations. [read more]
A Walk to Remember Far from the Mississippi Delta that birthed jazz and blues or the clubs of New York City that further nurtured them, a cramped recording studio in Richmond, Indiana launched the careers of performing artists that today are household names. Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Hoagy Carmichael, and so many more got their start at a no-frills studio where recording sessions had to be scheduled around passing trains. [read more]
A Path Toward Healing It had been more than five days since the Northern Cheyenne, prisoners of the US Army, had eaten. Wood was no longer being delivered for their heating stove, and they were slowly freezing in their makeshift prison. Reduced to scraping frost from windowpanes for precious drops of water, the Northern Cheyenne knew they were doomed regardless of their choice: a slow death in the icy barracks, or a brave and honorable death outside in their homeland. [read more]
Gaelic Tradition
Meets American Pioneerism at Talnua Distillery Far from the verdant hills of Ireland, Colorado’s Talnua Distillery is bringing back a type of whiskey that was once on the verge of global extinction. Talnua was the first, and remains the only, distillery in the United States dedicated to single pot still whiskey. It’s an American spirit with an Irish soul—infused with a flavor and style that’s all Colorado. [read more]
A Growing Use for Invasive Plants Emerald ash borers, zebra mussels, English ivy, northern snakeheads, kudzu, European starlings, tiger mosquitos… the list of invasive species that do significant harm—both ecologically and economically—is extensive. And while the fight against them can seem at times a losing battle, researchers at Idaho National Laboratory are finding ways to tip the scales. [read more]
Colorado the Beautiful Already at or near the top of any state-by-state comparison of health, Colorado continues to aim high with the governor’s initiative to infuse a statewide network of trails with funding to close critical gaps and improve their connectivity. [read more]
Rekindling a Passion for Skiing at Loveland My parents’ love story began at Loveland, and it seems only fitting that a story celebrating Valentine’s Day would begin here as well.
Family lore tells of the day my father popped the question in 1983. My mom was certain that it was coming during that ski trip, she recalled—it was only a matter of when. She was by no means an expert skier and my dad, she remembered, wanted one trip down the mountain without any falls to set the mood. “One good run,” he’d said. [read more]
20/20 Vision: New York’s Empire State Trail Once responsible for transporting untold numbers out of New York into the lands beyond, the Erie Canal is now bringing hikers and bikers into the state as the Erie Canalway will form the backbone of a state-spanning trail that will tie together three corners of New York. [read more]
From Toxic Site to Thriving Rail-Trail By the early 20th century, Butte, Montana, was already being called the richest hill on Earth, an acknowledgement of the nearly inconceivable amounts of ore being mined there. Butte electrified America and provided the metals to win world wars. But it paid a significant price. [read more]
Little Trail Grows in Big Sky Country Ideas have a way of growing in Big Sky Country. Originally envisioned as nothing more than a pleasant circuit around a small-town public park, the Headwaters Trail System is proof of that. The still-growing path has connected to a nationally renowned state park and spurred economic development in the small town of Three Forks. [read more]
Biomimicry: Engineering in Nature’s Style The growing science of biomimicry focuses on what humanity can learn from the world, and Airbus engineers are learning quite a lot about efficient solutions for aircraft design that nature has spent millions of years refining. The traditional method of helping an aircraft cut through the air is to make every surface as smooth as possible, but the study of sharks suggests a different path. [read more]
Trails Forecast: Resiliency and Repair In 2018 alone, the United States suffered 14 separate $1 billion-plus weather and climate disasters, the fourth-highest on record—and the top three all occurred within this decade. With 100-year floods occurring nearly every year, it’s clear that storm-related damage is a big and growing concern for the infrastructure of cities across the country. [read more]
Taters and Trains Two farmers riding the now-defunct Northern Pacific railway in 1908 were overheard lamenting the unusually large potatoes coming from their fields. Far bigger than American consumers wanted to buy, they were destined to be sold at a pittance for hog slop. The new superintendent of the railway’s dining cars had a better idea, though—one that would change the course of the Northern Pacific’s marketing for decades to come. [read more]
Destination Pennsylvania: The Beautiful Lehigh Gorge Trail As I rounded a final corner and caught sight of the aptly nicknamed “Switzerland of America” nestled among the Appalachian Mountains, I could tell that the town’s accolades were no mere hype. Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, has been deemed one of the Top 50 Places to Live and Play, one of the Most Beautiful Small Towns in America, a Top 100 Adventure Town, and one of the country’s Most Fun Small Towns. [read more]
Hybrid Power Plant Boosts Power by Combining Three Energy Sources Integrating photovoltaic cells, geothermal energy, and concentrated solar power, the Stillwater plant outside of Fallon, Nevada is the world’s first triple hybrid renewable energy plant. It produces enough energy to power 15,000 homes without burning a drop of fossil fuel. [read more]
Composites: Airbus Continues to Shape the Future Composite materials have been called the shape of aerospace’s future. With their winning combination of high strength, low weight and durability, it’s easy to see why. Consider carbon-fiber reinforced plastic: it’s lighter than aluminum, stronger than iron, and more corrosion-resistant than both. [read more]