Steamboat Pilot & Today

Ryan Keating mows grass Sunday at the Yampa River Botanic Park. Keating said the early arrival of spring allowed the park to open last month. He also spent Sunday watering plants and cleaning up the grounds. Photo by Scott Franz

Shelby Jennings dives for the ball Sunday while playing volleyball on the courts at Howelsen Hill. Jennings and Colleen O’Gorman joined David Good and Nick Huyser in the afternoon game, fighting through the occasional wind gust and cool weather. Photo by Joel Reichenberger

Sunset over Sleeping Giant. Submitted by: Matt Helm

Sunset over Sleeping Giant. Submitted by: Matt Helm

Hike up Mad Creek. Submitted by: Matt Helm

Hike up Mad Creek. Submitted by: Matt Helm

Steamboat Springs Middle School sixth-graders, from left, Shae Burger, Tamy Katthain, Taylor Olson and Sara Heinke unload plants from a trailer Friday during the school’s 18th annual tree sale. Proceeds from the sale provide all the funding for Everything Outdoor Steamboat, a program that lets students participate in outdoor recreation and education. The group expected to raise about $6,000 from the sale, which is enough to fund the program for a year. Photo by Matt Stensland

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful moms. Submitted by: Maryedith Davies

Mother's Day sunset.

Jan Roth, left, of the Sundance Research Institute, explains to Steamboat Springs High School sophomore Nick Vaughan how to identify the different types of fossilized plants discovered in rocks excavated from a potential Columbian mammoth site in Craig. The first day of the dig did not yield any mammoth remains, but Roth was encouraged by plant fossils and another discovery of what could be a hearth site. Johnny Walker/Courtesy