You’re listening to a special edition of The Daily Sun-Up, a podcast from The Colorado Sun. This week we’re featuring special coverage to mark the one-year anniversary of the first known coronavirus case in Colorado. This is Fear, Loss, Change: A Pandemic Year. I’m Lucy Haggard. 

And I’m Kevin Simpson. Today is Thursday, March 4th, 2021.

The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted the rhythms of life in so many ways. Indoor businesses have been limited in capacity or closed; large gatherings have been functionally verboten. 

These lifestyle changes have also affected how we relate to who we are around and how we spend our time.

When we talk about relationships, we often talk about those between people. But Kevin, you took a different approach to this idea. What sorts of relationships did you explore?

The pandemic may have changed our interpersonal relationships in a million different ways, but what I looked at was some of the relationships we have to other things that intersect our lives. Like our pets -- as a dog person who has two staying at home with me as I work from a home office, I can vouch for the fact that many of us regard those pets differently, and those pets, who love having their humans hanging out with them at home instead of leaving for hours on end, tend to regard us a little differently, too. There’s also our relationship to things like our leisure time activities, and in Colorado, one big relationship that saw a huge impact was our relationship to the outdoors.

Let’s look at each of those aspects, starting with our favorite four-legged friends.

For one thing, people have decided now, when they’re home and maybe a little lonely for some companionship, is a perfect time to adopt a pet. And it’s true that many people are adopting, and shelters tend not to have a lot of inventory, so to speak, which also makes an important point about how we regard our pets. Ben Shumway, who’s been an adoption associate at the Denver Dumb Friends League for 14 years, explains the shift.

People are changing,they’re bonding with their pets, they’re at home with them,and that’s making it difficult for people to get a pet…

So while there may very well be a rise in the demand to adopt dogs or cats, the pandemic also has had a role in limiting the supply. But the best-case scenario that comes out of all this is a stronger bond with our pets that carries on well past the coronavirus. I know our two dogs have gotten used to taking more long walks through the neighborhood.

You also wrote about our relationship with the outdoors. Especially during this relatively mild winter, hitting the trails has helped a lot of folks stay sane. But Colorado has long been lauded for its recreation, so what’s been different this past year?

The main change has come through increased volume. State parks track visitors, and while they don’t yet have figures for January and February, the numbers show that in the first 10 months of the pandemic, more than 3 million MORE people visited those parks than in the entire previous 12 months. And while the National Forest folks can’t really track usage very well, anecdotal evidence indicates that people have been using public lands more than ever. One of the big giveaways was parking lots. They just overflow and create all kinds of traffic and access issues.

Are land managers concerned about this increased use?

Oh, absolutely. It’s not just the regular traffic of hikers and others, but the numbers of people who maybe aren’t as well versed in outdoor safety and etiquette. An experienced backpacker I spoke said he realized, on a five-day trip, that he had to travel a lot further into the wilderness to find tranquility. Pandemic hiking has pushed people to explore beyond what’s maybe their usual range of trails.That’s why there’s been an educational push, called Care for Colorado, that hopes to inform people how to not only stay safe outdoors but also to limit their impact on the environment.

And it’s not like people are going to suddenly drop their hiking habits once the pandemic clears up, right?

That’s what the Forest Service people are anticipating, and so they’re trying to plan for that. I spoke with one woman, in particular, who plans on getting outdoors a lot more. She was so bummed out by the pandemic restrictions that she took up fly fishing -- at age 75. She only caught two fish, but that wasn’t the point. It was all about enjoying natural beauty along a mountain waterway. 

It sounds like this pandemic has led many folks to expand their horizons, literally and figuratively.

That’s so true. Ben Shumway from the Dumb Friends League told us how people are finding that the right dog or cat for them might be different from the one they thought  would be perfect. A lot of the dogs that might not have been a top choice for adoption are, because of the demand and the supply, getting a chance to win hearts.

You’ve been listening to Fear, Loss, Change: A Pandemic Year. To read the stories that go with today’s podcast, go to coloradosun.com forward slash coronavirus dash one dash year.

This episode of the Daily Sun-Up was made by Michael Booth, and me, Lucy Haggard, with help from Pirate Audio. Our editor is Larry Ryckman. Special thanks to Ben Shumway, Gail Thompson, Reid Armstrong and Aaron Mayville. 

If you like what we do at The Colorado Sun, consider contributing. Go to coloradosun.com forward slash membership. 

As always, thank you for listening.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You&rsquo;re listening to a special edition of The Daily Sun-Up, a podcast from The Colorado Sun. This week we&rsquo;re featuring special coverage to mark the one-year anniversary of the first known coronavirus case in Colorado. This is Fear, Loss, Change: A Pandemic Year. I&rsquo;m Lucy Haggard.&nbsp;
And I&rsquo;m Kevin Simpson. Today is Thursday, March 4th, 2021.
The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted the rhythms of life in so many ways. Indoor businesses have been limited in capacity or closed; large gatherings have been functionally verboten.&nbsp;
These lifestyle changes have also affected how we relate to who we are around and how we spend our time.
When we talk about relationships, we often talk about those between people. But Kevin, you took a different approach to this idea. What sorts of relationships did you explore?
The pandemic may have changed our interpersonal relationships in a million different ways, but what I looked at was some of the relationships we have to other things that intersect our lives. Like our pets -- as a dog person who has two staying at home with me as I work from a home office, I can vouch for the fact that many of us regard those pets differently, and those pets, who love having their humans hanging out with them at home instead of leaving for hours on end, tend to regard us a little differently, too. There&rsquo;s also our relationship to things like our leisure time activities, and in Colorado, one big relationship that saw a huge impact was our relationship to the outdoors.
Let&rsquo;s look at each of those aspects, starting with our favorite four-legged friends.
For one thing, people have decided now, when they&rsquo;re home and maybe a little lonely for some companionship, is a perfect time to adopt a pet. And it&rsquo;s true that many people are adopting, and shelters tend not to have a lot of inventory, so to speak, which also makes an important point about how we regard our pets. Ben Shumway, who&rsquo;s been an adoption associate at the Denver Dumb Friends League for 14 years, explains the shift.
People are changing,they&rsquo;re bonding with their pets, they&rsquo;re at home with them,and that&rsquo;s making it difficult for people to get a pet&hellip;
So while there may very well be a rise in the demand to adopt dogs or cats, the pandemic also has had a role in limiting the supply. But the best-case scenario that comes out of all this is a stronger bond with our pets that carries on well past the coronavirus. I know our two dogs have gotten used to taking more long walks through the neighborhood.
You also wrote about our relationship with the outdoors. Especially during this relatively mild winter, hitting the trails has helped a lot of folks stay sane. But Colorado has long been lauded for its recreation, so what&rsquo;s been different this past year?
The main change has come through increased volume. State parks track visitors, and while they don&rsquo;t yet have figures for January and February, the numbers show that in the first 10 months of the pandemic, more than 3 million MORE people visited those parks than in the entire previous 12 months. And while the National Forest folks can&rsquo;t really track usage very well, anecdotal evidence indicates that people have been using public lands more than ever. One of the big giveaways was parking lots. They just overflow and create all kinds of traffic and access issues.
Are land managers concerned about this increased use?
Oh, absolutely. It&rsquo;s not just the regular traffic of hikers and others, but the numbers of people who maybe aren&rsquo;t as well versed in outdoor safety and etiquette. An experienced backpacker I spoke said he realized, on a five-day trip, that he had to travel a lot further into the wilderness to find tranquility. Pandemic hiking has pushed people to explore beyond what&rsquo;s maybe their usual range of trails.That&rsquo;s why there&rsquo;s been an educational push, called Care for Colorado, that hopes to inform people how to not only stay safe outdoors but also to limit their impact on the environment.
And it&rsquo;s not like people are going to suddenly drop their hiking habits once the pandemic clears up, right?
That&rsquo;s what the Forest Service people are anticipating, and so they&rsquo;re trying to plan for that. I spoke with one woman, in particular, who plans on getting outdoors a lot more. She was so bummed out by the pandemic restrictions that she took up fly fishing -- at age 75. She only caught two fish, but that wasn&rsquo;t the point. It was all about enjoying natural beauty along a mountain waterway.&nbsp;
It sounds like this pandemic has led many folks to expand their horizons, literally and figuratively.
That&rsquo;s so true. Ben Shumway from the Dumb Friends League told us how people are finding that the right dog or cat for them might be different from the one they thought&nbsp; would be perfect. A lot of the dogs that might not have been a top choice for adoption are, because of the demand and the supply, getting a chance to win hearts.
You&rsquo;ve been listening to Fear, Loss, Change: A Pandemic Year. To read the stories that go with today&rsquo;s podcast, go to coloradosun.com forward slash coronavirus dash one dash year.
This episode of the Daily Sun-Up was made by Michael Booth, and me, Lucy Haggard, with help from Pirate Audio. Our editor is Larry Ryckman. Special thanks to Ben Shumway, Gail Thompson, Reid Armstrong and Aaron Mayville.&nbsp;
If you like what we do at The Colorado Sun, consider contributing. Go to coloradosun.com forward slash membership.&nbsp;
As always, thank you for listening.See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

Welcome to The Colorado Sun's daily podcast, The Daily Sun-Up. Every day we’re sharing an in-depth look at one of our top stories, followed by a quick summary of important things happening in our state. For more visit us at https://coloradosun.com/.

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