First Tracks

The stories we lead with.

Featured writing from the desk — the pieces pinned to the front door. First lines in fresh snow.

A mountain highway at dawn, headlights strung out under low cloud

August 8, 2026 · 1 min read

The Valley Doesn't Run Without Them

Glenwood Springs is deciding what to do about a detention facility on Midland Avenue. The rest of us are deciding something too.

A parody illustration of a gilded dining room, a crowned figure at a banquet table stacked with fast food.

August 8, 2026 · 1 min read

Has Trump Derangement Syndrome Passed?

It isn't in the DSM. It's a phrase people use to end a conversation. So let's finish the conversation instead — five presidential terms, the receipts, and what the gap costs a household in this valley.

Headlights strung along a mountain highway at blue hour

July 23, 2026 · 1 min read

The Cost of the Drive

Sixty-eight miles, twice a day. One line cook did the math on what the commute really costs — not in gas, in daylight.

The Wager

June 26, 2026 · 1 min read

The Wager

Two regulars bet a hundred dollars on a stranger's body. Only one of them did the math on what that meant.

A woman standing alone, looking out over snow-covered peaks at dawn

June 23, 2026 · 1 min read

The Math of Staying

One woman, one winter, and the price of a life in the Roaring Fork Valley.