Skip to content

Vol. 21, Chap. 6 – “The Heart of Colorado”

The “Heart of Colorado” is the valley of the upper Arkansas River, stretching about 60 miles north/south from the source of the river near Leadville to the entrance of Big Sheep Canyon east of Salida. The valley drops about 3,200 feet in a gradual decline from Leadville to Salida. After entering the valley near Salida we are going to run north through the valley and on to Wyoming in the last section of this trip.

Salida
Salida (saw-lie-duh) was founded in 1880 when the tracks of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad reached the upper Arkansas Valley after a grueling construction experience through Big Sheep Canyon just to the east. The town quickly prospered as a transportation hub with railroads going east to Denver, north to the mines of Leadville, west to Salt Lake City, and south to New Mexico. A series of fires in the 1880’s led to an early ordinance banning wood-frame building in the downtown business district, thus the preponderance of red brick structures. One of the first Edison electric plants in the country was built in Salida in 1887. The town continued to grow and in 1902 the Ohio and Colorado Smelting Company built a smelter about a mile west of the city on the north bank of the Arkansas River to process gold, silver, lead and copper from the surrounding area. The smelter closed in 1920 and today the remaining vestige of its’ operation is a 365 feet tall smokestack.

The boom times of the early 1900’s continued and this is when much of the business district was built. The railroad ran along the north bank of the Arkansas River, “F” street lead south from the railroad and is lined with imposing brick buildings raised during that period. Standing on the bridge a calm, pastoral view of the river in both directions contrasts with the business city adjacent.

The demise of the railroads and dwindling of mining in the area coincided with the arrival of the automobile and Salida responded by becoming a bustling tourist destination. With hot springs, white water river rafting, hiking in the surrounding mountains and winter sports the area is a popular destination for tourists. In 2012 the first “Creative Arts District” in Colorado was established in Salida covering the 111 buildings in the historic downtown center. This has attracted many artists and craftsmen to the city and contributed to a renaissance of the historic district. Quirky art pieces are scattered along “F” Street.

The intersection of “F” and First Street is the center of the downtown historic district. The view west from the intersection reaches up to the mountains in the distance.

In addition the neighborhoods north and east of the historic district have been revitalized. The early housing needs of the developing city created an interesting mix of types of housing.

As we leave Salida and head north up the valley a line of massive 14,000 feet plus peaks to the west reach towards the heavens.

The road slowly gains in elevation as we reach a narrow stretch where the Arkansas River has carved another canyon between steep walls.

Once through the canyons the vista again opens up to another high-altitude valley bordered by giants on either side.

It’s hard to tell from the pictures but we are continually climbing in elevation as we head north. Approaching the mining town of Leadville, an early snow blankets the mountains.

Leadville
Gold was discovered in 1859 in the Leadville area but mining was hampered by a heavy black sand that kept clogging the sluice boxes. Turns out that there wasn’t much gold in the area but the heavy black sand was a mineral called cerussite which has a high silver content. By 1880 Leadville was one of the world’s largest and richest silver camps with more than 15,000 people in town. Approximately 67 mines dotted the surrounding mountains. Gold and silver were initially the basis of mining in the area but as they were exhausted other minerals came to the forefront. Today mining in the area continues for molybdenum, a mineral used to harden steel. Tourism is also an important contributor to the local economy. The air is thin in Leadville with the town at an elevation of 10,158 feet and the immediate surrounding mountains topping 12,000 feet. The compact historic center runs for several blocks.

Just past Leadville the highway drops precipitously down towards the Eagle River and Interstate 70 near Vail.

Fall colors paint the slopes.

Every now and then a glimpse to the west reminds us that a wall of giants lurk in the distance.

After joining I-70 we head west for about an hour along the Colorado River. We’re clearly on the west side of the main Rocky Mountains as the landscape is brown and arid. Stark cliffs rise abruptly on the north side of the river and at the small town of Rifle we leave the interstate and head north.

The highway north twists and turns through a low range of mountain on our way. Here, on the western side of the main Rockies, the mountain ranges run east/west rather than north south.

Fourty miles later the road drops down into the White River Valley near our next destination, the village of Meeker.

Meeker

The area along the White River was first settled when the White River Agency was established by the US government in 1879 to provide the native Utes with food and supplies with the goal of forcing the tribes to abandon their long-established horse culture and become farmers.  The policy was disastrous as the government and Nathan Meeker, the local agent, were unable or unwilling to provide sufficient supplies and in September 1879, the Utes rebelled and killed Meeker and eleven of his employees.  The resulting conflict resulted in the Utes being forcibly removed from the area which was then opened to white settlement.  The small town of Meeker was founded in 1883 on the north bank of the White River west of the old agency site.  Then, as now, the town was the jumping-off place for all kinds of outdoor activity and the region became known for hunting.  President Theodore Roosevelt visited the town in 1901 and 1905 in pursuit of bear and mountain lion.

Today Meeker is a small town of around 2,000 people and continues to be the starting point for those interested in exploring the surrounding Rio Blanco County which consists of 75% public lands.  The historic town center is a block north of the highway and focuses on the square containing the Rio Blanco Courthouse, built in 1935.

South and west of the courthouse the surrounding street is lined with historic commercial buildings, most built in the late 1890’s.

Directly across from the courthouse is the 1896 Meeker Hotel.

The lobby reflects the rustic heritage of the area.

East of the courthouse is the 1890 St. James Episcopal Church, the first church in Meeker.

North of the courthouse is a residential area with homes from around the early 1900’s.

Continuing to skirt the foothills of the Rocky Mountains we head northeast to the town of Encampment in the Wyoming.

Encampment

Around 1900 Encampment was another mining boomtown in the Rocky Mountains, a center for the mining and smelting of copper. The Grand Encampment Museum primarily consists of original buildings gathered from around the area along with a small museum. Two of the more notable structures are the 1895 Wolford School house (held as many as 15 students in all grades in a 10′ by 10′ one room building) and the double-decker outhouse (I guess if you used the first floor you were REALLY trusting the skills of the carpenters when they built the second floor!).

IMG_1054
IMG_1052

The view from the school house across the meadow to the main part of the museum shows the variety of structures on the site, as well as an old fire lookout tower.

IMG_1055

A 16-mile-long steam powered tramway carried the copper ore from the mine to the smelter in Encampment. A section of the original tram that brought the copper ore down from the mountain to the mill is set up along the front parking lot of the museum grounds.

IMG_1051

A massive fire and drop in copper prices lead to the mine closing a few years later. Encampment experienced a brief renaissance in 50 years following the building of a large sawmill in 1950 but when it closed in 1998 the focus of the economy turned to tourism. Unfortunately, as often happens with these fall trips, the adventure is cut short with the approach of the first major snowstorm of the winter. Over a foot of snow is forecast to cover the central Rockies in a blanket stretching as far north as Casper, Wyoming, so I make the decision to head towards home ahead of the storm.

Next Up: Spring 2024