James LaRue - myliblog

Imagine that you drive north from Montrose, Colorado to Grand Junction. Air quality starts out pretty good, gets worse. You take I-70 east to Glenwood Springs, then angle southeast, but higher, to Aspen.    It looks like the smoke and ash of regional fires (Lee and Elk) flow up both Colorado and Roaring Fork rivers. Upvalley. I felt it in my lungs which is what got me interested. Here's the key to my slapped together chart.     0 to 50 = Good 51 to 100 = Moderate 101 to 150 = Unhealthy for sensitive groups 151 to 200 = Unhealthy 201 to 300 = Very unhealthy 301+ = Hazardous     I suspect this random bit of citizen science (data points from public resources) is no more than that. But wildfires move fast and fire isn't the only concern.

I'm facilitating today on the Western Slope of Colorado. This is from my lovely drive yesterday from Castle Rock through Colorado Springs, Canyon City, Salida, Gunnison, to Montrose. Colorado hills triplets and arpeggios melody of rock rising to the pass rising to the lightning and rising to the rain suddenly between avocado pinon and black cloud - gleaming snow radio sputters into static and river road turns to whitecaps on mountain's north side white carpet glimpsed through the green snow under the pines white-green valley wet beneath gray-blue horizon: late afternoon pearls black cattle lying in the short blonde grasses and just looking around a core of red rock is covered over with creased mounds of earth and grass  skinny little bird struts across the highway just above Beaver Creek skeletons of trees rise white from the blue waters of Black Canyon lake