Ralphie runs around Folsom Field at half time, a long tradition for the Colorado BUFFALOS

We left Montrose pretty early. It was starting to cool off, and I had pants and a light jacket on. Underneath was my Grateful Dead Stealie/Buff T-shirt with “Spent a little time on the mountain. Spent a little time on the hill.” on the back. We haven’t been to a Buff game in three years, as we had a few years in Cortez and eight hours was too far. But today is the day! Paul, Gibby, and I set out for Boulder. I had no idea what was in store for us as we traveled back to Boulder. In a way, we traveled back in time.

Back in the Day

Palisade Peaches have always been a thing. Photo of two women in Palisade, CO, circa 1910 - 1919, photo by George L. Beam.

I vaguely remember people in my childhood neighborhood driving to Palisade in September and coming home with way too many peaches. That was the direction we traveled for most of my childhood and early into my adult life. Now it’s like traveling back and into the green. Out of the desert. Here was fall, just beginning to show her beauty. I didn’t see a lot of the bright yellow-gold until we hit Summit County. Then through the Eisenhower Tunnel, and then the decision: do we drive Highway 6 or stay on I-70? “Go 70,” I told Paul. “All it takes is one tourist to slow you down, and you know how much you just love that.” He stayed on I-70. But we turned off early and drove through Golden neighborhoods on the west side of town instead of the usual thoroughfare. I guess it harkens back to the old way through town. Sometimes things don’t change even if they try to make you change with them.

Copper Mountain Fall 2026. Photo by Wendy Stieg

Heading Home to Boulder

Golden, CO, circa 1980’s. Unknown photographer.

Paul was agitated already because we were a little bit behind. “We still have to park, and what about Gibby?” Our lovely old chocolate Lab still leaks, but we brought his belly bands and had a plan to make the back of the RDX comfortable for him. I have no idea if this will work, but Gibby is not really able to stay anywhere for more than a few hours without a potty break. Thankfully it wasn’t terribly hot, and the car was in full shade. Brian met us, and we walked to the stadium. Something about being back in Boulder got Paul and Brian talking about the old days. All kinds of memories came up for them. My own memories started to stir as well. We walked past students hustling to the game, some still partying, and cars weirdly stopping on Canyon and letting us go. We have all done this walk many times together. Memories were flooding back.

We Have Arrived

I couldn’t believe I found this! Mine was yellow and black, but I’ll take it!

We got to the north end of the stadium, and there were a few people trickling in. No tailgating today. We ran out of time. But there were enough tailgate parties in the past to make up for any we might have missed. Already, things are different, but not all of them. I started to think about all the time I have spent in this stadium over the years. My first time in this field without adults was in 6th grade as a Ralphie Stampeder. I remember going with a few friends, and I also remember the band being in the north end of the stadium. We sat right by them. Us in our yellow-gold Ralphie Stampeder shirts, and them in their band uniforms. No parents. This memory always comes up as we climb the stairs on that end of the field. We headed over to our seats. Sitting in our actual seats is something new since Coach Prime came along and sprinkled his magic dust over the team. No more hanging out in the student section. You might laugh at a couple of people clearly not college students hanging out in the student section, but that scene was years in the making. I miss it, but I am also glad that CU is back in the spotlight.

Folsom Field was visible from my old house in Spring Valley

Folsom Field, September12, 2026. Photo by Wendy Stieg

We used to sit on the deck of that huge green house listening to concerts or watching 4th of July fireworks over Folsom Field. That deck was the site of many an overnight in the sleeping bags under the stars. Folsom Field holds a lot of different memories for me, and thinking about the house in Spring Valley brought many of them back. Aside from the 4th of July, there have been concerts. Many, many, many. I saw the Rolling Stones, with George Thorogood opening for them and kicking off the show with incredible energy. Later, as an adult, I was lucky enough to get to see the remaining members of the Grateful Dead as Dead & Company in that stadium. I remember my brother Erik and I standing in the middle of Folsom Field waiting for one of those shows to start, steeped in memories, and all he said was, “I miss it here.” Yes. I did too. I didn’t say much, which is unusual for me. I nodded in agreement. Now? It is getting warm, the rain clouds are disappearing, and we are in the same place again. Things have changed, but they have also stayed the same.

Balch Field House

Staring across the field from our seats on the east side brought me back to Balch Field House. In 2016, we saw Dead & Company play Folsom for the first time. I was staring across the field on Saturday, bringing back more memories. I remember sitting on the west side at the 30-yard line back then, watching the Rolling Stones with two high school friends and thirty or more other classmates. That event even made the Boulder High School yearbook that year. I remember running the stadium stairs in high school and heading into Balch for a drink and a restroom break. Then there was the toilet paper. A friend of mine threw a loser party for those of us who either got ditched for someone else (that was me) or couldn’t get a date (everyone else). Then, at the last minute, one of us got a date. So the TP-the-trees plan went into action. Everyone was supposed to bring toilet paper to the party. Some of us forgot. One of us happened to know where the motherlode of toilet paper was. We TP’d the trees until we ran out and headed to Balch. Might that person have been me? Maybe! Not too long after the thievery of TP from the women’s room at Balch Field House commenced, about eight or ten of us were piled into my friend’s mother’s white Mercedes, driving through the streets of Boulder. I think toilet paper might have been streaming out of the car.

Needless to say, there were CU cops, and then we all got thrown into the clink at the Armory building. No arrests were made, but there was a steady stream (no pun intended!) of parents and one babysitter. The one with the babysitter was the friend whose mom owned the Mercedes. His parents were out of town, and because he was the youngest, they apparently thought they had left him in good hands. The Mercedes, which might also have been decorated with toilet paper, suggested otherwise. At least our friend got some of our wrath. I ended up in church the next morning with my mother, who joked with the cop that SHE never got caught. Right. And then I’m in church. OK, but back to Balch Field House. I was back there again a few summers ago. It still smells the same! And it is still slightly humid there. Things change, but apparently not everything does.

Back to the Game and Ralphie

1966 Ralphie Photo

Found an article written in 1966 about Ralphie way back when, in the Coloradan Article, ***A Buffalo For the Buffaloes***. Unknown photographer.

My Dad used to talk about how Ralphie escaped once and ran through the streets of Boulder with the cowboy handlers running after her. I never knew if that was true, because I didn’t remember that. My Dad might have been known to embellish from time to time. So I always assumed the charging-through-Boulder part might have grown a little over the years. But apparently he wasn’t making the whole thing up! Other people who were at Folsom in the late 1970s or early 1980s remember Ralphie getting away from her handlers, running past her trailer and up the ramp on the west side of the stadium before she was finally corralled. One person even remembers the scoreboard flashing, “Ralphie... Come Back.” So did Ralphie actually go charging through the streets of Boulder? I haven’t found proof of that part. It sounds like she did escape Folsom, which means Dad’s story holds a whole lot more water than I ever gave it credit for.

This time, THIS Saturday, she had a pleasant little jog around the stadium and ran right into her second pen as planned. But there is something special about Ralphie. Maybe it is that she is a real buffalo. Yes, there is Chip, and he is great, but Ralphie is the best mascot ever. She looked really great this Saturday. I managed to get a photo of her with one of her handlers’ cowboy hats flying off. Yes, some things never change!

Paul

Having the best time! Back at a fall CU Buff game! Photo by Wendy Stieg

I love telling Paul stories because unlike my Dad’s stories, my Paul stories are all true! Every one of them! Aside from him and hummingbirds in my life, my favorite story is about him bringing music, Boulder, football, and fun back into my life. So how did CU Boulder, Folsom Field, Paul and I come full circle, you might wonder? Because Paul.

Find out about hummingbirds and Paul in September’s Experience: How Are Hummingbirds, Labrador Retrievers, a Trashman, Cats and Cacti Connected?

Let me explain: Everyone has tough times. I had just been through one when Paul showed up in my life. The most amazing thing about him was how easily he seemed to just make things happen when he wanted to. He knew I had been through a bit of a haul, and he and I went skiing all the time, hiking, biking, camping, traveling, to see lots of live music, and to Folsom Field. Buff games soon became a part of my life again. Paul has had season tickets to Buff games for decades now. Hearing him and Brian talking about their memories of coming to Folsom Field, whether it was sneaking in for a sporting event, going to concerts, or just being in the student section laughing at a friend known for taking his shirt off…a lot, was as fun as thinking about my own memories. I did not graduate from CU Boulder. I graduated from Chaminade University of Honolulu. But Boulder will always be home.

Student Section

Paul is not known for sitting in his seat. When we met, he had Rockies tickets, and we went to all of those games. But we never once sat in our seats. We had season tickets to Buff games for years, and I didn’t even know where our seats were. Back then, many people our age found their way to the student section. I thought it was funny, but those were the pre-Coach Prime days, and Folsom Field was a lot less controlled. Paul initially had tickets close to the student section. But this time for some reason, it wasn’t the same. I think he used to have seats in the northeast section of the stadium and just likes that side of the field. He has since gotten these new seats, which are close to his old seats on the northeast side of the field. But in the old days, the student section was where everyone we knew ended up. Next time I hope to get there before game time so we can tailgate properly!

Anyone familiar with How to Travel Without Killing Your Partner already knows that Paul has his own approach to things, and apparently assigned seating is no exception.

Heading Home

Fall has come to Summit County, CO. Photo by Wendy Stieg September 13, 2026

Colorado is home. I have lived in Boulder, Longmont, Silverthorne, Dillon, Leadville, Gypsum, Cortez, and Montrose. I felt most at home in Boulder, Summit County, and now Montrose. Montrose just feels right for this time in my life, but Boulder will always be home. After dinner with Brian, Paul, Gibby and I stayed at our friend Chris’s house in Golden. After breakfast at Cafe 13 the next morning, we headed back to Montrose with a little detour to visit Warren and Brooke in Buckhorn, our old neighborhood in Gypsum. Paul and Warren were geeking out on fantasy football, and Brooke and I were laughing at the banter. Then it was time for them to take their daughter to volleyball, and for us to get on our way. Throughout this whole section of the trip, I remembered why visiting Colorado in the fall is actually a good idea. The leaves were bright gold on the south-facing slopes on the north side of I-70, and then there were leaves just beginning to turn over Vail Pass. We landed in Grand Junction and had dinner at Taco Party, and then headed home. That drive was spectacular this time of year.

Somewhere between Boulder and Montrose, the Corps of Questionable Decisions in We Could Be Lewis and Clark, If Lewis and Clark Were Obsessed with Bikes, Giant Cacti, and the Neighbors was back in action.

So the trip was a success. The Buffs won. In fact, I’m not sure it was much of a match. They played Weber State. Let’s hope this is a sign of things to come. Gibby didn’t leak…much. And we remembered why we needed to go back. A lot sooner. CU Boulder is special.

Coming Home and Folsom Field: A Day Steeped in Fall Memories