FUN-travel: Miraculous Mesa Verde, CO
June 13, 2018 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Miraculous Mesa Verde, CO
- Dating from AD 550…
…for over 700 years…
…Ancestral Pueblo people made it their home.
- Spanning across 40+ miles of roads…
…contains over 5000 archeological sites…
…& some of the most notable & best preserved in the US…
…including 600 cliff dwellings…
…mesa top sites of pit houses – pueblos – masonry towers & farming structures.
FUN-fact – After living primarily on the mesa top for 600 years, they began building structures under the overhanging cliffs of Mesa Verde—anything from one-room storage units—to villages of over 150 rooms.
More FF – In 1978, Mesa Verde National Park was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
FUN-travel: Adorable Durango, CO
June 11, 2018 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Adorable Durango, CO
- Pretty hard not to get swept up in…
…“Bike Mania” a la Durango style…
…laid back & loads of FUN!
Wonderful Historic Downtown
- Sunday’s events featured BMX races…
…tons of dirt spread over 2 hilly downtown blocks…
…with wooden ramps…
…giving the riders more speed…
…& the audience more thrills & chills!
- Then another bike race thru downtown…
…that included a ramp taking riders up to the 2nd story rear patio…
…through the bar of Steamworks Brewery…
…& out the front window.
- And for the Grand Finale…
…a full costume cruiser parade on Main Street!
- Lovely, welcoming, unpretentious, & proud…
…is all we can say about Adorable Durangoians!
FUN-fact – The Iron Horse Bicycle Classic started as a contest between two brothers, Tom and Jim Mayer. Jim, Tom’s older brother, was a train engineer on the iron horse. Every day when the train which Jim was conducting passed their home, Tom would jump on his 10 speed bike and pedal 50 miles over the two mountain passes in an effort to beat this brother.
More FF – Durango was founded by the Denver & Rio Grande Railway in 1879. The railroad arrived in Durango on August 5, 1881 and construction on the line to Silverton began in the fall of the same year & completed in July 1882.
FUN-travel: Sweet Silverton, CO
June 4, 2018 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Sweet Silverton, CO
- Only 111 miles to drive today…
…& lollygagging was clearly the plan of the day…
…due to the…
…Iron Horse Bike Race – 50 mile ride from Durango to Silverton…
1st Stop – Ouray, CO
…& our road closed until 1:30.
FUN-fact – Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad – constructed to haul silver & gold ore from Southwest Colorado’s San Juan Mountains…passengers soon realized it was the view that was truly precious.
More FF – This historic train has been in continuous operation between Durango and Silverton since 1882, carrying passengers behind vintage steam locomotives and rolling stock indigenous to the line.
FUN-travel: Too Cute Telluride, CO
May 30, 2018 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Too Cute Telluride, CO
- This quintessential mountain hamlet…
…situated in a stunningly beautiful box canyon…
…with jaw-dropping views…
…& pristine Victorian homes…
…started the same way Aspen did…
…prospectors struck gold and silver in the 1880’s…
…& like Aspen they struck “white gold” in the 1970’s…
…with the creation of a ski resort.
- Twelve blocks along the town’s main street…
…comprise a National Historic Landmark District…
…& include the site where notorious outlaw Butch Cassidy robbed his first bank in 1889…
…stealing $24,000 in mining payroll!
- Bridal Veil Falls — is Colorado’s highest free-falling waterfall at 350 ft & can be seen from downtown.
Proof That the Late Bird Gets the Worm Too!
FUN-fact – Rumor Has It…the town was named for the famous send-off given to fortune seekers headed to the southern San Juan Mountains…”To-hell-you-ride!”
More FF – Mining created 350 miles of multi-level tunnels within the mountains.
FUN-travel: Oh SO Expensive Aspen, CO
May 29, 2018 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Oh SO Expensive Aspen, CO
- 1880’s – Aspen started as a mining camp…
…during the Colorado Silver Boom…
…that abruptly ended…
…when the Panic of 1893…
…led to a collapse in the silver market.
- 1950’s – brought the 1st ski resort…
…& the start of becoming…
…an international resort destination.
- 1970’s – became a popular retreat for celebrities…
…Hunter S. Thompson worked out of a downtown hotel…
…John Denver wrote two songs about Aspen after settling there.
- Both popularized Aspen among the counter-cultural youth…
…as an ideal place to live…
…& it continued to grow…
…even as it gained notoriety…
…for some of the era’s hedonistic excesses (particularly its drug culture).
- 1990’s – The influx of wealth… created some of the most expensive real estate prices… in the US.
- 12 Miles –The Maroon Bells…14,000 + foot peaks… are the most photographed peaks in all of North America.
FUN-fact – It was named “Aspen” because of the abundance of aspen trees in the area.
More FF – You know how to tell the poor people from the rich people in Aspen? The poor people have propellers on their planes!
