Pinecam.com: A General Store on the New Frontier

Pinecam.com is a gathering of new millennium pickle barrels. So, dust off your duds, pull up a chair and get ready to chime in with lively chatter in any of Pinecam's numerous forums. Pinecam serves the Colorado Front range communities, "up the hill" from Denver, in and along the 285 Corridor. If you live in Conifer, Pine, Bailey or Evergreen, Pinecam is a first stop for community information. Pinecammers (as we are called) are not limited to these areas; we get our share of interested and vocal flatlanders from all over the country.

Pinecam is a community. We bicker, we support, we console. Amidst the jokin', chewin' and spittin', independent mountain spirits have been known to gather in prayerful and quantifiable compassion. No empty murmurs of sympathy here. Such readiness to jump in and help resonates with the echoes of the days when ranches and mining towns were spread all over hell and gone, with long rides on horseback or chugging trains to get to your neighbor's side. Regardless of political persuasion or religious affiliation, Pinecammers respond with overwhelming support. The Study be damned, someone needs help. Pinecammers have cooked for a mom who had to travel 80 miles every week to take her sick son to the hospital. They have offered assistance to a daughter so she could be at her ailing father's side in Montana.

With a black and white Quickcam and a separate weathercam page, Wayne Harrison wanted a wild mushroom-hunting site, Mycelium. The site received more hits to the weather page. July 1996, June 2000 and July 2002 brought rapid and critical changes to the community weather site, which became the go-to community resource during the Buffalo Creek, Hi Meadow and Hayman fires, respectively. In true frontier spirit, Harrison worked the site alone. Now, with no paid advertising, Google text ads drive revenue. Volunteers moderate the forums and they take their jobs seriously. As of this writing, the Members List boasts 8,998 members and reflects a community in flux. Pinecam is not a substitute for the two papers that serve the corridor. It is about community as much as news and other information.

These days, hot topics on Pinecam are the same as they have been for Coloradoans since our ancestors stopped for supplies at the locally famous Yellow Barn, which mystifies newcomers in its stark brownness. The weather still claims its share of home page space. Residents and visitors can follow the rapid and oft-changing weather scene along the Corridor. Real time Doppler radar vies with certain Pinecammers (and they know who they are) who can't help but offer their more roughly hewn forecasts.

When asked what they think are the most relevant environmental issues, Pinecammers quickly list water, wildfires, growth and pine beetles as high priorities. One Pinecammer, "js", summarized other members' opinions, "Growth seems to have the largest impact on the environment. More people mean the water is being spread more thinly. In addition, more homes mean each new wildfire will be put out more quickly, instead of having 'room to burn.' Additional development takes land away from the wildlife that many people moved here to enjoy."

In the Pinecam Living Room and The Study voices cackle, rage and rant. A personal favorite, the hilarious "Voles!!!" thread has 323 pages and counting. Relevant to changes brought by development here, someone might gleefully welcome the new Chili's® or opine that it would be grand to have a Taco Bell "up the hill"? Look to the western, craggy horizon and see that silhouetted lone rider? Now listen to his stern reply, "If you want Taco Bell, move back to the city. We'll be fine (better?) without you." At this point, a forum moderator might suspend the thread or move it to the Study. Opinions are welcome; manners are required and keep it clean, folks.

As you ride the Pinecam cyber range, you might stop in at the Employment forum or Mountain Living FAQ, if you plan to put down roots. If you spot a mountain lion, coyote or bear, your neighbors might want to know about it. Beware, though. You just might get a lecture about leaving food outside or scolded to fence your dog. If you value your dog, that is.

Pinecam: This patchwork of forums is tied together by common relationships to the rocky land, to each other, to experiences like nowhere else. Pinecam offers a new paradigm for community in technological times. Every forum, every thread shot through with a classic characteristic-the independent Western spirit.