episode 94: Wil Rickards, Adams State University’s adventure program coordinator

Welcome back to the Outdoor Citizen.

Thanks for listening.

I have some outdoor conditions for you.

Peak leaf viewing will happen about a week to 10 days earlier this year due to the wombo combo of severe drought and severe heat in Colorado.

Adam Moore, Supervisory Forester for the Colorado State Forest Service, told the Alamosa Citizen, We are already seeing aspen dropping their leaves and changing color.

The drought has more of an effect than the warm weather.

And our band had a gig in Salida last Friday, driving over Poncha Pass.

The leaves are golden up on the pass already.

And I promised a little special vignette from Owen.

So, you know, I'm going to ask Owen just to tell you about what he saw.

You may have seen it if you pay attention to the Alamosa Citizen.

But just in case,

Owen, tell us about what you saw very recently.

So my cousin from Alaska came down this weekend, Sunday morning.

We had breakfast.

It's really great.

I was on my bike.

I said, you know what? I'm going to take the long way home, take the river home.

No, it's Sunday.

It's a beautiful day.

And I've been to, to, to context is every time I go out, I, I try to live in the expectation that I'm going to see some wildlife.

I like to be surprised always.

And if I don't know big deal, I'm outside anyway, but I always kind of, I like to live in as I'm riding my bike up the, the, the river trail, just West of the state Avenue bridge.

I'm, Kind of zoning out.

I've been riding a couple of miles and I look up and I see the shape that looks like a black bear and I go, man, it's not a black bear.