Sarah Haas


Latest Articles:

Mountain Folk Tales: Koley Gilbert

Sarah Haas, Peak to Peak.   For our interview, I meet Koley Gilbert half way between Nederland, where she was raised, and Longmont, where she can now afford to live instead, at the back side of the Boulder Reservoir. As if to make her feel at home, the wind has come to join us, whisking branches across the icy lake as if they... READ MORE >

Mountain Folk Tales: Clyde Burnett

Sarah Haas, Peak to Peak.   Just two miles South of Rollinsville sits a mysterious brick building. Were it located anywhere else, the three story structure which is tan, square, and plain, would be totally unassuming, but here, surrounded by woods and petite cabins, the municipal physique sticks out, begging the interest of passers-by who inevitably wonder what’s inside. A bunker? A secret... READ MORE >

Mountain Folk Tales: Michele Roussel

Sarah Haas, Peak to Peak.“I like the weird stuff,” Michele Roussel says, having just confessed that she and her long-distance beau like to read Edgar Allen Poe to one another on the phone. It’s easy to imagine her curled up on the couch in her grey Irish sweater, her dog, Die Dreizehn, sitting at her feet, and she, holding her old... READ MORE >

Change of the Guard: Central City swears in new mayor

Sarah Haas,  Central City.   At 6 p.m. on Wednesday, January 2, 2018, Central City’s historic Gold Coin Saloon was predictably empty. The holidays were over, the New Year had come, and if ever there was a night to stay in and pour your own drink, this was it. But at 6:10 p.m. local folks began to trickle in, ordering $2 beers... READ MORE >

Mountain Folk Tales: Looking back at 2018

Dear Mountain Folk Tales reader, It’s 2019 and with the New Year finally upon us I’m sitting down to write you a letter I’ve been meaning to write, one of reflection and gratitude, although it’s not turning out the way I intended. I wanted to thank the 24 of you who entrusted me with your stories for generously gifting them... READ MORE >

Mountain Folk Tales: Brigette DeMink Johnson

Sarah Haas, Peak to Peak.   Some places along the Peak to Peak are easy to identify: Nederland, Central City, Allenspark, and in speaking their names we conjure them. Others though are less defined, existing between our monikers and inside the big, amorphous and green patches on our maps. Neither here nor there we talk about these places by their position to landmarks,... READ MORE >

Mountain Folk Tales: Steve and Jen Karowe

Sarah Haas,  Nederland.   This is a story about Hub Ned, one of Nederland’s newest and biggest buildings. Turning one-year-old in December and perched on the South end of town, the three-story building doesn’t loom so much as it imitates its hillside. Its angular tin exterior appears like a man-made cliff. You can see Hub Ned from almost anywhere in town but... READ MORE >

Mountain Folk Tales: Bette Rittinger

Sarah Haas, Peak to Peak.    On a cold Sunday morning Bette Rittinger sits at the head of her sunlit dining room table. Waiting for tea, Bette, like the room, is quiet, save for the on-again off-again of a kitchen mixer her housemate is using to whip up whole-wheat honey waffles. The table is covered with newspaper clippings and write-ups about Bette and... READ MORE >

Mountain Folk Tales: Kenny Collins

Sarah Haas, Peak to Peak.   Before Kenny Collins moved to Estes Park in 2010, there was no talk of monsters. Instead, in the summer, when 4 million tourists came to town, people would talk about the bugle of the elk and the view from the top of Rocky Mountain National Park. More or less, people were satisfied with the mysticism inherent in... READ MORE >

Mountain Folk Tales: Greg Fredyl

Sarah Haas, Peak to Peak.   Living along the Peak-to-Peak means living at a distance from retail. On the casual end of the spectrum it means late night snack cravings must be fulfilled by the contents of your cupboard and, at the extreme, that the pantry will have to hold you over during a week-long blizzard. On the day-to-day, it means that errands... READ MORE >