It's about 50 miles north of Denver, about 12 miles north of Boulder - and a couple miles from the western edge of the vast flatlands known as the Great Plains. Lyons' elevation of 5374 feet above sea level is relatively modest by local standards. Yet the town is higher than the summit of Mount Marcy, tallest peak in New York's Adirondack Mountains. Everything is relative. Even though it's in the foothills, Lyons is every inch a mountain town.
Mule deer wander into town.
Elk and bighorn sheep graze on the ridges above, and eagles circle overhead. A black bear visited the high school grounds this spring. And a few weeks earlier, footprints in the snow indicated that another mountain lion had passed through town during the night. Each summer day over 12,000 cars pass our building - heading west. Just up the road from Lyons is the town of Estes Park.