by Lindsie Ferrell

​South Fork’s rich history of mining, railroads, lumber, and early settlers combines with the modern-day adventure town and creates a captivating story that forms the foundation on which the town now sits. The town center follows two picturesque highways built adjacent to two meandering rivers: The South Fork of the Rio Grande river and the mighty Rio Grande river. 

Fur trapping and trading were a large part of what brought the first settlers to the area.  Read more at the South Fork Tines...

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Part 2 of 3

South Fork history is laden with lumber
To celebrate South Fork’s history that surrounds the town, a festival was created several years ago to pay homage to the lumber trade that created the community. The Logger’s Day festival is full of entertainment based on the logging industry. In stories of the lumber trade around South Fork, many recount how the lumberjacks had full control over the health of the forest and only harvested trees in areas that needed thinning or for other mitigation reasons.

Back in the early days, loggers used several techniques to cut down dead or dying trees for timber and to transport it to the mill by horse drawn wagons or later by train.... read the rest of the article at South Fork Tines.

On dark nights, most people in the world can only pick out a few lonely stars due to the rapid increase of global light pollution. However, on this cold night in Creede Colorado, I can pick out whole constellations in the glow of the full Snow Moon and snow-covered ground.
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Light pollution is one of the easiest forms of pollution to solve, and the movement to protect and preserve the night sky is sweeping across the world. Southwestern Colorado is embracing this movement. Communities such as Westcliffe, and Silvercliffe, CO were the first in Colorado to earn Dark Sky designation, followed by Great Sand Dunes National Park being named a Dark Sky Reserve.  Mineral County, facilitated by Headwaters Alliance, has joined with Custer County, Huerfano County and the Sand Luis Valley Museum Association to create the first dark sky tour of Colorado, branded Colorado Stargazing, with a grant award from the Colorado Tourism Office and led by Vista Works, Buena Vista, CO.
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The inspiration for preserving the night sky in Mineral County began with Headwaters Alliance board member, Jan Crawford. Crawford spent the latter half of her adulthood protecting river fish species and habitats. Now retired, Crawford continues to look for ways to preserve the place she loves. She was first introduced to the work of the International Dark Sky Association at a Colorado Tourism Office workshop hosted by the San Luis Valley Museum Association. Crawford thought this would be a wonderful and simple concept for Creede to adopt, given the incredibly dark sky in Mineral County.

In 2018, Crawford recruited long-time amateur astronomer, Terry Taddeucci, to help organize a stargazing event to coincide with the Persied meteor shower. Forty people, many of whom had never looked through a telescope, were able to view three planets and one asteroid through telescopes. The success of the star party made Taddeucci realize “that we should do more to promote and preserve the value and beauty of our dark sky in Creede.”

The high altitude and low humidity in Mineral County contribute to the clarity of the milky way in our gloriously dark night sky. Headwaters Alliance is working with the community to preserve the night sky through responsible lighting practices and public education with the goal of becoming a Dark Sky Reserve through the International Dark Sky Association. HWA is working closely with US Forest Services, SLVREC, Rio Grande Silver, Creede School, the City of Creede, Mineral County and the community to accomplish this goal.

Through meetings and engaging events, HWA is sharing resources and information to help community members to modify lighting fixtures to dark sky friendly criteria. This ensures that fixtures shine light where it is needed - on the ground.  This saves energy without sacrificing safety, and all while preserving the dark sky. Community members are invited to participate in a Citizen Science effort and take their own dark sky measurements with either of the following apps: “Loss of the Night” or “Dark Sky Meter.” With the combined effort of community and the already dark night sky, Dark Sky Certification is within reach. 

Headwaters Alliance is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.  Our mission is to cultivate a sustainable environmental and economic future for the headwaters of the upper Rio Grande through community engagement, restoration, education, and innovation. For more information, contact us at 719-695-0359 or via email at coordinator@headwatersalliance.org.

For more information on this topic, please contact Katherine Valicenti, Engagement Coordinator for the Headwaters Alliance at coordinator@headwatersalliance.org

This article original ran in the South Fork Tines

#coloradostargazing #darkskies #slv #sanluisvalley #mysticsanluisvalley #stargazing #visitcreede

2020 ANNUAL MEETING IN ALAMOSA

APRIL 16-18, 2020 | ALAMOSA, COLORADO
The Colorado-Wyoming Association of Museums is excited to announce their 2020 annual meeting in Alamosa,in the Mystic San Luis Valley, Colorado. Our theme is

(re)Discovering Your Communities

and we will showcase panels, presentations, and workshops that focus on the many different communities that our institutions support and that support us.
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We are all part of many different communities from our local neighborhoods to the larger community of museum professionals. This annual meeting will explore the ways in which we can better engage the communities that make up our audiences and how we can tap into the communities that can offer our museums their help and support.
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Registration is now open! Register by March 13 for best rates!

Location:  Adams State University, Student Union Building
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Local museums and talent to be featured include:

• Eric Carpio - director for Fort Garland Museum
• Jim Loud - director for Creede Historical Society
• Julie Chacon - executive director, Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area
• SLV-Alamosa Museum - for the closing reception
• Fort Garland Museum - for the welcome reception
• Dr. Nick Saenz - associate professor, ASU
• Caroline Gabe, assistant professor, ASU
• Luther Bean Museum - featured exhibit
• Adams State Univeristy campus - historic walking tour
• Town of Alamosa - historic walking tour
• Homelake Veterans' History Museum - for a peer assessment
• Semillas de la Tierra - performance during lunch

​1 - First tip would be to wait until the New Moon (defined as - the phase of the moon when it is in conjunction with the sun and invisible from earth, or shortly thereafter when it appears as a slender crescent).  You can find the phases of the moon here on the Farmer’s Almanac.  In March 2020 the New Moon is on March 24th
 
2 – You’ll want to move away from artificial light like in a town.  If you live in a fairly rural area then try just turning all your house and yard lights off.  Give your eyes some time to adjust.
 
3 - As we, the San Luis Valley/Colorado/the USA are in the Northern Hemisphere (any location north of the equator). The Milky Way shows to the southern part of the night sky.
 
4 – Milky Way Season – starts mid-March and ends mid-October with the summer months being the most optimal.
 
5 – Here are a few apps that numerous experts recommended to calculate where the Milky Way will be in the sky in relation to your location – 1 - PhotoPills, 2 – Stellarium, 3 - Skyguide, 4 – Photographer’s Ephemeris
 
There are lots of conversations about cameras, exposures, lenses, etc so things can get a little complex but just test things out.

Here is an article that will give you some additional insights and advice - DarkSiteFinder.com