Blue skies persisted for most of the day, huge crowds filled the festive streets of Fairplay from start to finish and the 72nd edition of World Championship Pack Burro racing added another memorable chapter to its already storied history.

On the Long Course, after 29 grueling miles and five hours and 22 minutes of racing, the two top contenders dueled side-by-side down Front Street to a virtual photo finish.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis spent the second day of his Power the Comeback Tour with several stops in Park County on July 27. The purpose of the tour is to convey that Colorado is open for business and accessible to all people, including people with disabilities.

The quest of The Middle Way horse sanctuary to keep three wild mustangs together was realized and now all three horses; grandmother, mother, and daughter are together in their forever home in Garo.

Since last year’s  Park County Fair was scaled down significantly due to COVID-19, one might expect a little organizational rust for this year’s 101st edition of the highly-anticipated event.

But this planners and organizers didn’t miss a beat, and the 2021 version of the fair was as good as ever.

The unexpected temporary closure of the Badger Basin Gas Station, Convenience and Liquor Store in Hartsel caused confusion and some difficulties for travelers and locals who depend on the gas supply last weekend.

“I gave two cans of gas to a lady traveling with three children,” Terrie Dalessandro, Hartsel resident, said.

Throughout its storied, 101-year history, the Park County Fair has been a highly-anticipated, well-attended and locally revered event.

The Hartsel Fire Auxiliary sponsored its First Annual Car Show as a fundraiser July 3 at the Ranch of the Rockies pavilion. Classic cars, shiny new cars, four wheel jeeps, trucks and motorcycles were all featured the event, which drew over 100 people.

Special Events Coordinator Julie Bullock could be seen racing from one place to the next, organizing and assisting volunteers and staff throughout the entirety of Sunday’s Fourth of July celebration sponsored by the Town of Fairplay.

In fact, had Bullock harnessed those efforts and applied them to the  Burro Buster 5K Race held earlier in the day, she would have almost certainly finished among the leaders.

PARK COUNTY — The Colorado Department of Transportation will begin bridge replacement operations July 6 on U.S. 285 over South Fork of South Platte. The project, located in Park County, has multiple locations: U.S. Highway 285 at mile post 172.2 to 173.5, Colorado Highway 9 at MP 63, and U.S. Highway 24 at MP 47.5. Zak Dirt Inc. has been selected as the contractor for this project. Work is expected to be completed in the fall, weather permitting.

Lake George Fire Protection District recently hosted another joint departmental training at their Station One facility in Lake George. Florissant Fire Protection District secured the training and reached out to Susan Bernstetter, Chief at LGFPD, to collaborate together and offer the Propane …

The Hartsel Community Library volunteer team has been busy building and placing “little library” boxes at both Eleven Mile and Spinney Reservoirs.

South Park City Museum in Fairplay is an authentic re-creation of an 1880s Colorado boomtown. Most of its structures and exhibits range in time from 1859 to about 1890. With its new Dredge Office exhibit, the museum timeline has expanded into the 1940s.

Gold dredging was a huge part of Fairplay and South Park history, according to  Erin Pulsipher, curator of the museum. And that’s why, when the former Dredge Office of South Platte Dredging Company was donated to the museum by owner and area resident Amanda Woodbury, it was decided that the exhibits inside would represent South Park’s dredging history.

Jim and Daphne Myers, owners of Sasquatch Outpost in Bailey, recently went to extrordinary measures to provide both transportation and housing for a pair of new Bailey residents.

The Bigfoot family, also known as the Sasquatch family, arrived on a trailer May 31, and was delivered by Warn and Shari Peterson. The Petersons said their cargo had been the topic of lively conversation for many curious travelers along the way from Ohio, where the Sasquatches were constructed by a company called Unit 70 Studios in Columbus.

It might appear as if summer events in Park County are back in full swing and that it’s business as usual for all parties involved. But in reality, it is business as usual with the added weight of what could be referred to as a slight COVID hangover.

The sketch plan phase of the Morning Air Planned Unit Development, owned by Salzamar Properties, LLC, was approved by the county commissioners May 25.

June 15 marks the second anniversary of Mountain Essentials, located at 520 on Fairplay’s historic Front Street. Mountain Essentials is owned and operated by Nicole McChesney.

Edith Teter Preschool had a memorable, creative and productive week.

May 15, paramedics Katie Hind and Alisha Wiltse received a call from radio dispatch that a woman in Fairplay was having contractions a minute apart and might be only 28 weeks along in her pregnancy.

In an apparent surprise, Zoe Ann Holmes, Administrator of Lake George Charter School, submitted her letter of resignation to the school board during their meeting May 19. It was further learned that several teachers subsequently resigned as well.

Numerous attempts have been made to determine the cause of the upheaval to no avail. Contact was made with Jennifer Geffre, president of the board, who told The Flume after discussing the matter with her attorney they would cooperate and answer questions submitted in writing.

Velma B. Johnston, later known as “Wild Horse Annie,” in the 1950s brought attention to the plight of wild horses and burros. In 1971, The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act was signed into law and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) began a program of capturing some of the animals and …

Even with 14 months of mask-wearing and social distancing in the rearview mirror, COVID-19 concerns still linger in Park County.

But with the successful distribution of vaccines thanks to a number of aggressive measures taken at the national and local levels, those concerns are waning sharply and should subside even more over time.

Perhaps the best evidence of that is reflected in the number of public summer events scheduled to take place in Park County in the coming months, most all of which were cancelled in 2020.

Nostradamus was an astrologer and a physician, but gained fame and a loyal following for his poetic prophecies and his astonishingly accurate foretelling of future events.

Similarly, Saam Golgoon is widely recognized as the mayor of Alma and a tireless community volunteer, but he recently demonstrated some impressive future-telling prowess of his own.

 In an article published in the March 26 edition of The Flume entitled ‘The state of Alma,’ Golgoon warned that privately owned land near Alma could be closed to public access if land-owners we so inclined.

The historic Glen Isle Resort, about one-and-one-half miles west of Bailey, has been owned by Mary Ruth and Greg Vincent since 2017.

New kits

Some of the faces have changed, but Fire Adapted Bailey is carrying on with its important work to protect the community from the ever-growing threat of wildfires.

Living in Park County poses a myriad of unique challenges for many senior citizens.

The absence of a single hospital or assisted living center within the county is chief among them and the distance to the nearest grocery store and other businesses can also be problematic for those lacking transportation.

Most recently, however, according to new Park County Senior Coalition Executive Director Jennie Danner, isolation and lack of social interaction in the wake of COVID-19 has been perhaps the most imposing challenge of all for local seniors.

“Reducing isolation and increasing connection will be our most immediate priority,” Danner said. “We have a lot of fun activities and special outings planned for the near future, and we look forward to stepping up our outreach efforts and socially reconnecting our seniors.”