Stepping outside for fun looks a little different in this part of Colorado.

Sure, there are trails and beautiful v but there's also a different kin with endless plains and strange creatures that you w in any other part of the state.

We're headed to the southeast to a Colorado Uncharted.

My trek across the southeast region of Colorado starts at its highest elevation, above sea level.

I'll be summiting Fisher's Peak and sampling the park's accessible single track mountain bike trail And that's why I'm here in Trini To meet up with adaptive athlete and app entrepreneur Dr. Rachel Hey, Rachel, how are you?

Hey, Conor.

Great to meet you.

Absolutely.

Thank you so much for coming dow to Trinidad to meet me, for a little bike ride.

Awesome.

Yeah.

This is a great town.

I've never been here before.

Yeah, I think you're gonna like Beautiful old buildings.

Amazing.

Outdoors.

Right around town with Fishers P it's a cool place.

It's awesome.

Cool.

Let's go grab a coffee.

Let's do it.

Hey, Marshall, will you get it?

Yeah.

Oh, wow.

Bravo!

That's great.

Rachel tell me a little bit about your Obviously, you're known as such a powerful and passionate advoca for persons with disability.

Getting out into the outdoors and breaking up barriers of acce Actually, five years ago this we I had my injury at a rock climbing wall in East Tennessee.

And after a few stages of rehab, my wife and I relocated to Color to access outdoor recreation.

Were you going to Craig Hospital Yeah.

Craig, is the best.

Yeah, the best in the country.

And on top of that, you know, every mountain has their own outdoor recreation program.

Yeah.

So there's a lot of services I wanted to learn to ski again.

I wanted to go learn to mountain and spend time in community.

Yeah.

And it does feel like there is a strong community out I think it's fair to say that th still a lot of work to do in thi Talk to me about that.

Maybe some of the work you're do some of the ideas you have.

There's definitely a lot of work to stil a few years after my injury with a couple of friends, because I'm on an app called Rol Mobility.

Okay?

And it's a community based acces tool.

It helps.

It helps users find, rate and sh information about the accessibil of different locations.

In real time?

That's wonderful.

And photos videos kind of bridge the gap between ADA and reality.

Okay.

That's great.

Yeah.

Awesome.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Cheers.

So just curious too, you know, in the advocacy space, what does that look like for you What does it look like going for What are you excited about?

Advocacy comes out of necessity when you're living life on a dis body.

Every day, every time I leave th I'm encountering barriers.

Things as simple as, like road signs in the middle of a sidewal Yeah...

Things that simple don't even think abo Yeah, exactly.

Or sometimes it is like you get to a place and there's stairs to enter when told... there wouldn't be.

Yeah, yeah.

And that gets really fatiguing.

Yeah.

I can only imagine.

And so you have to become a fierce advocate for yourself and for your community, because the first to come to this place, but I won't be the last.

I know Fishers Peak State Park, our newest stat And Crystal, who's the park mana have put a lot of time and thought and effort into that And so I'm really excited to get and meet her and, and check out these trails.

And just getting to my bike kit and let's do it.

Perfect.

(fast music) Nice.

Woo!

(fast music) This maneuverability.

Yeah.

The other riders just dont hav Hey, Crystal, how are you?

Hey Conor of good to see you.

Yeah, great to see you as well.

This is Rachel.

I'm Crystal in the park manager.

Nice to meet you.

That was fun.

How did it go?

Tell me how it went.

It was an awesome trail.

It was wide most of the way.

Just one spot that I needed.

Just a little bit of a spot on.

Okay.

And, otherwise, we were flowing.

Yeah, I think that that trail, e a lot of them, that we're buildi You're in the forest, you know, and so you're not exposed to the so hopefully there's a little bi exposure in case it's a cold day you have that feeling of being i in the forest as you're riding t That's something since being dis it's just so much harder to find Is that like full 360 immersion in the wilderness?

And it's really awesome to find where you can access that.

I can't wait.

We get off here to I'm going to rate Fisher, speak on the app and put it put it rig That's awesome.

I love that because I think that part of our challenge too, is li Like you said, I can't be out on the trails all every day and see when there's t And so any feedback from any of users is helpful for sure, so th take care of things as soon as p But you're able to get the word and to to to see the trails through the ey you know, that are different fro and the experience.

It's different from mine.

And so I think that sounds like a great app to serve so man We're we're all in it together.

Yeah for sure.

And that's what makes it fun.

Ye Well and you're going to keep ri right.

Yeah.

That's right.

Yeah.

Just like you guys for sure.

Yea Well, we so excited to hear how the rest of your day goes.

I'll definitely report back.

Yeah.

Awesome.

Yeah.

And be honest, because like I said, there's there's room for improvement, I' But I'm so happy to hear that so it has been a happy experience f and a beautiful experience.

That's my goal.

Thank you so much for that.

Have fun out there my friend.

Fun riding together.

Great to meet you, Rachel.

Be safe.

As Rachel heads off to try more single track, Crystal and I are headed up to t An all day hike that requires not only the right state of mind but some serious planning.

You know, people who are going to hike to the top This is a serious hike.

I mean, it's how many miles roun About 16, depending on how you d So it's a commitment.

Yeah.

And so you probably have to star pretty early in the day.

You know, pack water, pack... you know, layers... really come fully prepared for a Yeah.

Yeah.

Really understand the weather understand your limi And if you're with a group, or other folks, their limitation and what they're ready for.

But definitely plan on making a And something that I've even started to do is I take much more water than I th I need.

Well, we're finding out that hikers are kind of getting into on this trail.

It's usually because it's a hot day and they didn't bring enough water.

Crystal, this is incredible.

It's like we're on through a sec passage here.

Yeah.

It is.

And this is all natural.

So you didn't have to blow anyth for this?

No, we didn't do anything like t We found it this way and realize how incredible this would be.

How long did it take to find thi We definitely.

We tried off and on, you know, for the the first season.

Came up a couple different ways.

This was all covered by scrub oak.

Oh my God.

Oh, that is incredible.

Wow.

It's like you're the top of the Tthis is in Colorado at its fine (expansive music) This is a landscape, an iconic p of the landscape in southeastern that so many people you know, ha at, had admired forever... that you see every day in Trinid And most of them had ever been u here is privately held, of cours And so then to make that big ambitious move, $25 million acquisition, one of the largest in the history of the state to bring it into, you know, being publicly held and now publicly accessible.

You know, this is this is the people's land now.

It's on us to do a good job, which is wh we have constructed a trail that people stay on the trail to the land.

So important.

You know, we've talked about wha it may have meant and still cont what it means to tribes right no and in throughout time.

Yeah.

And you're doing a lot of that indigenous, engagement around around this particular pr right?

Yeah, we have since 2020, and it's only picking up momentu and it's only growing and really happy and organic way Working with 14 different tribes on this park.

With Fishers Peak checked off the list, it was time to head east, to head towards the horizon and towards a phenomenon that so a storyline from a horror film, which involves a lot of tarantul But first, I had to stop at a pl that I'd always heard about a sixth generation family farm where you can pick your own vege Hannigan Farms.

Hey, how are you?

Just fine.

Good.

I'm Connor Hall.

Eric Hannigan, welcome to Hannigan Farms.

Yeah, I keep hearing about Hanni everywhere I go, so I figured I'd have to come see it with my How long have you guys been farming this land?

We started in 1908, so we are kind of like an instit in our little area.

Makes sense.

So, Eric, where can you find you Pretty much in every, store that you go to.

Look for the Colorado Proud.

Or the Rocky Ford label.

Because that means it comes from that's taken the time to ensure it's the best possible product.

And the rocky for melons, the ch I mean, they are really some of the best in the world.

I believe so.

I'm kind of biased, All right.

You got to try him first.

Yeah, well, let's go fix.

All ri So, Eric, obviously this farm has been in for generations.

I imagine that's true of a lot of the farms and ranches in this Talk to me about how important t Just keeping it in the family, and what it means to this area.

It's pretty much our life goal.

You know, if you look, I'm the fifth.

My kids are the sixth.

We stress.

Know your farmer, know your food A lot of our customers are multigenerational.

Yeah.

I'm just hoping that my kids som can maybe continue that also.

You ain't got the knack to it.

Yeah, yeah.

No, You wouldn't last too long as an here.

(laughs) I continued my trip eastward, following the Arkansas River as it cut through the Colorado P towards a historic landmark that played an importan in Colorado's complicated past, Bent's Old For This is where I met up with park Jake Cook.

Hey, Jake, how are you?

Good.

How are you?

Great to be here.

Glad to have you here.

Yeah, I remember coming here, you know, probably third or four and just being so wowed by this And it's obviously such an impor of Colorado's history.

So I appreciate you showing us a today.

Well, third or fourth grade can a little bit long time ago for s So I'll refresh you a little bit What you're coming to is a reconstruction of a fur tra that was here from 1833 to 1849.

Wow.

This is somehow even bigger and more impressive than I remembered from third gra It's amazing, isn't it?

So what used to happen in this big central plaza here?

So this is where all the activit going on.

It's kind of a hive of everythin You know, on busy days, the chie clerk from the late 1830s commen that this is like Babel because all the different languages of the people working here.

You've got the Mexican laborers from New Mexico speaking Spanish That's the most common language that you'd hear.

You've got all the folks from ba east speaking English.

You've got French Canadians.

And then on busy days, you may have half a dozen different Native American tribes who speak in their own languages Like a true melting pot.

Yes.

That is so fascinating.

What about here in the center of the plaza?

That's the most important piece of machinery here.

That's a Buffalo Road press to g the ropes ready to ship them bac On good years.

They're shipping 15,000 of those back east.

But if you just fold up ten buff they're stacked about this high off the ground.

Tough to transport.

Yeah.

So space is money.

And so you can press them down w they're about that high off the Yeah.

And that I guess was one of the economic drivers of the early fo That's the whole reason this for Yeah.

Fascinating.

Fascinating.

Well let's go ahead into the tra That's arguably the most importa we have.

Yeah.

Let's check it out.

So this is the trade room here behind the counter.

Wow.

The neat thing about this room i you know, the Native Americans are the ones that are bringing in the buffalo robes here to tra and that's a finished hand robe.

And they're trading for all thes different things that you see.

But the neat thing about it, you look at these things and think about where they came There's something from almost every continent around the world Yeah.

So the tribes don't realize it quite at the time, but they're getting tied into this worldwide trade networ Yeah.

And so how does that affect thei You know, at first, specifically with the Cheyenne, because the closest relationship the bents have or with the Southern Cheyenne ev married into a prominent Cheyenn So it kind of makes the Cheyenne with some of the other tribes.

So it's very good at the start, but things start showing.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Things start to go downhill as time goe The tribes have gotten so hooked all of these trade items that so self-sufficiency is gone.

And at the same time, the buffal starting to decrease in numbers So you have things like the Sand Massacre that occurs with all the misunde that leads to that, and the Bents are connected with that whole story there.

Really?

Four of William Bent's children, because they're all have Cheyenn They're in the village when that occurs.

Yeah.

Three are in the village.

The oldest son is actually force at gunpoint by Chivington to help lead the t So imagine his shoes.

So interesting.

I think this whole visit here at has really, you know, hammered a point home And it's that it's so great to b to come to a beautiful place like the Southern Plains and recreate and bike and, you k everything we've been able to do But it's also really important to understand the history and appreciate what came before and Colorado, that histor but it's also sometimes, not great and complex.

So thank you so much for this gr Awesome to just spend a little t back in history.

And, you know, remembering kind of what this place was.

So just appreciate your time.

I've got a day with some tarantu So wish me luck.

Good luck with that.

Thanks, man.

Have a great one.

B On our tour last night, we saw the most gorgeous It's flat here, so, you know, you see it better than with the And, in the west.

So it's it's a lovely area here.

And the people are lovely.

Every single one of us that we h has been, you know, graciously w So we're in search of the best green chile.

Apparently, there's like seven r here in town, so we're probably to eat our way through restauran (sirens, parade sounds) Yeah.

Here we go Tigers, Here we go!

I've scaled ice walls, run whitewater rivers, sand, boarded the tallest dunes in North Ameri But I'm headed to do a very diff but no less thrilling type of outdoor recreation on the Great Plains of Colorado.

The tarantulas were waiting just outside of the town of La J But before I ventured off into the grasslands, I thought it might be best to me some people who have a little more experience in this La Juntas annual Tarantula Fest It's where I found my old friend Pam Dennehy, a local who knows these parts we Hey Pam, how are you?

Conor, welcome to La Junta, my home town!

Yeah, this is great.

There is, so much going on here.

I've been here a bunch of times, this is the most lively I've eve It's a tarantula fest.

And yes, it's been so energetic and vibrant.

We had a parade earlier today.

We had a hairy leg contest.

We have an eight legged race.

We have vendors and vendors.

Mus Yeah, it's been a great day.

This is like a proper, proper fe How long has this been going on?

So this is our third tarantula F Continues to grow year after yea And we just are so excited to welcome people to our town.

Yeah of course share the tarantu Awesome.

Well, can you show me around a l I would love to see.

All right.

So all these people are here for the tarantula tours are going to go out on the grass to see tarantulas.

With local tour guides.

We have experts that are going t out there talking about the tara And we have one of our most favo experts here.

Doctor Paula Cushing, she's an arachnologist with the Museum of Nature and Science.

So nice to meet you.

What an awesome thing we have do in southeastern Colorado.

So is it possible to get out and actually see some tarantulas I think we can probably arrange All right, let's see what we can All right, all right, I'll follo It's kind of fun on the hunt her Oh, in fact.

Yeah.

Spotted one right ahead of us.

Oh, that is so cool.

There's a big spider right there Yeah.

So this is an adult male.

And this is, in the family there but it's it's commonly called the Colorado brown tarantula, or it's also called the Oklahoma The Missouri brown.

It's actually has a huge range.

This species after about 4 to 7 I'm not sure exactly how long.

That's how long it takes him to I'm going to do something that we don't want visitors to d I'm going to pick this boy up, o But we don't want visitors who come out here to handle them It's just.

I'm a professional scientist.

Yes.

You know, so I'm going to just scoop him up i He's.

He's old.

Oh.

He's wild.

Yeah.

He's wild.

He's he's quick.

He's going to go right in the cactus.

Wow.

Oh my god.

I've often heard this, phenomenon called a migrat It sounds like maybe that's an i way to, to think about this.

It's more of a it's correct.

Yeah.

A, you know, a mating exercise that happens in this particular Correct?

Yeah.

So there's a population of them This is the time of year around when the males of that generatio become sexually mature and they and start looking for a female.

Okay.

So it has nothing to do with mig from point to point unless you consider the females their migratory goal.

Do you want a hold?

Yeah.

I would love to.

You know, they they're sometimes called the Oklahoma Br and the Texas Brown because this species has such a And so some people think, well, they're they're migrating from Oklahoma to Texas or whatev Oklahoma to to Colorado.

And that's not the case.

Hes calm.

We have a report.

You have a report.

He likes you better.

I'm a littl Well, this is fun.

This is, a whole different type recreation than I've ever tried.

Absolutely.

But it's, it's a different thril than, you know, riding a mountai hucking a cliff on a snowboard.

This is this is incredible.

And again, we don't encourage people to pic We're we're doing this for this just to to showcase this gorgeou Yeah.

So so it's better if you see the Just take your pictures.

Take yo But try to just let them little.

March away into their happy futu And that's true of all wildlife.

Yes.

Oh, yes.

Absolutely.

Well, good.

Well, let this guy back.

Let him explore then.

Yeah.

There.

That very sad hole.

that is not the females.

Wow.

Well, what an awesome way to cap this tour of Colorado.

That is such a interesting thing that I never really knew about h Well, we've got some more stuff Let's go back to the Tarantula F Can we spin one on?

All right.

I feel like you've been waiting that.

That's a good.

That's good, that (laughing) This is our seventh trip to La Junta to see the tara Evi and I started doing this when she was in kindergarten.

I love going to Tarantula Fest.

I also love just seeing the tarantulas in ge because I'm a big bug geek like No, they're they're all in one p It's not a migration.

We definitely learned that.

It's a definitely an evolution o and finding the love connection.

You know, at least somebody is finding a love connection.

Oh.

What an awesome day.

So fun to just see and explore S Colorado.

This is such a special place.

Paula, thank you for teaching us more than we ever thought we wou or learn about taratulas.

It was my pleasure.

I love being in La Junta this t year where the town is filled with arachnofillia and not arach and where love is in the air.

You're full of good one liners y I'm going to bring you back.

Pam, thank you for, showing me around this, this gre The energy was so awesome.

This festival is so incredible.

You've done so much to make that So thank you.

Well, thank you for letting me s with you.

Cheers.

Cheers.

Thanks, guys.

Ch All right, Play us out!

(upbeat music) On this beautiful day.

On this beautiful day.

On this beautiful day.

Open wide On Colorado time Living high.

Livin wide I'm doing fine On Colorado time I drive $1 million highway I got $1 billion view I'm flat broke, It's okay.

Oh, that's missing here is you.

I'm doing fine.

I'm Colorado time..