Colorado Soul Stories

Listener-submitted Colorado Winter Stories

Happy Holidays! This episode contains listener-submitted Colorado-specific winter and holiday stories. Contained in this 17 minute episode are festive recounting of childhood experiences during "snow days," including the Blizzard of '82. Additionally three professional writers and, some recent guests from past podcasts, provide off-beat and methodical tales of long and dark winter nights and holidays bereft of loved ones.
Thank you to my dear friends Sandy, Jess and Carolyn plus writers Teague Bohlen, Josie Nixon and Lisa Rogers for your submissions.
Get your cup of coffee or cocoa or glass of wine and settle in for some lovely yarns...

The Colorado Poets Laureate Anthology Book Launch Interviews

Join the conversation as Mama Jill sits down with Colorado's most recent poets laureate and their anthology creator and organizer, dynamic social entrepreneur, Turner Wyatt.  Wyatt conceived of this publication, Begin Where You Are, The Colorado Poets Laureate Anthology - the first of its kind! 
Turner explains how this idea came to him and how, through his knack for socially responsible entrepreneurship, put the publication to work to help future poets laureate visit the outer corners of our state.
Then listen to interviews with past laureates, Mary Crow, Joseph Hutchison and Bobby Lefebre. Each so unique in their approach and what they have added to the program over the years. Mary Crow speaks of a fascination with the West from a young age, growing up in Ohio. Joseph Hutchinson credits teachers from junior high with encouraging him to write and Bobby Lefebre points to the inspiration of his deep roots with the land of southwestern Colorado.
Talk about the soul of Colorado, who better than our century's-worth of poets laureate could decipher what that might be.  
Did you know Colorado was just the second state in the union to create this post in 1919 after California?  Some might say the West, still in its infancy, was seeking ways to intentionally develop what its unique culture would be by bringing a spotlight to this art form and helping to cultivate the identity of the west. 
Heartbreakingly missing from this group was our most recent and beloved poet laureate, Andrea Gibson, who passed away last July. Previously unpublished works of theirs are the first to be included in the publication. 
It was a sparkling night boasting, a room full of poetry fans filling the Petals and Pages bookstore in the Santa Fe Arts Arts in Denver early this December. Listen, learn, and then pick up a copy of the anthology, Begin Where You Are.

Chris White: Building a Sustainable Community

In this inspiring episode of Colorado Soul Stories, Mama Jill travels to the high mountain ridge of Poncha Pass to sit down with her longtime friend and visionary builder, Chris White, the creator behind Yurts at Poncha Pass and a self-built, sustainable Earthship home.
What begins as a conversation about off-grid housing opens into a deep exploration of community, resilience, affordable living, and reclaiming personal agency in a world shaped by rising costs and rigid building codes.
Chris shares how his journey started with a simple need—an affordable home—and evolved into a multi-year experiment in sustainable living: pounding thousands of tires, designing passive-solar structures, hosting volunteer workshops, and building a space where people can learn, contribute, and imagine life beyond a 30-year mortgage.
From stories of building yurts at 9,000 feet, to navigating legal battles over a wildlife-supported pond, to dreams of future permaculture gardens and community food systems, this episode is a heartfelt reminder that another way of living is possible—one built on cooperation, creativity, and courage.
Listeners will walk away inspired, grounded, and maybe even a little more hopeful about the future of housing, the planet, and the communities we build together.

Ana Maria Vasquez: The Lost Episode, Creating Balance in our Lives

 
In this, a lost episode, with Animal and Nature Intuitive Ana Maria Vasquez, your Colorado Soul Stories Podcast host, Mama Jill sat down with her at a radio station in Salida, Colorado. Unfortunately the first half of this recording was lost to technical difficulties. We are resurrecting this second part, which survived, and dives deeper into Ana Maria’s methods for activating our relationships with nature to create balance in our lives.
At a time when so many of us are feeling disconnected, overwhelmed, or unsure how to stay grounded in a rapidly changing world, Ana Maria offers a path back to balance — through our connection with animals, trees, rivers, and the natural world around us.
Her work reminds us that nature is always communicating — not just through beauty and peace, but through energy, emotion, and reflection. By tuning in, we can learn to navigate our emotions, bring more compassion to our reactions, and rediscover the quiet magic that exists in everyday life.
Whether you’re an animal lover, a spiritual seeker, or simply someone looking for calm and clarity in these culturally challenging times, this conversation invites you to slow down, open up, and remember what it means to truly be connected — to yourself, to others, and to the world we share.
Episode Summary
Ana Maria begins by explaining that her deepest training didn’t come from a classroom — it came from nature itself. Guided by a tree, she learned to listen differently and to understand the world as energy in constant motion. As an Animal and Nature Intuitive, she helps people connect with the animals, trees, and landscapes around them — and in doing so, reconnect with their own inner wisdom.
A key theme in the conversation is “energetic responsibility.” She explains that responding to cruelty or injustice with anger only feeds the same harmful energy. Instead, she encourages sending love and compassion to the entire situation. By shifting our energetic response, we help to heal rather than amplify pain.
We dive deeper into a three-step process she created, accessible to anyone, helping us to transform angst-ridden and negative feelings into positive energy. Ana Maria calls this method a “pivot point” for shifting impulsive reactions into a more positive consciousness.
Ana Maria and the host discuss how reconnecting with nature restores perspective and calm. She stresses that nature reminds us who we truly are, helping us dissolve self-doubt and remember our innate magic.
Throughout the conversation, Ana Maria weaves in stories of people who, after reading her book or spending more time outdoors, have profound, even mystical experiences — hearing from trees, sensing water spirits, or reconnecting with beloved animals who have passed. She explains that these experiences aren’t rare or exclusive — they are available to everyone once we slow down and pay attention.
She also talks about grief and continuing connection with animals after they’ve crossed over, encouraging people to recognize subtle signs of their presence — the jingle of a collar, a dream, or a familiar sound — and to respond with gratitude rather than dismissal.
Finally, Ana Maria speaks about self-care and boundaries, acknowledging that while her work can be heavy, she stays grounded through time outdoors and movement. Her joy and playfulness — wrestling dogs, laughing in nature — are themselves acts of healing and peace.
The conversation closes with an affirmation that reconnecting with animals and nature isn’t escapism — it’s activism through presence, compassion, and example. Ana Maria’s message is clear: we all have access to the magic of the living world, and remembering that connection is one of the most powerful ways to bring healing — to ourselves, and to the planet.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Andy Carlson from the Highland Electric Co. Band

Andy Carlson is one of those happy people whose positivity is contagious. He is a proud Northsider who truly loves and cares for his community. He shares this joy through his music. His love of the jam circle and the old-timey method of using one microphone with various musicians taking turns inspired him to found the "dad-grass" band, The Highland Ramblers. Their fun version of bluegrass and well-composed originals made them a staple in Northwest Denver for 16 years.
Now some of the members of that well-loved band have plugged their instruments in and morphed into a jam band called Highland Electric Co.  Andy shares how that all came to be and how music can cultivate community. Towards the end of our of chat, Andy sings and gives the backstory of the Highland Ramblers song, "Lyons" which has become the theme song for Colorado Soul Stories!
This episode was part of the Sunnyside Music Festival live recording so the audio is a bit inconsistent due to wind and background noise but it is a truly authentic sampling of the festival, with kids playing soccer next to us and little ones experimenting with slide whistles as we chat. At the beginning of this episode, I had the pleasure of chatting with my former student and Andy's daughter, Joy. And that's what is super fun about the festival, you always run into someone you haven't seen in awhile. Enjoy!

John Deffenbaugh of Historic Denver: Positive Preserving

Do you know about the preferred location for the new Bronco stadium? It has been proposed at Burnham Yards, off of 8th Ave. and I-25 and just west of the Santa Fe Arts District. And did you know that this plot of land actually holds some very important and unique pieces of Denver history? Tune into this episode to hear the thoughtful conversation with the CEO of Historic Denver, John Deffenbaugh.
John has an infectious passion for Denver's history as well as the knowledge and experience to help steer developments in our city towards quality place-making that honors that history.
During this episode John validates that new buildings are not always better than old buildings and how places are developed can actually affect our mental health. As Denver continues to grow and change, how do we want it to look and feel? You can have a voice in how this happens. Listen, learn and participate!

Jane Parnell: First Woman to Climb Colorado's Highest 100 Peaks

Her name might not be familiar to you, but it should be. Jane Parnell is a mountaineer, writer and environmental activist. Inspired by family trips to the Colorado mountains every summer as a kid, Parnell could see her home-state of Kansas from Long's Peak back in the 1970's. Setting roots here in 1968 as one of the few women students at Colorado College, she lived, fittingly on the edge of a mountain in an historic house in Manitou Springs. 
Parnell completed climbing Colorado's highest 100 peaks in 1981 in her early 30s but kept on climbing and has bagged upwards of 8-900 more during her lifetime and all over the west.
Parnell has become a care-taker of our precious mountain ranges and a witness to climate change. As she and Mama Jill converse we hear how the mountains transformed Parnell over time and how she realized the gifts of healing that they provide. She shares precious encounters with wildlife and her vehement pledge to call awareness to the dwindling funding needed to protect our wilderness, how fire mitigation needs to happen better and how we must educate one another about fire safety and leaving less of a trace as our natural landscapes become more and more trodden. This is an episode that everyone should listen to.

Sunnyside Music Festival Pt.1: West Side Books, The Reals!

Join Mama Jill and her friends at the Sunnyside Music Festival, recorded Sept. 13, 2025. Bear with the Mama as she battles portable mics in the wind with the background noise of the festival. Despite that challenge, these were live-on-the-spot interviews, very organic and real! First off is an interview with the proprietors of West Side Books from North Denver near 32nd and Lowell. They are one of our long-standing authentic, independently owned neighborhood bookstores with a great backstory.
Mama Jill chats with her brother briefly at the festival right before Matthew Kowal and the beloved local band The Reals play a "pirate" session at the Colorado Soul Stories booth. They drew quite a crowd in between the sets on the main stage of the festival. The Reals is comprised of mostly North Denver musicians who have lived in the area and played together for decades. Their original songs possess a particularly wonderful Colorado essence. Enjoy!
The rest of the festival recording will launch soon as well.  https://www.jillcarstenswriter.com/coloradosoulstoriespodcast

"Everything is Beautiful, and Nothing is Clean": Autumn Check-In with Mama Jill

She's unearthing sweaters, observing the warm hues of the turning leaves and contemplating the transformational tendencies of this season, just days after, yet another, school shooting in Colorado.
Your host Mama Jill reflects on autumn with bittersweet memories. She reiterates her "mission" for the podcast, to share the joyful soul of Colorado through the unique perspectives of its special people and places. Yet she shares there is also a deeper goal of this work, which was recently validated in a separate interview she heard with NPR host of Fresh Air, Terry Gross; sharing our stories can help us learn about and connect with others no matter how different they may be and, perhaps more surprisingly, deepen our knowledge about ourselves.
And finally, in this ten minute chat, Mama Jill bares her soul about one particularly difficult autumn a few years ago that changed her profoundly. This story is punctuated at the end of this chat by an excerpt of master Colorado song-writer, Matthew Kowal's song, "Kerosene." Hear the full performance of this song in the upcoming Sunnyside Music Festival episode coming soon.
jillcarstenswriter.com
 

Gray Carstens: Mama Jill's Son Shares his Path to Choosing a Career, Part 1

Mama Jill takes time to interview her grown son, Gray Carstens. In part one, Gray shares the struggles he experienced after high school striving to figure out that ominous question: "What do I want to do with my life?" 
He labels his path as non-linear; entering film school right out of high school, then becoming disillusioned with that idea. He travels down varied roads for a few years, not sure if a degree is in the cards for him. Then COVID comes into play, providing an unexpected chance for contemplation.
Gray shares that even though some of the choices he made were not always ideal, he wouldn't take anything to replace that journey and all of the things it has taught him so far. 
Whether you are a young adult facing these same challenges or a "mature" adult reflecting back on your own life-choice, this conversation offers unique perspectives for anyone paying attention to their journey. Enjoy!