Towering lodgepole pines on Smuggler Mountain Open Space.

The views of Aspen from Smuggler Mountain Open Space are no doubt a highlight of the hike up Smuggler Mountain Road, but if you venture into the interior of the 232-acre open space, you’ll be treated to a different sort of spectacular sight. All you need to do is look up.

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Kate Lindvig, the “Cattle Queen of Snow Mass,” circa 1915. (Aspen Historical Society)

The recent acquisition of Snowmass Falls Ranch by Pitkin County Open Space and Trails is but the latest chapter in a story that began more than a century ago, when a Danish immigrant – a single woman, no less – established a ranch in the wilds of upper Snowmass Creek and became a local legend in the process.

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A coyote on the prowl (OST wildlife camera)

With the reintroduction of gray wolves to Colorado, coyotes and even foxes are attracting a lot of attention – mostly because some observers are mistaking them for wolves.

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