A difference between Colorado and California

By Yokota Fritz

"Missing Hikers Found"

I think most of you are aware that I'm a recent transplant to California from Colorado. It's interesting that an item that would barely make the police blotter in Colorado is frontpage news in multiple local newspapers for two days in a row now.

Conversely, cyclist and pedestrian deaths warrant a couple of sentences in Bay Area newspapers -- usually in the context of "Traffic was backed up beyond Middlefield Road while commuters waited for authorities to scoop the corpse out of their way" -- while Colorado Front Range papers typically give these incidents a little more attention.

I've gone off trail in the Rocky Mountains but I've never been really really lost. I can easily imagine getting disoriented in some parts of the Santa Cruz Mountains, though. The Rockies have several easily identifiable peaks. To me, the Santa Cruz Mountains are a disorienting jumble. I can read maps and use a compass, but I need landmarks to line up with to locate myself.

Since I'm already off-topic, I might as well mention that I strongly disagree with many of Representative Tancredo's views, but this is just wrong and fascist.