Every February, when the Aspen Laugh Festival comes to town, valley old-timers will inevitably draw comparisons between it and the long-gone U.S. Comedy Arts Festival, which used to envelop downtown for a week each winter. Admittedly, the former may never approach HBO’s Hollywood-style celeb…

I don’t immediately think of needing a watch in the backcountry. It’s a time for disconnecting and enjoying nature. But let’s be honest, no matter how off the grid we are, it’s always crucial to be aware of the time for your own safety. And what if that watch required you to get outside more…

There’s a great passage in John McEuen’s book “The Life I’ve Picked,” published last year, in which the former Nitty Gritty Dirt Band banjo player and multi-instrumentalist describes the band’s time in Colorado, specifically in Aspen, where some of the NGDB members lived. The time was around…

I drove to the Alexander Valley from Healdsburg this week under dark, brooding skies with a building atmospheric river on the rise. The west face of Mount St. Helena rising 4,000 feet above was coated in snow, with definitive white chutes like tendrils dropping off the summit, looking more l…