Experience History / COME TO LIFE 7 WAYS TO EXPERIENCE COLORADO’S HISTORY There Will Not Be a Quiz, But Fun is Mandatory Learning about the history of your destination makes the place come alive with old stories and clues that give context and meaning to your travels. 1 3 TOURS & TREKS Denver’s History Colorado Center puts on two-to six-hour tours and overnight treks each month with deep dives into Colorado stories. Past topics have included a tea at the Swan House in Loveland, an Irish tour of Denver, bus tours of forgotten neighborhoods and historic districts, guided hikes with the state’s archaeologists, a summer-blossoms trek to Crested Butte and others. historycolorado.org/tours-and-treks HISTORIC FORTS CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT: MOLLY BROWN HOUSE MUSEUM, HISTORIC DENVER; MONTROSE COUNTY FAIR AND RODEO, BARTON GLASSER; BENT’S OLD FORT NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE, MILES/MATT INDEN. Open a window to the 1800s, when the area was settled by frontiersmen, military men, homestead-ers, miners and more. Find out what life was like for Coloradans during the nation’s westward expansion at Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site in La Junta, Fort Uncompahgre in Delta, El Pueblo Fort in Pueblo, Fort Vasquez in Platteville, Fort Garland and Fort Morgan. Many have living-history events, demonstrations and reenactments, so be check calendars before planning a trip. COLORADO.com/Forts 4 LIVING HISTORY Tour buildings and see what life was like for the state’s early residents, including South Park City in Fairplay, Wyman Living History Museum in Craig, Centennial Village Museum in Greeley, Bent’s Old Fort in La Junta, the Littleton Museum, Rock Ledge Ranch Historic Site in Colorado Springs, Indigenous Roots in Weston, Rangely Outdoor Museum, Frisco Historic Park, Golden Historic Park and Four Mile Historic Park in Denver. COLORADO.com/Museums 5 life at Miramont Castle in Manitou Springs. Cripple Creek’s Old Homestead House Museum was the fanciest Gold Rush brothel for a time. Trinidad’s Bloom Mansion highlights ornate Second Empire architecture. The 1883 Byers-Evans House Museum in Denver tours the home of two prominent local families, and no one can forget the “Unsinkable” Molly Brown, whose house museum in Denver pays homage to her enduring celebrity and contributions to women’s rights. 2 6 DRIVE OUR JOURNEY Your very own GPS-guided scav-enger hunt of Colorado’s eastern plains is online at ourjourney.info . The area’s local historians have plotted a fun and surprising journey for you. When traveling this area, a must-see is the Kit Carson County Carousel in Burlington, where a 1905 carousel has been spinning since 1928 to its Wurlitzer Monster Military Band Organ. Stop to see the 1910 wood-frame Limon Railroad Depot, one of only three Rock Island depots in Colorado remaining in its place of operation. GHOST TOWNS Peek in the dusty windows of a once-rowdy saloon, ATV on roads no one bothered to pave on their way out of town and hear stories of standoffs in gulches that remind you that this was the Wild West: Independence and Ashcroft near Aspen; St. Elmo and Tin Cup near Buena Vista; Carson near Lake City; Animas Forks near Silverton; Teller City near Walden; Tomboy near Telluride; Goldfield near Cripple Creek; Ohio City near Gunnison; Dearfield near Greeley, Nevadaville near Central City. COLORADO.com/ GhostTowns 5 HISTORIC HOMES Many historic structures house col-orful human stories. A business man who escaped slavery via the Underground Railroad is honored at the Barney Ford House Museum in Breckenridge. The expansive lifestyle of a silver-mining magnate is preserved at the Hamill House in Georgetown. Victorian-era splendor and nine architectural styles bring the era to 1 7 SAMPLE WILD WEST & AG HERITAGE AT A COOL COUNTY FAIR Pro rodeos, exhibits, farm animals and foods on a stick are staples at more than 60 county fairs each summer. Some faves include El Paso County Fair in Calhan, Logan County Fair & Rodeo in Sterling, Montrose County Fair and Rodeo, Kiowa County Fair & Rodeo in Eads, Baca County Fair in Springfield, Holly Gateway Fair, Crowley County Days in Ordway and Routt County Fair in Hayden. COLORADO.com/Events WANT MORE? COLORADO.COM/HISTORY COLORADO.COM / 57
Colorado Official State Vacation Guide 2020: Page 57
