Welcome to Awe, Nice! where we highlight moments of wonder while working outdoors. This is our 40th segment since this little project started last year.

This week, I talked with Jeremie Forman of Francis, Utah. Francis, population around 1,800, is 50 miles east of Salt Lake City and sits near the foot of the Uinta Mountains. The Uintas are unusual because they run east-west while most mountain ranges in the US run north-south. In fact, the Uintas are the highest east-west range in the lower 48, with peaks between 11,000 and 13,000 feet.

Jeremie is a busy guy who's managed to combine and juggle police work with horse work. We couldn't talk last week because he and his Summit County Mounted unit were patrolling the streets of nearby Park City, while the Sundance Film Festival played out.

This segment is the first of two parts as he recounts time spent mountain goat hunting in early fall, near Red Castle, a stunning mountain and lake at about 12,000 feet elevation.

In our next segment, Jeremie will recall what unfolded next during that trip, so I hope you tune in.

Awe, Nice! welcomes interviewees. If you have a moment you experienced while working outside and would like to share it, contact us here.

Our music is by my friend, Forrest Van Tuyl. You can find a link and a donate button here.

Keep your eyes, ears, and mind open. Until next time.

Welcome to Awe Nice!, where we highlight moments of wonder while working outdoors. My name is Maddy Butcher, I'm the creator and producer of awenice and it's time for another segment that I call, Mini-Awe-Polis, a collection of observations, like hay in my jacket pockets.

If you've been listening to lately, you know that we have dedicated several segments to wildland fire fighting, specifically some moments as told by members of Interagency Hot Shot crews, who are elite wildland fire fighters charged with some of the most risky assignments. I think it would be a safe summation to say that their moments of awe were particularly adrenalin-fueled.

It got me thinking about what awe means. What does it mean for me? What does it mean for my interviewees? What does it mean for you, dear listener?

Roughly, awe for me means a moment in time that's memorable for what I'm seeing and experiencing with all my senses. Often, but not all the time, moments of awe are around something unexpected, something I have never witnessed before. Or, it could something that starts out as totally expected but then takes a brilliant turn which stops me in my tracks.

I have moments of awe that are not adrenalin-y at all. Like seeing Niagara Falls.

I have other moments that are quite adrenalin-y. Like seeing my kids run hellbent towards the Niagara River above the falls.

This might sound absurd, but when you visit the Falls, you can park in a big parking lot and basically walk right up to the river's edge. Nothing's stopping you from walking right in. My memory of seeing the falls will be forever tied to screaming bloody murder as my sons, then four, six, and eight, chased gulls and sprinted towards the current that would horrendously carry them away.

It's true, as research tells us, that high emotions can cement, conflate, and even embellish memories that might otherwise fade away. Just so you know, there is no embellishment here. My rotten kids really did run for the river. And Niagara Falls is impressive. It's loud and you can feel the mist of it on your face from a long ways away.

Anyway, I've been spending some time in southern Arizona. At night, I take the dogs for a walk and do last call the horses. Sometimes I use a headlamp and when I do, I've been catching these little flecks of reflection in the dirt. At first, I thought they were just shiny parts of sand or rock. But they are not. They are the eyes of certain spiders that build burrows and scoot back in them when approached. Pretty cool.

Everything here is prickly, spiny, thorny, and pokey. The dogs and horses have figured it out pretty quickly. Me, less so. Often, plants will have the obvious spines but then also less obvious, frankly impossible-to-see spines that might feel okay at first, when you make the mistake of coming into contact with them, but 10 minutes later you're mumbling and grumbling, shaking your hand and tenderly googling how best to extract prickers you can't even see.

I'm still amazed by how the birds perch and feed on cactus.

I don't live near where there are saguaros. It's too cold. But I like seeing them. Did you know that it takes about 15 years for a saguaro cactus to grow 12 inches? And it takes another 60 or more years for it to grow an arm. Saguaros serve as some pretty cool homes for birds, who have, of course, figured out the prickers.

Awe, Nice! welcomes interviewees. If you have a moment you experienced while working outside and would like to share it, contact us at awenice.com. By the way, Kershaw knives, makers of some of the best pocket knives out there, has stepped up to sponsor Awe, Nice. Check out the Ken Onion line. They're excellent.

Awe, Nice! also welcomes your support. You can find a donate button on our about page.

Music is by my friend, Forrest Van Tuyl.

Keep your eyes, ears, and mind open. Until next time.

Welcome to Awe, Nice! where we highlight moments of wonder while working outdoors.

This week, I'm airing another moment recounted by Steve Nicholson, a division supervisor on the Stoner Mesa fire, here in southwestern Colorado.

Steve was able to get away from fire work for a while and was spending time back home in Montana. It was a hot fall, with temperatures approaching 90, and the woods, he said, were really loud because everything was dry and crackly as you moved through. Steve was archery hunting and it made things challenging.

Often it's difficult to squeeze Awe, Nice recollections into segments that are under 10 minutes. It's like stuffing a sleeping bag into a stuff sack. So much good stuff. In this case, what I had to edit, was that Steve spent many more days hunting to no avail. He told me he often hikes 10 to 12 miles over a day, with vertical climbs as much as 2,000 feet. That's some serious dedication and enthusiasm, and as many hunters have told me, it's not all about what you end up putting in the freezer.

Awe, Nice! welcomes interviewees. If you have a moment you experienced while working outside and would like to share it, contact us here.

Our music is by my friend, Forrest Van Tuyl. You can find a link and a donate button here.

Keep your eyes, ears, and mind open. Until next time.