Eastern Mojave Vegetation
Images -- Geography - Colorado

By Tom Schweich


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Images are organized by the topics listed at left. Click on a topic name to see images with that topic.

Would you like to use these photographs in your school term paper or report?

License is hereby granted for non-commercial use of the images contained herein provided that the images are reproduced with the copyright notice intact. This means that we give you our permission to use the photographs and information you find here in your school term papers and reports. You may resize the photograph to fit your needs, but you may not remove the copyright. Your term paper should note that the photographs are reproduced with permission and it should have a reference to this web site, such as:

"Photograph ©1999 Tom Schweich. Used by permission, http://www.schweich.com"

If you have a comment or a question about a photograph you may write to me at tomas@schweich.com I will answer you as soon as I can. I sometimes post interesting questions in my FAQ, but I will not disclose your full name or address.

Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad.

Photograph taken in August 2003.

Location records that use this photograph:

  • Durango, La Plata County, Colorado

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Lunch along the Crystal River in Redstone, CO.

Photograph taken in August 2003. Left to right: Cheryl, Matt, Simone, and Becci.

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Looking toward Montrose, CO from Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.

Photograph taken in August 2003.

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The Colorado River between Kremmling and Hot Sulphur Springs.

Photograph taken in August 2003. Looking east and up stream.

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Looking into Black Canyon of the Gunnison.

Photograph taken in August 2003.

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Lost Lake Slough

Photograph taken in August 2003. I guess in this area of Colorado low swampy areas that were improved to be lakes by an artificial dam are called "sloughs."

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Yampa River Botanic Park in Steamboat Springs

Photograph taken in August 2003.

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The Colorado River between Kremmling and Hot Sulphur Springs.

Photograph taken in August 2003. Looking west and down stream.

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Berthoud Pass, Continental Divide, 11,307 feet.

Photograph taken in August 2003.

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Cheryl talks with two young people from the Bay Area at the Cliff Palace.

Photograph taken August 26, 2003.

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The town of Redstone.

Photograph taken in August 2003.

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Dollar Lake, near Crested Butte.

Photograph taken in August 2003.

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View of Lost Lake Slough from the trail to Dollar Lake.

Photograph taken August 23, 2003.

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Matt and Simone by the Crystal River.

Photograph taken in August 2003.

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Overview of Durango, Colorado.

Photograph taken in August 2003.

Location records that use this photograph:

  • Durango, La Plata County, Colorado

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Bus in Colorado

June 9, 1936
Changing tires in Colorado prairie

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Frasera speciosa

Frasera speciosa that has finished blooming.

Photograph taken in August 2003.

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Many Frasera speciosa at Dollar Lake.

Photograph taken in August 2003.

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Rosette of Frasera speciosa at Dollar Lake, CO.

Photograph taken in August 2003.

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Alamosa County

Sierra Blanca east of Colorado Highway 150.

Photographed 4 April 2016.

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Rio Grande River at the Alamosa - Rio Grande County line.

Photographed 5 April 2016.

This view looks east into Alamosa County.

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Blowing sand with Sierra Blanca in the background

Photographed 5 April 2016.

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Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge

San Luis Valley and the San Juan Mountains from Hansen Bluff

Photographed 5 April 2016.

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Gopher snake sunning in the road at Hansen Bluff

Photographed 5 April 2016.

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Rio Grande River in the Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge

Photographed 5 April 2016.

This view looks south and down river.

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Big Slough of the Rio Grande River, the San Luis Valley and the San Juan Mountains

Photographed 5 April 2016.

The name “Big Slough” appears on USGS maps, but is not present in the GNIS.

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Rio Grande River in the Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge

Photographed 5 April 2016.

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Anasazi Heritage Center

Anasazi pueblo.

Photographed 21 April 2017.

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Anasazi pueblo.

Photographed 21 April 2017.

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Apex

Cabin in the near-ghost town of Apex.

Photographed 29 November 2014.

Brass plaque shows this building to be Gilpin County Historical Landmark No. 1.

Location records that use this photograph:

  • Apex, Gilpin County, Colorado

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Cabin in the near-ghost town of Apex.

Photographed 29 November 2014.

Location records that use this photograph:

  • Apex, Gilpin County, Colorado

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Cabin in the near-ghost town of Apex.

Photographed 29 November 2014.

Location records that use this photograph:

  • Apex, Gilpin County, Colorado

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Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge

Nature trail on the Illinois River.

Photographed 19 June 2018.

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Illinois River in Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge.

Photographed 19 June 2018.

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Berthoud Pass

View north from Berthoud Pass

Photographed 24 September 2014.

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Cameron Pass

Cameron Pass Ditch transport ditch

Photographed 18 June 2018.

Water is flowing away from the viewer, and crosses under the highway in the right distance.

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Water-gathering ditches join and cross under the highway in a culvert.

Photographed 18 June 2018.

Water enters from the lower left, and comes toward the viewer on the upper left, then crosses under the highway in a culvert, then in an open ditch and culvert to the far side of the highway at upper right.

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South water-gathering ditch of Cameron Pass Ditch

Photographed 18 June 2018.

The water is coming toward the viewer.

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The water from Michigan Ditch exits through a gaging station.

Photographed 18 June 2018

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Interpretive panel for Forest Conservation.

Photographed 18 June 2018.

Forest Conservation

Pingree Park

During the construction of the transcontinental railroad in the late 1860s, the timber fell almost continuously in Pingree Park. Named for the legendary tie-hack George Pingree (who supposedly could cut a hundred ties a day), the tree-covered valley about seventeen miles east of here supplied the Union Pacific with much of its building material. Overcutting decimated the forests, and the site lay abandoned from the 1870s until 1912, when the Agricultural College of Colorado (later Colorado State University) acquired the land. The college, ironically, transformed this overused resource into a model of wise environmental management. Pingree Park became an outdoor classroom, anchoring one of the nation's leading natural resource programs. Colorado State produced so many U.S. Forest Service and National Park employees that it was named “the Ranger Factory” — a training ground for latter-day George Pingrees who build forests up rather than chopping them down.
The legendary George Pingree in 1859 — two years before enlisting in the U. S. Army at Central City. After the Sand Creek Massacre in 1864, Pingree served a ten-day sentence at Fort Lyon for scalping thirteen Indians. He resented his sentence and never regretted his part in the massacre.
In October 1986, Congress passed the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to protect the few unpolluted, undeveloped rivers in the United States. Since then, over 10,000 river miles have been protected, including seventy-five miles of the Cache la Poudre — the only Colorado river pristine enough to allow designation.
Right: Grand Ditch construction camp, Hitchen's Gulch, 1942. Begun in the early 1900s, the Grand Ditch was among the first transmountain diversion structures built in the state. There are eight such structures carrying water from other river basins to the Poudre River to supplement it during warm summer months.
Tie-hacks were paid to cents per tie, and could usually cut thirty to forty a day. Legend has it that George Pingree, standing over six feet tall and weighing 225 pounds, could cut one hundred a day.

Irrigation

Farmers have been tapping the Cache la Poudre for irrigation since the early 1870s — and Colorado's government has been regulating the river almost as long. Because water is so scarce in Colorado, state legislators created a network of water districts in 1876 to ensure fair distribution among the various claimants. Since then, the system — based on the doctrine of prior appropriation, which gives top priority to the oldest claims — has governed water use throughout Colorado. By the mid-twentieth century, however, the nature of water regulation changed, with irrigation needs balanced against environmental, aesthetic, and recreational concerns. In October 1986, the federal government set aside seventy-five miles of the Cache la Poudre as a Wild and Scenic River, the only Colorado river so designated.

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View a little east of south to Lulu Mountain on the right and Thunder Mountain on the left.

Photographed 18 June 2018

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Cameron Pass, Larimer and Jackson Counties, Elevation 10, 276 feet.

Photographed 18 June 2018.

The concrete culvert in the middle ground is the end of the Michigan Ditch, while the little structure in the right middleground is the gaging station for the Cameron Ditch. Both ditches flow under Colorado Highway 14, and away to the right enroute to Joe Wright Creek.

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Michigan Ditch approaches Colorado Highway 14.

Photographed 18 June 2018.

The water to flowing toward the photographer and is approaching Colorado Highway 14 at Cameron Pass. It will cross the divide from the Michigan River (North Platte River basin) into Joe Wright Creek (Cache La Poudre Riverm South Platte River basin).

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Interpretive panel at Cameron Pass.

Photographed 18 June 2018.

Auto Tourism

Highway 14

The first Highway over Cameron Pass, completed in 1882 but the Cache la Poudre and North Park Toll Road Company, ran more than one hundred miles from Fort Collins to the silver camp of Teller. Travelers paid three dollars per wagon, with additional fees for herd and pack animals, for the privilege of laboring up a demanding, boulder-strewn route. Some stretches were so hard to navigate (especially steep Pingree Hill) they left teamsters cursing in frustration. Opened to free public travel in 1902, the road received much-needed improvements in the 1910s, with a smoother surface and an easier grade carved out by convict laborers. When the road reopened in 1915, two hundred automobiles drive to a celebratory picnic at milepost 109 (about forty miles east of here), motoring with ease over the once formidable route — and heralding a new generation of auto tourism.
The Autobungaloofer, seen here in 1921, epitomized America's craze for auto tourism. Serene mountain towns cleared trees and shrubs to make room for homes on wheels. For those who didn't think to bring the house with them, motels were built, while Mom and Pop made room for convenience stores, gift shops, and bait shops.
As early as 1896 John C. Zimmerman, with help from his wife and four children, built their second hotel, the Keystone. Most of the construction on the three-story, forty-room building, including brickmaking, was done by hand.
Convicts from the state penitentiary in Cañon City completed much of the work in the Cache la Poudre and North Park Toll Road. In 1917 the Rocky Mountain News credited convicts working in the Poudre Canyon with having completed the most difficult work out of some 145 miles constructed within the state of Colorado.
By the 1870s, boom towns Lulu and Teller City, just west of bustling Fort Collins, were established and silver excitement was in the air. The Cache la Poudre and North Park Toll Road was built to provide smooth passage for trade.

Auto Tourism

By 1927 automobiles could drive the Cameron Pass roas all the way from Fort Collins to Walden — about a hundred miles. Toursim soon became a major industry in the Cache la Poudre corridor, with campgrounds and motor courts lining the valley. Ironically, this influx of people compromised the very attractions — solitude and beauty — that drew visitors in the first place. The paradox climaxed in the early 1970s, when developers proposed a ski area atop Cameron Pass to lure the Winter Olympics to Colorado. Local residents joined environmentalists from across the state to defeat the idea, but one element of the plan survived — an asphalt surface for unpaved Highway 14. That brought still more traffic, helping the economy but applying more pressure on the wilderness. The same trade-off confronts communities throughout Colorado, representing one of the biggest challenges of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.

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Informational sign for Cache la Poudre - North Park Scenic and Historic Byway.

Photographed 18 June 2018

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Cañon City

Two old buildings on Main Street, Canon City

Photographed 18 September 2017.

Found on Main Street between 5th and 6th Streets.

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A former railroad depot in Canon City

Photographed 17 September 2017. Not sure which railroad built this depot,but it is very nicely constructed like the Union Pacific depot in Greeley.

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Fremont Cattlemen's Association Brand Board

Photographed 18 September 2017.

Found on N. 5th Street just north of Main Street.

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Chaffee County, Buena Vista

Sofia figures out how to do the crossed ropes.

Photographed 7 August 2019.

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Chaffee County, Elephant Rock

Elephant Rock across from Jumpin' Good Goat Dairy.

Photographed 5 August 2019.

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Chaffee County, Jumpin' Good Goat Dairy

Goats at the dairy.

Photographed 7 August 2019.

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Ian and Nico playing corn hole.

Photographed 7 August 2019.

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Ian and a goat.

Photographed 7 August 2019.

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Chaffee County, Trout Creek Pass

Southwest on US Highway 285.

Photographed 5 August 2019.

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Northeast on US Highway 285.

Photographed 5 August 2019.

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East end of County Road 311.

Photographed 5 August 2019.

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Cheyenne County

UP 8977 and UP 7254 pulling a string of empty tri-levels eastbound between Kit Carson and Cheyenne Wells, Colorado.

Photographed 28 April 2016.

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Cheyenne County Court House

Photographed 28 April 2016.

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Old Jail Museum in Cheyenne Wells.

Photographed 28 April 2016.

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Cheyenne Mountain State Park

Cheyenne Montain from the state park.

Photographed 10 September 2017.

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City of Alamosa

The Rio Grande River in downtown Alamosa.

Photographed 5 April 2016.

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D&RGW 169 on display at Cole Park in Alamosa

Photographed 5 April 2016.

Well-fenced, impossible to obtain a good photograph.

Location records that use this photograph:

  • Alamosa, Alamosa County, Colorado

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D&RGW 169 on display at Cole Park in Alamosa

Photographed 5 April 2016.

Well-fenced, impossible to obtain a good photograph.

Location records that use this photograph:

  • Alamosa, Alamosa County, Colorado

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City of Buena Vista

Repurposed building with sporting goods and a yummy caf e.

Photographed 6 April 2016.

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Midland Hill east of Buena Vista

Photographed 6 April 2016.

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Mount Princeton west of Buena Vista

Photographed 6 April 2016.

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City of Monte Vista

Monte Vista depot and the San Luis and Rio Grande Railroad.

Photographed 6 April 2016.

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Monte Vista Depot.

Photographed 6 April 2016.

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Colorado Potato Administrative Committee in Monte Vista.

Photographed 6 April 2016.

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City of Salida

A bit of downtown Salida.

Photographed 6 April 2016.

Location records that use this photograph:

  • Salida, Chaffee County, Colorado

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Arkansas River in downtown Salida

Photographed 6 April 2016.

Location records that use this photograph:

  • Salida, Chaffee County, Colorado

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Arkansas River in downtown Salida

Photographed 6 April 2016.

Location records that use this photograph:

  • Salida, Chaffee County, Colorado

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Clear Creek County

Avalanche Chute

Photograph taken 13 August 2011.

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Another lower fen.

Photograph taken 13 August 2011.

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A lower fen.

Photograph taken 13 August 2011.

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Georgetown Loop locomotive at Lebanon Silver Mine

Photograph taken 4 Aug 2011.

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Opposite side of creek from avalanche chute.

Photograph taken 13 August 2011.

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View upstream in center of Josephine Creek fen.

Photograph taken 13 August 2011.

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  • Geneva Creek Road, Park and Clear Creek Counties, Colorado.: 12000.
  • Field Notes: at iron fen.

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The Whole Crew at Guanella Pass

Photograph taken 8 Aug 2011.

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Hiking Trail to the South

Photograph taken 8 Aug 2011.

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Group photo on Guanella Pass

Photograph taken 8 Aug 2011.

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Field trip briefing for Josephine Creek iron fens

Photograph taken 13 August 2011.

Location records that use this photograph:

Article records that use this photograph:

  • Geneva Creek Road, Park and Clear Creek Counties, Colorado.: 12000.
  • Field Notes: at iron fen.

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Josephine Creek Iron Fen

Photograph taken 13 August 2011.

Location records that use this photograph:

Article records that use this photograph:

  • Geneva Creek Road, Park and Clear Creek Counties, Colorado.: 12000.
  • Field Notes: at iron fen.

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Upper edge of Josephine Creek iron fen.

Photograph taken 13 August 2011.

Location records that use this photograph:

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  • Geneva Creek Road, Park and Clear Creek Counties, Colorado.: 12000.
  • Field Notes: at iron fen.

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Red Mountain, partially caved by mining at the Henderson Mine.

Photographed 20 June 2018.

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Mine ventilation exhaust at Henderson Mine

Photographed 20 June 2018.

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Entrance to the Henderson Mine.

Photographed 20 June 2018.

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Colorado-Big Thompson Project

Brochure about Colorado-Big Thompson Project.

Image found on GNIS.

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Map of Colorado-Big Thompson Project.

Image found on GNIS.

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Conejos County

Cumbres & Toltec station at Cumbres.

Photographed 20 October 2024.

Location records that use this photograph:

  • Cumbres, Conejos County, Colorado

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Drive-through Romeo.

Photographed 20 October 2024.

Location records that use this photograph:

  • Romeo, Conejos County, Colorado

Article records that use this photograph:

  • Colorado State Highway 142, Los Caminos Antiguos Scenic Byway, Conejos and Costilla Counties, Colorado.: in Romeo.
  • Field Notes: 20 Oct 2024.

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Drive-through of Manassa.

Photographed 20 October 2024.

Location records that use this photograph:

  • Manassa, Conejos County, Colorado

Article records that use this photograph:

  • Colorado State Highway 142, Los Caminos Antiguos Scenic Byway, Conejos and Costilla Counties, Colorado.: in Manassa.
  • Field Notes: 20 Oct 2024.

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Costilla County

Drive-through of San Luis.

Photographed 20 October 2024.

Location records that use this photograph:

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  • Colorado State Highway 142, Los Caminos Antiguos Scenic Byway, Conejos and Costilla Counties, Colorado.: at CO 159.
  • Field Notes: 20 Oct 2024.

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Creede

Creede Mining District

Photographed 19 September 2017.

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  • Creede, Mineral County, Colorado

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Bachelor City

Photographed 19 September 2017.

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Bachelor City

Photographed 19 September 2017.

Bachelor City

When gold and silver were discovered in the nearby mountains, these meadows at 10,500 feet in elevation became home to nearly 1,200 people. Between 1892 and 1896, this was the bustling community of Bachelor City. In January 1892, an eighty-acre town site was surveyed into twenty-four blocks with twelve streets. By March of 1892, nearly 100 ramshackle houses had been hastily constructed.

In its heyday, Bachelor City had a dozen saloons, four hotels, five grocery stores, a meat market, two barber shops, two bakeries, several restaurants, a school, a jail, city hall and a Catholic Church with a parsonage. Bachelor City had a doctor and a dentist and the town newspaper, the “Teller Topics.”

“The camp was a bustling one, and its citizens composed ... of the rougher reckless types of Westerners, men who neither feared nor shunned danger, and to whom 'knockdown and dragout' fights were merely ordinary recreation. Brawls and pistol-play were a nightly occurrence in the numerous saloons and gambling dens that infested the place ... the character of Bachelor remained tough.” -- Bachelor City - 1892

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  • Creede, Mineral County, Colorado

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Interpretive panel for the Bulldog Mine

Photographed 19 September 2017.

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Town of Creede

Photographed 19 September 2017.

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  • Creede, Mineral County, Colorado

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Town of Creede

Photographed 19 September 2017.

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Looking upstream toward sources of the Rio Grande River

Photographed 19 September 2017.

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  • Creede, Mineral County, Colorado

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The former D&RGW depot, now the history museum

Photographed 19 September 2017.

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  • Creede, Mineral County, Colorado

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  • “Silver Thread Scenic Byway,” Colorado State Highway 149, Colorado: Creede.
  • Field Notes: 19 Sep 2017.

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The Equity Mine

Photographed 19 September 2017.

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  • Creede, Mineral County, Colorado

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The Mac Mine, the only restaurant open for business on an off-season Tuesday morning

Photographed 19 September 2017.

We had a fairly decent breakfast burrito, but they need a coffee-making lesson.

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  • Creede, Mineral County, Colorado

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  • “Silver Thread Scenic Byway,” Colorado State Highway 149, Colorado: Creede.
  • Field Notes: 19 Sep 2017.

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Dillon Reservoir

Dillon Reservoir, Roberts Tunnel intake on distant peninsula.

Photographed 28 June 2018.

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Intake facility of Roberts Tunnel.

Photographed 28 June 2018.

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Douglas County

Sledding without sled.

Photographed 7 December 2019.

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Eagle County

Herding cows to summer pasture.

Photographed 19 June 2019.

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Water diversions to Arkansas River from Eagle River.

Map prepared 30 January 2018.

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Eagle County, Camp Hale

Camp Hale.

Photographed 26 July 2018.

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Eagle County, Gilman

Gilman and the Eagle Mine.

Photographed 26 July 2018.

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  • Gilman, Eagle County, Colorado

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Gilman and the Eagle Mine.

Photographed 26 July 2018.

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  • Gilman, Eagle County, Colorado

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Gilman

Photographed 26 July 2018.

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  • Gilman, Eagle County, Colorado

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Eagle County, Minturn

Downtown Minturn

Photographed 26 July 2018.

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D&RGW yard in Minturn.

Photographed 26 July 2018.

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The Turntable Restaurant in Minturn

Photographed 26 July 2018.

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Eagle County, Red Cliff

Water Street in Red Cliff

Photographed 26 July 2018.

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Eagle Street in Red Cliff

Photographed 26 July 2018.

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Eisenhower Tunnel

West Portal

Photographed 24 January 2015.

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Estes Park

Lake Estes, just east of Estes Park

Photographed 23 September 2014.

Stanley Hotel in the middleground.

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Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado

Photographed 23 September 2014.

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Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument

Headquarters

Photographed 21 September 2014.

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View north from the headquarters.

Photographed 21 September 2014.

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Fort Collins

BNSF 5264 and NS 9580 lead a string of hoppers through downtown Fort Collins.

Photographed 18 June 2018.

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BNSF 7648 and BNSF 5540 bring up the rear on a string of hopper cars.

Photographed 18 June 2018.

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Garfield County

The Flat Tops, as seen from Toponas.

Photographed 19 June 2019.

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Colorado River at No Name

Photographed 20 June 2015.

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  • No Name, Garfield County, Colorado

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Gateview

Interpretive panel for the Old Spanish Trail

Photographed 18 September 2017.

The Old Spanish Trail 1829-1848

Between 1829 and 1848 woolen goods were transported by mule caravans from the Mexican outpost of Santa Fe to the Missions of Southern California on the Old Spanish Trail.

Annual mule pack caravans traveled the historic Old Spanish Trail between Santa Fe, New Mexico and Los Angeles, California. Traders from Santa Fe headed to San Gabriel Mission as a welcome destination. They brought woolen goods from New Mexico and returned with highly prized California mules and horses. Following ancient Native American trails, the trade route went into central Utah during Spanish Colonial days and continued as an emigrant trail during the Mexican period. Anglo trappers and military expeditions, including John Fremont, Kit Carson, and John Gunnison used various routes of what is now recognized as the Old Spanish National Historic Trail.

In June 1853, Lieutenant Edward Beale, accompanied by Gwinn Harris Heap detailed their travel route through this area. Head wrote “ ... we crossed the two forks of the Jaroso (Cebolla Creek and Powderhorn Creek) ... we rested for the night by a small shallow brook, very marshy, and swarming with mosquitos ... Numbers of deer and antelopes were seen; indeed, these sheltered valleys seem expressly intended as coverts for those gentle animals … Traders from Abiquiu come by it into these mountains to barter for peltries with the Utahs (Ute Indians).”

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  • “Silver Thread Scenic Byway,” Colorado State Highway 149, Colorado: Gateview.
  • Field Notes: 18 Sep 2017.

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Interpretive panel “Lost in a Blizzard”

Photographed 18 September 2017.

Lost in a Blizzard

“In the Colorado Rockies where the snow is deep and cold ... a man afoot can starve to death unless he's brave and bold.” -- Ballad of Alferd Packer

What is now recognized as one of the most notorious events in Colorado's history -- cannibalism by Alferd Packer -- unfolded in the valley below you. If was here that Alferd Packer and his men made a most disastrous mistake, then missed a turn in the trail and became hopelessly lost in the San Juan Mountains.

On that fateful day in February 1874, Alferd Packer became lost in a severe snow storm while guiding five men from Salt Lake City ti the Los Piños Indian Agency, located south of what is now Gunnison. At the time, the Old Spanish Trail was a well worn trail that continued on to Taos and Santa Fe. Unfortunately, snow covered the trail in the valley below and the hapless men continued to the south instead of remaining in the trail to the east.

Cannibalism in the high country could have been averted had they remained on the correct trail towards Cohetopa Pass.

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  • “Silver Thread Scenic Byway,” Colorado State Highway 149, Colorado: Gateview.
  • Field Notes: 18 Sep 2017.

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Looking downstream on the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River

Photographed 18 September 2017.

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  • “Silver Thread Scenic Byway,” Colorado State Highway 149, Colorado: Gateview.
  • Field Notes: 18 Sep 2017.

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Grand County

Baker Mountain on a snowy second day of summer.

Photographed 22 June 2019.

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Whiteley Peak in the valley of Muddy Creek.

Photographed 22 June 2019.

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Windy Gap Reservoir dam and pumping plant.

Photographed 20 June 2018.

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Location of Colorado-Big Thompson Project

Image created 13 November 2017.

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The Berthoud Ditch must be underground at this place.

Photographed 20 June 2018.

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Location of Grand Ditch

Image created 12 November 2017.

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The view in the opposite direction, probably of Parkview Mountain.

Photographed 20 June 2018.

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Location of Moffat Tunnel and related tunnels and ditches.

Image created 9 November 2017.

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  • Colorado Trans-Basin Water Transfer: overview.

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Dike along the highway.

Photographed 20 June 2018.

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Meadow in Pass Creek

Photographed 20 June 2018.

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Grand County, Henderson Mill

Henderson Mill

Photographed 22 June 2019.

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Tailings Pond.

Photographed 22 June 2019.

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Great Sand Dunes National Park

View southwest from Great Sand Dunes to the San Juan Mountains

Photographed 4 April 2016.

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Sand dunes to the north of CO Highway 150.

Photographed 4 April 2016.

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Crossing of Medano Creek to access the sand dunes.

Photographed 4 April 2016.

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Horseshoe Basin

Information sign on the portal of the Pennsylvania Mine.

Photographed 28 June 2018.

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  • County Road 260, Forest Road 214, “Peru Creek Road,” Summit County, Colorado: 38000.
  • Field Notes: 28 Jun 2018.

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Argentine Trailhead and parking lot

Photographed 28 June 2018.

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  • County Road 260, Forest Road 214, “Peru Creek Road,” Summit County, Colorado: 36000.
  • Field Notes: 28 Jun 2018.

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Anderson Tunnel Mine portal

Photographed 28 June 2018.

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Peru Creek is crossed by the Argentine Trail.

Photographed 28 June 2018.

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  • County Road 260, Forest Road 214, “Peru Creek Road,” Summit County, Colorado: 34000.
  • Field Notes: 28 Jun 2018.

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Cheryl sits on a rock in Horseshoe Basin.

Photographed 28 June 2018.

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Cascade from a tarn above.

Photographed 28 June 2018.

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Water collection system for the Vidler Tunnel.

Photographed 28 June 2018.

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Portal of the Vidler Tunnel

Photographed 28 June 2018.

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Looking up basin.

Photographed 28 June 2018.

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Looking down canyon.

Photographed 28 June 2018.

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Portal of the Pennsylvania Mine.

Photographed 28 June 2018.

Pennsylvania Mine.

Portal Rehabilitation Project.

The Pennsylvania Mine drains heavy metal laden water into Peru Creek, a tributary of the Snake River, and results in one of the most significant single loading sources contributing to water quality degradation. The mine is developed on six different “levels,” designated A through F, with A being the highest in elevation and F at the bottom.
The first goal of the project is to establish safe access to the underground workings on both Level F and Level C of the Pennsylvania Mine. Following conplretion of the project, underground investigations will be conducted to provide a more comprehensive understanding of mine hydrology and eventual remedy selection.
Project managed and developed by: Colorado Division of Reclamation Mining & Safety.

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  • County Road 260, Forest Road 214, “Peru Creek Road,” Summit County, Colorado: 38000.
  • Field Notes: 28 Jun 2018.

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Portal of the Vidler Tunnel

Photographed 28 June 2018.

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Huerfano County

Spanish Peaks south from US Highway 160.

Photographed 4 April 2016.

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Jackson County

Moose at Owl Creek.

Photographed 19 June 2018.

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One of the Ranger Lakes with Nokhu Crags in the distance.

Photographed 19 June 2018.

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Location of Michigan Ditch, Jackson County, Colorado

Image created 6 November 2017.

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View from Colorado Highway 14.

Photographed 18 June 2018.

Nokhu Crags on the left; peak in the middle could be Mount Richthofen. The valley contains Lake Agnes.

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Downtown Walden in the morning.

Photographed 18 June 2018.

At the moose is the Moose Creek Café, where we had breakfast, and a little farther down is the Antlers Hotel, where we had dinner at the River Rock Restaurant.

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  • Walden, Jackson County, Colorado

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Overview of the Illinois River in the Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge.

Photographed 19 June 2018.

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Where we saw the moose (in the field at left).

Photographed 19 June 2018.

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Moose at Owl Creek.

Photographed 19 June 2018.

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Michigan Ditch on the slopes of the Nokhu Crags.

Photographed 19 June 2018.

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Jefferson County

Morrison Natural History Museum

Photograph taken 2 Aug 2011.

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Kenosha Pass

Turning aspens near Kenosha Pass.

Photographed 21 September 2014.

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Kiowa County

Sand Creek Massacre Site National Historic Site

Photographed 28 April 2016.

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Sand Creek Massacre Site National Historic Site

Photographed 28 April 2016.

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La Veta

La Veta Town Hall, formerly the railroad depot(?)

Photographed 26 April 2016.

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  • La Veta, Huerfano County, Colorado

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Lake County

Mill and reclaimed tailings pond in Iowa Gulch.

Photographed 28 June 2016.

Sawatch Range in distance.

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Turquoise Lake on the west side of Leadville.

Photographed 28 June 2016, from the dump at the Venier Mine.

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View west down Evans Gulch to the Sawatch Range

Photographed 28 June 2016.

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Tipple at Monarch Mine

Photographed 28 June 2016.

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View northeast across Evans Gulch from the Monarch Mine

Photographed 28 June 2016.

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View across Evans Gulch to the Monarch Mine

Photographed 28 June 2016.

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Diamond Mine in Evans Gulch

Photographed 28 June 2016.

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Evans Gulch and Mosquito Pass

Photographed 28 June 2016.

Mosquito Pass is in the left skyline.

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Lake County, Brumley

View up-canyon from Brumley.

Photographed 24 July 2018.

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Lake County, Burton Ditch

Burton Ditch gaging station at the continental divide.

Photographed 25 July 2018.

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Water from the Burton Ditch flows into the Arkansas River basin.

Photographed 25 July 2018.

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Lake County, Chalk Creek

Wonder what is buried here.

Photographed 23 July 2018.

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  • Forest Road 134 “Trail Road,” San Isabel National Forest, Lake County, Colorado: near bottom.
  • Field Notes: 23 Jul 2018.

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Collecting Locality, Coll. Nos. 1984-90

Photographed 23 July 2018.

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  • Forest Road 134 “Trail Road,” San Isabel National Forest, Lake County, Colorado: near bottom.
  • Field Notes: 23 Jul 2018.

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Collecting Locality, Coll. Nos. 1984-90

Photographed 23 July 2018.

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  • Forest Road 134 “Trail Road,” San Isabel National Forest, Lake County, Colorado: near bottom.
  • Field Notes: 23 Jul 2018.

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Lake County, Climax

Climax: Where Colorado History is Still Being Made

Photographed 23 July 2018.

Climax: Where Colorado History is Still Being Made

This place has seen plenty of changes since Charles Senter discovered a deposit of molybdenum on Bartlett Mountain in 1879.
In the early days, Climax was a sleepy depot at the top of a railroad grade. But by World War I there was a thriving industrial complex here that prospered even through the Great Depression. Climax was designated the highest priority mine in the nation during World War II, and was known as the 'best company town in America' in the Fifties. The years since then have seen their share of shutdowns, layoffs, and hard times, but there is still molybdenum to be mined in the heart fo Bartlett Mountain.

The final chapters of the story have yet to be written.

1879 Looking for gold Charles Senter breaks open some yellow-encrusted rock at 12,000' elevation on Bartlett Mountain. He finds a dark grey ore laced with bluish-black veins, but has no idea it represents the world's largest deposit of molybdenum.

1880 Crews from the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad (D&RG) lay track from Leadville to the top of Fremont Pass and name the site “Climax.”

1884 The Denver South Park & Pacific (DSP&P) connects Leadville and Frisco, cutting five hours off the trip from Leadville to Denver.

1911 Climax Molybdenum Company is formed.

1913 World War I rages in Europe. Demand for molybdenum soars.

1916 The Leal Tunnel is driven into Bartlett Mountain. A shipment of molybdenite ore is processed and sold at a profit.

1917 Wartime demand for molybdenum leads three companies to compete for control of Bartlett Mountain.

1918 Climax Molybdenum Company buys out its competition, World War I ends, the price of molybdenum drops and the mine shuts down.

1924 The mine re-opens.

1926 75% of all the molybdenum produced in the world comes from Climax Mine.

1927 The technique of underground block-cave mining is implemented.

1929 A new school that also serves as recreation center, dance hall, and movie theater is built, as well as some employee housing. The Phillipson Tunnel is driven into Bartlett Mountain.

1933 The largest blast (up to that time) in the history of underground moning fractures the ore body inside Bartlett Mountain, causing it to crack and begin to collapse under its own weight. The Fremont Trading Post opens on this spot with a general store, gas station, and bar.

1936 Twenty-two feet of snow fall at Climax in a five-week period, blocking rail and highway traffic.

1937 Trees are cleared for a down hill ski area, which becomes popular despite its lack of lifts.

1936-38 Mine production triples. Apartments, a new school, a hospital, and recreation hall are built.

1941 The U. S. enters World War II, and a top-secret observatory is built on Fremont Pass. Climax Ski Area gets a rope tow.

1941-45 Men and machinery are pushed to the breaking point maintaining high production levels for the war effort. Climax is considered the highest priority mine in the nation. Armed guards confiscate cameras and film from tourists on Fremont Pass. The mine is awarded the coveted Army-Navy Production Award of “E-Pennant” for its contribution to the war effort.

1943 Colorado and Southern Railroad narrow-gauge steamer #76 makes its last run, and the Climax-Leadville High Line Route is converted to standard gauge track.

1953 Climax becomes the first town in central Colorado with television. The community also boasts new employee housing, an expanded hospital and school, ice rink, improved ski area, a gym/auditorium, and a lighted baseball diamond.

1953 The Fremont Trading Post features shops selling clothing, appliances, and records, a full-service grocery store, saloon, beauty parlor and barber shop, diner, gas station and garage.

1957 Climax Mine produces its 100,000,000th ton of ore, and becomes the largest underground mine in the world.

1958 Climax Molybdenum Company merges with American Metals Company to become American Metals Climax, Inc. (Officially renamed AMAX in 1973).

1960 The buildings of the town of Climax are moved to Leadville to make room for mine expansion.

1961 Climax's payrolls tops 2,000 employees.

1962 Steam locomotive #641 of the Colorado & Southern makes its last run.

1964 417,000 pounds of explosives are detonated in the largest blast in underground mining history. Earthquake sensors in Golden register the blast at 2.9 on the Richter scale.

1966 Climax Mine produces its 200,000,000th ton of ore.

1972 Year-round open-pit mining operations begin.

1973 Climax mine produces its 300,000,000th ton of ore.

1974 The Phillipson Tunnel, the oldest continually-producing mine level in the nation, is closed after 41 years.

1976 A master plan for land reclamation with an 80-year time horizon is published. Strict new environmental regulations on mining operations go into effect.

1979 Climax Mine produces its 400,000,000th ton of ore, and mine employment tops 3,000 people. Lake County has the highest per-capita income of any rural county in Colorado, and collects 86% of its property taxes from the mine.

1980 The world molybdenum market becomes erratic and unpredictable.

1982 Climax Mine shuts down, except for sporadic and limited production that lasts until 1987.

1986 Trains quit running the Climax-Leadville route for the first time in 105 years/

1994 Only twenty-seven employees remain in the mine payroll, mostly engaged in water quality projects and land reclamation. Cyprus Minerals buys AMAX, Inc.

1999 Cyprus-AMAX Minerals Company is acquired by Phelps Dodge Corporation.

2001 The mine wins a prestigious national award from the Environmental Protection Agency for its biosolids compisting operation that produces the topsoil used in land reclamation.

2007 - present Land reclamation and water treatment activities continue. Dillon Reservoir, the primary water storage facility for many communities along Colorado's Front Range, receives 70% of its total water volume from the mine site.

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Climax Interpretive Site

Photographed 23 July 2018.

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Climax Mine at Fremont Pass.

Photographed 28 June 2016.

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Small interpretive exhibit about Climax at Fremont Pass.

Photographed 23 July 2018.

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Fremont Station Observatory

Photographed 23 July 2018.

Top Secret!

During World War II, the Fremont Station of the Harvard College Observatory on Ceresco Ridge was strictly off-limits to mine employees. No one knew what went on there. But Mine Superintendent Jack Abrahms regularly left his office so Observatory Director Walt Roberts could use the phone in private. Whatever was going on, it was important.
The observatory housed a piece of equipment called a Lyot-type coronagraph, a specialized telescope used to observe solar flares.
Roberts and his staff used the coronagraph to record flare activity, which interferes with radio communications. They coded the data, and phoned it to the Western Union office in Leadville, from where it was wired to Washington. Military planners used the information to schedule every major operation of World War II.
The University of Colorado became involved with the observatory after the war. It was moved to the slopes of Chalk Mountain (directly above you) to escape the town's lights. Data collected here in the 1960s was used by NASA to help schedule manned space flights.

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Lake County, Cooper Hill Ski Area

Cooper Hill Ski Area

Photographed 25 July 2018.

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Lake County, Crane Park

Crane Park where we saw a moose cow and two calves.

Photographed 26 July 2018.

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Lake County, Graham Gulch

Outlet of Twin Lakes Tunnel.

Photographed 24 July 2018.

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Lake County, History

Roadside Interpretive Panel.

Photographed 24 July 2018.

Colorado Counties

Granite was an early seat of Lake County, one of the two largest of Colorado Territory's seventeen original jurisdictions (it included all or part of fourteen present-day counties). As settlement expanded, the map splintered into increasingly smaller portions — the seventeen counties had become forty-six by 1889 and sixty-three by 1913. Mineral strikes, land cultivation, railroad development, and Indian treaties fueled this increase in boundary drawing, which was both a reflection of demographic trends and a means of distributing power and patronage. County seats rose and fell in sync with mining fortunes. Granite, for example, succeeded two busted neighbors (Oro City and Dayton) as the Lake County seat but was later usurped by silver-rich Leadville (Granite remained the county seat for newly created Chaffee County but only until 1880). After 1913 the state's tally of counties held steady until 1998, when voters approved the creation of Broomfield County, Colorado's sixty-fourth.

The Lake County War

Lake County is in a state of anarchy and confusion which surpasses in the enormity of its crime the worst epics of our territorial history. The law is under the feet of an organization which ... enforces its decrees with knife and pistol.

— Daily Central City Register, July 8, 1874

The Lake County War (a dispute that started over water rights and laster from 1874 to 1875) reached its climax in Granite when probate judge Elias Dyer was killed in his courtroom by members of the “Committee of Safety.” This vigilante organization sought to purge the county of lawbreakers real and imagined, using illegal arrests, coerced confessions, and forced exile in its campaign. The law was no match for this gunbarrel regime: Judge Dyer sealed his doom by pressing charges against roughly thirty Committee members (who all went free when nobody would testify against them). Territorial leaders worried that this disorder might doom Colorado's bid to join the Union; but while the cause of statehood survived the Lake County War, the county itself nearly didn't. By 1879 it had lost 90 percent of its territory. Ironically the newly formed Chaffee County — not Lake — became home to all the land (and all the ruthless Committeemen) involved in this bloody episode.

Dear Father – I don't know that the sun will ever rise and set for me again, but I trust in God and his mercy. At eight o'clock I sit in court. The mob have me under guard. Mr. Gilland is missing this morning, but I do not think harm has befallen him. God bless you, my father, in your old age and in Sam and his boy — in all your children — but you know John bears the name. Bless him and his forever. O my God.

My love to all friends, and I say I am proud to be your son. There is no cowardice in me, Father. I am worthy of you in this respect. God comfort you and keep you always. I am, in this one respect like him who died for all. I die, if die I must, for law, order and principle. And too, I stand alone.

Your loving and true and, I hope, some respects worthy son.

Elias F. Dyer

— Judge Dyer's July 3, 1875, letter to his
father foreshadowing the violence
that took place the following morning.
Colorado Historical Society.

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  • Granite, Chaffee County, Colorado

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Lake County, Independence Pass

Sawatch Range from Independence Pass

Photographed 24 July 2018.

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On Independence Pass before our descent into Aspen.

Photographed 24 July 2018.

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Lake County, Leadville

Inside Leadville's legengary Silver Dollar Saloon.

Photographed 8 August 2019.

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Inside Leadville's legengary Silver Dollar Saloon.

Photographed 8 August 2019.

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Inside Leadville's legengary Silver Dollar Saloon.

Photographed 8 August 2019.

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A visit to Leadville's legendary Silver Dollar Saloon.

Photographed 8 August 2019.

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Evening thunder shower in Leadville

Photographed 23 July 2018.

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Downtown Leadville

Photographed 24 July 2018.

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#641 on display in Leadville.

Photographed 26 July 2018.

C&S Engine 641, the line's last operating standard-gauge steam locomotive, used on the Climax-Leadville run until 1962.

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How Leadville solves the neighborhood parking problem.

Photographed 24 July 2018.

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Downtown Leadville

Photographed 24 July 2018.

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Lake County, Leadville National Fish Hatchery

View of Leadville across the valley from the Leadville National Fish Hatchery.

Photographed 23 July 2018.

The Mosquito Pass Road is seen in the left distance.

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Leadville National Fish Hatchery

Photographed 23 July 2018.

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Leadville National Fish Hatchery

Photographed 23 July 2018.

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Lake County, North Fork Lake Creek

Valley of North Fork Lake Creek from Independence Pass

Photographed 24 July 2018.

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Lake County, North Fork West Tennessee Creek

Abandoned beaver pond on North Fork West Tennessee Creek.

Photographed 25 July 2018.

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Lake County, Sawatch Range

Sawatch Range west of Tennessee Pass.

Photographed 25 July 2018.

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Lake County, Tennessee Park

View northwest of Tennessee Park.

Photographed 24 July 2018.

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View southwest in Tennessee Park

Photographed 24 July 2018.

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Lake County, Tennessee Pass

Tennessee Pass

Photographed 25 July 2018.

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Lake County, Tennessee Pass Tunnel

Shanty and signal mast, all vnadalized.

Photographed 25 July 2018.

The shanty is lettered “Tennessee Pass.”

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East portal of the Tennessee Pass Tunnel

Photographed 25 July 2018.

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East portal of the Tennessee Pass Tunnel

Photographed 25 July 2018

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East portal of the Tennessee Pass Tunnel

Photographed 25 July 2018.

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Lake County, Twin Lakes

Twin Lakes Reservoir

Photographed 24 July 2018.

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Lake County, Wurtz Ditch

Water enters the Arkansas River basin from the Wurtz Ditch.

Photographed 25 July 2018.

The water is moving away from the viewer.

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  • Forest Road 705, White River National Forest, Eagle County, Colorado: 80000.
  • Colorado Trans-Basin Water Transfer: 22060.
  • Field Notes: 25 Jul 2018.

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Water in the Wurtz Ditch crosses the contenental Divide.

Photographed 25 July 2018.

The water is moving toward the viewer.

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  • Forest Road 705, White River National Forest, Eagle County, Colorado: 80000.
  • Colorado Trans-Basin Water Transfer: 22050.
  • Field Notes: 25 Jul 2018.

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Laramie-Poudre Tunnel

Water leaves the headgate enroute to the tunnel portal.

Photographed 19 June 2018.

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Water from Laramie-Poudre Tunnel cascades down Tunnel Creek to the Cache La Poudre River.

Photographed 18 June 2018.

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River return gates.

Photographed 19 June 2018.

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Ditch tender lowering the head gates.

Photographed 19 June 2018.

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Larimer County

East Portal Surge Basin

Photographed 21 September 2019.

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Location of Wilson Ditch

Image created 6 November 2017.

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Location of Deadman (Eaton) Ditch

Image created 8 November 2017.

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  • Colorado Trans-Basin Water Transfer: Deadman Ditch.
  • Forest Road 336 “Sand Creek Pass Road”, Roosevelt National Forest, Larimer County, Colorado: at drainage divide.

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Location of Skyline Ditch

Image created 12 November 2017.

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  • Colorado Trans-Basin Water Transfer: overview.

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Chambers Lake from Laramie River Road.

Photographed 19 June 2018.

Lots of No Trespassing signs around.

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Location of Columbine Ditch

Image created 14 November 2017.

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Location of Laramie-Poudre Tunnel, including Rawah and Lower Supply Ditch

Image created 14 November 2017.

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Item found on GNIS about Pinewood Lake.

Image found on GNIS.

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  • Pole Hill Road, Larimer County, Colorado: at Pinewood Lk.
  • Colorado Trans-Basin Water Transfer: 21060.

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Water approaches the end of the Skyline Ditch.

Photographed 19 June 2018.

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An eagle nest beside the road.

Photographed 19 June 2018.

From a different angle, a white head was visible in the nest, which we assumed was a parent sitting on eggs.

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Looking north down the Laramie River valley.

Photographed 19 June 2018.

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Location of Bob Creek Ditch

Image created 14 November 2017.

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Check valve at the entrance of Skyline Ditch into Chambers Lake.

Photographed 19 June 2018.

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Gate at the Skyline Ditch road.

Photographed 19 June 2018.

Lots of No Trespassing, Danger, etc., signs around.

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Las Animas County

North Lake

Photographed 26 April 2016.

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Old adobe fam house along the South Fork Purgatoire River

Photographed 26 April 2016.

Note the abutments of the former railroad right of way in the right middle ground.

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Cows in field along the South Fork Purgatoire River.

Photographed 26 April 2016.

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Amtrak Southwest Chief between La Junta and Trinidad.

Photographed 27 April 2016.

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Emergency Muster Point located to 5 decimal points.

Photographed 26 April 2016.

The location of the coordinates is about 495 ft. from the location of this sign. At the other end of the yard is another sign with the exact same coordinates. It is about 325 feet the other side of the muster point. The fifth digit of precision in the coordinates makes a difference of about 6 feet. But, one thing is certain, it's good to know the coordinates are in NAD 1983 and not WGS 1984.

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Loveland Pass

East portal of the Eisenhower-Johnson Tunnels.

Photographed 28 June 2018.

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Pass Lake below the summit of Loveland Pass.

Photographed 28 June 2018.

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View east from Loveland Pass looking into the South Platte River drainage.

Photographed 28 June 2018.

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View west from Loveland Pass looking into the Colorado River drainage.

Photographed 28 June 2018.

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Loveland Pass.

Photographed 28 June 2018.

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Maysville

Maysville School

Photographed 18 September 2017.

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Mesa Verde

Mesa Verde from Anasazi Heritage Center.

Photographed 21 April 2017.

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Mesa Verde National Park

The north end of Mesa Verde

Photograph taken in August 2003.

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Cliff Palace

Photograph taken in August 2003.

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The reservoir at Far View.

Photograph taken in August 2003.

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Monarch

Mining area at Monarch

Photographed 18 September 2017.

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Turning aspens at Monarch.

Photographed 18 September 2017.

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Monarch Pass

Monarch Pass, 11,306 ft.

Photographed 18 September 2017.

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Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge

Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge

Photographed 5 April 2016.

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Montezuma County

View south of Little Ruin Canyon

Photograph taken June 3, 2008.

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View northeast of Pleasant View.

Photograph taken June 3, 2008.

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Montezuma County Road CC crosses Cow Canyon west of Lowry Ruin

Photograph taken June 3, 2008.

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Portion of Great Kiva at Lowry Ruin

Photograph taken June 3, 2008.

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Interpretive sign at Lowry Ruin.

Photograph taken June 3, 2008.

Welcome to
Lowry Pueblo
National Historic Landmark
LOWRY RUIN
has been designated a
Registered National
Historic Landmark
under the provisions of the Historic Sites Act of August 21, 1955. This site possesses exceptional value in commerating and illustrating the history of the United States
U. S. Department of the Interior
National Park Service
1965

The Archeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 and the Antiquities Act of 1906 prohibit anyone from removing artifacts or disturbing archeological sites on federal lands without written permission from the BLM. Do your part fo preserve this rich heritage. Please report any vandalism, theft, or damage to the BLM Anasazi Heritage Center near Dolores at (970) 882-4811, or to the Montezuma County Sherrif at (970) 565- 8441.

The interpretive sign and pueblo stabilization were funded in part by a State Historical Fund grant from the Colorado Historical Society.

Museum exhibits about Lowry Pueblo and visitor information for Canyons of the Ancients National Monument are available at the Bureau of Land Management Anasazi Heritage Center.

Please Protect these Ancestral Puebloan villages for the enjoyment of future generations, stay on the trail, and Leave No Trace of your visit.

You always visit a place like this with respect. Always.

Esther Martinez, San Juan Pueblo

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Pleasant View, Colorado

Photograph taken June 3, 2008.

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Montezuma Valley, south of Towaoc, Ute Mountain Indian Reservation

Photograph taken June 3, 2008.

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Mancos Valley view from Mesa Verde

Photograph taken June 3, 2008.

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Mount Evans

Along Mount Evans Road.

Photographed 19 August 2015.

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  • Colorado State Highway 5, Clear Creek County, Colorado: along road.

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Summit Lake from the top of Mount Evans

Photographed 19 August 2015.

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  • Colorado State Highway 5, Clear Creek County, Colorado: Mount Evans.

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Parking lot and observatory from summit of Mount Evans

Photographed 19 August 2015.

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  • Colorado State Highway 5, Clear Creek County, Colorado: Mount Evans.

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View of Chicago Creek basin and Grey Wolf Mountain

Photographed 19 August 2015.

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  • Colorado State Highway 5, Clear Creek County, Colorado: along road.

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Nederland

Sundance Caf e.

Photographed 9 November 2014.

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Mountains near Nederland

Photographed 9 November 2014.

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North Park

South end of North Park from Owl Ridge.

Photographed 19 June 2018.

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Antelope in Owl Mountain SWA.

Photographed 19 June 2018.

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Otero County

The Rocky Mountains, 100 miles away.

Photographed 27 April 2016.

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Vogel Canyon interpretive panel.

Photographed 27 April 2016.

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Vogel Canyon.

Photographed 27 April 2016.

Petroglyphs on the left, the spring is at the base of the boulder in the right middleground.

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Tracks of the Barlow and Sanderson Stage Line cross the Vogel Canyon access road.

Photographed 27 April 2016.

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Picketwire Canyon from Withers Canyon Trailhead.

Photographed 27 April 2016.

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Picketwire Canyon from Withers Canyon Trailhead.

Photographed 27 April 2016.

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Bent's Old Fort in La Junta, Colorado.

Photographed 27 April 2016.

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Cheryl at the petroglyphs in Vogel Canyon.

Photographed 27 April 2016.

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County Road 25 “Rourke Road”

Photographed 27 April 2016.

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Bent's Old Fort in La Junta, Colorado.

Photographed 27 April 2016.

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Palmer Lake

Palmer Lake

Photographed 10 September 2017.

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Park County

Nice camp site, fence provided by the Forest Service.

Photograph taken 13 August 2011.

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Camping at Burning Bear Campground

Photograph taken 7 Aug 2011.

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Camping at Burning Bear Campground

Photograph taken 7 Aug 2011.

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Coney Island

Photograph taken 9 Aug 2011.

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Coney Island

Photograph taken 9 Aug 2011.

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Penitente Canyon

Virgin of Guadalupe in Penitente Canyon

Photographed 20 September 2017.

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Interpretive panel for Penitente Canyon

Photographed 20 September 2017.

Penitente Canyon: Special Recreation Management Area
A place of solitude ... a place of mystery .. a place with a spirit of its own ... Penitente Canyon
In the mid-1980s, rock climbers discovered the Penitente canyonlands. Today the BLM manages the area primarily for climbing, though mountain bikers, hikers and people drawn to its sense of peace and history also make their way to the canyons.
History

Ancestors of the Utes, Jicarilla Apaches and Puebloans have all left evidence of time spent hunting and camping here, along with explorers and trappers. The valley's first settlers were Hispanic farmers and sheepherders who migrated from northern New Mexico.

Virgin of Guadalupe

It's said that in the mid-20th century a few men from the local community painted the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe that's still visible today. Local legend has it that they sat in tires and were lowered over the cliff on ropes to complete the painting. The words above the Virgin read “Consuelo y Spiritu” or “Comfort and Spirit.”

Ecology

Penitente Canyon is home to many varieties of plants including chokecherry, wild rose, fringed sage and aspen; and wildlife including black bear, mountain lion, raptors, various lizards and prairie rattlesnakes.

Snakes

Always watch where you are stepping or reaching; don't reach where you can't see. If you encounter a snake, leave it alone and back away. Parents should always keep a clise eye on their children in snake country.

Stay Safe

Safety is your responsibility. Know your limits and come prepared for the area's changing weather. All recreational activiny is at your own risk.

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  • County Road 33 “La Garita Road,” Rio Grande County, and County Road 38A, Saguache County, Colorado: at CR 40G.
  • Field Notes: 20 Sep 2017.

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Virgin of Guadalupe in Penitente Canyon

Photographed 20 September 2017.

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Pikes Peak

Pikes Peak from US I-25.

Photographed 26 April 2016.

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Pitkin County

Water collection and diversion system of the Busk-Ivanhoe Tunnel.

Map prepared 2 February 2018.

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South on Colorado State Highway 133

Photographed 11 April 2017. This is the view south at Bears Gulch.

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Waterfall at Bears Gulch

Photographed 11 April 2017.

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Water collection and diversion facilities of the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project

Map prepared 1 February 2018.

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North on Colorado State Highway 133.

Photographed 11 April 2017. This is the view north at Bears Gulch.

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Pitkin County, Independence

The Ghost Town of Independence

Photographed 24 July 2018.

The Ghost Town of Independence

The Ute Indians

The Rocky Mountains are the center of the Ute's world. According to legend, the Ute were the mountains' first people. They spent their lives migrating with the seasons and following the animals that fed them, clothed them, and guided them spiritually and socially. Many Modern day roads and passes are trails the Ute traveled for hundreds of years as they followed their migratory paths.

Desire for the Ute's territory became overwhelming when gold was found in 1858. Tens of thousands of prospectors and settlers poured into the mountains. By 1861, the Colorado Territory was created and, in 1879, the Roaring Fork Valley was opened to prospectors eager to stake their claims. By 1880, the Ute were relocated to three reservations. The Ute, whose homelands included the Roaring Fork Valley, found it especially difficult to be exiled from their mountain home to the semi-arid land of Southern Colorado and Eastern Utah. Their traditional way of life was altered and they were no longer allowed to hunt and gather in the mountains, but were expected to farm on semi-arid lands.

Geology, Elevation 10,900 ft

About 69 million years ago, there was widespread volcanic activity in the mountains of Colorado. Ore-bearing fluids circulated through that is known as the Leadville limestone formation creating the rich mining districts of Colorado. The Aspen silver veins, discovered in the 1870s during the Hayden Survey, originated as part of this process and are considered the most highly faulted region in the state.

The most recent glacial period, the Wisconsin Ice Age, ended 10,000 years ago, forming many of the landmarks and valleys seen along Highway 82 today. The Rocky Mountains filled with hundreds of feet of accumulated snow and ice that flowed downhill from its own weight, grinding with terrific pressure into river valleys, creating the “U-shaped” valleys of the Roaring Fork.

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Independence, Colorado.

Photographed 24 July 2018.

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Powderhorn

Horses grazing in Powderhorn Valley

Photographed 18 September 2017.

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Interpretive panel for Powderhorn Valley.

Photographed 18 September 2017.

The BGN accepts Powderhorn as a valid name, but not Powderhorn Valley.

The interpretive panel is at the intersection of Colorado State Highway 149 and County Road 28.

Powderhorn Valley

Powderhorn Valley was named by mountain men and fur trappers because the shape of the valley resembles a bison horn that would have been used to keep gunpowder dry.

The Post Office in Powderhorn Valley was established in 1876 when the valley was settled by ranch families looking for lush grassland to support cattle. In the early years, Powderhorn Valley supplied beef and potatoes that fed the hungry miners and most of the hay for the horses, mules, and burros that worked in the mines in the mountains above Lake City.

For years, families shopped at Youman's store. Everything in the store was behind the counter and customers had to ask for needed items. Household goods, including fabric, nails, flour, and seed were available only in bulk and needed to tbe measured or weighed at the time goods were sold.

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View southwest to the populated place of Powderhorn

Photographed 18 September 2017.

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Rabbit Ears Range

Location of Coll. Nos. 1950-1956

Photographed 20 June 2018.

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  • Forest Road 106, Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest, Jackson County, Colorado.: at FR 734.
  • Field Notes: 20 Jun 2018.

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Willow Creek Pass, Elevation 9683 Feet

Photographed 20 June 2018.

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Location of Coll. Nos. 1950-1956

Photographed 20 June 2018.

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  • Forest Road 106, Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest, Jackson County, Colorado.: at FR 734.
  • Field Notes: 20 Jun 2018.

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Rio Grande County

Rio Grande River at the Alamosa - Rio Grande County line.

Photographed 5 April 2016.

This view looks west into Rio Grande County and the Rio Grande State Wildlife Area.

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Rio Grande State Wildlife Area

Rio Grande State Wildlife Area.

Photographed 5 April 2016.

Closed during nesting season, February through July.

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Rocky Mountain National Park

Elk-watching in Moraine Park

Photographed 20 September 2019.

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View of Fall River Canyon from the Toll Memorial Trail.

Photographed 21 September 2019.

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Bull elk trapped on the wrong side of the road.

Photographed 20 September 2019.

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The Toll Memorial Trail

Photographed 21 September 2019.

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Elk in Moraine Park.

Photographed 20 September 2019.

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Near the east end of the Toll Memorial Trail.

Photographed 21 September 2019.

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Horseshoe Park seen from Many Parks Curve overlook

Photographed 24 September 2014.

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Sprague Lake

Photographed 23 September 2014.

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Bear Lake

Photographed 23 September 2014.

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Moraine Park

Photographed 23 September 2014.

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Alluvial fan at mouth of Roaring River

Photographed 24 September 2014.

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Forest Canyon Pass from Gore Range Overlook

Photographed 24 September 2014.

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Bowen-Baker Trailhead

Photographed 24 September 2014.

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Landscape at 12,000 ft in the Rocky Mountains

Photographed 24 September 2014.

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Terra Tomah Mountain across Forest Canyon

Photographed 24 September 2014.

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Longs Peak as seen from the Stanley Hotel

Photographed 24 September 2014.

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Rocky Mountains

Mountains northwest of Panorama Point

Photographed 9 November 2014.

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Mountains northwest of Panorama Point

Photographed 9 November 2014.

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Routt County

Downtown Toponas

Photographed 19 June 2019.

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County Route 5 west toward the Flat Tops

Photographed 19 June 2019.

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Stillwater Ditch (Five Pine Mesa Ditch) coming down from Stillwater Reservoir.

Photographed 19 June 2019.

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Hahn's Peak from the valley below.

Photographed 20 June 2019.

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County Route 5 east through Egeria Park.

Photographed 19 June 2019.

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Panorama at Steamboat Lake State Park.

Photographed 20 June 2019.

180° panorama at Steamboat Lake State Park, from Sand Mountain at the left to Hahn's Peak at right.

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Sand Mountain seen from Steamboat Lake State Park.

Photographed 20 June 2019.

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Unnamed gulch on Five Pine Mesa.

Photographed 19 June 2019.

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Hahns Peak Lake.

Photographed 20 June 2019.

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Lake Catamount on the Yampa River.

Photographed 22 June 2019.

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Bald Eagle on a post in Egeria Park.

Photographed 19 June 2019.

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North side of Toponas.

Photographed 19 June 2019.

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Yampa and the uppermost Yampa River valley.

Photographed 19 June 2019.

Finger Rock in the right middleground, Yampa in the center middleground, with the source of the Yampa River just behind it. The butte to the left of Yampa appears to be unnamed.

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Stillwater Ditch (Five Pine Mesa Ditch) coming down to Toponas and eventually the Colorado River.

Photographed 19 June 2019.

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Vegetation zones above Hahns Peak Lake.

Photographed 20 June 2019.

Vegetation zones at Hahn's Peak Lake, grasses and Douglas fir near shore, Lodgepole pines, willows on lower slope with aspen in the draw, sagebrush near the top, with junipers on the dry summit.

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Area of Steamboat Springs from Forest Road 60

Photographed 20 June 2019.

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Routt County, Steamboat Springs

Snow on the first day of Summer in Steamboat Springs.

Photographed 21 June 2019.

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Steamboat Springs depot, now an art center.

Photographed 21 June 2019.

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Rio Grande caboose at former Steamboat Springs depot.

Photographed 21 June 2019.

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Routt County, Yampa

Business at the center of Yampa.

Photographed 19 June 2019.

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  • Yampa, Routt County, California

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Moffatt Avenue in Yampa

Photographed 19 June 2019.

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  • Yampa, Routt County, California

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Royal Gorge

DRGW 499 on display at Royal Gorge.

Photographed 17 September 2017.

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Royal Gorge Bridge

Photographed 18 September 2017.

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Interpretive panel for Royal Gorge Bridge

Photographed 17 September 2017.

Royal Gorge

Lt. Zebulon Pike and his men, who traveled through this area in November and December 1806, were the first American explorers to view the Arkansas River canyon now known as the Royal Gorge. A small party from the Maj. Stephen H. Long expedition visited the mouth of the canyon in 1820, as did members of Lt. John C. Fremont's expedition in 1845.

In 1878 a right of way through the Royal Gorge became the focal point of a bitter struggle between the Denver and Rio Grande and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroads, with the D and RG eventually winning the route through court action. Congress ceded the land comprising the Royal Gorge Park to Cañon City in 1906, and the world's highest suspension bridge spanning the Arkansas River 1053 feet below was built in 1929.

Elevation 6,626 feet.

Erected by the State Historical Society of Colorado

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Looking down into the gorge from the bridge

Photographed 17 September 2017.

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Russell Lakes State Wildlife Area

Instructions at Russell Lakes State Wildlife Area

Photographed 6 April 2016.

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Russell Lakes State Wildlife Area.

Photographed 6 April 2016.

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Saguache County

US Highway 285 north out of Villa Grove.

Photographed 6 April 2016.

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Location of two cross-basin transfers near Medano Pass, Saguache County, Colorado

Map prepared 24 January 2018.

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San Isabel National Forest

John B. Farley Memorial Wildflower Overlook

Photographed 26 April 2016.

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Cuchara Pass, elev. 9995 ft.

Photographed 26 April 2016.

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John B. Farley Memorial Wildflower Overlook

Photographed 26 April 2016.

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Cordova Pass Road interpretive panel

Photographed 26 April 2016.

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South White Peak in the Spanish Peaks area.

Photographed 26 April 2016.

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San Juan Mountains

San Juan Mountains from Anasazi Heritage Center.

Photographed 21 April 2017.

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Sangre de Cristo Mountains

Methodist Mountain from Salida in the early morning

Photographed 18 September 2017.

A light dusting of snow from the previous day's storm.

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Shambala Mountain Center

View of the Great Stupa from the visitor parking lot.

Photographed 18 June 2018.

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The Great Stupa at the Shambala Mountain Center

Photographed 18 June 2018.

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View from the Great Stupa.

Photographed 18 June 2018.

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Sleeping Ute Mountain

Sleeping Ute Mountain from the Anasazi Heritage Center.

Photographed 21 April 2017.

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South Fork

Denver and Rio Grande, something, not quite a goose, maybe a mudhen.

Photographed 20 September 2017.

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South Fork depot

Photographed 20 September 2017.

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Ex-Utah Central GE 44-ton locomotive

Photographed 20 September 2017.

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Locomotive No. 1

Photographed 20 September 2017.

The cab is raked, no doubt, due to excessive speed.

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Ex-Southern Pacific GE B30-7 7863 in South Fork, CO

Photographed 20 September 2017.

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South Park

View south into South Park.

Photographed 21 September 2014.

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Summit County

Location of Harold D. Roberts Tunnel

Map prepared 24 January 2018.

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Location of Hoosier Pass Tunnel.

Map prepared 25 January 2018.

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The Gate

The walls of The Gate

Photographed 18 September 2017.

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Interpretive panel at The Gate

Photographed 18 September 2017.

Keeping the Peace

The trail is well worn, and the peeled trees show that the valley has been much frequented by (Ute) Indians.

Gold was discovered in the San Juan Mountains in the late 1860s leading to a rush of miners. Tension rose between the miners seeking gold and the Ute Indians who lived and hunted in the mountains. As a result, the U. S. Government negotiated the Brunot Treaty in 1873 with Chief Ouray and the Weminuche Ute.

At this point we passed the Great Gate, a rift in a spar sweeping around from range to range across the calley.” -- Lt. E. H. Ruffner, Corps of Engineers, Reconnaissance in the Ute Country, 1873

That same year, the military sent Lt. E. H. Ruffner into the San Juan Mountains to document mining operations in Southern Colorado and evaluate the effectiveness of the Brunot Treaty. Ruffner noted, “While at Camp 47 we were visited by many western Utes, mostly well armed, well mounted, and well dressed; uncommonly clean, smiling and civil; short men, with broad muscular shoulders.”

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Thorodin Mountain

Rock column along Gap Road

Photographed 9 November 2014.

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Vail

Vail ski areas from I-70.

Photographed 24 January 2015.

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  • Vail, Eagle County, Colorado

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Vail Pass

Vail Pass, 10,603 ft.

Photographed 24 January 2015.

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Wagon Wheel Gap

Interpretive panel at Wagon Wheel Gap

Photographed 20 September 2017.

Wagon Wheel Gap -- The Early Years

In the early part of the twentieth century, railroad passengers, tourists, and health seekers boarded wagons at Wagon Wheel Gap and ventured to the Hot Springs Hotel to partake in the rejuvenating water.

The Denver and Rio Grande Railroad touted the healing qualities of the hot springs located near Wagon Wheel Gap. These springs soom became a destination for health seekers.

In December, 1848, John Fremont led an expedition into the San Juan Mountains to find a route for the transcontinental railroad. The ill-fated expedition may have traveled up Embargo Creek, (to the east of Wagon Wheel Gap), where they encountered a vicious winter storm. With ten feet of snow and deteriorating conditions, Fremont abandoned his expedition and each man fended for himself. All told, ten of Fremonts men died of cold or starvation in the San Juan Mountains.

In 1863, Charles Baker led a group of prospectors into the San Juan Mountains. While returning to New Mexico for the winter, then abandoned a damaged wagon near the “gap” where the Rio Grande carved a small canyon. In the 1870s, a wagon wheel was discovered in this area and it was believed to be a remnant from the Baker party. Miners referred to this area as “the gap where the wagon wheel was found.” Over time this area became known as Wagon Wheel Gap.

Wheeler Geologic Area was named in honor of George M. Wheeler, who surveyed much of Colorado in 1874. The area was designated a National Monument in 1908 by President Theodore Roosevelt in part to protect the highly erodible spires, hoodoos, and geologic formations. Due to its isolated location and diffifult access, the area was delisted as a National Monument in 1933. Wheeler Geologic Monument is now managed by the Rio Grande National Forest.

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Interpretive panel for Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout at Wagon Wheel Gap

Photographed 20 September 2017.

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Looking upstream from Wagon Wheel Gap

Photographed 20 September 2017.

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Interpretive panel at Wagon Wheel Gap

Photographed 20 September 2017.

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Walden

Union Pacific caboose in Walden.

Photographed 19 June 2018.

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Date and time this article was prepared: 11/3/2024 5:37:49 PM