They talk about the value of community stories, resiliency and advocacy, and the new programs within the larger We are Chaffee storytelling initiative. They also talk about the goings on with Chaffee County Public Health and its continuing to be a cornerstone of well-being in the Chaffee County community.

With those stories in mind, she and Adam Williams talk about the seasons of life, including the midlife stage and perimenopause. As founder of Menopausey, Becca is working on an area of women’s health and education that seems to be rising in public awareness right now. But the information that’s out there often is not accurate, not to mention the myths of menopause that are perpetuated in pop culture, makes this a topic that is in need of attention.

Becca shares some of the dozens of symptoms of perimenopause and other information that many of you – and those around you – will find relevant, sooner or later. This stage of life affects us all in one way or another, men included.

Erika and Adam also talk about normalizing conversations about death as a matter of life in “death cafes,” and the who, what, when, where and how of the medical aid in dying process. Among other things.

Tommy and Adam Williams talk about the “wicked learning environment” that the wilderness can be, and about taking to heart the life-and-death responsibilities of being a guide and instructor in those spaces. They talk about how Tommy came to have so much experience and knowledge in the larger-scale mountain wilds of Colorado, having grown up in the upper Midwest. They also touch on Tommy’s perspectives on climate change and what might lie ahead for the outdoor industry and his businesses, which are dependent on seasonal snowpacks and river flows. Among other things.

She talks with Adam Williams about the history of St. Elmo, now known as a ghost town. One of the last full-time, year-round residents of St. Elmo was Melanie’s godmother, Annabelle Stark, who would go to town in October and buy enough food, beer and cigarettes to outlast the high alpine winter.

They talk about the 2002 fire in St. Elmo, how it got started, why it became the subject of national news reports that suggested it was due to a meth lab in the ghost town, and why she describes the seven outhouses that burned down, along with several buildings close to Melanie’s heart, as historic treasures.

He talks with Adam Williams about some of the influences in his early years that led him out into the bigger world, seeking adventure. They talk about how he went from his first job out of college, in the financial district in Hong Kong, to opening doors for himself as a writer and photographer with no experience. They talk about bikepacking in Mongolia and elsewhere, living in Kathmandu, and the fire Nathan still has in his early 50s for that creative, traveling life.

She talks with Adam Williams about The Table. They also talk about the daily risks and rewards of working on the ranch, and how constant learning and innovations are critical for ranchers to thrive. And about the dramatically increasing value of agricultural land – monetarily and otherwise – and the increasing pressures of land development. Among other things, including some eye-opening stories from Lara’s memoir.

They talk with host Adam Williams about their own lives in photography, as well as Curtis’ life more than a century ago and his 30-something years of documenting dozens and dozens of Native tribes in North America. They also talk about how they are extending that work through their Descendants Project today. Among other things.

She talks about the shaping influences in her life: her early years growing up in a blue-collar family in Bethlehem, Penn., with Ellis Island immigrant grandparents; how John F. Kennedy inspired her as a young woman to serve in the Peace Corps in Belize; and about when she and her husband moved with their teenaged kids from rural Colorado to live in Buenos Aires, Argentina. 

MaryAnn also talks about her belief in our birthrights to grow, heal and evolve. She shares how we can plant seeds of hope and light, even when life feels dark and uncertain.

It was a Wild West industry at the time. No rules, no training required, no permits, no insurance. Just put out a brochure, get some paying clients and head downriver.

Reed was part of shaping the rafting industry that exists in the Valley today. He and others worked to create necessary regulations, to negotiate water flows, and to sort out the laws and shared opportunities for boating, fishing and other uses of the Arkansas River.

This is an incredible, full-range human conversation. There are descriptions of the school shooting, family violence and suicidal ideation. There also is extraordinary grace and forgiveness, love and joy. There is humor and laughter, and there are wild stories of mischief with Johnny and his brothers. There also are some chickens named Chicki Minaj and Cardi Bird (“’sup ladiesss!”). And other good stuff.

They also talk about Betsy’s roller derby days in Las Vegas, where she was a founding member of the Sin City Roller Girls, and how that experience was transformative for her, personally and professionally. 

They talk with Adam Williams about their origin story together, their farming adventures in Hawaii and Europe, and the importance of community to their mission at Headwater Farms.

Jess talks with Adam Williams about the hardships and tragedy that inspired such a live now, live for joy mentality. They talk about the misconceptions people have about that kind of life – no trust fund here – and what the reality of her life as an artist, traveler and fun-seeker who spends 50+ days of the winter season snowboarding with her kids, for example, really takes.

Tracy grew up in a home where conflict and her mother’s mental health challenges led Tracy to live in and out of foster homes for years and, ultimately, fight for emancipation from her mother as a young teen. Tracy talks with Adam about those difficult early experiences and how they influence her as the conflict resolution facilitator and mediator that she is today.

Jordan talks with Adam Williams about growing up in a non-religious, non-traditional family in a heavily Mormon-influenced community in Utah. They talk about his move to New York to play at Iona University, and the decade-long spiral of addiction and self-sabotage that unfolded after an injury sidelined him from playing soccer. Among other things, like getting clean and finding his way back to soccer as a coach.

They also talk about the ways communism affected Krista’s family. Her dad fled to freedom when Krista was very young and her mom was a political activist hiding her religious faith. They talk about how it still affects Krista today and how it influences her parenting of two American boys so far removed from the experiences of her youth. Among other things.

Gina talks with Adam Williams about those experiences and shaping influences in her life, as well as her volunteer service and leadership for Chaffee County (Colo.) Search & Rescue North, her being featured in “The Candidate,” a documentary of her latest campaign for public office, and how she learned to harness the power in her experience of ADHD.

He talks with Adam Williams about how, having been the valedictorian of his high school class in Prescott, Ariz., he almost dropped out of Pepperdine University only months later, to dive full time into his band in L.A. They talk about the relatively safe choice of becoming a dentist like his father, and then the risk of leaving it behind to start a tech company.

They get into the wisdom of Father Richard Rohr and other philosophers, and talk about the “two halves of life,” which leads them into talking about how they see their roles as dads. They also talk about how Matt views DifferentKind as a force for good in the community. And Matt tells about the one thing he misses now that he’s no longer actively practicing as a dentist.

He talks with Adam Williams about how the gift of telling tales came to him upon his father’s death and how cycling has changed his life, despite David’s initial pooh-poohing of being one of those men in spandex.

They also talk about how David “accidentally” enlisted in the Army after the events of 9/11, about playing hide and seek with “the most vicious animal of all the North American wilderness,” and a key life lesson that he’s picked up over his many adventurous years. Among other things.

Paul and Adam also go back to Paul’s roots in small-town England, where he says he grew up on the “wrong side of the tracks.” Through his father, Paul formed a lifelong connection with nature and an ambition to build a life that was beyond expectations.

Paul also tells of his first big adventure to America, where things went very wrong on day one and by day two his life would be profoundly changed forever. Among other things.

Rama is most of a decade into the process to gain U.S. citizenship as an asylum seeker. He talks with Adam Williams about the how and why of that, what his fears are and how he feels about not being able to return home to see his village or family, who he’s not seen in many years. They talk about life in that village where Rama grew up.

Rama and Adam talk about what it means to be Kurdish in Turkey, where the mere existence of Kurds is an inciting incident for many Turks, and certainly for the government. The Kurdish language and culture are effectively illegal and socially intolerable.

Adam Williams talks with Mike about how he and Zack Hughes started Badfish in Zack’s garage and became huge influences in growing the adventure sport of river surfing into what it is today. 

They also talk about Mike’s involvement in developing the whitewater park in Salida, including the Scout Wave, and the opposition some feel toward those efforts. Among other things, like Mike’s recent trip to Northern Ireland and the Netflix series “Derry Girls.”

He and Adam talk about the resilience needed to thrive in mountain town life. For PT, that’s included working as a river guide and a kayak sales rep, a housebuilder and pizza shop owner, as a whiskey distiller and entrepreneur (Wood’s High Mountain Distillery). Not to mention his public service locally for many years, including as mayor of Salida and now as a Chaffee County commissioner.

They talk about the rise of microdistilleries across the U.S. and how the events of 9/11 influenced that. And about why PT got involved in local politics and the most urgent issues facing Chaffee County today.

They talk about her 20+ years of solo international traveling, and how that traveling has influenced her spiritual growth, including a revelatory experience at a Buddhist monastery in Sri Lanka.

Angie also talks about her years as a wildland firefighter, working on helitack and hotshot crews, including a season Down Under. And how she became a “tree activist” along the way. Among other things.

In this episode from Eyes on the Street, Ryan and Adam talk about community storytelling and how it can be a catalyst for change. Adam shares insights about Looking Upstream and the larger We Are Chaffee storytelling initiative of which it’s a part.

They also talk about some of Adam’s creative interests, how he got into podcasting, what he loves about it, and the value of conversations like those that happen on Looking Upstream to community.

She talks with Adam Williams about how she weaves her knowledge and passions for nature, food and psychology together. They also talk about rewilding, the science behind meditation and Erica’s “pathological optimism.” Among other things.

Like, Erica’s six-month sabbatical years ago, in which she drove her 1982 Volkswagen Vanagon, named “Butter,” into the forests of the American West and sustained herself fully by foraging for food. It was a life-changing adventure that has permeated Erica’s entire life since.

He tells the story of his barber shop, which he recently opened in Cockeyed Liz’s old brothel, and why he named the shop Green Street when it’s actually located on Main Street in Buena Vista, Colo. And why when he opened his new shop, he absolutely had to have an expensive pair of 101-year-old barber chairs. 

Ryan and Adam talk about growing up in Flyover Land, the band Slipknot, the rise of Des Moines, and Ryan’s pride in craft and a career that has taken him to London and back. Among other things. Like, how they’re both introverts who also are professional talkers.

He talks about all that with Adam Williams in this conversation, as well as his becoming an EMT as a sophomore in high school. Chris has many years of experience on ambulances and as a firefighter, including wildland, and as a ski patroller. He and Adam also talk about time banking, a community-based economic concept that Chris uses at Yurts at Poncha Pass.

They talk with Adam Williams about what’s missing in how we think about and experience therapy, and why it goes against the grain of conventional perspectives. They talk about stigmas and “normalcy.” And touch on neurodivergence and on the warrior spirit of masculinity. Among other things.

They also talk about Derek’s dad, Michael, who died last November and was a huge part of Derek’s life and skating career. In recent years, Derek was integral to the building of a new skatepark in Salida and bringing a World Cup event to town, with the Heart of the Rockies Rampage.

But there also is a story of divine epiphany and a triumph of the spirit to overcome those obstacles. It’s a remarkable hero’s journey.

Adam talks with Debbie about having grace, resilience and empathy, despite the traumas and pitfalls. They also talk about the role of Deepak Chopra in Debbie’s life, first through one of his books and later with the man himself. Among other things.

Read also addresses: Are the local building processes and policies we have in place what we need them to be? How do short-term rentals factor into the equation? What’s the impact of a moratorium on construction? Among other things.

They also talk about CivicBrand’s pioneering work in city branding and placemaking, and the “locals first” approach that is about helping communities to become the best version of themselves.

Among other things, like the values of travel, parenting teenage sons, fishing and getting people to fall in love with the outdoors.

As well as his dive into the mid-19th century techniques of tintype photography after opportunities for adventure photography dried up with the rise of digital technologies. Tim also shares profound insights on heartbreak and healing, and about his fine art tintype series “Broken.”

Ken also is a designer, a painter and a screenwriter, and he’s the creator of Box of Bubbles in Salida, Colo.

Adam talks with Ken about his “boring” approach to life and his appreciation of the surreal. They dabble in Dalí and da Vinci, Taosim and Dadaism. And talk about Ken’s astonishing collection of American idioms, which is 20+ years in the making. Among other things.

They talk about the value of local food sources and the costs of short- versus long-term nutritional choices. They also talk about why the food pyramid chart that so many of us grew up with is bogus and what nutritional guidance has replaced that pyramid.

Adam also gets Anna’s insights on some “tricky foods,” and asks about the impact of genetics and bio-individuality on one’s health. Among other nutritious things.

Ken hosted a radio show called Chaffee Housing Report for several years. Jon was the radio engineer behind the scenes on that show as he often is for Looking Upstream. Adam pulls back the curtain to learn more about each of these guests and to get them to tell a bit on each other along the way.

Jon tells stories of interviewing Mick Jagger on the radio years ago, and covering a clash between the Black Panthers and riot police at a basketball game. Ken talks about his history with rugby and, on the softer side, gardening. Among other things.

Julie talks about how she went from studying biochemistry in French, while a college student in Brussels, Belgium, to theater and eventually a career in filmmaking. She and Adam talk about her innovative DocuReach approach to making films. It’s a model for social change that makes filmmaking a team sport, rather an ego-driven, command-and-control kind of endeavor.

They also talk about the evolution of technology throughout Julie’s career, from DigiBeta to the role of the Internet and YouTube, to her becoming an FAA-licensed drone pilot and her thoughts on the use of AI. Among other things.

Carrie has published writing about grief and loss. She was a music therapist for hospice patients for years, and she lost her dad to pancreatic cancer when she was 22 years old. Michael lost his mom to lung cancer when he was only 17, and his dad rarely was involved in his life.

This incredible conversation dives into the human experiences of grief and loss, healing and gratitude, resilience and forgiveness. And a whole lotta love.

Thuy came up in a cult-like religious environment. When she was a teen, she was preyed upon by a church leader and, ultimately, shunned by that community. Adam talks with Thuy about those experiences, how she broke free from the church, and what she’s learned about leadership, accountability and forgiveness in the process.

They also talk about mental health, including Thuy’s experience of postpartum depression – the fear, the extreme paranoia – and how she worked her way through that and found the light again.

Mahting grew up in a Latvian community in Kalamazoo, MI. It was extraordinarily formative, and is a source of great pride for Mahting. Adam talks with him about that upbringing and community, and its influences on him.

They also talk about Mahting’s history with photography, the realities of trying to thrive as an adventure photographer, and the emergence of artificial intelligence and its effect on Mahting’s photographic work. Among other things, like being a “dirtbag” climber and adventure guide living in a van throughout his 20s.

Adam talks with Jason about his early years growing up on a farm, his studying post-WWII poetry at Harvard, and his time as an environmental reporter at the Casper Star-Tribune. They also talk about the state of journalism today.

And they talk about Jason’s friend, Matthew Shepard, who became the subject of national and international media coverage in the wake of a violent hate crime committed against him, in 1998. Among other things.

Silvana, a road cyclist, recounts the harrowing experience of when she was hit from behind by a motorist driving more than 45 miles per hour – and the seemingly divine instruction she heard in that instant that might have saved her life. That accident led to the first of two traumatic brain injuries that Silvana has been living with since.

They talk about how her life has changed, including the social isolation and grief that came with loss of friendships along the way, and how we all can show up for our loved ones in those critical moments.

They talk about what a social circus is and the good it serves in a community. They talk about what it was like for Jenn to live in Belfast for 12 years, using the circus as a tool for bringing people together during “The Troubles.”

Jenn tells about how, as a two-time college dropout who also was, in her words, “the world’s worst waitress” and a “terrible employee” for others, she figured out the unconventional path of her own life and not only has thrived but has helped so many others along the way. They also talk about solving life’s quality problems, getting past our own self-consciousness and developing our skills of humor to create resilience. Among other things.

In this conversation, Adam talks with Shane about tattoos and Shane’s autobiographical song, “Guy with the Chevy Tattoo.” They talk about the early influences in Shane’s life, including straight-edge punk rock music and the ethos behind it. They talk about why Shane is so restless and optimistic, and about the most valuable lesson he thinks anyone can learn.

Adam and Shane explore being a “gray area” person in a world that wants to box people into black and white, bumper-sticker identities. Toss in a love story, Shane’s relationship to cannabis and psilocybin, and his thoughts on regrets in life, among other things.

Adam talks with Gloria about her upbringing in a home with three generations and two languages, teen mental health, loss of identity as an athlete due to significant injuries and generational disconnects in communication. Among other things.

In this conversation, Adam talks with Thordis about how she came to leave a career as a school teacher to go live in a small Greek village, where she would spend years interviewing villagers and documenting their life in photographs. Never mind that Thordis did not know Greek.

That initial experience would lead to Thordis selling her Ford Pinto station wagon and buying dilapidated sheep stables in that Greek village with the proceeds: $2,000. She would spend 10 years rebuilding that stone structure by hand into a house for herself, and participating in a 40-year relationship with that village.

Ray studied at Naropa, a Buddhist-inspired university in Boulder, Colorado. She and Adam delve into matters of spirituality, and how to live as our highest, truest selves. They talk about fear and love, ego and death, magic and joy. Among other things.

Adam talks with Zac, who had just returned home from nearly a year working and touring in Europe and North America with Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” tour. They talk about his early years with music, including his attending a performing arts high school in Dallas, where he was in English class with Erykah Badu. They talk about life on the road, and what happened when the covid-19 pandemic put a stop to Zac’s work.

Zac started touring as a musician when he was a teenager. He lived in Los Angeles for years. He’s now a dad in his 50s and living in a rural mountain town in Colorado. They talk about what’s changed and what has stayed constant in Zac’s decades-long musical career. Among other things.

Jed is a former professional kayaker and former U.S. Freestyle Kayak team member. He’s a passionate lover of live music and has contributed a lot to the local area music scene for nearly 20 years.

Adam gets to know about who Jed is behind the public reputation. They talk about motivations and how Jed has felt about criticism of his South Main work. They also talk about community crisis issues, like affordable housing, short-term rentals, water needs and how to build the future. Among other things.

Rob and his wife, Dee, made national news 30 years ago when they survived several days in the backcountry during a phenomenal blizzard near Aspen, Colorado. Adam talks with Rob about that experience and not only how but why survival against all odds was possible.

A few years later, Rob retired from filmmaking at 42. He and Dee sold their home and bought a 40’ sailboat. They sailed the world for what would become a 17-year-long adventure, and a study of human happiness and fulfillment.

Adam and Alf take a ride through history and stories of a time gone by, personal, family and otherwise. Alf was abandoned by his father from the get-go, and his stepfather was lost at sea in the Pacific during World War II when Alf was only a baby. He has stunningly vivid memories of being run over by a car driven by his grandfather when he was six years old. His mom was a Rosy the Riveter type, a welder who died when Alf was 10.

And there’s more. But Alf focuses on the grandparents who raised him, teaching him all the life skills that an old-world agrarian family and community in the Deep South had to teach at the time.

Keith talks about his country roots in Georgia and his perception of life as a child in the Sixties, a decade that had its challenges, for sure, but Keith was formed as an optimist from his early years on and overall saw it as as a golden era of possibility and progress, like with space flight and the moon landing in the summer of ’69.

They talk about Keith’s ambitions to be a Naval aviator, though he ultimately would become a career Surface Warfare officer instead, and would serve closely with General Colin Powell, and other top leaders, at the Pentagon.

Keith shares his thoughts on the hallmarks of great leaders, and what it was like to work with a consummate leader like Colin Powell, who was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time. Among other things.

Eddie might be most known as chef and owner of the Asian Palate (Buena Vista, Colo.), along with his wife, Brynn. In recent months, he also became concert manager for the Surf Hotel.

In this conversation, Adam gets to know more about where Eddie comes from, his Midwest upbringing and his young adult years on the East Coast. They talk about how food came to be a central passion for Eddie, though he’d initially thought he’d become a school teacher.

They also talk about music’s place in Eddie’s life and about influential travel experiences, including several months in Southeast Asia. Among other things.

They tell how their van life actually started with a monthslong 48-state road trip in a Honda Civic with their then 2-year-old daughter. They talk about how they came to be featured on HGTV’s show “Tiny House, Big Living,” when they were converting a cargo van into a home.

Adam finds out what Mars and Ashley have learned from life on the road, and from the diverse array of people they’ve met, and how that has influenced their concepts of community, in real life and online. Among other things.

Suzy is a local historian and nearly lifelong resident of the Arkansas Valley here in Colorado. She holds a wealth of knowledge on the history of the area, and has built a legacy of preservation as a founding board member of the local Heritage Museum for the past nearly 50 years.

Adam asks about some of the local stories Suzy knows, just as she learned many of them by asking those who could tell the stories before her. They talk about Buena Vista, Colo., landmarks like the historic courthouse and McGinnis Gym, and Cockeyed Liz’s brothel, which still stands today, on Main Street. They talk about change during Suzy’s decades living here.

They talk about accepting life with a neutral spirit, and the power of perception to shape how we see and move through the world. Laurie shares about her current work, Inward Bound, which brings together women and highlights tools for women to recognize what they have to offer and to stand stronger in their own purposes.

They also talk about Laurie’s recent book, “Leading from the Feminine,” and her forthcoming book. Among other things.

They also talk about the U.S. government’s internment of Japanese-Americans, including Kimi’s family, during World War II, and the lasting effects it’s had on generations of a family and community at large.

Kimi also shares her views on entrepreneurship and intentions behind the “Howl,” of Howl Mercantile & Coffee, her curated retail shop in Salida, Colo.

Joe was a pioneering American professional cyclist in Europe in the 80s and 90s. He also has been a professional and/or highly competitive BMX, mountain bike and motorcycle racer.

He’s been an aerobatic pilot. He spent several years as a highly accomplished long-range rifle shooter. He has been on several tours with the rock band of the actress Juliette Lewis. He has published two books and later worked as a magazine editor and writer. He’s owned a bar and bike shop, is a Liege waffle connoisseur and continues to read books in Flemish to stay in touch with his formative years as a cyclist living in Belgium.

Joe shares his inside perspective on the entrenched history of doping in the sport of cycling, the nuances of race fixing, and his levels of participation in both. Among other stories from his many interesting life turns and adventures.

Rick Bieterman and Katy Welter. Katy and Rick are married partners in a life of ranching and historic renovation, and other adventures. They met on a 75-day outdoor leadership adventure in the mountains. They had come to that experience as individuals, strangers, who unwittingly had both traveled from Chicago to get there, and they left as a couple.

Adam talks with Katy and Rick about leaving behind careers as a lawyer and a teacher, respectively, in the Midwest and to, ultimately, take a leap of faith into buying an historic 180-acre ranch in the Arkansas River Valley in Colorado.

They talk about learning on the job at their Watershed Ranch, and the 50-year project they see in it. And about how they came to be owners of an historic renovation project of a 1936 gymnasium. They also talk about leadership, land conversation, and a passion for serving the community. Among other things.

Eric has a rich history of entrepreneurship and service to others, including as a chef and restaurateur, life coach and fitness trainer, book author and restorative justice facilitator. He and Adam talk about Detroit and the Motown era of Eric’s early years, and other influences in his life as a kid coming up there in the 1960s and 70s.

They talk about how Eric ultimately left behind a wayward lifestyle and came to the spiritual practices and positive attitude that have led him to his many life successes, including his current community leadership role in restorative justice for youth.

Travis has a new book out, “A Mile at a Time.” It’s a collaboration with his father, the legendary endurance athlete, Mark “Mace” Macy, and Patrick Regan.

Adam and Travis talk about the impact of Mace’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis, and the ambiguous sense of loss and grief along the way. They talk about the role of humor and choosing happiness, and facing life with courage. They also talk about Travis and Mark’s relationship, as father and son, and about love, optimism and resilience. Among other things that spark laughter and maybe a few tears, too.

Brinkley dropped out of art school, yet here he is, one of this area’s most recognizable artists with work that is known up and down the Arkansas River Valley and beyond. Brinkley describes himself as “naturally subversive.” He and Adam talk about how that, his study of anthropology, and his parents have influenced his work as an artist.

Brinkley shares about his upbringing and early influences in life, and why he loves music but feels like he hasn’t succeeded in making music himself. Adam asks Brinkley about his love of horses, mountains and trails, and they talk fatherhood, too.

Elisia is a poet who grew up in unconventional circumstances. She and Adam talk about how those circumstances helped her to develop resilience and her voice, which she has used not only as a performing slam poet but as an activist.

Adam talks with Elisia about her path from being an activist out of righteous anger to being an activist out of love, and one who recently earned her Master’s degree and is starting a career as a social worker.

Sophie retired from world competition after the Tokyo games were held in 2021. She grew up in Fairplay, Colo., at first with dreams of being a competitive skier. We talk about what led her from skiing to glory as a swimmer. We talk about her growing up with a disability and how that affected her life in a small rural school, and fueled her fire to excel at academics and athletics.

Sophie was born with dwarfism. She has said if she had a choice between being born with dwarfism again or of average height, she’d choose dwarfism. She shares why that is in this conversation. And plenty more insights and stories, including her love story with Paralympic cyclist (and now husband) Nick Gibb.

Wendell tells about growing up in what was then a rural area outside Denver, coming up in a two-room schoolhouse without indoor plumbing, and spending weekends in the city with cousins.

His dual-environment childhood and being surrounded by family values would be shaping factors in his life. Wendell would end up leaving the States as a teenager, however, to go to high school in Germany, where his civil servant father took a career stint for some years.

Adam asks Wendell, who would have a lengthy career in public service himself, about his experiences and insights as civil rights director for Colorado and in other roles, including as executive director of the EDC. In that position, he would help to bring broadband internet to this rural slice of central Colorado, empowering a surge of intellectual and entrepreneurial capital to move into the region, among other things.

Monica enjoyed a career as a wildlife biologist for the U.S. Forest Service for a number of years, and then experienced a life-changing illness that took years just to get support for diagnosis, let alone treatment. It’s her path with Lyme disease, and that of her husband and their two children getting sick with it, as well, that inspired her to become an advocate in the field of tick-borne diseases.

In this conversation, Monica talks about the brutal shift, physically, mentally and emotionally, from an active, adventurous outdoor life to one of years long, ongoing isolation and grief, for her and her family.

She talks about why it was so extraordinarily difficult to get the medical community’s support in her diagnosis, and why Lyme disease continues to be such a challenging illness, in general, to get treatment for.

Andrea and Adam reflect on the recent past, with the three-year mark of the first COVID case noted in Chaffee County in mind. During the time that would follow, Andrea lived not only her own version of what everyone experienced with the pandemic, she also felt heavy responsibilities and stresses as director of Public Health responding to a health crisis in the face of political and social division. That included receiving politically motivated threats to her safety and calls for her removal as director of Public Health.

Adam talks with Andrea about what motivated her to persevere and continue serving the community, rather than walking away for her own wellbeing, as her loved ones at times urged her to do. They also talk about free-spirit Andrea, who tells about her New England upbringing, shares her love of jam band music, and her story of meeting her husband on a Phish tour.

Lenny and Amy tell about their East Coast origin story, how they met and made their way west, and why they left behind successful careers in other realms to buy a building on Main Street in a rural mountain town in Colorado and start a distillery.

Amy shares fantastic stories about growing up with a dad and family that hustled to make business ideas happen in Boston. And Lenny introduces Adam to the sport of squirt boating, a form of whitewater kayaking Adam had no idea existed. Among other topics that come up.

They talk about Jonathon’s 242-day walk across the United States as a pivotal experience for him, and the deeply painful buildup, including a suicide attempt, that led him to that mental and emotional space where a cross-country walk made sense to him, even if he had no idea what he was doing when he started it.

What Jonathon learned while walking from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific, fuels his personal life practices, and advocacy and community organizing today.

Les tells about his upbringing in a fundamentalist religious farm community in Iowa, and why he defied its wishes and enlisted to serve in World War II, only to be shunned when he returned home.

Adam talks with Les about his post-war adventures as a sea-going cowboy taking several hundred heifers across the Pacific to Shanghai, China, and surviving near-death experiences along the way. Among other big moments from a life full of stories.

Adam and Tayte talk about a roving range of topics, including food and their shared love of living in the mountains, and memories they both have of their dads introducing them to Nordic skiing.

Tayte also talks about his experience of living with five housemates in a time and place when housing affordability has become increasingly difficult. They talk about earthship architecture and sustainability, and Tayte shares his thoughts on the concept of home.

Adam also asks Tayte about an exciting book project in the works for which he plans to travel to Nepal this spring. Among many other things.

Dominique’s story is Salida’s story, at least in part. She talks with Adam about growing up in Salida in the pre-Internet era and wanting to leave and never come back. And she did leave. And then she came back some years later and, ultimately, took on leadership roles that will have far-reaching influence on the future of her community and the generations to come.

Adam talks with Dominique about the personal and family story she has that is so deeply interwoven with the waves of change that have come to the area in the past 50 years.

They talk about Dominique’s vision as executive director of GARNA, with its mission to protect the natural environment in Chaffee County, Colo., and how she balances that with the critical issues of housing affordability in the area as a member of city council.

Jenny’s story of a Midwest upbringing and parents who divorced when she was a teen highlights her entrepreneurial spirit. Jenny and Adam talk about her setting aside the Christian faith of her parents and exploring Eastern philosophies, ultimately coming to identify as Buddhist.

Jenny tells how she had to persuade her parents that, in fact, did not mean she had joined a cult. It would, however, lead to a frantic search on one Sunday morning in Boston to find the right kind of tea pot for His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who was visiting.

Adam and Jenny talk about meditation practices, and why people who so often try it once and think they just really aren’t any good at it, actually are and just don’t recognize it. And they talk about her volunteer work in the correctional facility in Buena Vista, Colo., where she leads a Buddhist meditation and study group for those incarcerated there.

They also talk about neurodiversity, and Jenny tells about the inspiration for her having founded Achieve, Inc., which is for advocacy on behalf of those who are neurodiverse.

Mike describes himself as a “poster child for doubt,” as he and Adam discuss faith and the dangers of certainty. They talk about Mike’s personal evolution over nearly 50 years from fanatical believer who needed absolute answers to his questions, to transparently fallible human who has become relatively comfortable with life’s ambiguity. Mike shares how faith, belief in the afterlife, and even belief in God have never come easily to him.

“I think doubts are really important,” Mike says. “The moment we become really certain, whether it be matters of faith or politics or whatever, when we become really certain, maybe that’s when we begin to have conflicts with each other, because we’ve stopped listening. … I celebrate people’s doubts, because I think that’s our growing edge, that’s where we learn.”

He also shares his passion for the power of listening and storytelling, and what he’s learned about where answers to life’s questions actually come from. Among other things.

Adam and Beck go deeper into Beck’s story as a transgender man and the freedom he feels in his queer identity. Beck shares about his experience with gender dysphoria, as male in a female body. He talks about how that experience of himself tied to his use and abuse of drugs and alcohol, and ultimately how he would get clean and sober, and transition into the full confident humanness of himself as a man.

Adam and Beck also talk about allyship through the public use of pronouns (they/them, she/her, he/him). And Beck tells what it feels like to him to finally be able to look in a mirror, and love and trust who he sees there.

Sarah and Rob met as high school seniors in Evanston, Illinois, somewhere around 20 years ago, and they’ve taken a really compelling path together – and for a bit apart – and have ridden some big ups and some scary downs.

Rob tells about the unwritten rule in their lives that keeps them going through dark-early morning wake-ups, being bosses for nearly 40 employees, being creators, risk-takers and parents, and everything else they’re juggling.

They also get into the seriousness of a truly life-threatening, frightening emergency that led Sarah to the hospital during an already extraordinarily difficult time. And they touch on a topic that not only is critical in Chaffee County, and throughout Colorado, but across the country and really the world: housing affordability and the dominoes that can fall in a community without it.

Becky also talks about her years following the Grateful Dead around the country and being part of the Rainbow Family, living in a van with her then-infant son, and eventually their reentry into Babylon, which is what the Rainbow Family calls conventional society.

Miki tells how the tragic loss of her parents at a very early age, naturally, had a big impact on her life, and what was the critical difference-maker in the path she would take to become the first in her family to graduate from high school, and then from college. Miki would go on to get her dream job as a wilderness guide, who also spent some years living in a van, and eventually founded a nonprofit for mentoring youth.

There has been an intensity to Beck’s life. Adam and Beck talk about survival and the self-taught, self-reliant, hands-on kind of energy that his life has demanded from him. They talk about a sliding-doors moment in Beck’s youth and about addiction. They also touch on his sobriety, which has come during a nearly 10-year career as a distiller of whiskey, gin and so on.

Beck and Adam also got into another incredibly important and huge topic of identity. And in Beck’s case, the likely correlation of his identity and his addictions, and ultimately his getting clean and sober and loving who he is.

Abigail tells about a life-changing experience that happened in the country of Kazakhstan when she was 16 years old. Tanya tells about how her nursing career nearly was derailed before it began, due to, of all things, a public health crisis.

Adam asks what makes “public health” nursing different from the typical role nurses hold in hospitals and doctors’ offices. And Abigail and Tanya elaborate on the definition of “social determinants of health,” which are at the heart of Looking Upstream’s mission.

They also talk about the mobile health clinic in Chaffee County, which Tanya and Abigail staff, mental health and tangible expressions of love.

The Hutchinson Homestead & Ranch is located along highway 50 between Salida and Poncha Springs, Colorado. The ranch has been a keystone in the community since before there even was a community, having been founded in the 1860s, soon after the Civil War. That’s before Colorado was a state, before nearby Salida was a town, before … well, nearly everything that’s come to be established in Chaffee County.

Art and Adam talk about that family history, about the weight of legacy, and about change and conservation. Art not only knows about that as part of the seven generations of Hutchinsons to have lived in the area, but he also served more than three decades in the National Park Service, including as superintendent of the nearby Great Sand Dunes National Park.

Now, in retirement, Art brings that experience – and a reasoned voice – back to Chaffee County.

Nikki and Adam talk about her growing up in that environment and how it would lead to some significant losses in her life. They talk about why those losses pushed Nikki deeper into using drugs, rather than being the wake-up calls that might have helped her to shift course. In the process, she gives listeners insights into the disease, as experienced by someone in active addiction.

They talk about run-ins with the law, and shame and guilt. And, ultimately, self-acceptance and recovery, and getting clean and sober. Nikki now serves the community as a crisis peer at Solvista Health in Salida, Colo., and as a peer coach who leads a local meeting for others struggling with addiction, through Peer Empowerment Recovery Community Solutions. Nikki also talks about how her lived experience affects her perspective as a mother to a teenage daughter and a toddler son.

We talk about her leaving the United States and growing up with her father’s family on a farm in Colombia, South America. Alex tells how she ended up falling into a pattern of toxic relationships and instability again, as she reached adulthood. Thankfully, that’s not where the story ends. 

Seven years ago, Alex moved to Colorado. It was an escape. It also would be where her biggest dreams would come true. But not without a fight. As you listen to Alex talk, you’ll notice that she’s got that resilient, courageous spirit of a fighter.

The conversation is the second of a two-part transition from the Chaffee Housing Report to We Are Chaffee: Looking Upstream, a human-forward, conversational, storytelling podcast that will focus on upstream health factors such as housing and living conditions, social inequities, and many related policies and systems in Chaffee County, Colo.

In this interview, Lisa elaborates on those upstream health factors, talks about the broader We Are Chaffee storytelling initiative, and announces who the first guests will be on the podcast. Adam shares some of his background, approach and energy for hosting Looking Upstream.

The conversation is the first of a two-part transition from the Chaffee Housing Report to a new podcast, We Are Chaffee: Looking Upstream, which will focus on upstream health factors such as housing and living conditions, social inequities, and many related policies and systems in Chaffee County, Colo.

In this interview, Andrea and Becky give a broad overview of the complementary work they do in the community, focusing on social determinants of health, including housing affordability. The We Are Chaffee storytelling initiative, which is launching Looking Upstream as a human-forward, conversational storytelling podcast, is part of that work.