Colorado Voices
The winter caretakers behind Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory
Clip | 4m 18sVideo has Closed Captions
Winter caretakers and early-season researchers on an historic 62-year marmot study live on skis and
Five winter caretakers manage the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratories' 55,000 snow-covered acres in almost complete isolation, teaching them more about the natural world as well as themselves
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Colorado Voices is a local public television program presented by RMPBS
Colorado Voices
The winter caretakers behind Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory
Clip | 4m 18sVideo has Closed Captions
Five winter caretakers manage the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratories' 55,000 snow-covered acres in almost complete isolation, teaching them more about the natural world as well as themselves
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipI am one of five people that lives in Gothic in the wintertime.
Some years there's as few as two people out here.
Some years, theres maybe up to ten, which doesn't sound like a lot, but sometimes it can feel like a lot.
RMBL, the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory is an ecological and biological research facility.
What we do is basically take care of the facilities and help run the facilities for the other eight to nine months of the year when the scientists aren't here, they're back at their home institution.
In Gothic, the road closes in the winter.
We don't have any snow plowing.
We don't have any snow removal.
It's such a beautiful place.
Youre just walking around this gorgeous environment, and you have it all to yourself, basically.
Look, there's a grouse!
A forest chicken.
[laughs] In order to get to the RMBL from the town, like Mount Crested Butte, it's about a three-and-a-half mile trek on Nordic skis or wide skis.
Could take people forty minutes to go in or out.
It can also take you about two hours, depending on the conditions and how near you are to it.
We manage about 55,000 square feet of space and seventy buildings.
If something goes wrong, that's why you're here.
We treat the water.
We operate a weather station.
We collect precipitation.
And then they really count on us in the fall and the spring.
In the fall, it's closing the cabins.
So its just checking all the cabins to make sure they're ready for to be frozen, essentially.
And then in the spring, we reverse that, and we open up all the cabins and make sure it's ready for all the people that are about to come.
Usually start with the shutters, and then you get a little daylight inside.
[drill] Go inside and see whether or not a bear has taken up residence for the winter.
I think the biggest thing to get used to is the effort it takes to go into town for something like broccoli or milk.
And that's a chest freezer that was totally full in the beginning of winter.
We've made a huge dent.
We did do two sled trips throughout the winter, but otherwise everything was brought in truckloads.
Coming from Southern California, I had never lived somewhere that had snow.
I've learned how to ski.
I've learned how to be comfortable being alone and isolated.
I definitely became more self-sufficient living in Gothic.
[snow crunching] They asked us about our relationship because there have definitely been relationships that have fallen apart here.
Just making sure that we understood that we were going to be in a cabin for, like eight months together.
Hello!
Hello!
The whole idea of a winter caretaker at a remote field station really appealed to me.
It seemed like an experience like no other.
And then luckily, he was working remote.
And so it worked out.
[talking, laughin] They have a bit of a spice, its good.
It's hard to find a time in your life where you really don't have to be anywhere for eight months.
And I don't know if there's ever going to be a time in my life again where I have that luxury.
Your day to day life is governed by the natural forces, so we have to work more with Mother Nature than against it.
That also puts you more in tune with it.
And that's a very great feeling.
Living in Gothic, you really see the seasonal variability.
And snow is really heavily affected by climate change.
It really puts it into perspective of how fragile our environment is.
Coming from such an urban place, I've never felt that connection to my environment, but I've really gotten that here.
I would just encourage people to get outside and get connected with your environment as much as possible.
It really puts it into perspective what it means to be alive on this planet.
When life gives you a house, move it.
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Clip | 1m 30s | Owning a home had always seemed impossible. Then a historic cabin became available. (1m 30s)
Meet the election judges behind La Plata County’s voting process
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Clip | 4m 26s | Selected community members in La Plata County began training as election judges. (4m 26s)
Sheldon Nuñez-Velarde: Master Potter of the Jicarilla Apache Nation
Clip | 5m 45s | The Jicarilla Apache honor their longstanding relationship to the natural world. (5m 45s)
Rowena Mora: Master Basket Weaver of the Jicarilla Apache Nation
Clip | 4m 27s | The Jicarilla Apache honor their longstanding relationship to the natural world. (4m 27s)
Plant Medicine of the Jicarilla Apache
Clip | 3m 27s | The Jicarilla Apache honor their longstanding relationship to the natural world. (3m 27s)
The Jicarilla Apache Creation Story
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Clip | 4m 57s | The Jicarilla Apache honor their longstanding relationship to the natural world. (4m 57s)
Clip | 5m 37s | The Jicarilla Apache honor their longstanding relationship to the natural world. (5m 37s)
Ducklings Told to Protect the Lake
Clip | 2m 35s | The Jicarilla Apache honor their longstanding relationship to the natural world. (2m 35s)
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Clip | 4m 58s | Inside the high-stakes world of competitive pumpkin growing (4m 58s)
Temple Grandin analyzes undercover video taken inside Superior Farms slaughterhouse Denver
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Clip | 1m 54s | Undercover video taken inside Denver's Superior Farm plant with commentary from Temple Grandin (1m 54s)
The costuming family behind 60 years of handmade costumes in Colorado Springs
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Clip | 4m 56s | The Saunders family once operated one of the largest custom costume shops in Colorado Springs (4m 56s)
Voters to decide fate of Denver's only slaughterhouse
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Clip | 8m 14s | Superior Farms, the city’s only slaughterhouse, would be shut down if voters pass Ordinance 309. (8m 14s)
Keeping tradition alive with the CSU marching band
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Clip | 2m 49s | Inside the Colorado State University marching band. (2m 49s)
After 40 years, one of Colorado’s most challenging math competitions may be coming to a close
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Clip | 5m 19s | UCCS mathematics professor Dr. Alexander Soifer's Soifer Mathematical Olympiad turned 40 this year (5m 19s)
Behind the scenes at the Maurice Sendak exhibit
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Clip | 3m 37s | Behind the scenes preparing for Denver Art Museum’s Maurice Sendak “Wild Things” Exhibit (3m 37s)
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Clip | 3m 5s | The Kit Carson Café fills stomachs, job boards and the need for community gathering spaces (3m 5s)
Inside Colorado's newest high school sport: girls' flag football
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Clip | 2m 44s | Inside Colorado's newest high school sport: Girl's flag football (2m 44s)
Painting a mural from start to finish
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Clip | 2m 31s | Greeley painter, Alonzo Harrison, hits his stride in a new mural at WeldWalls festival. (2m 31s)
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Clip | 2m 9s | Southern Ute Vice Chairman Lorelei Cloud explains the importance and sacredness of water to all. (2m 9s)
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Clip | 4m 11s | Studying the ecological importance of ground squirrels at the Rocky Mountain Bio Lab. (4m 11s)
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Clip | 3m 8s | Over 1700 elementary to high school girls explore careers in transportation and construction (3m 8s)
New suburban opioid treatment clinics aim to address a less visible need outside Denver
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Clip | 2m 29s | Community Medical Services, an addiction treatment program, is opening six new suburban locations (2m 29s)
How Coloradans are working to overcome the political divide
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Clip | 4m 8s | Braver Angels uses cross partisan conversations to overcome political divides. (4m 8s)
Chile farmer and cofounder of the Pueblo Chile & Frijoles Festival Dr. Mike Bartolo
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Clip | 3m 21s | The retired CSU Fort Collins researcher has spent decades developing new types of chile peppers (3m 21s)
Colorado rural hospital relies on nurse midwives to provide quality care, keep costs down
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Clip | 4m 30s | Call the Midwife: Colorado rural hospital leans on nurse midwives for quality care, lower costs (4m 30s)
How a measure makes it onto Colorado's election ballot
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Clip | 4m 23s | Here's how an initiative goes from an idea to a ballot measure (4m 23s)
Water project advances Tribal sovereignty, lifts communities in Four Corners region
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Clip | 3m 31s | A look at how The Dolores Project changed lives in the Colorado Ute communities. (3m 31s)
The secret collection in Rangely that they don't want to keep under wraps
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Clip | 2m 38s | Everyone has a hometown, but not all have a car museum the size of a football field in them. (2m 38s)
For Colorado’s deaf high school volleyball players, the mindset is still the same
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Clip | 4m 39s | The over 65 year-old volleyball program for deaf students starts the high school season (4m 39s)
First-of-its-kind mandate requires in-person voting in Colorado jails
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Clip | 3m 33s | This election, every jail in Colorado will hold an in-person voting event for eligible voters. (3m 33s)
Why some Colorado schools have staff in firearms training
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Clip | 5m 52s | Schools, particularly in rural areas, consider training and arming school staff (5m 52s)
This Denver barbershop is staffed by formerly incarcerated barbers
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Clip | 2m 51s | R&R Head Labs hires formerly incarcerated barbers (2m 51s)
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Clip | 2m 42s | How poetry provided an outlet to Fort Collins Poet Laureate, Melissa Mitchell. (2m 42s)
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Clip | 4m 36s | Local newsrooms in Colorado are shrinking at alarming rates (4m 36s)
Ken Burns on his new film, "Leonardo da Vinci"
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Clip | 36m 7s | Ken Burns met with Rocky Mountain PBS to discuss his latest documentary on Leonardo da Vinci (36m 7s)
Election officials held a secret conference in Grand Junction amid security concerns
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Clip | 2m 43s | As conspiracy theories and lies about elections spread, the job of county clerk gets more stressful. (2m 43s)
Chef Safari brings a taste of Africa to Durango
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Clip | 3m 14s | Chef Safari brings African fusion cuisine to Durango, blending global flavors with cultural roots. (3m 14s)
Meet the sound artist who's exploring the symphony of nature at Rocky Mountain National Park
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Clip | 3m 37s | Meet the sound artist who's exploring the symphony of nature at Rocky Mountain National Park (3m 37s)
Water to water, dust to dust in the Arkansas Valley
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Clip | 4m 4s | Agriculturists unite with ag workers to sustain farms and farm towns in the Arkansas Valley (4m 4s)
Branching out: How one family’s science roots continue to spread
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Clip | 4m 57s | The Inouyes have been doing science for more than 50 years up in Gothic. (4m 57s)
The Colorado Youth Pipe Band is training Colorado’s next generation of bagpipers
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Clip | 3m 23s | The Colorado Youth Pipe Band is training Colorado’s next generation of bagpipers (3m 23s)
A Colorado LGBTQ couple's journey from foster care to adoption
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Preview | 5m 9s | Meet this LGBTQ+ family and their journey through the foster care system (5m 9s)
NASCAR or family car? Street racers hit the track
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Clip | 3m 50s | Can racing on designated tracks curb illegal street racing? Local police hope so. (3m 50s)
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Clip | 4m 43s | Matt Crane explains why election results in Colorado are reliable. (4m 43s)
Inside the tight-knit family of demolition derby
Clip | 2m 47s | For decades, Greeley, Colorado has gathered to enjoy demolition derby. (2m 47s)
What’s the big deal about Manitou’s mineral springs?
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Clip | 5m 13s | Manitou’s namesake water feature has shaped the town geologically, economically and culturally (5m 13s)
Somewhere Over the Rainbow: Pride and Drag in Navajo Nation
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Clip | 4m 40s | On the last weekend of June, Navajo Nation celebrated Diné Pride at its capital. (4m 40s)
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Clip | 5m 4s | Incarcerated students find physical and spiritual healing in yoga program (5m 4s)
Baa Baa Buckaroos continue Mutton Bustin’ tradition at Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo
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Clip | 4m 7s | The next generation of rodeo stars get their start on the backs of sheep (4m 7s)
Dancing with Parkinson’s, without limits
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Clip | 4m 1s | Boulder residents with Parkinson's disease find relieve and community in free dance class. (4m 1s)
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Colorado Voices is a local public television program presented by RMPBS