From bridges to bull riders and beyond — best photos of 2017

News | December 30, 2017

Chelsea Self

They say a picture’s worth a thousand words. We’ve already shared 2017’s top stories with you (and they exceeded that word count). Now it’s time to look back on the images that stayed with us long after their publication.

: Battlement Mesa homeowner Dutch Wiernga voices his frustrations with the possibility of a new URSA well-pad being built basically in the front yard of the home he and his wife have owned for the past 20 years on March 21, 2017.

: Kyle Damuth gives Don and JoAnne Dorrell their meal during the Meals on Wheels route he does with his mom and sister. Meals on Wheels drivers volunteer their time each week to deliver food to people in Rifle, Parachute, Silt and New Castle.

: Parker Nieslanik checks on a sick calf that was trying to hide from the wind amongst a patch of fallen trees.

: Dance, spoken word, video and projected images add layers to the ninth annual Green is the New Black Fashion Extravaganza which took place on the weekend of March 11, 2017. The event’s theme was SHE and travels through several archetypes of woman, focusing on independence and power.

: Five-year-old Ethan Patterson walks along the boardwalk after making the trek up to Hanging Lake on August 22, 2017. A proposed limit of 615 daily visitors to the Hanging Lake area in Glenwood Canyon strikes a balance that should make the area more easily manageable, according to U.S. Forest Service officials.

: Classic Air Medical pilot Coby Brown flies above Glenwood Springs during a routine trip from the Glenwood Springs Municipal Airport to the landing pad at Valley View Hospital on April 6, 2017.

: A Rifle High School pole vaulter makes his way over the bar at a Coal Ridge High School track meet on April 21, 2017.

: EcoFlight founder and executive director Bruce Gordon flies over the Roaring Fork Valley on May 5, 2017. He has been providing the aerial perspective over critical issues on our Western landscapes for over 30 years.

: Miss Strawberry Days contestant Macy Elmer promotes peace, love and learning during the 2017 Miss Strawberry Days Fashion Show at the Glenwood Hot Springs Pool on June 15, 2017.

: Sunlight Bike and Ski representatives make their way down Grand Avenue for the 2017 Strawberry Days Parade on June 17, 2017

: Three-year-old Misael Moctezuma watches the fireworks show at the 2017 Fourth of July Celebration at Two Rivers Park.

: Crews continue to make progress on the new Grand Avenue Bridge on July 18, 2017 as the detour deadline gets closer and closer. Ongoing improvements and detail work on the new traffic bridge will be one of the main projects taking place until the detour, which is scheduled for Monday, August, 14.

: Founder and Executive Director Sheryl Barto (center) and a Smiling Goat Ranch volunteer lead the group of veterans on a trail walk with the horses on July 24, 2017.

: Laurie Loeb leads the Rhythm of the Heart Community Drum Circle at the opening ceremony of the 46th Annual Carbondale Mountain Fair on July 28, 2017.

: Scenes from the limbo contest at the 46th Annual Carbondale Mountain Fair on July 29, 2017.

: A mutton busting contestant holds on for dear life during Youth Rodeo night at the 2017 Garfield County Fair and Rodeo on August 1, 2017.

: The PRCA Xtreme Bull Riding portion of the 2017 Garfield County Fair took place August 2, 2017 in Rifle. Riders from across the country came to test out their will and hold on for dear life in hopes of making the eight second buzzer.

: A riderless horse honors the fallen at the Garfield County Fair and Rodeo in Rifle on August 2, 2017.

: Glenwood Springs Police Chief Terry Wilson directs traffic in style during week one of the Grand Avenue Bridge Detour on August 16, 2017.

: Four-year-old Evelyn Botkin looks in amazment at the Great American Eclipse through her special eclipse glasses at the Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park on August 21, 2017.

: Ed Chamberlain of Rifle leads his team of draft horses on the raking machine after mowing a small patch of hay on August 23, 2017.

: Glenwood Springs Elementary School second grader Keaton Olson tries out his brand new bike outside the school. The seconder graders were given free bikes and helmets provided by Umbrella Roofing on September 15, 2017.

: Veteran Marine Corps. Sergeant Kristie Ennis is welcomed to her new home by CEO and Founder of Building Homes for Heroes Andy Pujol in Ironbridge on September 16, 2017. Ennis was severely injured during her second tour in Afghanistan in 2012 and one of 127 veterans to receive a home mortgage-free from Building Homes for Heroes.

: Alonso Pacheco (10) scores for the Demons in the first few minutes of the game against the Battle Mountain Huskies at Stubler Memorial Field on September 21, 2017.

: Derrick Maness and Josh McCue work together on Oct. 5, 2017 in Carbondale to drive out the bees and transfer the honey supers to the truck which will taken back to the farm in Silt to be extracted, bottled and sold. Maness and McCue have spent the last several years researching and working with Colorado State University to fight the varroa destructor mite, which has contributed greatly to the rapid decline of honey bee populations.

: School Resource Officer Chris Dietrich and Glenwood Springs High School senior Bryan Palacios hang out and chat at the school during the lunch hour on Oct. 10, 2017.

: Sandra Lopez, who took sanctuary in Carbondale, speaks to community members and supporters during the press conference held on the evening of Oct. 24, 2017.

: Coal Ridge TItan Jordi Serna (9) celebrates after scoring a goal in the first half against the Pinnacle Timberwolves during Thursday night’s game at Coal Ridge High School.

: A Carbondale Rural Fire District firefighter pushes open the garage door to a home in Westbank after a run away dump truck crashed into the side of the garage on the afternoon of Nov. 1, 2017. The homeowner was not home at the time and no injuries were reported.

: Members of the Alpine Echo band play on the bridge just before the official opening of the Grand Avenue Bridge and ribbon cutting on Nov. 6, 2017.

: The Glenwood Springs High School Airforce JROTC lead the crowd of roughly 3,000 across the new Grand Avenue bridge after the official ribbon cutting ceremony on Nov. 7, 2017 in Glenwood Springs.

: A member of the Grand Junction Police Department bomb squad heads over to the Alpine Bank in West Glenwood after a suspicious package was left inside on the morning of Nov. 9, 2017. The Grand Juntion Police Department bomb squad deployed two robots and an officer in a bomb proof suit to inspect the package. After six hours the package was cleared and found empty.

: Palmer Ridge Bear AJ Carpenter (35) is stopped short by Rifle Bear Camron Shepherd (14) during Saturday afternoon’s game at Rifle High School.

: Two-year-old Charlie Van Horn visits Glenwood Springs from Aurora for the 28th annual Festival of Lights at the Hotel Colorado on Nov. 24, 2017.