| Preface | vi |
| Introduction | x |
| Spring | |
| Crane-Spotting: On the Lookout for Sandhill Cranes | 2 |
| Pawnee National Grassland: The Other Colorado | 10 |
| Where the Buffalo Roam: The Medano-Zapata Ranch | 16 |
| Flowers in the Foothills: A Feast for the Senses | 24 |
| Summer | |
| Colorado's Highest Country: Tackling a Fourteener | 32 |
| In Pursuit of the Wild Butterfly: Glimpsing an Elusive Beauty | 38 |
| Crested Butte: A Visit to the Wildflower Capital of Colorado | 46 |
| Leadville's Matchless Mine: A Tale without Peer | 52 |
| The Lure of Fly-Fishing: Catching Some Time Away | 59 |
| Biking the Vail Trails: One of Summer's Best-Kept Secrets | 64 |
| Phantom Canyon: Rocks Reveal How the Earth Was Formed | 71 |
| Birding at Barr Lake: A Peaceable Kingdom of Feathered Friends | 79 |
| Autumn | |
| Strawberry Hot Springs: A Perfect Combination of Nurture and Nature | 88 |
| Jewels of the Forest: Hunting the Wild Mushroom | 94 |
| Splendor in the Grasses: Colorado's Prairie | 100 |
| Up, Up, and Away: In the Belly of the Balloon | 105 |
| Winter | |
| More Than Meets the Eye: A Winter Walk in the Colorado Foothills | 112 |
| Moonstruck: Hiking by the Light of the Silvery Moon | 119 |
| Gliding on a Blanket of Snow: Snowshoeing in Rocky Mountain National Park | 123 |
| Solitude in the City: Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge | 130 |
| Rendezvous with Raptors: Birds of Prey Get a Second Chance | 134 |
| Appendix | 141 |