Their names are used as shorthand for the iconic archetypes of the American frontier: Kit Carson, the dauntless mountain man; Doc Holliday, the stylish gambler and gunslinger; Buffalo Bill Cody, the embodiment of cowboys-and-Indians mythology. Mention one of these names and most people think: “Old West.” They probably don’t immediately think: “Colorado.” But perhaps they should.

Imagine having a childhood that includes a cherished memory of the time you got up close and personal with a national icon: the real live Smokey Bear. That’s the case for Pat Ewen.

This issue, we visited Castle Rock and explored life in a place that maintains it's small town feel despite a population crawling past 50,000. Check out these additional photos of murals around the town, painted by volunteers of the "Art Around the Rock" community program.

A supersized ant eats an apple core taller than a human. A man shoots from a cannon. A glittering giant bison guards a bank. A sinuous nude graces the concrete. Sculpted surprises continue around every corner as one walks the streets of downtown Grand Junction through the public sculpture exhibit Art on the Corner.

Brothers Clyde and Checkers Smaldone used their north Denver family restaurant, Gaetano’s, as the headquarters from which they built a mob empire. The Smaldone underworld enterprise died out, but Gaetano’s remains.

Though the scars of wars past fade with time, memories of camaraderie and heroism are kept alive by the venerable veterans who volunteer at the Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum and Memorial Airport.

With only 4,000 occupants, this eastern plains town may appear at first unassuming, but there's more than just a century-old secret swirling in Burlington's city center.

By the time Charles Driesel left the golden wheat fields of Red Rock, Okla., in 1929 and traveled west into Colorado, the fluctuating flow of the Arkansas River had been slowly carving a canyon into the foothills of the Rocky Mountains for over 5 million years.

Ever wondered what life was like for frontier-era fur traders? Visit the living history museum at Bent's Old Fort and experience it for yourself

20 years after the untimely passing of Samson, the legendary Elk Patriarch of Estes lives on

In true pioneer spirit, Colorado's independent vineyards work together with growers to produce one-of-a-kind wines that could only come from the Western Slope

In Colorado Life's very first issue, our publiher Chris explains why Colorado is a state that inspires us.