The YAK is a beloved Leadville and Lake County tradition, revived through the One Community Project to celebrate the stories, voices, and creative spirit that shape our community. The storytelling contest and community event, hosted April 25th, 2025, invited community members to share personal stories, poems, photography, art, and reflections that paint a rich and authentic portrait of who we are. Together, these stories help ground the future vision for Leadville and Lake County in the real hopes, challenges, and connections that define our community today.
Leadville.
They say the altitude thins the air.
Maybe it thins the noise too,
letting the real sounds rise.
Waking up early and just listening to the sound of the birds chirping is my favorite.
Or taking a hike mid summer and breathing the thin air.
What roots me here? It’s my family and how they have affected this place in the best ways possible. Chasing a dream, a better life for hands that knew hard work.
It’s the crooked smiles of the folks in community events, knowing that I make a difference.
Or the nod from a neighbor shoveling snow, a silent understanding of the shared struggle against living in such high altitude, the long winters that force a certain kind of resilience.
These small gestures, holding me in place.
When did it become home?
Maybe it was the first time I stood in front of Turquoise Lake, the comfortable sound of the waves, the light blue sky, and a strange sense of belonging, of being small yet significant within that place.
Or maybe it was the comfort of knowing the winding roads, the familiar scent of pine after a summer rain A soothing sense of knowing that people in the city could never experience.
This isn’t just a place I live; it’s the landscape of my memories, the backdrop to my becoming. It is home.