Mt. Elmo, Co, Ghost town, humming birds

Cousin Eulen Vandemark took Gary and I on a road trip to a ghost town on Mt. Elmo near Buena Vista, Co.  We really enjoyed the ghost town, but I was more impressed the the many, many humming birds gathered at the feeders. 

Dinosaur National Monument

The Dinosaur National Monument is really two parks.  On Sunday afternoon, we toured the Quarry section where we got to see many fossils.  We drove to the visitor center where we caught the tram that took us to the quarry.  After viewing the fossils in the quarry, we decided to take the 1 mile trail back to the visitor center.  Not a great idea, it was too hot, 94, and not that much to see.  After we recovered from our hike, we took the auto tour.  We purchased the $1 guide book so we would know what we were seeing.  Really enjoyed this tour.  On Monday, we went to the Canyon Country section of the park.  We drove into Colorado to see this section of the park.  We were very disappointed with this section.  We drove to the visitor center and purchased the $.50 guide book, but there really wasn’t much to see except sage brush.  The best part of the auto tour was when we took the Echo Park Road to the bottom of the canyon.  Dirt road and need 4 wheel drive for the road.

Quarry section

Josie’s cabin.  She settled in the area in 1914 and built this cabin in 1935.  She lived here until 1964 when she broke her hip when her horse nudged her.  She was an alleged associate of Butch Cassidy.  She married 5 times, but finally chose the single life.

Gary touching a fossil

Canyon Country

Durango Silverton Train 2012

We thought about taking the train to Silverton the first time we visited Durango, but ran out of time.  I’m really glad that we waited to ride the train until this year as we were able to take advantage of the new historical train.  This ride includes a character from the early days of Durango, Silverton.  We were provided with a wonderful narrative on the way up and back.  I highly recommend this tour if they continue it.  Just before we arrived back into Durango, we were mooned by 5 teen-agers.

 

our guide on the way up was Mrs. Pinkerton.  Her family provided butter, cream, and milk to the town of Silverton.  Sold butter for $1 a pound.

Our guide on the way back was Mrs. Cotton.  Her husband was an engineer.  This lady is the great-grand-daughter of the real Mrs. Cotton.  Lots of great stories.

rainbow caused when the engineer does a blow-out.  Mrs. Pinkerton let us know that this was going to happen so we could have our cameras ready.

Missionary Ridge  named by the Civil War Veterans who fought in the battle of Missionary Ridge.

Durango Silverton Train Museum

While waiting to catch our train to Silverton, we were able to tour the small museum near the station.  Not very large, but enjoyable and free.

Bent’s Old Fort Historical Site

Great place to visit to see how forts played a role in Manifest Destiny.  Bent’s fort was started by 2 brothers along the Santa Fe Trail.  The fort became a stopping place for pioneers on the trail and was a successful trading adventure.  Mexican laborers came from Taos and Santa Fe to build the fort for the Bents.  There is a great short film that talks about the history of this wonderful fort.

Buffalo hide press used to make bundles of the hides for easy transport.

store

Gunnison Wood Carving and Car Show

Beautiful day in the park.  Mom, Dad, Gary, and I went into Gunnison and were rewarded with getting to see the chain-saw wood carvers at work on one side of the road and the car show on the other.

Gunnison Pioneer Museum

The Gunnison Pioneer Museum is well-worth visiting.  Cost is $7.  The car section was very good.  The only thing I did not like was that the items were not identified.

dynamite warmer

Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP, North Rim

The sun was shinning so Gary and I drove the 52 miles to the north rim of the Gunnison.  Sure was a pretty drive.  We enjoyed the day and the beautiful scenery.

camel rock

snake in the road