Isabella Bird and Mountain Jim conquer Longs Peak

Victor Wisdom and Carol Wisdom-Silvey of Wisdom Rides are the fourth generation of their family in the carnival business.

The Steve Canyon statue perplexes visitors to Idaho Springs.

A scenic journey in the shadow of the Spanish Peaks traces the footsteps of outlaws and conquistadors.

Students in Jay Young’s gator-wrestling class, at his Colorado family farm, might be thrill-seekers, but by wrestling the reptiles, they’re also helping move the animals so they can be treated for illness or injuries.

The foothills of southern Colorado became a war zone a century ago when months of simmering conflict reached a boiling point.

The small town of San Luis in southern Colorado is steeped in history – but that’s what you’d expect from the oldest town in the state. Enjoy a taste of old-time San Luis from two of its most-cherished chefs.

Like mad scientists tucked in the heart of Pueblo, Solar Roast Coffee’s founding brothers, David and Mike Hartkop, run the only commercial solar-powered coffee roaster in the world. We toured the Hartkops' downtown coffee house from the dining room to the behind-the-scenes storeroom where a "Helios 5" roaster prepares beans for 100 percent organic cups of joe.

We find the most interesting things when we get lost. In Strasburg on the Eastern Plains we stumbled upon Russ Engelbrecht's collection of 60 John Deere tractors strong, or maybe 460, if you count all the toy tractors - and the remains of the world’s first center-pivot irrigation system.

Like most people enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Tim McKernan was celebrated for his achievements in NFL stadiums. Unlike most, he never wore shoulder pads or a football helmet. In fact, he didn’t really wear much of anything except a cowboy hat and cowboy boots – and a barrel, emblazoned with the logo of his beloved Denver Broncos.

There are many campgrounds in Weld County, but only one of them played a lead role in one of the pivotal moments in human civilization. That would be Missile Site Park, which has 12 campsites, restrooms, an RV dump and a decommissioned nuclear missile launch facility. Ruben Montiel led Colorado Life on a tour of the decommissioned site.