Crane Festival set to take flight in Steamboat, across Yampa Valley

Crane Festival set to take flight in Steamboat, across Yampa Valley

Fifteen years ago, Nancy Merrill was part of an effort to create an annual festival in Steamboat Springs to celebrate one of Northwest Colorado’s most recognized summer visitors — the sandhill crane. “I’m really happy with what it is today,” Merrill said of the festival. “It has surpassed all my expectations. We threw that first festival together in a very short time and had no idea whether it would be a one-time thing or would continue through …