At this time last year, if you were to offer someone a set of guidelines for maintaining mental stability, you’d probably get a well-deserved smack in the mouth.
Now that circumstances are settling into a cautious clip toward not crazy, some folks are hoping to reclaim their sense of sanity.
There are simple steps you can take to stop the negative internal chatter, calm your mind and exact some mental clarity so that you can enjoy yourself when you get a chance. Also, an approach with reasonable expectations may be better than a strict regimen for the simple fact that you shouldn’t be stressed out about trying to relieve mental stress. Here are a few strategies to consider based on simplicity of the activity, scientific research, and quantifiable results.
Move Yourself
In May of 2019, research fellow Karmel Choi, of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, published a study on the causal connection between physical activity and depression. The study used Mendelian randomization to assess the genetic data of hundreds of thousands of people from two large databases. The finding offered measurable proof that movement does indeed protect against depression more so than the notion that depression makes you move less. Movement means just that; not fancy exercise, (although that won’t hurt) just the simple act of getting up off the couch and going for a walk, mowing the lawn, doing the laundry, dusting off the blinds and yeah — maybe a few jumping jacks.
Reach Out
A 2014 report issued by the National Institute of Health (NIH) presented research on the effects of loneliness on psychiatric disorders and physical health. The study defined loneliness not as a condition caused by being alone, but rather by being “without some definite needed relationship or set of relationships.” The evidence presented links loneliness to a litany of mental conditions including depression, Alzheimer’s, and alcoholism, as well as physical maladies such as low-grade peripheral inflammation which can lead to a host of other serious conditions. The simple act of speaking regularly with friends and family with whom you have a genuine connection can assuage loneliness. Community and religious leaders can also lend a caring ear, while volunteering with charity organizations or adopting a pet can be workable options as well. Plus there are free support outlets such as The Lonely Hour Podcast, the Daily Strength networking service, the National Suicide Prevention Line and many more.
Log Off
Loneliness has a major impact on mental health.
Most people, regardless of age, can grasp the fact that scrolling through your Twitter feed for hours on end is not the equivalent of reading, does not replace human interaction and does not stimulate critical thinking. Regardless, according to statistica.com, the average person worldwide spent 145 minutes a day on social media in both 2019 and 2020. A recent study by Cureus, which was published by the National Institutes of Health, presented evidence gleaned from 28 scholarly articles on the effect of social media on mental health. Anxiety and depression were found to be the most com-
mon disorders linked to habitual social media use, and that these conditions were heightened in females and passive users who only read and do not post. Thankfully, you have many modern decades of human behavior to fall back on when deciding how to better spend your time. For starters, try points one and two above, then you can listen to a podcast, try a new recipe, read a book, write a book, go to a museum, or take a swim. The possibilities are more endless than your daily Facebook news feed.
Be Generous
It is mentally healthy to be generous.
Just about everyone has heard the old saying, “It’s better to give than to receive.” If there was ever any gravitas to the notion that cliches exist for a reason, this one sets the gold standard. In 2013, the American Public Health Association published a study with the NIH which tested the hypothesis that “providing help to others predicts a reduced association between stress and mortality.” Plainly put, being generous toward others helps you relax and live longer. The study followed subjects over a period of five years and measured stressful events in tandem with giving behavior and death rates. The results showed that stress had no bearing on heart rates of those who were giving to others, yet those exhibiting non-giving behavior had a far more predictable rate of mortality in relation to stressful events. Giving behavior does not mean you have to hand out 10 dollar bills to everyone you meet. On the contrary, most folks would rather have something intangible but far more valuable such as your time, your care, your ear, your attention, or your love.
Call A Truce
Solvent relationships are key to mental health.
In this combative, divisive, and litigious day and age, it seems that folks are predisposed to argue at the drop of a hat and be at odds with one another just for the sake of creating conflict. Perhaps one of the greatest things you can do for your mental wellbeing is to relieve yourself of the burden of always having to be right. Debating important issues and standing up for yourself are, of course, pursuits to be valued. Yet, the law of diminishing returns comes into effect when people actively cultivate conflict, exhibit hostility and seek out arguments — especially with their partners. A 2018 study by the Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research at Ohio State University found that couples who argue frequently are prone to leaky gut, which can lead to all sorts of health problems. Further, a 2020 study published by Oxford Academic on depression and family arguments presented evidence that “ … family arguments put depressed men and women at risk for more severe depressive symptoms.” Since it takes two to tangle, when someone wants to argue about something that truly doesn’t matter, you can agree to disagree, take the high road and relent, or simply disengage and walk away.
New Lobby Referred To As The 16th Street Mall Living Room
Bar Bar: The 16th Street Commons Coffee Bar Bar transitions guests from day (coffee) to night (cocktails) with food and beverage options that are locally sourced. It sits in the center of the redesigned lobby at the Sheraton Denver Downtown.
by Mark Smiley
The Sheraton Denver Downtown completed a full-scale renovation of its guest rooms, lobby, public and meeting spaces as part of Sheraton’s worldwide transformation of its guest experience vision. Only one other hotel in North America (Sheraton Phoenix) was commissioned for such a renovation. The conceptual phase started in 2013 and continued through 2016 when Marriott International purchased Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide for $13 billion. The concept became a reality in February 2021.
“We are honored to be one of the first hotels to bring the new Sheraton brand to life in the heart of Denver,” said Tony Dunn, General Manager for the Sheraton Denver Downtown. “The renovation will serve to highlight what is already incredible about the local Denver community — and bring the best of the Sheraton brand to downtown. As travel starts to resume, these changes will strengthen Denver’s position as a global gathering place for groups, conventions, guests and locals alike, and will act as a public square for our growing, evolving city.”
The Sheraton was one of the first original town centers in the United States and one of the towers was built in 1959 and was a Hilton Hotel. It was designed by I. M. Pei who is most famous for designing the Louvre Pyramid which sits at the entrance of the Louvre Museum in Paris. In fact, the new fireplace in the lobby nods to Pei’s original tower design, featuring a plaster imprint of the historic ceiling tiles that remain on the tower’s second level.
Media Wall: The 16th Street Commons Sitting Room provides a central gathering area in the lobby bringing the community together with soft seating and a media wall to catch all the big games.
Sheraton Denver Downtown includes Sheraton’s new signature key elements that aim to create an environment where guests can feel comfortable and at ease, whether working, meeting or relaxing. “We want locals to feel like guests and guests to feel like locals,” said Tracy Blair, Director of Sales and Marketing, Sheraton Denver Downtown. “The locals are definitely invited in and if you’re a guest, we want you to experience local flavors. We want you to know you are in Denver.”
The completion of this $80 million hotel renovation changed the face of the hotel and Denver’s iconic 16th Street Mall. Sheraton Denver Downtown has long been a familiar anchor in Downtown Denver, serving as the largest meetings/events hotel in the city. Today, this transformation is officially complete, with all aspects of the hotel updated and refreshed–including a new arrival experience, 133,000 square feet of renovated meeting space and 1,236 newly redesigned guest rooms and 138 suites as well as a new culinary and beverage experience.
“This is a pivotal moment for Sheraton as we see hotel owners embracing the new vision and bringing it to life,” said Amanda Nichols, Senior Director and Global Brand Leader of Sheraton Hotels. “Over the past 80 years, Sheraton has always offered guests the time-honored assurance of a welcoming community. We’re proud to have built on this legacy in the new concept, creating an environment where guests can enjoy all the familiar comforts of the Sheraton brand, but with fresh, contemporary updates. As travel resumes, we look forward to welcoming guests into this new chapter for Sheraton at Sheraton Denver Downtown.”
A Modern-Day “Public Square”
At the heart of the new experience at Sheraton Denver Downtown is the lobby. This has been re-imagined as the “Public Square” of the hotel called the 16th Street Commons; an open space that invites people to join together or be alone amongst others.
Sheraton Denver Downtown features all the signature elements of the new brand vision. This includes the Community Table, a purpose-built workspace that anchors the hotel’s lobby and allows guests to work, eat and drink. Following Sheraton’s philosophy to embrace both form and function, these tables are custom designed with amenities to keep guests productive, including built-in lighting, outlets and wireless charging stations.
The Studios, flexible gathering spaces available to book whenever a guest needs it, is in a less formal setting. Built on elevated platforms and enclosed with glass, the tech-enabled Studios allow guests privacy and focus for everything from small group meetings to private dining experiences. Soundproof booths are also placed around the lobby, ideal for a phone call to connect privately with friends, family or colleagues.
Sheraton Denver Downtown’s new food and beverage offering creates a focal point in the lobby experience. Part bar, part coffee bar, part market, the 16th Street Commons Coffee Bar Bar is a central pillar of the new Sheraton vision, transitioning guests from day to night with food and beverage options that are locally sourced. “It’s really the focal point now for the lobby,” said Blair. “The food and beverage is pulled out from the corners and walls and it is placed as a focal point of the community. We feel we are the living room of the 16th Street Mall.”
Guest Rooms
Remodeled Rooms: All of the guest rooms, including king accommodations (pictured) have been newly remodeled.
The new guest rooms, which were torn down to the studs during renovation, feature a bright, well-lit space with warm, residential appeal, comprised of soft finishes and light wood tones accentuated with black metal accents. The rooms have new tools for productivity, such as a height-adjustable worktable, integrated power and charging and layered lighting; while still retaining some of the classic Sheraton signature amenities, including the Sheraton Sleep Experience platform bed. The guest bathroom has also been completely redesigned with new and modern walk-in showers.
Sheraton Denver Downtown is following all of Marriott International’s Commitment to Clean protocols, created in partnership with leading experts in food and water safety, hygiene and infection prevention, and hotel operations. These protocols include mandated mask-wearing for all guests and associates within the hotel, and the use of electrostatic sprayers and disinfectants recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and World Health Organization to sanitize surfaces throughout the hotel.
“It’s wild to think that if Full House was filmed in Denver, then Joey could get evicted,” one Denver resident said as City Council approved a controversial text amendment to its zoning code.
Group Living: The 200-page Group Living Amendment was passed at the nearly 7-hour long February 8, 2021, meeting of the Denver City Council by an 11-2 margin. The amendment expands the number of unrelated adults allowed to live in a single-family home up to five.
Known as the Group Living Amendment, it expands the number of unrelated adults allowed to live in a single-family home up to five, bringing Denver’s group living ordinances in line with cities like Telluride, Aspen, and Colorado Springs.
Senior City Planner Andrew Webb, who sponsored the 200-page amendment, described it as “a move away from current regulations that prohibit or are obstacles to providing care for our most vulnerable residents, and from exclusionary regulations of the past that relegated certain people to industrial parts of the city that often border our poorest communities.”
The amendment passed by an 11-2 margin at the February 8, 2021, City Council meeting. Councilmembers Amanda Sawyer (District 5) and Kevin Flynn (District 2) voted against it. 1,143 written comments were submitted prior to the vote. 619 comments were in support and 524 were in opposition.
Groups such as Neighborhood Coalitions of Denver, All In Denver, and YIMBY Denver supported the amendment. Many single-family homeowners and several registered neighborhood organizations (RNO) vehemently opposed it.
During the nearly eight hour public hearing, several residents voiced opposition to increasing density through congregate living in Denver’s single-family neighborhoods. They said the amendment will only serve to decrease property values, increase crime, and destabilize neighborhoods.
Supporters described the amendment as a first step, but argued some of compromises made by City Council leading up to its passage made the amendment needlessly watered down.
One compromise was continuing the prohibition of community corrections facilities in single-family, multifamily, and row house districts. The amendment also restricts large residential care facilities to parcels of land used for civic, public or institutional purposes. Examples include unused churches, schools, and government buildings.
Other supporters told stories of how living afoul of Denver’s current prohibitions on unrelated adults living together helped them overcome adversity or youthful mistakes. Some had lived in community corrections or residential care facilities and had grown up to become homeowners.
“This issue is bigger than the cars parked on the street. It’s about our neighbors; the people who live in our communities. We need to start supporting our neighbors, even the ones who don’t look like us,” said Kiera Jackson, who lives in Montbello.
Mary Coddington, who works with local housing group Neighborhood Development Collaborative, said cities with similar policies like the Group Living Amendment haven’t seen the rising crime rates or lower property values that opponents suppose.
Denver City Councilmembers Amanda Sawyer (District 5) and Kevin Flynn (District 2) voted against the Group Living Amendment at the City Council meeting on February 8, 2021.
“Denver is really far behind most cities when it comes to common sense group living policies,” she said. “Expansion of areas where community corrections and residential care facilities really need to happen. These facilities are designed to help people get on their feet and reenter communities. But, these efforts are undercut if they’re still segregated away from residential areas.”
For business owners like Gail Lindley, who owns Denver Book Binders, the amendment could have large implications on their property taxes. The amendment essentially unlocks potential land uses in several parts of the city, thereby guaranteeing a steeper property tax bill in the near future.
Denver Book Binders sits on a nearly 10,000 sq. ft. lot. In 2009, the company paid nearly $13,000 in property taxes, according to Lindley. By 2019, that bill had ballooned to over $55,000.
“To me, this proposal just sucks.” Lindley told the Glendale Cherry Creek Chronicle. “It was passed under the cover of night and nothing was known about who was making decisions until the Mayor’s office was sued.”
In August 2020, Denver resident Florence Sebern filed a Colorado Open Records Act request with the Mayor’s Office requesting information about the Group Living Advisory Committee, a 40-member committee comprised of developers, neighborhood representatives, city officials, nonprofit and business leaders.
The Mayor’s Office initially denied the request. After a lengthy court battle, a District Judge ruled Sebern was entitled to the records. They revealed only eight members of the committee represented neighborhoods, and that 85 percent of the group members stood to profit from the amendment, Sebern said at the public hearing.
“For the last two or three years, only a handful of individuals were making decisions for others,” she added.
Following the vote, Councilwoman Sawyer released a statement saying she supports updating Denver’s definition of household to reflect the way people are already living in the city. However, she couldn’t see her way to the residential care “side” of the law.
“I agree with the vast majority of the residents who reached out to our office over the past few weeks to advocate against these zoning code changes because these changes are not thoughtful… However, I don’t believe the issues with the residential care ‘side’ of the law were adequately addressed,” she said.
“The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it is never gone.”
Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy
by Luke Schmaltz
On February 17, 2020, Jason Stoval — aka Sid Pink — landed in Paris for a close friend’s 40th birthday celebration. Stoval is an acclaimed Denver-based producer, director, filmmaker, musician, writer, actor and MC. The occasion was to span across numerous days, as a small, tight-knit group planned to meet for dinner, then depart the next morning for some high-end winter recreation at the Swiss border. The trip was beyond the scope of Sid’s finances but, ever the innovative shoestring artist, he found a way to make it work. His role was to be that of a babysitter for a friend in the group’s four-year-old daughter in exchange for travel and accommodations. He would forgo the alpine antics and instead, take care of the youngster all day while the grown-ups whooped it up on the slopes for a week. Fair trade.
A Mysterious Detour
A bit of light reading helps Mr. Pink regain his vocabulary.
On his first evening in the City of Light, however, things went dark. Sid was the senior member of the group and was determined to not begin his adventure with a hangover. So, he left dinner early and headed back toward his hotel to get a good night’s sleep. GPS records of his cell phone movements, however, show a detour to a local lounge and then a second subsequent location. He eventually got into an Uber around 3 a.m. (not called from his phone) and was dropped off in an abandoned parking lot. The driver, who was not “on the clock,” was quoted by authorities as saying, “There was too much blood.” Somewhere between leaving the restaurant around 11 p.m. and getting into the Uber, he had sustained a severely traumatic, blunt-force injury to the left side of his head. Robbery was ruled out due to the fact that he still had his wallet, bank card, phone, etc. Being an American tourist, however, chances of authorities launching an investigation were slim. Speculation points to vindictive locals looking to maul an unsuspecting tourist, but the truth may never be known.
Around 6 a.m., Sid was discovered in said parking lot, picked up by an ambulance and rushed to the Sainte-Anne Hospital. There, doctors performed emergency surgery to remove numerous skull fragments which were embedded in his brain. After surgery, Sid was induced into a coma in order to minimize the swelling in his skull. By now, word of the incident had reached back home to Sid’s family and friends in Colorado.
Staples removed and exodus back to America mere hours before Covid-19 travel ban.
It Takes A Village
Swift action was taken to start a GoFundMe campaign in order to handle what would no doubt be a lengthy and awfully expensive undertaking to pay for his medical expenses in France, and somehow get him back home. Funds were quickly raised, as Sid has many dozens of friends and colleagues across the Mile High City and beyond. Soon, his father Toby was en route to Paris to be at his son’s side. Sid explains his father’s predicament:
“… as a Wyoming native, staying in a big town [and no French spoken], he had it as bad as I did.”
As is common with most traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), Sid has no recollection of the event or anything else that took place several days prior. He remembers nothing of his flight overseas, his arrival in Paris or the evening of the TBI. In fact, his first tangible memory, as fuzzy as it is surreal, occurs more than two weeks afterward, as doctors elected to slowly bring him out of the coma.
Strange New Reality
Paris: City of Dark for Sid Pink.
Sid remembers getting up from the hospital bed, going to the bathroom and looking in the mirror. He was met by a vaguely familiar figure who was somehow a lot thinner and, ahem, missing part of his head.
Sid recalls: “‘Man’ I thought to myself, ‘last night musta been a wild one.’ Clearly, I didn’t really ‘get’ much at that moment. But immediately after, I also noticed that I was thin [I’d lost 32 pounds during the coma]. I twisted to the side and said, ‘Damn — you look good.’ So, hey — an upside. During my last week in the hospital after waking up, I slowly realized that the crazy hole [in my head] and losing 30+ pounds probably didn’t happen in one day.” This upbeat, glass-half-full attitude would be the defining theme for Sid’s ongoing recovery and the return to his life in Colorado — nearly 5,000 miles away.
As his memory and speaking ability became more apparent, so too did the sharpening curve of the Coronavirus. Soon, it was clear that a travel ban was imminent, and with just days before it went into place on March 16, Sid and Toby made their exodus to America by the slimmest of margins. Once again, Sid’s optimism shines a light on the bright side: “It [the timing] was actually really ‘lucky’ — if it [the TBI] happened even a few days later, I would have been in lockdown in Paris for months, probably.”
A Sharp Learning Curve
Sid would soon discover that the left hemisphere of the brain is where the centers for speech and communication are located. From the get-go, he found he was unable to speak, with the exception of the words “yes” and “no.” This condition is common with TBIs, and is known as Aphasia, described by clinicians as when a person knows what they want to say, but is unable to find the words.
Sid’s path back to relative normalcy was through a comprehensive regimen of memory and speech therapy, hand/eye coordination therapy and visual attention training. These are comprehensive disciplines designed to spark neuroplasticity so that the brain can re-train itself.
First, there is the auditory recall of words. For example, a series of unrelated words are spoken aloud by the therapist, followed by five minutes of unrelated conversation, then Sid is prompted to recall those initial three words. Next, there are timed exercises involving a series of 30 or so images containing shapes. “If there’s a triangle, that’s your ‘hand,’ a circle is your ‘foot,’” Sid explains. “Each image shows one or both in it, and if it is on the left or right of a line. The exercise is to see how fast you can look at these symbols and move your hand, foot, or both while determining if they are to the right or to the left of a center line.” Another aspect of Sid’s therapy involves visual stimuli which requires the eyes to react quickly in order to recognize certain properties that are associated with movement such as walking, flying or motorized travel.
Sid continues: “The biggest thing [challenge] is with speech and memory. I need to work on remembering words, including names of actors, or bands, or movie names. If I see a picture of them, or hear someone else say the name, I know all those things in my brain. The tricky part for me is to say: ‘list all the words that start with R in 60-seconds’ or ‘name all the actors you can think of in 60-seconds.’ Oftentimes, that minute might only yield five to 10 words that I can think of. But again, if you showed me a list of 500 words that start with ‘R,’ I know all of them.” Sid continues his daily speech and memory exercises and meets with a therapist twice a week. Although there is no guarantee he will fully recover, he is determined to try.
Keep Looking Up
Moving forward, Sid’s gradual return to cognition and communicative proficiency can be attributed to a phenomenon called neuroplasticity. Unlike other organs, the brain has the unique ability to change its function and structure based on input and stimulus. Even though part of his brain tissue was lost, speech therapy has caused the remaining synapses and neurons to “rewire” their c
An extended stay in a private room is not all it’s cracked up to be.
onnectivity and help Sid regain some of his former ebullience. Once again, his optimism kicks in: “Whatever happened to me, it sucked, for sure — but I am incredibly lucky in so many ways. I have both of my eyes, nostrils [though I lost my ability to smell] and all my teeth. I can walk, use my arms, hands, back — all the big ones. My brain is screwed up, but many people [TBI victims] can’t speak, can’t understand, can’t remember — anything. They can’t write or read. Some people’s injury isn’t just aphasia, it’s amnesia, or damage that erases their knowledge, their ideas, their ability to walk or cook meals or dress themselves.”
Sid’s prognosis is speculative, and he knows he will never again be fully normal. Regardless, he is determined to forge forth into his art at whatever capacity possible. Currently, he is riding high on the recent release of a video for the song “So This is Romance” by his band Psychology Bag, www.psychologybag.com. The piece is one of many results of an ongoing project with Sid’s music partner and artistic wunderkind Kyle Jones. In it, Sid’s injuries are slowly, methodically revealed and, alas, the viewer is given several full glimpses of an artist singing (to the best of his current ability) with a somewhat-healed, extremely dramatic head injury.
The video is a deeply moving, profoundly courageous piece of performance art — and a testament to Sid’s unrelenting pursuit of artistic honesty. Indeed, the video and Sid’s overarching positive attitude are welcome victories in a year of unprecedented loss and tragedy. In closing, Mr. Sid Pink attests: “And on the ‘lucky spin’ … if I got picked up in an ambulance, given a brain/skull surgery, and stayed at the hospital for a month with a billion medications, and coma sleep and all that here in the USA … [it] would seriously have cost between one and two million dollars. It would have ruined me, my family, and friends. For whatever it was, the fact that it happened in a place with socialized medicine was lucky as hell.”
Red rock formations at Sandstone Ranch. Photo by Jessica Hughes
With what seems like a continuous stream of high-end condos and apartment homes making their way across the Front Range, Coloradans can breathe in a breath of fresh air with Douglas County’s newest open space. As one of the largest purchases made by Douglas County, Sandstone Ranch Open Space was bought for nearly $19 million dollars. What was once slated for development is now protected land that everyone can enjoy for years to come.
Sandstone Ranch Open Space is located near the town of Larkspur, 53 miles south of Denver, providing a convenient location between Denver and Colorado Springs. In operation since the 1870s, Sandstone Ranch still runs today with a small cattle herd roaming the pastures. Remnants of the working ranch are seen throughout including, several historic buildings that date back to the original owners.
Hiking along the Juniper Valley Loop. Photo by Jessica Hughes
The ranch’s 2,083 acres rests along the slopes of the Rampart Range, opening to hillsides covered in Gambel Oak, expansive green meadows, a forested canyon, and riparian land surrounded by West Plum Creek. Met with the Pike National Forest, the land is home to a variety of wildlife including, deer, elk, bears, and mountain lions. But what takes center stage are the brightly colored rock formations. The ranch’s gigantic outcrops are the same Fountain Formation that gave rise to the Garden of the Gods, the red rocks of Red Rocks Amphitheatre, and the outcroppings at Roxborough State Park.
Historic barn from the original owners of the ranch. Photo by Jessica Hughes
The 12-mile trail system is open to hikers, mountain bikers, and horseback riders. In the winter visitors can explore by snowshoeing, fat biking, or cross-country skiing.
The trail system is divided into two sections, with two main loops. At the parking lot, the trail to the left will lead you to the north end of the ranch. Here, visitors can explore the Juniper Valley Loop, the Red Rock Vista, all within a roughly four-mile walk. The Juniper Valley loop drops hikers down into a low-lying valley where juniper forests are abundant. For vista-like views of the red rock formations, take the off-shoot trail to the Red Rock Vista.
Sunset at Sandstone Ranch Open Space. Photo by Jessica Hughes
The trail to the right at the parking lot leads visitors to the wildlife overlook, the Sandstone Meadow Trail Loop, and the Ranch Overlook. The Sandstone Meadow Trail Loop is 3.7 miles, round trip, with an additional 2.2 miles to the Ranch Overlook. The wildlife overlook is anchored by two massive red rock formations and an information kiosk about how both cattle and wildlife co-exist at the ranch.
Park information
• Pets are allowed but must be on a leash.
• Open to hikers, bikers, horseback riders, snowshoers, and cross-country skiers.
• Trails are well-marked with signs.
• 12 miles of designated trails.
• Covered pavilion with picnic tables and benches.
• Benches are located throughout the trails.
• Parking is available.
• Restrooms and trash receptacles available.
• Open seven days a week, one hour before sunrise and one hour after sunset.
Directions From Denver
From I-25, north or south, take the Larkspur exit 173. Continue to Spruce Mountain Road for nearly one and a half miles. Upon reaching the stop sign in Larkspur, turn right onto Perry Park Avenue. Where Perry Park Avenue dead ends, take a left onto CO-105 E. Sandstone Ranch is approximately one half mile ahead, on the left.
“I can’t remember if I cried When I read about his widowed bride Something touched me deep inside The day the music died”
— Don McLean, American Pie
by Luke Schmaltz
As with any art form, there are dabblers, there are enthusiasts and there are absolute fanatics. For years, Denver has encouraged all manner of minstrels from prodigies and virtuosos to working players and weekend warriors. These dynamics play into the fickle nature of music, as trends turn over at hypersonic speeds — prompting fans to abandon a movement just as quickly as they adopted it before even considering its merit. Similarly, some musicians are quick to call it quits when a new fad, craze or in this case — a pandemic — comes along that does not resonate with their aspirations. Some, on the other hand, refuse to hang it up at any cost.
Way Back When
Before mid-March of 2020, Denver’s diversity made for an exciting ensemble — an aural offering of such variety that just about any night of the week you could find some kind of a sonic display going on, whether it was rock and roll, country, hip-hop, blues, electronica or even the ear-splitting cacophony of a dive bar karaoke night. All this has changed now, as Denver venues have, for the most part, been forced to shut down their operations. Mainstays such as the Gothic, Bluebird, Ogden and Marquee theatres are shuttered along with big venues like Red Rocks, the Fillmore Auditorium, Denver Coliseum, Mission Ballroom, Levitt Pavilion and more. And then there are the little guys — the lifeblood of local musicians and C-circuit touring bands. Places like Lions Lair, Hi-Dive and Larimer Lounge are hanging on by a thread while Live at Jack’s, Armida’s, 3 Kings Tavern and Skylark Lounge have closed permanently.
Lockdown Fallout: Shuttered theatres and out-of-work employees and musicians.
A Fragile Construct
Many a working musician has contended with smug, demeaning and dismissive venue owners and booking managers who think musicians need them and not the other way around. Conversely, many a club manager has dealt with the insufferable whining of fledgling musicians who think they have the world coming to them on a platter just because they can play 12-bar blues. In reality, it’s a symbiotic relationship, with only the hardiest (or luckiest) of either archetype standing a chance of making it out the other side, identity intact. From a musician standpoint, the hobbyists and weekend warriors will sit this one out while the diehard, lifelong players, composers and engineers will grind on — adapting in stubborn overtures of Darwinian survival.
Stalwart Strategies
The Hibernator
Learning Something New: Aaron Howell wants you to learn something new during the pandemic.
Aaron Howell is the captivating singer and frontman for Denver-based hard rock favorites MF Ruckus. An international touring act that has long-graduated from dive bars and house parties, they are the type of mid-to-large-draw touring band forced into hiatus due to mass closure of theatre-sized venues. Not one to easily, if ever, admit defeat — Howell has chosen to see the pandemic through an esoteric lens. “Some of the greatest learnings in human history have happened during times of plague,” he explains. “It’s one of the default settings that we, as musicians, are built to run.”
“There’s an old Russian saying,” Howell continues, “If you chase two rabbits you catch none.” Rather than lose sight of his goals, he has chosen to intensify his focus. Putting his money where his mouth is, Howell has begun expanding his horizons by taking online music courses to enhance his guitar skills. “Now that the world has shut down, the tethers holding us to any excuse to not try new things have frayed away. Although Howell is not all rainbows and sunshine, he does maintain the glint of a steel-tinted silver lining: “I think about quitting every day. But what keeps me going, is that my obsessive completionism won’t let me leave anything unfinished.”
The Prodigy
Tim Merz — aka Timmy Flips — is the dynamic, triple threat creative force behind hybrid punk/metal outfit Red Stinger. Before the shutdown, when he wasn’t arranging complex lyrical hip-hop overtures or riff-heavy rock and roll tunes, he was working as owner/operator/head instructor of Booth Dance Studios — teaching ballroom dance and other disciplines of movement to a large, diverse, demanding student body. Unlike most folks, Merz did not regard the shutdown with dread, as his own physical exhaustion was on course to slow him down one way or another. “When I heard there was a possibility we’d be put on lockdown, it saved my life, really. I had an overwhelming sense of relief because my life got to pause, and I finally got to breathe.”
Triple Threat: Tim Merz aka Timmy Flips aka Twinkle Toes; a lockdown triple threat.
While counterintuitive to most, Merz’s perception of the situation was as unorthodox as his self-appointed artistic trifecta of punk rock, hip-hop and ballroom dance. He wasted no time shifting focus as an overextended teacher to a hyper-productive musician. “Once I accepted the shutdown was imminent, the faucet opened up and I decided to just do me … for the first time ever I was like — what a gift, what a blessing — it was exactly what I needed. Since mid-March, Merz has written a two-person dance piece and a full cast stage dance show, recorded a hip-hop album and written a four-part Red Stinger musical series titled The Stinger Scriptures — soon to be released in four separate recordings.
The Adaptor
Bart McCrorey: Engineering mastermind and musical wizard didn’t skip a “lockdown” beat.
Bart McCrorey is the proprietor and sonic wizard behind the Crash Pad studio as well as a slew of bands including Messiahvore, Throttlebomb, Valio Mierda and The Pitch Invasion to name a few. He has produced and engineered records for tens of dozens if not hundreds of Denver bands over the past 20 years. The shutdown put a serious damper on studio recordings at first, but he was quickly able to switch to working virtually — having musicians send him raw tracks recorded remotely that he could then enhance, add accompaniments to, mix and master to his clients’ content.
Two of McCrorey’s bands have also been among the select acts to participate in Safe and Sound — a music series put on by the Oriental Theater — one of the few large venues to remain in operation during the pandemic. No small feat, as every event must be monitored scrupulously for adherence to social distancing guidelines and capped at 25% occupancy. On the fun side, McCrorey used everyone’s favorite social media garbage chute, Facebook, to introduce an interactive page that threatened to turn the tide from despondent and divisive to upbeat and educational. Riff Book was launched in the early days of the lockdown and quickly grew to nearly 1,000 members sharing guitar licks, songs and solos rather than polarizing rhetoric and sob stories.
The Troubadour
Tony Luke: Discovered abundance amid the scarcity of live music.
Tony Luke unplugged his guitar for only as long as the Colorado governance mandated and not a measure more. The renowned bluesman is locally revered as one of the best in the business — from his generation (X) for sure. Avoiding the popular downtown clubs and trendy hipster bars, Luke prefers the mom and pop dives of the Denver outskirts, which are somewhat removed from the intense scrutiny of most establishments near the city’s popular epicenter. After being forced to take nearly three months off (April through June) Luke began playing his local circuit of small venues tucked away in suburban strip malls and semi-rural thoroughfares. Contrary to Aaron Howell’s aforementioned MF Ruckus, Luke’s band is just the right size of small but mighty. “Bands that are bigger fish present a problem for venues right now and no one wants to book them,” he attests. “But I’m a roadhouse band, so I play for existing audiences and turn them into fans by the end of the night.”
Luke was pleasantly surprised that bar patrons were overly exuberant and yes, even thankful for live music in unprecedented ways. “I have found success in the pandemic because people are starved for music,” he explains. “My tip jars have tripled from 80 dollars or so to sometimes 300 and 400 bucks a night.” He chooses to view the circumstances through a romantic lens of sorts, stating “I am seeing this time as a sort of renaissance of the old-time juke-joint type of blues nights. You know, when there were no other shows going on and no big concerts — just a couple guys on a small stage in a little bar and people really, really appreciated the music.”
By Luke Schmaltz
