[MUSIC] - OVER THE PAST YEAR AT ROCKY MOUNTAIN PBS, OUR JOURNALISM TEAM HAS HELPED TELL MORE THAN 400 STORIES FROM AROUND THE STATE.

IT'S PART OF OUR VISION TO CREATE A COLORADO WHERE EVERYONE FEELS SEEN AND HEARD.

YOU CAN FIND ALL OF THESE STORIES AT RMPBS.ORG.

IN THIS EPISODE OF COLORADO VOICES, YOU'LL HEAR FROM FIVE OF OUR JOURNALISTS, MYSELF INCLUDED, AS WE SHARE JUST A FEW OF OUR FAVORITE STORIES AND WHAT MADE THEM SO IMPACTFUL.

ENJOY.

[MUSIC] - AT 100 YEARS OLD, THERE IS NO SLOWING DOWN COLONEL JAMES H. HARVEY III.

HE'S ONE OF THE LAST SURVIVING TUSKEGEE AIRMEN, AND THIS SUMMER, I HAD THE HONOR OF SITTING DOWN WITH HIM TO LEARN ABOUT HIS JOURNEY TO BECOMING ONE OF THE MOST CELEBRATED HEROES IN OUR NATION'S HISTORY.

[MUSIC] - I'VE HAD A LONG, GOOD LIFE.

I CAN'T COMPLAIN WHATSOEVER.

I'VE BEEN HEALTHY ALL MY LIFE, AND I EXPECT TO GET A FEW MORE YEARS OUT OF THIS BODY BEFORE I PASS.

WHEN I WAS A YOUNGSTER, I WAS A PERFECTIONIST, AND THAT CARRIED ME ALL THE WAY THROUGH SCHOOL, AND THROUGH FLYING SCHOOL, AND THE MILITARY, AND THROUGH LIFE, REALLY.

[MUSIC] IF YOU'RE A PERFECTIONIST, YOU CAN DO ANYTHING.

AN INSTRUCTOR WILL GIVE YOU A MANEUVER HE WANTS YOU TO PRACTICE SO THAT HE CAN GIVE YOU A CHECK ON IT ON YOUR NEXT RIDE.

I WENT OUT AND DID IT, AND DID IT, AND DID IT UNTIL I NAILED IT.

PASSED PRIMARY.

THEN, OUR BASIC AND ADVANCED WAS DONE AT TUSKEGEE ARMY AIRFIELD, WHICH WAS BUILT ESPECIALLY FOR US.

SINCE EVERYTHING WAS SEGREGATED, WE HAD TO STAY RIGHT THERE.

- FOR THE FIRST TIME, NEGRO AVIATION CADETS WERE BEING GROOMED TO FLY WARPLANES OF A UNIT-- - THE FAILURE RATE, OR WASHOUT RATE, FOR WHITE CADETS WAS RUNNING AT 63 PERCENT.

FIRST CLASS THAT WENT THROUGH TUSKEGEE WAS 40 PERCENT.

THEY SAID, "NO, NO, NO, NO, NO.

NO, NO, NO, NO.

THIS WILL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN.

SO, THEY MADE SURE THEY HAD A WASHOUT RATE FOR US OF 73 PERCENT OR HIGHER, 10 PERCENT HIGHER THAN THE WHITE CADETS.

THAT'S WHY WE LOST SO MANY GOOD PILOTS.

THAT'S WHY ONLY 996 OF US GRADUATED FROM TUSKEGEE.

[MUSIC] I'D SAY THAT ALL OF US THAT GRADUATED FROM TUSKEGEE WERE BETTER THAN OUR INSTRUCTORS BECAUSE I DON'T THINK THEY COULD DO WHAT THEY WERE TELLING-- HAVING US TO DO.

[LAUGHS] WE PROVED WE COULD FLY MILITARY AIRCRAFT AND DO BETTER THAN THEY AT ANY PHASE.

WE WERE THE BEST.

I TELL THEM THAT ALL THE TIME.

[LAUGHS] [MUSIC] WE HAD OUR WEAPONS MADE IN MAY OF 1949.

THE CHIEF OF STAFF OF THE AIR FORCE SENT A DIRECTIVE OUT TO ALL THE FIGHTER GROUPS IN THE UNITED STATES, AND THEY WERE TO PICK THEIR THREE HIGH SCORERS TO REPRESENT THEIR FIGHTER GROUP IN THE FIRST EVER TOP GUN WEAPONS MEET TO BE HELD AT LAS VEGAS AIR FORCE BASE, NEVADA, WHICH IS NOW NELLIS.

BEFORE WE LEFT LOCKMORE, WE HAD A MEETING WITH COLONEL DAVIS.

HIS FINAL REMARK WAS, "IF YOU DON'T WIN, DON'T COME BACK."

[LAUGHS] SO, WITH THOSE WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT, OFF WE WENT TO VEGAS.

[MUSIC] WOW, WE WON THE MEET.

[LAUGHS] WE WON THE MEET.

WE WERE NEVER LISTED ANY PLACE AS BEING THE WINNER.

NOT UNTIL JANUARY OF 2022.

- WE ARE HERE TO OFFICIALLY RECOGNIZE THE 332ND FIGHTER GROUP, TUSKEGEE AIRMEN, FOR THEIR AMAZING WIN.

- ALMOST 73 YEARS LATER, WE WERE RECOGNIZED AS WINNING THE FIRST EVER TOP GUN WEAPONS MEET.

[APPLAUSE] IT FEELS GOOD TO GET IT.

HOWEVER, IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN THE BOOKS A LONG TIME AGO.

BUT THEY DIDN'T WANT TO DO THAT.

THEY DIDN'T WANT THE TRUTH TO BE OUT THERE.

WE WON IT.

IT WASN'T UNKNOWN.

THEY KNEW IT WASN'T UNKNOWN.

THEY KNEW WHO WON.

THEY JUST DIDN'T WANT TO RECOGNIZE US.

WHY NOT?

BECAUSE WE'RE BLACK.

THAT'S WHY.

LET'S GET IT OUT THERE.

WE WON IT.

THEY PUT THEIR BEST UP AGAINST US.

WE BEAT THEIR BEST.

WE BEAT THEIR BEST AT ANYTHING, EVERYTHING, EVEN ESCORTING OVERSEAS.

THEY WERE LOSING AN AVERAGE OF 46 BOMBERS PER MISSION, THE FIGHTERS WERE.

NOT US.

WE LOST 27 BOMBERS TOTAL ON SEVEN DIFFERENT MISSIONS.

[MUSIC] - THE NEW COLORADO STATE HISTORIAN BELIEVES SHARING AND UNDERSTANDING HISTORY, LIKE LIEUTENANT COLONEL HARVEY'S, WILL MAKE FOR A BETTER SOCIETY.

GETTING TO KNOW HER BACKGROUND AND HER HOPES FOR THE POSITION REALLY INSPIRED ME, AND I HOPE SHE WILL FOR YOU TOO.

MEET CLAIRE OBERON GARCIA.

- MY NAME IS CLAIRE OBERON GARCIA.

I'M A PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH AT COLORADO COLLEGE IN COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO.

AND I AM ALSO THE NEWLY APPOINTED COLORADO STATE HISTORIAN.

MY PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY AS STATE HISTORIAN IS TO MAKE ACCESSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC ALL THE AMAZING STORIES OF THE PEOPLE AND PEOPLES WHO HAVE MADE THE STATE THE WAY WE ARE TODAY, AND WHOSE EXPERIENCES IN THE PAST WILL INFLECT OUR FUTURE.

WE HAVE A WONDERFUL PROGRAM CALLED BLAXPLANATION.

THE BLAXPLANATION TEAM IS DEDICATED TO EXPANDING THE PUBLIC'S KNOWLEDGE ABOUT BLACK EXPERIENCE IN COLORADO, SO BEYOND SLAVERY OR FORMERLY ENSLAVED PEOPLE, BUT REALLY FOCUSING ON AFRICAN AMERICANS IN COLORADO IN BROADER CONTEXT, SO DIASPORIC CONTEXT, POLITICAL CONTEXT.

MY EDUCATIONAL JOURNEY WAS A BIT UNUSUAL, I THINK.

FOR STARTERS, I NEVER GRADUATED FROM HIGH SCHOOL OR GOT A GED.

AFTER 11TH GRADE, I WENT TO ONE OF THE FIRST EARLY COLLEGES IN THE UNITED STATES, WHICH IS SIMONS ROCK, WHICH IS NOW PART OF BARD COLLEGE.

I WAS A CREATIVE WRITING AND PHILOSOPHY DOUBLE MAJOR AT BENNINGTON COLLEGE.

SO, I WORKED FOR A WHILE IN PUBLIC TELEVISION, FIRST IN THE DANCE TELEVISION WORKSHOP, A FIELD PRODUCER FOR ARTS AND CULTURE AT WGBH, WHICH WAS THE PERFECT JOB FOR ME BECAUSE IT MEANT THAT I GOT TO GO OUT IN THE FIELD AND INTERVIEW MOSTLY WRITERS, BUT OCCASIONALLY BALLET DANCERS OR OTHER CREATIVE PEOPLE.

AND I SHOULD NOTE THAT I AM THE FIRST COLORADO STATE HISTORIAN IN THE HISTORY OF THE COLORADO HISTORY SOCIETY, WHO IS NOT AN HISTORIAN OFFICIALLY.

I GREW UP IN A FAMILY THAT REALLY LOVED TO READ, LIKE OUR HOUSE WAS FULL OF BOOKS.

WE HAD A STRONG FAMILY CULTURE OF READING ALOUD TO EACH OTHER, BUT ALSO A LOVE OF TRAVELING.

AND SO, STARTING WITH MY MOTHER'S SIDE OF THE FAMILY, THAT MOST OF HER FAMILY HAD BEEN FOR GENERATIONS IN A SMALL VILLAGE OUTSIDE OF MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA.

SHE DID MOST OF HER GROWING UP UNDER SEGREGATION.

EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE SO RESTRICTED BY THEIR EDUCATIONAL POSSIBILITIES, HER SIDE OF THE FAMILY WERE ALWAYS DREAMERS AND ALWAYS WERE ABLE TO IMAGINE, DESPITE THE POVERTY OF THEIR EARLY YEARS.

SHE WAS AN ARTIST, BOTH SHE AND HER OLDER SISTER, AND JUST HEADED OFF ON THE CHEAPEST TICKETS POSSIBLE AND HEADED OFF TO PARIS.

MY FATHER'S SIDE OF THE FAMILY WAS SIMILAR.

THE FERGUSON SIDE OF MY FAMILY IS VERY ENTREPRENEURIAL, BUT ALWAYS REALLY VALUED EDUCATION, REALLY VALUED ACTIVISM, USING YOUR KNOWLEDGE TO HELP CHANGE THE WORLD.

AND AGAIN, BOTH MY PARENTS GREW UP.

AND EVEN MY FIRST YEARS, I THINK I WAS MAYBE NINE OR TEN WHEN HOWARD JOHNSON'S DECIDED TO DESEGREGATE.

SO, I ACTUALLY HAD A FRONT ROW.

I THINK EVERYONE'S FAMILIAR WITH THE IDEA THAT HISTORY IS WRITTEN BY THE WINNERS.

WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO NOW, ESPECIALLY AT HISTORY COLORADO, IS REALLY HAVE A MORE INCLUSIVE SENSE OF HISTORY.

YOU KNOW, ALL OF THE PEOPLE, ALL OF THE PEOPLES IN THE PAST, HOW THEIR LIVED EXPERIENCES INFLECTED AND SHAPED COMMUNITIES, AS WELL AS POLICIES.

JUST AS OUR PAST IS SHARED, OUR FUTURE IS SHARED.

AND KNOWLEDGE, AS ANNA JULIA COOPER SAID, IS POWER.

- AS CLAIRE SAID, SHARING YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND LIVED EXPERIENCE CAN BE POWERFUL, NOT ONLY FOR YOURSELF, BUT FOR THOSE AROUND YOU.

ARTIST LUPITA CARRASCO EXHIBITED A MULTIMEDIA SHOWCASE OF WORK CENTERING HER COMPLEX RELATIONSHIP AS THE CARETAKER OF HER MOTHER, WHO HAS SCHIZOPHRENIC DISORDER, LUPITA WALKED ME THROUGH HER EXHIBIT, SHARING THE MEANING BEHIND EACH PIECE.

- MY EXHIBIT, EXPRESSIONS ON CARING, IS AN INTIMATE GLIMPSE INTO MY EXPERIENCES CARING FOR MY MOTHER.

I INVITE VIEWERS TO WITNESS MY EVOLVING BODY OF WORK DEDICATED TO SELF-HEALING AND EDUCATION.

I'M LUPITA CARRASCO, AND THIS IS EXPRESSIONS ON CARING.

[MUSIC] ONE TIME SHE HAD GONE TO CHURCH, AND THEN SHE WALKED OUT INTO THE COURTYARD, AND A BIG WALL HAD GROWN AROUND THE CHURCH THAT WASN'T THERE BEFORE, AND SHE COULDN'T GET OUT.

AND SHE WAS TRAPPED THERE.

AND MY EXPERIENCE WAS, MY MOM DISAPPEARED FOR THREE DAYS.

I WOULD MAYBE DESCRIBE HER AS A TIME TRAVELER, SOMEBODY THAT IS JUST LIVING AND EXISTING IN DIFFERENT REALMS.

I GUESS SOME PEOPLE MIGHT LOOK AT IT AS BEING TORMENTED BY DEMONS, BUT TO ME, IT'S ALMOST LIKE SHE EXISTS IN THESE DIFFERENT REALITIES WITH THE PEOPLE THAT SHE CONVERSES WITH.

HER ILLNESS GOT REALLY BAD IN MY TEEN YEARS, AND SHE WAS DOING A LOT OF REALLY BIZARRE THINGS AND DESTRUCTIVE THINGS.

AND SHE DESTROYED A LOT OF MY THINGS, LIKE MY ARTWORK AND MY CLOTHING.

SHE HAD THESE HUGE SHRINES OF WHAT LOOKED LIKE CLUTTER, BUT IT WAS ALL ATTEMPTS AT PRAYER.

SHE'D SOAK PAPER TOWELS IN HOLY WATER, AND THEN SHE WOULD TAKE THE ITEMS, AND THEN BUNDLE THEM, AND THEN TIE THEM UP IN BAGS.

SHE WILL TAKE A REGULAR PRAYER AND EMBELLISH IT TO THE POINT WHERE SHE CAN'T FINISH IT ALMOST BECAUSE SHE FEELS LIKE IT NEEDS TO BE SAID A SPECIFIC WAY, AND SHE'LL JUST KEEP ADDING MORE THINGS BEFORE BEING ABLE TO EAT A MEAL, OR IF SHE EVEN TRIED TO PRAY THE ROSARY, SHE HAS TO ADD SO MANY OTHER THINGS TO THE PRAYER THAT IT JUST BECOMES THIS BIG LONG THING.

SHE CAN'T KEEP TRACK OF WHERE SHE'S AT.

IN THAT PROCESS OF TAKING CARE OF HER, I WOULD STAY UP AT NIGHT AFTER EVERYBODY WENT TO BED.

I'D STAY UP FOR LIKE AN HOUR AND DO THESE LITTLE DRAWINGS OF WHAT I FELT THAT DAY, WHAT I WAS GOING THROUGH.

MY FEELINGS ABOUT CARING FOR MY MOM, MY FEELINGS ABOUT MY SELF-WORTH, HOW ISOLATED I FELT, HOW PAINFUL AND LONELY THIS WHOLE JOURNEY AND PROCESS WITH HER HAS BEEN.

AFTER I GOT DONE WITH THAT, I WAS LIKE, "THIS IS IMPORTANT."

YOU DO NEED TO WALK THROUGH THE PAIN.

YOU CAN'T GO AROUND IT.

IT HAS TO BE DEALT WITH.

I GOT MYSELF A THERAPIST WHEN I STARTED DOING THE SHOW, AND THAT REALLY HELPED ME TO PROCESS SO MUCH OF THE PAIN, AND I HAD SO MUCH RESENTMENT, SO MUCH ANGER, EVEN IN MY SERVICE TO HER.

AS I CARED FOR HER AS LOVINGLY AS I COULD, I FELT ANGER INSIDE.

I FELT SO MUCH BITTERNESS FROM THE FACT THAT SHE CAN'T TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR HER ACTIONS BECAUSE SHE'S SICK.

THIS PIECE JUST REPRESENTS THE WAY THAT SHE'S BEEN THERE BUT ISN'T REALLY THERE.

I DO WONDER, DO YOU KNOW THAT WE'RE HERE?

DO YOU KNOW HOW LUCKY YOU ARE TO HAVE THESE PEOPLE THAT LOVE YOU, AND TO BE AROUND YOUR GRANDCHILDREN, AND TO BE AROUND SO MUCH LOVE, AND SO MUCH JOY, AND SO MUCH BEAUTY?

I WANT THAT PRAYER AND ALL OF THAT BAD ENERGY THAT I PUT OUT INTO IT, I WANT IT TO JUST EVAPORATE, TO DISSIPATE, TO FLOAT AWAY AND BECOME NOTHING ANYMORE.

I LOOK AT THESE IMAGES AND I DON'T FEEL THE SAME WAY ANYMORE.

THAT'S WHERE THE HEALING BEGINS, IN NOT KEEPING IT IN THE DARK, NOT KEEPING IT SILENCED.

[MUSIC] - ARTISTS CAN HAVE AN IMPACT.

FOR ME, THAT INCLUDES COLORADO-BASED NATURE PHOTOGRAPHER, JOHN FIELDER, WHO PASSED AWAY FROM CANCER IN AUGUST.

DURING HIS 40-YEAR CAREER, HE PUBLISHED OVER 50 BOOKS OF PHOTOGRAPHY.

HIS MOST WELL-KNOWN WAS CALLED COLORADO 1870-2000.

I INTERVIEWED HIM IN FEBRUARY AFTER HE DONATED OVER 5,000 OF HIS PICTURES TO HISTORY COLORADO.

[MUSIC] - I SPENT FOUR SUMMERS AT A SUMMER CAMP IN THE APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS OF NORTH CAROLINA WHILE I WAS GROWING UP, AND THE MOUNTAINS ARE ONLY ABOUT 6,000 FEET HIGH THERE.

ON A FIELD TRIP WITH MY SCIENCE TEACHER IN MIDDLE SCHOOL WHEN I WAS 14 YEARS OLD, MRS. DOLLY HICKMAN, SHE WOULD TAKE SEVEN 13-, 14-YEAR-OLD KIDS IN A STATION WAGON TOWING A POP-UP CAMPER, DRIVING THOUSANDS OF MILES.

FOR FIVE WEEKS EVERY SUMMER FOR 20 YEARS, SHE WOULD DO THIS.

I GOT TO DO IT FOR TWO SUMMERS IN 1963 AND 1964, AND WE WOULD TRAVEL THE AMERICAN WEST, MEXICO, CANADA, VISITING ARCHAEOLOGICAL, BIOLOGICAL, GEOLOGICAL, PALEONTOLOGICAL PLACES, CRACKING OPEN GEODES, DIGGING FOR FOSSILS, DIGGING FOR ARCHAEOLOGICAL ARTIFACTS, AND EVERY ONE OF THESE KIDS, 120 IN HER LIFETIME, WERE INDELIBLY AFFECTED BY THIS EXPOSURE TO SCIENCE AND NATURE.

[MUSIC] OVER HERE IS A LARGE FILING CABINET WITH 25 YEARS OF FILM TRANSPARENCIES, MOSTLY 4 BY 5 INCHES.

MY NAME IS JOHN FIELDER, AND I'M A NATURE PHOTOGRAPHER.

WHEN PEOPLE ASK ME WHAT I LOVE ABOUT BEING A NATURE PHOTOGRAPHER, I TELL THEM NATURE, THAT I WOULDN'T BE A PHOTOGRAPHER IF IT WASN'T FOR NATURE, THAT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO ME IS LIFE ON EARTH, 4.3 BILLION YEARS OF THE EVOLUTION OF LIFE.

WHEN I MOVED TO COLORADO, NO, I COULD NOT MAKE A LIVING OUT OF PHOTOGRAPHY.

I HAD TO LEARN HOW TO MAKE GOOD PHOTOS, BUT I WAS AN ACCOUNTING MAJOR IN COLLEGE.

I THOUGHT I'D BE A BUSINESSMAN LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE IN MY FAMILY.

HIKING AND PHOTOGRAPHY WAS JUST A HOBBY FOR ME, AND I DIDN'T HAVE MONEY NOR TIME TO TAKE CLASSES TO GO TO WORKSHOPS.

IT ALL HAD TO BE BY TRIAL AND ERROR.

FOR SURE, PLANET EARTH IS DIFFERENT NOW THAN IT WAS WHEN I STARTED PHOTOGRAPHY IN THE 1970S.

AND I'VE BACKPACKED, AND HIKED, AND RIVER RAFTED, AND BACKCOUNTRY SKIED THOUSANDS OF MILES, SO I'VE, AS THEY SAY, BEEN JOHNNY ON THE SPOT.

I'VE SEEN THE CHANGE IN NATURE, AND UNFORTUNATELY, BECAUSE OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND GLOBAL WARMING, THINGS ARE FAR DIFFERENT OUT THERE IN THE WILDERNESS BEHIND US TODAY THAN THEY USED TO BE.

YOU KNOW, IN MY CAREER, I'VE HAD TO USE MANY DIFFERENT KINDS OF TRANSPORTATION, NOT JUST CARS AND TRUCKS, BUT RIVER RAFTS TO RAFT DOWN DEEP RIVER CANYONS.

I LOVE MY SOLITUDE, AND I RENT LLAMAS FROM AMERICA, BUT YOU KNOW, THE LLAMAS CAME FROM SOUTH AMERICA ORIGINALLY.

THEY CARRY 85 POUNDS OF EVERYTHING FROM CAMERA GEAR, TO FOOD, TO BEER, TO SLEEPING BAGS, TENTS, AND CAMERA GEAR.

I CARRY THINGS ON MY BACK ALSO, AND THEY ALLOW ME THE FREEDOM TO GO BY MYSELF INTO THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE.

AND THE REASON WHY I USE LLAMAS, NOT EQUINES LIKE MULES OR DONKEYS, IS BECAUSE LLAMAS ARE NOT SPIRITED.

THEY ARE VERY MELLOW, EASY TO GET ALONG WITH, AND THE ONLY TIME THAT A LLAMA EVER SPIT AT ME, I SPIT RIGHT BACK, AND HE NEVER DID IT AGAIN.

MANY OF YOUR VIEWERS HAVE A BIG BROWN BOOK.

THIS IS THE REPEAT PHOTOGRAPHY BOOK WITH WILLIAM HENRY JACKSON.

IT'S CALLED COLORADO 1870 TO 2000, AND IT'S A BOOK THAT I DID WITH HISTORY COLORADO, THE COLORADO HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 24 YEARS AGO IN WHICH I STOOD IN 300 PLACES WHERE A PHOTOGRAPHER HAD STOOD OVER 100 YEARS BEFORE ME.

HIS NAME WAS WILLIAM HENRY JACKSON, AND IT SHOWED COLORADO IN THE 19TH CENTURY VERSUS MY PHOTOGRAPH OF THE EXACT SAME PLACE UP TO 130 YEARS LATER.

I ASK PEOPLE TO CONSIDER WHAT IF YOU DRAW A LINE FROM 1870 TO 2000, AND THEN YOU EXTRAPOLATE IT ALL THE WAY TO 2100?

IF YOU WERE ABLE TO PROJECT WHAT WE WOULD LOOK LIKE IN 2100, WOULD YOU BE HAPPY OR SAD?

AND IF YOU'RE SAD, WHAT WOULD YOU DO ABOUT THAT?

AND THAT'S WHAT I'M DOING TODAY.

I'M GIVING HISTORY COLORADO MY PHOTOGRAPHS AS OF THE LATE 20TH AND EARLY 21ST CENTURIES, HOPING THAT OTHERS AFTER ME WILL EXAMINE, MAYBE PHOTOGRAPH WHAT COLORADO LOOKS LIKE IN 2050 AND 2100 AND DO THE SAME THING, MEASURE HOW FAST THIS CHANGE IS HAPPENING AND WHETHER THAT CHANGE IS GOOD OR WILL BE BAD FOR HUMANITY.

THERE'S ONLY ONE SINGLE THING THAT PEOPLE TAKE AWAY FROM MY GIFT BY LOOKING AT MY PHOTOS, BY ENJOYING THE PLACES THAT I'VE BEEN THROUGH MY EYES.

IT'S THAT DESPITE ALL THE NEGATIVE THINGS ON EARTH, HOW LUCKY ARE WE TO BE SENTIENT BEINGS ON A PLANET, IN A SOLAR SYSTEM, IN A GALAXY, IN A UNIVERSE, IN A MULTIVERSE WHERE IT MAYBE IS ALL INFINITE, TO BE ABLE TO APPRECIATE THIS AT THIS TIME IN HUMANITY.

SO, MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE, I HOPE THAT PEOPLE CREATE PERSPECTIVE FOR THEMSELVES AND REALIZE THAT WE ARE LUCKY TO BE ALIVE.

[MUSIC] - WHETHER IT'S PHOTOGRAPHING NATURE OR PROTECTING IT FROM WILDFIRES, THE DEDICATION AND CONNECTION TO THE LAND IS THERE FOR RICK FREIMUTH.

I DROVE EIGHT HOURS FROM DENVER THIS SUMMER TO THE WESTERN EDGE OF THE SAN JUAN NATIONAL FOREST TO MEET RICK.

HE SHOWED ME WHAT IT'S LIKE WORKING AS ONE OF THE 300 STAFFED FIRE LOOKOUTS IN THE COUNTRY WHEN THERE WAS ONCE AS MANY AS 8,000.

HERE'S A LOOK AT HIS LIFE ON TOP OF A FIRE LOOKOUT.

- FIRE LOOKOUTS ARE AN ASSET TO THE NATIONAL FOREST.

[MUSIC] LOOKOUTS, TRADITIONALLY, ARE PEOPLE WHO SEEK SOLITUDE.

A LOT OF LOOKOUTS ARE PAST WILDLAND FIREFIGHTERS.

MANY ARE ARTISTS, MANY ARE WRITERS, PHOTOGRAPHERS.

I BELIEVE THOSE PEOPLE, THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE SEEKING, IS A SOLITUDE, AND THE FIRE LOOKOUT IS PERFECT FOR THAT.

LOOKING FOR SMOKES MIGHT BE INCIDENTAL FOR THOSE PEOPLE.

FOR ME, IT'S NOT.

I LOVE FINDING THE SMOKES, AND THE SOLITUDE IS JUST WONDERFUL, AND LUCKILY, LINDA LOVES IT AS WELL.

[RADIO STATIC] - FOR TODAY, SKY WEATHER MOSTLY SUNNY.

20, 30%.

ISOLATED SHOWERS, ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS AFTER 1200.

- FORECAST HAS CHANGED.

- HUMIDITY, 17% TO 20%.

TWENTY FOOT WINDS SOUTH OF THE VALLEY.

40 BECOMING SOUTHWEST 15 TO 20.

- OUR LOCATION IS HERE ON THE MAP, BENCHMARK LOOKOUT.

THE MAP SCALE IS HALF INCH TO THE MILE.

AND FROM HERE TO THE EDGE OF ANYWHERE ON THE MAP IS 20 MILES.

I'LL GO AHEAD AND POINT IT AT WHEREVER THE SMOKE MAY BE, AND LOCATE IT.

I'M A FIRE LOOKOUT FOR THE UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE ON THE SAN JUAN NATIONAL FOREST.

I STAFF BENCHMARK LOOKOUT.

OUR PRIMARY OBJECTIVE HERE IS TO FIND FIRES TO REPORT TO DISPATCH.

IN THE MORNINGS, WE'LL WAKE UP ROUGHLY 6, 6:30 IN THE MORNING, MAKE A QUICK SCAN OF THE TERRAIN, AND START MAKING COFFEE.

[LAUGHS] BY AROUND 8 O'CLOCK, I'LL HAVE ALREADY TAKEN THE WEATHER, I'LL REPORT INTO SERVICE TO DISPATCH, AND GIVE THEM THE WEATHER, AND THEN OUR DAY IS JUST OBSERVATION FROM THEN ON.

IF WE'VE HAD LIGHTNING OR POSSIBLE PERSON-CAUSED FIRE, THAT'S WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR.

I'M LOOKING FOR SMOKE IN THE LANDSCAPE.

AT THEIR HEYDAY, THERE WERE ABOUT 8,000 FIRE LOOKOUTS IN THE UNITED STATES FROM MAINE TO CALIFORNIA.

THAT WAS ROUGHLY IN THE 30S AND 40S.

NOWADAYS, WE'VE GOT ROUGHLY 300 STAFFED LOOKOUTS, 200 OF WHICH ARE FEDERALLY STAFFED BETWEEN BLM, BIA, AND UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE.

THE REST, ABOUT 100, WOULD BE STATE AND VOLUNTEER LOOKOUTS.

ON THE SAN JUAN NATIONAL FOREST, WE HAVE ONE STAFFED LOOKOUT, WHICH IS THIS ONE, BENCHMARK LOOKOUT.

THIS LOOKOUT WAS BUILT IN 1970, SO IT'S 53 YEARS OLD NOW, AND PROBABLY ONE OF THE LAST TIMBER LOOKOUTS BUILT IN THE U.S. ALL OF THESE YELLOW STICKIES ARE PREVIOUS SMOKES FROM THIS SUMMER.

I WILL GET THE AZIMUTH OFF OF THE FIRE FINDER, AND THEN MOVE THAT ON THE COMPASS ROSE TO LOCATE THE SMOKE.

ON THIS PARTICULAR DROP-DOWN MAP, I TAPE THE STRING ON THERE, AND THAT GIVES ME THE LOCATION OF THE SMOKE ON THE BIGGER MAP.

WELL, THE SOLITUDE IS IMPORTANT TO US.

[MUSIC] - AND THEN, I DO WHAT'S CALLED PLY, SO I TAKE THE ENDS OF BOTH THESE, PUT THEM TOGETHER, AND SPIN IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION, AND THAT MAKES YARN.

THAT'S WHAT YARN IS.

- WE LIVE IN A SMALL TOWN ON THE WESTERN SLOPE AND ON A FAIRLY BUSY STREET, AND WE JUST LOVE COMING BACK UP HERE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SEASON.

[MUSIC] I FEEL VERY FORTUNATE AT 68 YEARS OF AGE TO BE ABLE TO DO WHAT I LOVE FOR THE RESOURCE, FOR THE PUBLIC LANDS, NATIONAL FOREST, BLM, BIA, AND OUR LOCAL, OUR PRIVATE PEOPLE OUT HERE AS WELL.

[MUSIC] AND I KNOW THEY APPRECIATE IT.

THEY KNOW WE'RE OUT HERE LOOKING FOR THEM, LOOKING OUT FOR THEM.

- WE HOPE YOU ENJOYED MEETING SOME OF THE AWESOME PEOPLE WE FEATURED THIS YEAR, AND WE CAN'T WAIT TO SHARE EVEN MORE COLORADO VOICES IN 2024.

YOU CAN FIND US AT RMPBS.ORG.