Treece is about 25 miles south of Pittsburg, KS, where my father grew up and where, as a child, I often swam and fished in strip pits left behind by mines to fill with water. But I had never heard of Treece until I learned of the situation there from another Kansas-raised journalist, my friend Suzie Lechtenberg, a few years ago. I added it to my story idea list but never got around to visiting. Looking at the terrific Magnum photographer Alex Webb’s work from Treece and reading Wes Enzinna’s story makes me wish I had put Treece a little higher on my list.

The Pat Metheny tune was a disonant and rambling accompanyment to my reading. It’s perhaps a little too uplifting for the subject matter, but I could imagine working in a remote corner of Kansas, where I started my career, and finding the music a perfect accompanyment to the dismantling of a town that was far from a Utopia, but, for a few hundred people, was home. Perhaps that’s because Metheny is from Lee’s Summit, Missouri, a couple hours away from Treece.

Earlier this week The 6th Floor Blog on the Times’ website compared Webb’s work on Treece with that of the photographer Tamas Dezso who has documented Geamana, Romania, a town has been submerged in a lake of mining sludge leaving, as in Treece, just two residents behind.

Frank Deford and his new book with my photograph on the cover.

Frank Deford, my favorite sportswriter, was honored with the Damon Runyon award at the Denver Press Club earlier this month and I was thrilled at the chance to hear him speak and chat with him for a few minutes. I was honored that Frank used my portrait of him on the cover of his latest book, Over Time . It was great fun catching up with Deford, who I’ve followed for decades through his work for Sports Illustrated, National Public Radio, and the short-lived but terrific newspaper that he ran, The National. Frank was a captivating person to photograph and, years later, was a gracious advisor when we had booths next to one anther at the Litchfield Book Festival, where I was touring my first piece of narrative non-fiction. His new book shows both the how and why he is the dean of American sportswriters.

Poudre Canyon--5-14-12--The Hewlett Fire crests the ridgeline of Poudre Canyon Monday night.

The Hewlett Fire crests a ridgeline in Poudre Canyon, northwest of Fort Collins, CO, on Monday night. The fire broke out around 1 p.m. Monday about a mile from Poudre Park, northwest of Fort Collins. The fire burned actively through the night rather than laying down as wildfires often do. By Tuesday morning it was nearly 280 acres in size, and had 100 wildland firefighters attacking it on the ground it on the ground as a single-engine air tanker and a type 3 helicopter fought it from the air. The fire, which is named for the Hewlett Gulch trailhead near where it ignited, is within a quarter mile of a number of homes, about 160 of which were warned Monday evening to prepare for a possible evacuation. The winds Monday night seemed to be blowing the fire away from the homes, but dry weather with winds forecast to blow up 15 miles-per-hour could move the fire back towards the homes.

Some University of Colorado students headed to cool off in Boulder Creek while other were in their graduation processions Thursday.

Today, as I was walking across the University of Colorado campus with a friend who was visiting from New York for her nephew’s graduation, I came across a trio of students headed out to cool off in Boulder Creek. One of them wore a personal flotation device in case she sank her bicycle. The costumes were a little different than the caps and gowns filling the campus this week, and there was a little less pomp and circumstance in their procession.