Editor’s Note: John Frederick is recalling some of the highlights from his five week field study through four western states in 1983.

Even 40 years ago, it was easy to see that Boulder, Colorado, was paying attention to the environment and related quality of life issues.

Before officially beginning my 1983 geology field study in nearby Rocky Mountain National Park, I had a chance to see what Boulder was doing first hand during a visit with my cousin, Kathleen.

The city, like most of the region, is naturally blessed to begin with, sitting in the shadow of the Front Range of the Rockies. Yet beyond those natural gifts, Boulder has done many other things making it a great place to live.

It was a remarkably walkable community and was covered with bike lanes and trails. Today, the metro area has more than 300 miles of bikeways, including 84 miles of multi-use paths. In an effort to eliminate at-grade crossings, they have 80 trail underpasses.

My traveling mate and classmate, Jim Hodges, joined me for several rides in what, even then, was often identified as one of the best bicycling towns in America. In addition to the commuter and recreational cycling, Boulder also became a bike racing mecca, hosting races and becoming home to a number of exceptional racers, 1984 Olympic Road Race Champion Connie Carpenter among them.

In a stroke of dumb luck, the country’s biggest bicycle stage race at the time, the Coors International Classic, was finishing up the two days we were there. I got to see the best amateur racers in the world, dozens of whom would be in the Tour de France in the next half dozen years. Not surprisingly, we were able to walk to one of the race venues at North Boulder Park, near my cousin’s house.

I enjoyed one of a host of vegetarian restaurants, while we listened to Joni Mitchell tunes in the background. Afterward, we walked on the beautiful downtown car-free, tree-lined mall on Pearl Street.

Seven years before my visit, a non-profit recycling business was started, predating most other serious city curbside recycling programs by more than a decade. Today, Eco-Cycle remains one of the cutting edge recyclers in the country, as they now try to move closer to zero-waste.

Similarly, they have sketched out an aggressive climate action plan and aim to have net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2035.

Home to the University of Colorado, Boulder enjoyed phenomenal growth in the mid-20th Century, nearly doubling in population between the 1950 and 1960 censuses.

Boulder is also home to the National Center for Atmospheric Research Mesa Lab. The research center is nestled into the foothills of the Front Range. Jim and I had a chance to bicycle up the steep climb, where we were also able to enjoy the amazing view of the beautiful city.

Diverse economic opportunities and an extraordinary quality of life in a beautiful place with an eye on the future has resulted in continued growth. Forty years after my visit in 1983, Boulder is now home to nearly 110,000 people.

Blessed with similar natural gifts and potential opportunities, it’s not a stretch to think places like Altoona could steal a page from Boulder’s 40 year-old playbook.

John Frederick writes about nature and the environment for the Mirror. Read more at www.johnjfrederick.com.