In partnership with the Estes Park Museum, join us to learn about W.S. Cooper, the early American ecologist and Estes Park neighbor who climbed mountains with Enos Mills and helped map Wild Basin. Cooper went on to become a professor at the University of Minnesota and play a pivotal role in the creation of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, but this presentation, enriched by Cooper's extraordinary photographs, will cover his Colorado years, from 1904 to 1911. Alexandra Maeck, Cooper's granddaughter, will share her grandfather's stories and photos, many drawn from his memoir, Mountains. For anyone interested in Estes Park history, the evolution of our ecological understanding of this mountain environment, or the stories behind some early Tahosa Valley characters, this talk is a must-attend!

After the presentation, Mikaela Fundaun, Curator of Interpretation for the Estes Park Museum, will discuss how to access the Museum's collection to learn more about these stories and characters.

About Alexandra Maeck

Alexandra was born and raised in Connecticut, but spent her summers in the Rocky Mountains, staying in the cabin her grandfather built on what was once Joe Mills' homestead. After graduating from Dartmouth and Columbia, she moved west, becoming an English professor at Los Angeles City College and a mother of two who are wiser than she ever was. Now retired, she enjoys sharing her grandfather's insights into nature and challenging her hips and knees on hikes and climbs.