There's always more to see right here at home

On this morning, gravel grinds beneath my boots and cold, dry air blows in and out of my winter beard. February 14, 2012

Manitou Incline Trail is a Hiker's Hike

"WARNING: This is an EXTREME trail," declares the sign at the bottom of the Manitou Incline Trail, an infamous hardcore fitness attraction off Ruxton Avenue in Manitou Springs, just a few miles west of Colorado Springs. May 7, 2013

Lottery still funding Colorado's Great Outdoors

"Match any 3 like amounts, win that amount. Win up to $27,000!" I pick the shiniest penny in my pocket and start scratching. As the numbers are revealed, I'm already spending the prize money in my head, paying off loans, buying a car ... almost, almost, but no! —April 9, 2013

Boulder's st julien hotel locals' home away from home

In the lobby of the St Julien Hotel & Spa, the windows soar to take in the scenery — a snow-covered Front Range landscape of trees rising into the flatiron formations and Green Mountain summit beyond. March 12, 2013

Young environmental activist has film fest role.

Xiuhtezcatl Martinez, 12, scampers over logs and rocks, dark hair dancing as he jumps from boulder to boulder. Now he is romping through high grass with his younger brother and enormous dog; now the impassioned sixth-grader is talking into the camera, explaining why he likes spending so much time in the mountains. February 12, 2013.

A chat with nature photographer Don Mammoser about photographing Colorado

I can't find my slippers, so I step outside barefoot, picking through crusty patches of snow, toes stinging as I scramble for just the right angle. January 15, 2013

18 DEC. 2012: "Berman: Where will you be when the Mayan calendar clicks oveR?"

This Friday morning — the infamous Dec. 21, 2012 — the 13th b'aktun of the Mayan Long Count will draw to a close. It is the final morning in a precisely determined measure of 1.872 million days, written in stone 1,300 years ago near Tortuguero, Mexico. "13 B'aktun," as the day is called, is significant on its own, a fascinating story that is far more remarkable than any modern, made-up apocalyptic malarkey.

Berman: Ski-in and sleep in former home of President Ford

"I'm cooking dinner in Betty Ford's kitchen."

Not the most adventurous or daring status update I've ever posted, but a new experience nonetheless, which is the essence of traveling, right? November 20, 2012

Using the Great Outdoors as a Vehicle for Life's Lessons

"Right now, I am aware of the first star."

We are sitting on grass and pine needles near a collapsed old hunting cabin, four adults and 15 young teens playing a game of "right now" in the middle of the woods. There are a few snickers and moans, but everybody tips back to look at the sky.

October 23, 2012

Colorado trail-lover's trail leads to leaves galore

There is fall foliage. And then there's the Odessa-Fern Lake backpacking circuit in late September. Most years, this is the peak of Colorado's crispest, most spectacular, leaf-gasmic yellowness, and on this day, as I finished packing, cinching and preparing, the weather and the leaves were perfect.

September 25, 2012

"Aspen quest pans out with gems"

Boulder's bike-ridin' Ryan Van Duzer exudes a Colorado-style positive energy

I'm at a typical Front Range coffee shop, outside on a fiercely sunny patio, watching be-spandexed cyclists and climbers sip their lattes amid furrow-browed freelancers and hassled mommies. Caffeine brings us together.

April 10, 2012

Estes Park's hiking, wildlife viewing and dining among many surprises

The drive to Estes Park always goes more quickly than I expect. Maybe it's the scenic glory of this particular stretch of U.S. 36. The rocks, canyons and cliffs definitely dominate this twisting, building drive — and so does a machine-gun barrage of questions from a certain 4½-year-old sitting behind me.

May 8, 2012

First-responder training for wilderness

"Help! There's been an accident!" A man jogs up to me and my partner, Read McCulloch, to tell us what happened. "I was mountain biking with my girlfriend, and she just popped off this jump and slammed into a tree. She's not moving! Please help!"

June 5, 2012

Telluride trek in San Juans a nice intro to box canyon town

"Rock!" I yell, warning the squeaking pica and marmots below, as a basketball-size boulder tumbles violently.

July 3, 2012

Wanderlust Festival yoga retreat at Copper Mountain a true escape

The world is upside down. I'm not talking about social inequality, climate change or the "end" of the Maya calendar. I mean, I'm dangling in half, looking between my legs at an ocean of arms and legs.

July 31, 2012

Travel abroad in your own backyard

I am walking beneath Tibetan prayer flags at dusk, watching an Asian bull elephant bathe itself with grass and straw in front of a dusty orange ball of a sun. Two gibbons swing hand-over-hand across vines above; flying foxes with 4-foot wingspans creep across branches inside; and around the next corner, clouded leopards prowl for food.... August 28, 2012