I grew up in Trinidad, Colorado – an old western town settled as a stop on the Santa Fe Trail. As a result, it has been a mining community and a cattle town. I’ve always appreciated its history, the grit it must have taken to survive and thrive. Because of the way Trinidad was settled, and the industries that began here, it was a microcosm of different cultures.

In the late sixties, my father arrived from northern New Mexico after receiving a full-ride scholarship to the University of Denver School of Law. He was the first in his family to pursue and graduate with a law degree. Soon after graduating, my parents moved to Trinidad. My father was deeply respected and was even elected to two terms as District Attorney. He also served as County Attorney for Las Animas County before he and my mother opened several businesses in Trinidad. They embraced life here and were beloved by their community. Their appreciation of Trinidad was something they made sure to pass on to my siblings and me.

My family has a deep connection with the outdoors, and it’s a legacy I’m proud to carry. My father and his brothers embraced fishing, hunting, and camping. During the summers and in July, our families would meet together for small reunions. It was always a really special time for me, as our reunions usually took place around my birthday. We would sit around the fire, and my dad and brother would play the guitar while my mom would sing. People would stop at our site and tell other campers to come and listen to the music they would play. By the end, there would be a big circle of people around the fire enjoying songs like La Bamba. And ever since then, for as long as I can remember, I’ve loved being outside -- enjoying the hills, streams, and mountains that this beautiful landscape offers us. This time was instrumental in building a sense of outdoor family culture for us. It also taught me that the outdoors could be uniting, a common factor that could bring strangers together.

Today, I still enjoy our family’s many outdoor traditions, like camping, hiking, and fishing. But a tradition that is particularly important to me that I was able to cultivate early on is hunting. Sometimes my father, brother, and I would go to the Eastern plains for antelope on a family friend’s ranch, or go west into the mountains for deer or elk. When I’m hunting, I love the sound of the leaves breaking under my boots. The wind rustling the trees. It awakens these sensory memories because when you’re hunting your sense are fully acute. You’re listening, looking, and smelling. Being outside is a spiritual experience. Today it helps me feel connected to my dad even though he passed away six years ago.

There’s a picture of him that I love where he’s doing what he loves, where he loves. Playing guitar with a big smile on his face. His friends are dancing, and you can see their movement in the photograph. Everyone was having a good time, and these are the things I think about when I reflect on how I was able to develop my love for the outdoors. It was that smile. My dad made it fun.

When I’m hiking, hunting, camping, or fishing, I can hear his voice echoing in my head, “leave everything better than the way you found it.” We respect the land and that was always instilled in us. It was a part of our family’s set of values and our culture. This deep respect motivates me to continue to advocate for these special places so that we can continue to practice outdoor traditions for generations to follow.

I was proud to implement these values during my time on Trinidad’s City Council, where one of my greatest accomplishments was working towards the acquisition of a 19,200-acre ranch that includes locally known landmark, Fishers Peak – creating our state’s 42nd state park. In 2019, the City of Trinidad partnered with Colorado Parks and Wildlife, The Nature Conservancy, The Trust for Public Land, and Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) to purchase the property that is habitat to wildlife like elk, black bears, and mule deer, and provides a linkage to grasslands and mountains. The acquisition also included the summit of Fishers Peak, a culturally significant landmark for Indigenous tribes. I’m very proud to have been on the council that worked in conjunction with our county and to have collaborated with like-minded individuals who envisioned this as a smart stimulator for our economy, and also for understanding how it would enhance Coloradans’ quality of life.

Though I’m no longer on the city council, accessibility is still extremely important to me and is one of the most important roles I feel that our public lands play. No matter what socioeconomic background you come from, everybody should have the opportunity to find out if they love the outdoors. Everybody should be able to explore, learn, and just be one with nature. Early on, I realized that a major restriction for the establishment of a connection to the outdoors is transportation. In Colorado, the outdoor experiences we have are abundant, but it can be difficult to get to these locations. In 2017, I was able to open a youth club in Trinidad and mobilized our community to purchase a few passenger vans to take our kids all over Colorado to experience the nature our beautiful state has to offer. If there’s one thing I hope the kids take away from these trips, it’s that they can be conservationists. That sometimes, even though other parts of their lives may be difficult, the outdoors can be a refuge for them where things can be positive.

Today, my wife and I are embarking on another adventure to facilitate and encourage our community’s involvement with the outdoors by opening Fishers Peak Outfitters, an outdoor gear shop where we can sell the products we’re passionate about and are also more affordable. We want to continue to make exposure to the outdoors an easy and accessible experience for all.

I hope to continue to build the conservationist movement by engaging with our community. By continuing to link individuals to outdoor opportunities where meaningful connections can be developed. Encouraging the protection of our public lands, and advocating for accessibility is more important than ever, and I’m confident that future generations will carry on this legacy, as long as these outdoor connections can be explored.

Carlos Lopez is a former councilman for Trinidad City and co-owns Fishers Peak Outfitters in Trinidad, Colorado.

Guest Blog: The Legacy of my Family's Love for the Outdoors Lives On