Sam Cyphers, left, and seven other students will travel to Denver to compete in the state spelling bee, including, right, from top, Lindsay Gnesios of East Middle School and Briggs Oakley and Hope Gipson, both of Holy Family.

A bald eagle fishing on a icy Colorado River in De Beque Canyon just down river from the roller dam.

Seven-year-old Katie Stephens, right, plays peekaboo with her new brother, 2-year-old Jamesley Louis, who the family is adopting from Haiti. Holding Jamesley is mom Jessica Stephens, and dad Greg is watching the antics from his seat on the couch.

The combination of light and water bend the image of Fruita Monument High School swimmer Jessica Fischer during the 200-yard freestyle final Saturday afternoon at El Pomar Natatorium at Mesa State College.

Mesa State’s Mike Dominguez takes to the air between Adams State’s Seth Heinbaugh, right, and Nick Fox as he lines up his shot during the first half of Saturday’s game at Brownson Arena.

Kyara Craig, 7, keeps her nose in the pages of a Goosebumps book in the Mesa County Library Friday. The Goosebumps series by RL Stine is very popular with children. Mesa County students had the day off from school this Friday.

A butterfly rests on a flower at the Western Colorado Botanical Gardens, 641 Struthers Avenue..

N.J. Fulmer of Whitewater objects an insurance requirement that she receive a mammogram before upgrading her coverage.

Jeremy Coquoz, 17, of Grand Junction spins through the air as he does a 720 off of the bottom kicker at the Lower Maverick terrain park at Powderhorn Ski Resort recently.

Bishop Fernando Isern was recently appointed the head of the Diocese of Pueblo. He was in town Wednesday to visit the Holy Family Catholic School. Here he shares high-fives with Holy Family students.

Grand Junction firefighters exhaust smoke from a home at 3363 Norwalk Street in Grand Junction. Witnesses at the scene said a worker was using a torch in the basement just before crews were dispatched.

Fog fills the valley floor in Carbondale. The twin peaks of 12,953 Mount Sopris in Pitkin County can be seen in the background.

Tom, left and Dick Smothers play to a sold out crowd at the Avalon Theatre on Tom’s 73rd B-Day.The sold out crowd sang Happy Birthday before the start of the show.

Fruita’s Tanner Crites goes strong to the hoop on the night that the school honored fallen mom who was stricken with cancer.

Fruita’s Jessica Sinner gets loos for a fast break against Montezuma-Cortez Keely Yanito.

Fruita Monument’s Austin Dougless, top, works on pinning Central’s Nick Matta in five minutes during the 140-pound bout of Tuesday’s wrestling dual at Central. Each school won seven matches, but Fruita had more pins.

Mesa State College biology professor Dr. Gary McCallister strums a mandolin as he composes music in his home office and then uses a computer to create the songs on his albums.

James Merriam, left, and Richard Herrera both floorman on HP Flex drill rig #280 in Rulison, south of I-70.The two were adding a 90 foot section of pipe.The blue blankets in the back ground help keep out the cold.

Palisade High School’s Zaid Bradfield,right, hugs his mother Mindy after signing his letter of intent to play football at Mesa State Wednesday afternoon at Palisade High School.