OURAY, COLORADO - SLUSHY SEASON or THE LONG, SLOW BREAK-UP OURAY, 37 m. (7,800 alt., 707 pop.), seat of Ouray County, named for the great Ute chief, lies pocketed in a pear-shaped valley, with WHITE HOUSE MOUNTAIN (13,493 alt.) on the west, HAYDEN MOUNTAIN (13,100 alt.) on the south, and CASCADE MOUNTAIN (12,100 alt.) to the northwest. To the east, extending upward to the crest of the range, is a great natural amphitheater, part of the Ouray State Game Refuge. Densely wooded, but with many small parks, it is easily accessible on foot. Years ago the area was stocked with elk. Many are now so tame that they often wander along the streets of the town and through back yards, occasionally getting their antlers entangled in the family wash. — Colorado, A Guide To the Highest State (WPA, 1941) Spring in the Rockies can be like a good relationship going through a long break up. At first the snow piles high and everything is transformed and clean white. It’s all beautiful, new, exciting and fresh. Eventually the romance begins to fade, new fallen snow is more of a hassle to shovel and plow than a joy to see. Then it melts off, leaving things uglier, slushier, muddier than they were to begin with. Then it snows again, like a desperate one nighter, trying to reclaim a bit of winter’s passion. But it quickly flees again, it wasn’t meant to be and it leaves another dirty, slushy mess behind. And it will happen again, another quickie snowstorm before summer officially arrives — final break-up sex if you will. If you’ve ever lived through a Western winter and spring — or a really long and tedious break up — you know what I mean. *** KC O’Connor is a Guide to Wyoming for The American Guide. He’s a writer and photographer based in Lander, Wyoming. Follow him on Tumblr and Twitter.
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OURAY, COLORADO - SLUSHY SEASON or THE LONG, SLOW BREAK-UP

OURAY, 37 m. (7,800 alt., 707 pop.), seat of Ouray County, named for the great Ute chief, lies pocketed in a pear-shaped valley, with WHITE HOUSE MOUNTAIN (13,493 alt.) on the west, HAYDEN MOUNTAIN (13,100 alt.) on the south, and CASCADE MOUNTAIN (12,100 alt.) to the northwest. To the east, extending upward to the crest of the range, is a great natural amphitheater, part of the Ouray State Game Refuge. Densely wooded, but with many small parks, it is easily accessible on foot. Years ago the area was stocked with elk. Many are now so tame that they often wander along the streets of the town and through back yards, occasionally getting their antlers entangled in the family wash.

— Colorado, A Guide To the Highest State (WPA, 1941)

Spring in the Rockies can be like a good relationship going through a long break up. At first the snow piles high and everything is transformed and clean white. It’s all beautiful, new, exciting and fresh. Eventually the romance begins to fade, new fallen snow is more of a hassle to shovel and plow than a joy to see. Then it melts off, leaving things uglier, slushier, muddier than they were to begin with. Then it snows again, like a desperate one nighter, trying to reclaim a bit of winter’s passion. But it quickly flees again, it wasn’t meant to be and it leaves another dirty, slushy mess behind. And it will happen again, another quickie snowstorm before summer officially arrives — final break-up sex if you will.

If you’ve ever lived through a Western winter and spring — or a really long and tedious break up — you know what I mean.

***

KC O’Connor is a Guide to Wyoming for The American Guide. He’s a writer and photographer based in Lander, Wyoming. Follow him on Tumblr and Twitter.

THE PINTO BEAN CAPITAL OF THE WORLD In his younger days Zane Grey, writer of western fiction, lived for a time in Dove Creek, and much of his novel Riders of the Purple Sage is said to have been written here. There are several elderly townsfolk who identify themselves with characters in the book. - Colorado, A Guide To the Highest State (WPA, 1941) Dove Creek, Colorado is the Pinto Bean Capital of the World.  The biggest landmark near the town is an enormous bean elevator that can be seen from miles around. * * * Amadee Ricketts is an At-Large Guide to the West. She’s worked as a cemetary groundskeeper, a shoeshine valet, and a bill collector. More recently, she’s been a children’s librarian in five states. She takes a lot of pictures and lives near Durango, CO. You can see her photos at textless.tumblr.com.
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THE PINTO BEAN CAPITAL OF THE WORLD In his younger days Zane Grey, writer of western fiction, lived for a time in Dove Creek, and much of his novel Riders of the Purple Sage is said to have been written here. There are several elderly townsfolk who identify themselves with characters in the book. - Colorado, A Guide To the Highest State (WPA, 1941) Dove Creek, Colorado is the Pinto Bean Capital of the World.  The biggest landmark near the town is an enormous bean elevator that can be seen from miles around. * * * Amadee Ricketts is an At-Large Guide to the West. She’s worked as a cemetary groundskeeper, a shoeshine valet, and a bill collector. More recently, she’s been a children’s librarian in five states. She takes a lot of pictures and lives near Durango, CO. You can see her photos at textless.tumblr.com.
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THE PINTO BEAN CAPITAL OF THE WORLD In his younger days Zane Grey, writer of western fiction, lived for a time in Dove Creek, and much of his novel Riders of the Purple Sage is said to have been written here. There are several elderly townsfolk who identify themselves with characters in the book. - Colorado, A Guide To the Highest State (WPA, 1941) Dove Creek, Colorado is the Pinto Bean Capital of the World.  The biggest landmark near the town is an enormous bean elevator that can be seen from miles around. * * * Amadee Ricketts is an At-Large Guide to the West. She’s worked as a cemetary groundskeeper, a shoeshine valet, and a bill collector. More recently, she’s been a children’s librarian in five states. She takes a lot of pictures and lives near Durango, CO. You can see her photos at textless.tumblr.com.
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THE PINTO BEAN CAPITAL OF THE WORLD In his younger days Zane Grey, writer of western fiction, lived for a time in Dove Creek, and much of his novel Riders of the Purple Sage is said to have been written here. There are several elderly townsfolk who identify themselves with characters in the book. - Colorado, A Guide To the Highest State (WPA, 1941) Dove Creek, Colorado is the Pinto Bean Capital of the World.  The biggest landmark near the town is an enormous bean elevator that can be seen from miles around. * * * Amadee Ricketts is an At-Large Guide to the West. She’s worked as a cemetary groundskeeper, a shoeshine valet, and a bill collector. More recently, she’s been a children’s librarian in five states. She takes a lot of pictures and lives near Durango, CO. You can see her photos at textless.tumblr.com.
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THE PINTO BEAN CAPITAL OF THE WORLD In his younger days Zane Grey, writer of western fiction, lived for a time in Dove Creek, and much of his novel Riders of the Purple Sage is said to have been written here. There are several elderly townsfolk who identify themselves with characters in the book. - Colorado, A Guide To the Highest State (WPA, 1941) Dove Creek, Colorado is the Pinto Bean Capital of the World.  The biggest landmark near the town is an enormous bean elevator that can be seen from miles around. * * * Amadee Ricketts is an At-Large Guide to the West. She’s worked as a cemetary groundskeeper, a shoeshine valet, and a bill collector. More recently, she’s been a children’s librarian in five states. She takes a lot of pictures and lives near Durango, CO. You can see her photos at textless.tumblr.com.
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THE PINTO BEAN CAPITAL OF THE WORLD In his younger days Zane Grey, writer of western fiction, lived for a time in Dove Creek, and much of his novel Riders of the Purple Sage is said to have been written here. There are several elderly townsfolk who identify themselves with characters in the book. - Colorado, A Guide To the Highest State (WPA, 1941) Dove Creek, Colorado is the Pinto Bean Capital of the World.  The biggest landmark near the town is an enormous bean elevator that can be seen from miles around. * * * Amadee Ricketts is an At-Large Guide to the West. She’s worked as a cemetary groundskeeper, a shoeshine valet, and a bill collector. More recently, she’s been a children’s librarian in five states. She takes a lot of pictures and lives near Durango, CO. You can see her photos at textless.tumblr.com.
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THE PINTO BEAN CAPITAL OF THE WORLD

In his younger days Zane Grey, writer of western fiction, lived for a time in Dove Creek, and much of his novel Riders of the Purple Sage is said to have been written here. There are several elderly townsfolk who identify themselves with characters in the book.

- Colorado, A Guide To the Highest State (WPA, 1941)

Dove Creek, Colorado is the Pinto Bean Capital of the World.  The biggest landmark near the town is an enormous bean elevator that can be seen from miles around.

* * *

Amadee Ricketts is an At-Large Guide to the West. She’s worked as a cemetary groundskeeper, a shoeshine valet, and a bill collector. More recently, she’s been a children’s librarian in five states. She takes a lot of pictures and lives near Durango, CO. You can see her photos at textless.tumblr.com.

HOVENWEEP - COLORADO/UTAH BORDER In an area of the United States where a 50 year old building is considered ancient history sits the Hovenweep National Monument.  Starting with the hunter-gatherers 10,000 years ago, this high desert outpost just an hour north of the Four Corners on the Colorado / Utah border, is a frequently overlooked treasure of the region’s cryptic past. All too often, visits to the other major archaeological sites in the area like Chaco Canyon or Mesa Verde end up feeling like a trip to the mall with its accompanying crush of people and visual clutter of signs and rope fences.  Hovenweep, with an average of only 25,000 visitors each year, is the complete opposite.  It is a uniquely personal, remote and beautiful experience that is well worth the drive. Named for the Ute word for deserted valley, Hovenweep lives up to its name, sitting on the 30 mile long Cajon Mesa in the Great Sage Plain in near silence.   Standing out there it seems inconceivable that thousands of people once lived and farmed in such a harsh and, to us, remote place.  Starting around A.D. 500 ancestral Puebloans began settling in the area; by A.D. 900 they began living at Hovenweep.  The six villages that make up the monument were built starting around A.D. 1200 and ultimately abandoned by the end of the thirteenth century due to a combination of a 20 year drought, increased population, and hostilities in the area.  The ruins left behind are a conglomerate of unique architectural styles, many still standing on their own some 700 years later. Start at the visitors’ center and the Square Tower complex behind it.  Keep in mind that at one time the sage plain that surrounds you had farm fields spread out over an area the size of 300 city blocks in every direction, and you will begin to understand the enormity and complexity of what was once a very busy place. Stay at the 31-site campground near the visitors’ center and explore all six ruins, or spend a few days and take in some of the adjacent Canyons of the Ancients National Monument’s 176,056 acres and 6,000 recorded archeological sites. Guide Note: Hovenweep at National Park Service website * * * At-Large Guide to the West James Orndorf was born in Minnesota, but knew at a very young age that the future lay out west. He is currently photographing and illustrating outside of Durango, Colorado. You can see what he’s up to at inlandwest.tumblr.com and roughshelter.com.
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HOVENWEEP - COLORADO/UTAH BORDER In an area of the United States where a 50 year old building is considered ancient history sits the Hovenweep National Monument.  Starting with the hunter-gatherers 10,000 years ago, this high desert outpost just an hour north of the Four Corners on the Colorado / Utah border, is a frequently overlooked treasure of the region’s cryptic past. All too often, visits to the other major archaeological sites in the area like Chaco Canyon or Mesa Verde end up feeling like a trip to the mall with its accompanying crush of people and visual clutter of signs and rope fences.  Hovenweep, with an average of only 25,000 visitors each year, is the complete opposite.  It is a uniquely personal, remote and beautiful experience that is well worth the drive. Named for the Ute word for deserted valley, Hovenweep lives up to its name, sitting on the 30 mile long Cajon Mesa in the Great Sage Plain in near silence.   Standing out there it seems inconceivable that thousands of people once lived and farmed in such a harsh and, to us, remote place.  Starting around A.D. 500 ancestral Puebloans began settling in the area; by A.D. 900 they began living at Hovenweep.  The six villages that make up the monument were built starting around A.D. 1200 and ultimately abandoned by the end of the thirteenth century due to a combination of a 20 year drought, increased population, and hostilities in the area.  The ruins left behind are a conglomerate of unique architectural styles, many still standing on their own some 700 years later. Start at the visitors’ center and the Square Tower complex behind it.  Keep in mind that at one time the sage plain that surrounds you had farm fields spread out over an area the size of 300 city blocks in every direction, and you will begin to understand the enormity and complexity of what was once a very busy place. Stay at the 31-site campground near the visitors’ center and explore all six ruins, or spend a few days and take in some of the adjacent Canyons of the Ancients National Monument’s 176,056 acres and 6,000 recorded archeological sites. Guide Note: Hovenweep at National Park Service website * * * At-Large Guide to the West James Orndorf was born in Minnesota, but knew at a very young age that the future lay out west. He is currently photographing and illustrating outside of Durango, Colorado. You can see what he’s up to at inlandwest.tumblr.com and roughshelter.com.
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HOVENWEEP - COLORADO/UTAH BORDER In an area of the United States where a 50 year old building is considered ancient history sits the Hovenweep National Monument.  Starting with the hunter-gatherers 10,000 years ago, this high desert outpost just an hour north of the Four Corners on the Colorado / Utah border, is a frequently overlooked treasure of the region’s cryptic past. All too often, visits to the other major archaeological sites in the area like Chaco Canyon or Mesa Verde end up feeling like a trip to the mall with its accompanying crush of people and visual clutter of signs and rope fences.  Hovenweep, with an average of only 25,000 visitors each year, is the complete opposite.  It is a uniquely personal, remote and beautiful experience that is well worth the drive. Named for the Ute word for deserted valley, Hovenweep lives up to its name, sitting on the 30 mile long Cajon Mesa in the Great Sage Plain in near silence.   Standing out there it seems inconceivable that thousands of people once lived and farmed in such a harsh and, to us, remote place.  Starting around A.D. 500 ancestral Puebloans began settling in the area; by A.D. 900 they began living at Hovenweep.  The six villages that make up the monument were built starting around A.D. 1200 and ultimately abandoned by the end of the thirteenth century due to a combination of a 20 year drought, increased population, and hostilities in the area.  The ruins left behind are a conglomerate of unique architectural styles, many still standing on their own some 700 years later. Start at the visitors’ center and the Square Tower complex behind it.  Keep in mind that at one time the sage plain that surrounds you had farm fields spread out over an area the size of 300 city blocks in every direction, and you will begin to understand the enormity and complexity of what was once a very busy place. Stay at the 31-site campground near the visitors’ center and explore all six ruins, or spend a few days and take in some of the adjacent Canyons of the Ancients National Monument’s 176,056 acres and 6,000 recorded archeological sites. Guide Note: Hovenweep at National Park Service website * * * At-Large Guide to the West James Orndorf was born in Minnesota, but knew at a very young age that the future lay out west. He is currently photographing and illustrating outside of Durango, Colorado. You can see what he’s up to at inlandwest.tumblr.com and roughshelter.com.
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HOVENWEEP - COLORADO/UTAH BORDER In an area of the United States where a 50 year old building is considered ancient history sits the Hovenweep National Monument.  Starting with the hunter-gatherers 10,000 years ago, this high desert outpost just an hour north of the Four Corners on the Colorado / Utah border, is a frequently overlooked treasure of the region’s cryptic past. All too often, visits to the other major archaeological sites in the area like Chaco Canyon or Mesa Verde end up feeling like a trip to the mall with its accompanying crush of people and visual clutter of signs and rope fences.  Hovenweep, with an average of only 25,000 visitors each year, is the complete opposite.  It is a uniquely personal, remote and beautiful experience that is well worth the drive. Named for the Ute word for deserted valley, Hovenweep lives up to its name, sitting on the 30 mile long Cajon Mesa in the Great Sage Plain in near silence.   Standing out there it seems inconceivable that thousands of people once lived and farmed in such a harsh and, to us, remote place.  Starting around A.D. 500 ancestral Puebloans began settling in the area; by A.D. 900 they began living at Hovenweep.  The six villages that make up the monument were built starting around A.D. 1200 and ultimately abandoned by the end of the thirteenth century due to a combination of a 20 year drought, increased population, and hostilities in the area.  The ruins left behind are a conglomerate of unique architectural styles, many still standing on their own some 700 years later. Start at the visitors’ center and the Square Tower complex behind it.  Keep in mind that at one time the sage plain that surrounds you had farm fields spread out over an area the size of 300 city blocks in every direction, and you will begin to understand the enormity and complexity of what was once a very busy place. Stay at the 31-site campground near the visitors’ center and explore all six ruins, or spend a few days and take in some of the adjacent Canyons of the Ancients National Monument’s 176,056 acres and 6,000 recorded archeological sites. Guide Note: Hovenweep at National Park Service website * * * At-Large Guide to the West James Orndorf was born in Minnesota, but knew at a very young age that the future lay out west. He is currently photographing and illustrating outside of Durango, Colorado. You can see what he’s up to at inlandwest.tumblr.com and roughshelter.com.
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HOVENWEEP - COLORADO/UTAH BORDER In an area of the United States where a 50 year old building is considered ancient history sits the Hovenweep National Monument.  Starting with the hunter-gatherers 10,000 years ago, this high desert outpost just an hour north of the Four Corners on the Colorado / Utah border, is a frequently overlooked treasure of the region’s cryptic past. All too often, visits to the other major archaeological sites in the area like Chaco Canyon or Mesa Verde end up feeling like a trip to the mall with its accompanying crush of people and visual clutter of signs and rope fences.  Hovenweep, with an average of only 25,000 visitors each year, is the complete opposite.  It is a uniquely personal, remote and beautiful experience that is well worth the drive. Named for the Ute word for deserted valley, Hovenweep lives up to its name, sitting on the 30 mile long Cajon Mesa in the Great Sage Plain in near silence.   Standing out there it seems inconceivable that thousands of people once lived and farmed in such a harsh and, to us, remote place.  Starting around A.D. 500 ancestral Puebloans began settling in the area; by A.D. 900 they began living at Hovenweep.  The six villages that make up the monument were built starting around A.D. 1200 and ultimately abandoned by the end of the thirteenth century due to a combination of a 20 year drought, increased population, and hostilities in the area.  The ruins left behind are a conglomerate of unique architectural styles, many still standing on their own some 700 years later. Start at the visitors’ center and the Square Tower complex behind it.  Keep in mind that at one time the sage plain that surrounds you had farm fields spread out over an area the size of 300 city blocks in every direction, and you will begin to understand the enormity and complexity of what was once a very busy place. Stay at the 31-site campground near the visitors’ center and explore all six ruins, or spend a few days and take in some of the adjacent Canyons of the Ancients National Monument’s 176,056 acres and 6,000 recorded archeological sites. Guide Note: Hovenweep at National Park Service website * * * At-Large Guide to the West James Orndorf was born in Minnesota, but knew at a very young age that the future lay out west. He is currently photographing and illustrating outside of Durango, Colorado. You can see what he’s up to at inlandwest.tumblr.com and roughshelter.com.
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HOVENWEEP - COLORADO/UTAH BORDER In an area of the United States where a 50 year old building is considered ancient history sits the Hovenweep National Monument.  Starting with the hunter-gatherers 10,000 years ago, this high desert outpost just an hour north of the Four Corners on the Colorado / Utah border, is a frequently overlooked treasure of the region’s cryptic past. All too often, visits to the other major archaeological sites in the area like Chaco Canyon or Mesa Verde end up feeling like a trip to the mall with its accompanying crush of people and visual clutter of signs and rope fences.  Hovenweep, with an average of only 25,000 visitors each year, is the complete opposite.  It is a uniquely personal, remote and beautiful experience that is well worth the drive. Named for the Ute word for deserted valley, Hovenweep lives up to its name, sitting on the 30 mile long Cajon Mesa in the Great Sage Plain in near silence.   Standing out there it seems inconceivable that thousands of people once lived and farmed in such a harsh and, to us, remote place.  Starting around A.D. 500 ancestral Puebloans began settling in the area; by A.D. 900 they began living at Hovenweep.  The six villages that make up the monument were built starting around A.D. 1200 and ultimately abandoned by the end of the thirteenth century due to a combination of a 20 year drought, increased population, and hostilities in the area.  The ruins left behind are a conglomerate of unique architectural styles, many still standing on their own some 700 years later. Start at the visitors’ center and the Square Tower complex behind it.  Keep in mind that at one time the sage plain that surrounds you had farm fields spread out over an area the size of 300 city blocks in every direction, and you will begin to understand the enormity and complexity of what was once a very busy place. Stay at the 31-site campground near the visitors’ center and explore all six ruins, or spend a few days and take in some of the adjacent Canyons of the Ancients National Monument’s 176,056 acres and 6,000 recorded archeological sites. Guide Note: Hovenweep at National Park Service website * * * At-Large Guide to the West James Orndorf was born in Minnesota, but knew at a very young age that the future lay out west. He is currently photographing and illustrating outside of Durango, Colorado. You can see what he’s up to at inlandwest.tumblr.com and roughshelter.com.
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HOVENWEEP - COLORADO/UTAH BORDER In an area of the United States where a 50 year old building is considered ancient history sits the Hovenweep National Monument.  Starting with the hunter-gatherers 10,000 years ago, this high desert outpost just an hour north of the Four Corners on the Colorado / Utah border, is a frequently overlooked treasure of the region’s cryptic past. All too often, visits to the other major archaeological sites in the area like Chaco Canyon or Mesa Verde end up feeling like a trip to the mall with its accompanying crush of people and visual clutter of signs and rope fences.  Hovenweep, with an average of only 25,000 visitors each year, is the complete opposite.  It is a uniquely personal, remote and beautiful experience that is well worth the drive. Named for the Ute word for deserted valley, Hovenweep lives up to its name, sitting on the 30 mile long Cajon Mesa in the Great Sage Plain in near silence.   Standing out there it seems inconceivable that thousands of people once lived and farmed in such a harsh and, to us, remote place.  Starting around A.D. 500 ancestral Puebloans began settling in the area; by A.D. 900 they began living at Hovenweep.  The six villages that make up the monument were built starting around A.D. 1200 and ultimately abandoned by the end of the thirteenth century due to a combination of a 20 year drought, increased population, and hostilities in the area.  The ruins left behind are a conglomerate of unique architectural styles, many still standing on their own some 700 years later. Start at the visitors’ center and the Square Tower complex behind it.  Keep in mind that at one time the sage plain that surrounds you had farm fields spread out over an area the size of 300 city blocks in every direction, and you will begin to understand the enormity and complexity of what was once a very busy place. Stay at the 31-site campground near the visitors’ center and explore all six ruins, or spend a few days and take in some of the adjacent Canyons of the Ancients National Monument’s 176,056 acres and 6,000 recorded archeological sites. Guide Note: Hovenweep at National Park Service website * * * At-Large Guide to the West James Orndorf was born in Minnesota, but knew at a very young age that the future lay out west. He is currently photographing and illustrating outside of Durango, Colorado. You can see what he’s up to at inlandwest.tumblr.com and roughshelter.com.
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HOVENWEEP - COLORADO/UTAH BORDER In an area of the United States where a 50 year old building is considered ancient history sits the Hovenweep National Monument.  Starting with the hunter-gatherers 10,000 years ago, this high desert outpost just an hour north of the Four Corners on the Colorado / Utah border, is a frequently overlooked treasure of the region’s cryptic past. All too often, visits to the other major archaeological sites in the area like Chaco Canyon or Mesa Verde end up feeling like a trip to the mall with its accompanying crush of people and visual clutter of signs and rope fences.  Hovenweep, with an average of only 25,000 visitors each year, is the complete opposite.  It is a uniquely personal, remote and beautiful experience that is well worth the drive. Named for the Ute word for deserted valley, Hovenweep lives up to its name, sitting on the 30 mile long Cajon Mesa in the Great Sage Plain in near silence.   Standing out there it seems inconceivable that thousands of people once lived and farmed in such a harsh and, to us, remote place.  Starting around A.D. 500 ancestral Puebloans began settling in the area; by A.D. 900 they began living at Hovenweep.  The six villages that make up the monument were built starting around A.D. 1200 and ultimately abandoned by the end of the thirteenth century due to a combination of a 20 year drought, increased population, and hostilities in the area.  The ruins left behind are a conglomerate of unique architectural styles, many still standing on their own some 700 years later. Start at the visitors’ center and the Square Tower complex behind it.  Keep in mind that at one time the sage plain that surrounds you had farm fields spread out over an area the size of 300 city blocks in every direction, and you will begin to understand the enormity and complexity of what was once a very busy place. Stay at the 31-site campground near the visitors’ center and explore all six ruins, or spend a few days and take in some of the adjacent Canyons of the Ancients National Monument’s 176,056 acres and 6,000 recorded archeological sites. Guide Note: Hovenweep at National Park Service website * * * At-Large Guide to the West James Orndorf was born in Minnesota, but knew at a very young age that the future lay out west. He is currently photographing and illustrating outside of Durango, Colorado. You can see what he’s up to at inlandwest.tumblr.com and roughshelter.com.
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HOVENWEEP - COLORADO/UTAH BORDER In an area of the United States where a 50 year old building is considered ancient history sits the Hovenweep National Monument.  Starting with the hunter-gatherers 10,000 years ago, this high desert outpost just an hour north of the Four Corners on the Colorado / Utah border, is a frequently overlooked treasure of the region’s cryptic past. All too often, visits to the other major archaeological sites in the area like Chaco Canyon or Mesa Verde end up feeling like a trip to the mall with its accompanying crush of people and visual clutter of signs and rope fences.  Hovenweep, with an average of only 25,000 visitors each year, is the complete opposite.  It is a uniquely personal, remote and beautiful experience that is well worth the drive. Named for the Ute word for deserted valley, Hovenweep lives up to its name, sitting on the 30 mile long Cajon Mesa in the Great Sage Plain in near silence.   Standing out there it seems inconceivable that thousands of people once lived and farmed in such a harsh and, to us, remote place.  Starting around A.D. 500 ancestral Puebloans began settling in the area; by A.D. 900 they began living at Hovenweep.  The six villages that make up the monument were built starting around A.D. 1200 and ultimately abandoned by the end of the thirteenth century due to a combination of a 20 year drought, increased population, and hostilities in the area.  The ruins left behind are a conglomerate of unique architectural styles, many still standing on their own some 700 years later. Start at the visitors’ center and the Square Tower complex behind it.  Keep in mind that at one time the sage plain that surrounds you had farm fields spread out over an area the size of 300 city blocks in every direction, and you will begin to understand the enormity and complexity of what was once a very busy place. Stay at the 31-site campground near the visitors’ center and explore all six ruins, or spend a few days and take in some of the adjacent Canyons of the Ancients National Monument’s 176,056 acres and 6,000 recorded archeological sites. Guide Note: Hovenweep at National Park Service website * * * At-Large Guide to the West James Orndorf was born in Minnesota, but knew at a very young age that the future lay out west. He is currently photographing and illustrating outside of Durango, Colorado. You can see what he’s up to at inlandwest.tumblr.com and roughshelter.com.
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HOVENWEEP - COLORADO/UTAH BORDER In an area of the United States where a 50 year old building is considered ancient history sits the Hovenweep National Monument.  Starting with the hunter-gatherers 10,000 years ago, this high desert outpost just an hour north of the Four Corners on the Colorado / Utah border, is a frequently overlooked treasure of the region’s cryptic past. All too often, visits to the other major archaeological sites in the area like Chaco Canyon or Mesa Verde end up feeling like a trip to the mall with its accompanying crush of people and visual clutter of signs and rope fences.  Hovenweep, with an average of only 25,000 visitors each year, is the complete opposite.  It is a uniquely personal, remote and beautiful experience that is well worth the drive. Named for the Ute word for deserted valley, Hovenweep lives up to its name, sitting on the 30 mile long Cajon Mesa in the Great Sage Plain in near silence.   Standing out there it seems inconceivable that thousands of people once lived and farmed in such a harsh and, to us, remote place.  Starting around A.D. 500 ancestral Puebloans began settling in the area; by A.D. 900 they began living at Hovenweep.  The six villages that make up the monument were built starting around A.D. 1200 and ultimately abandoned by the end of the thirteenth century due to a combination of a 20 year drought, increased population, and hostilities in the area.  The ruins left behind are a conglomerate of unique architectural styles, many still standing on their own some 700 years later. Start at the visitors’ center and the Square Tower complex behind it.  Keep in mind that at one time the sage plain that surrounds you had farm fields spread out over an area the size of 300 city blocks in every direction, and you will begin to understand the enormity and complexity of what was once a very busy place. Stay at the 31-site campground near the visitors’ center and explore all six ruins, or spend a few days and take in some of the adjacent Canyons of the Ancients National Monument’s 176,056 acres and 6,000 recorded archeological sites. Guide Note: Hovenweep at National Park Service website * * * At-Large Guide to the West James Orndorf was born in Minnesota, but knew at a very young age that the future lay out west. He is currently photographing and illustrating outside of Durango, Colorado. You can see what he’s up to at inlandwest.tumblr.com and roughshelter.com.
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HOVENWEEP - COLORADO/UTAH BORDER

In an area of the United States where a 50 year old building is considered ancient history sits the Hovenweep National Monument.  Starting with the hunter-gatherers 10,000 years ago, this high desert outpost just an hour north of the Four Corners on the Colorado / Utah border, is a frequently overlooked treasure of the region’s cryptic past.

All too often, visits to the other major archaeological sites in the area like Chaco Canyon or Mesa Verde end up feeling like a trip to the mall with its accompanying crush of people and visual clutter of signs and rope fences.  Hovenweep, with an average of only 25,000 visitors each year, is the complete opposite.  It is a uniquely personal, remote and beautiful experience that is well worth the drive.

Named for the Ute word for deserted valley, Hovenweep lives up to its name, sitting on the 30 mile long Cajon Mesa in the Great Sage Plain in near silence.   Standing out there it seems inconceivable that thousands of people once lived and farmed in such a harsh and, to us, remote place. 

Starting around A.D. 500 ancestral Puebloans began settling in the area; by A.D. 900 they began living at Hovenweep.  The six villages that make up the monument were built starting around A.D. 1200 and ultimately abandoned by the end of the thirteenth century due to a combination of a 20 year drought, increased population, and hostilities in the area.  The ruins left behind are a conglomerate of unique architectural styles, many still standing on their own some 700 years later.

Start at the visitors’ center and the Square Tower complex behind it.  Keep in mind that at one time the sage plain that surrounds you had farm fields spread out over an area the size of 300 city blocks in every direction, and you will begin to understand the enormity and complexity of what was once a very busy place.

Stay at the 31-site campground near the visitors’ center and explore all six ruins, or spend a few days and take in some of the adjacent Canyons of the Ancients National Monument’s 176,056 acres and 6,000 recorded archeological sites.

Guide Note: Hovenweep at National Park Service website

* * *

At-Large Guide to the West James Orndorf was born in Minnesota, but knew at a very young age that the future lay out west. He is currently photographing and illustrating outside of Durango, Colorado. You can see what he’s up to at inlandwest.tumblr.com and roughshelter.com.

WELCOME TO CORTEZ CORTEZ, 200.5 m.  (6,198 alt., 921 pop.), seat of Montezuma County, is a trading center for sheep and cattle raisers who pasture their herds on the sage flats to the west.  The town was founded in 1887 when ranchers first pushed into the Montezuma Valley; many of the tan sandstone buildings were erected during that period.  Cortez is interesting on Saturday nights, when its main street is filled with ranchers, farmers, and Indians; the latter are usually dressed in brilliant velveteens and calicoes, and aglitter with silver and turquoise jewelry. (…) The majority are Ute, although there is a sprinkling of Navaho and Piute. — Colorado: A Guide To the Highest State (WPA, 1941) Today Cortez is a town of 8,500 people.  It is still the seat of Montezuma County, in the southwest corner of Colorado.  The main industries are tourism, energy, and agriculture, and Saturday nights tend to be quiet.  Most tourists who visit Cortez are headed for Mesa Verde National Park.  And don’t get me wrong, Mesa Verde is great.  Along with the famous cliff dwellings, the park has an old school museum, the Chapin Mesa Archaeological Museum, full of dioramas and displays made by Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) workers in the 1930s.  There’s also a sweet new visitor center right at the park entrance.  And from the top of the mesa, you can see forever. But if you go to Cortez, spend a day or two at Mesa Verde, and leave, you will have missed out on what makes this area so special.  [Read more over at textless.tumblr.com…] * * * Amadee Ricketts is an At-Large Guide to the West. She’s worked as a cemetary groundskeeper, a shoeshine valet, and a bill collector. More recently, she’s been a children’s librarian in five states. She takes a lot of pictures and lives near Durango, CO. You can see her photos at textless.tumblr.com.
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WELCOME TO CORTEZ CORTEZ, 200.5 m.  (6,198 alt., 921 pop.), seat of Montezuma County, is a trading center for sheep and cattle raisers who pasture their herds on the sage flats to the west.  The town was founded in 1887 when ranchers first pushed into the Montezuma Valley; many of the tan sandstone buildings were erected during that period.  Cortez is interesting on Saturday nights, when its main street is filled with ranchers, farmers, and Indians; the latter are usually dressed in brilliant velveteens and calicoes, and aglitter with silver and turquoise jewelry. (…) The majority are Ute, although there is a sprinkling of Navaho and Piute. — Colorado: A Guide To the Highest State (WPA, 1941) Today Cortez is a town of 8,500 people.  It is still the seat of Montezuma County, in the southwest corner of Colorado.  The main industries are tourism, energy, and agriculture, and Saturday nights tend to be quiet.  Most tourists who visit Cortez are headed for Mesa Verde National Park.  And don’t get me wrong, Mesa Verde is great.  Along with the famous cliff dwellings, the park has an old school museum, the Chapin Mesa Archaeological Museum, full of dioramas and displays made by Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) workers in the 1930s.  There’s also a sweet new visitor center right at the park entrance.  And from the top of the mesa, you can see forever. But if you go to Cortez, spend a day or two at Mesa Verde, and leave, you will have missed out on what makes this area so special.  [Read more over at textless.tumblr.com…] * * * Amadee Ricketts is an At-Large Guide to the West. She’s worked as a cemetary groundskeeper, a shoeshine valet, and a bill collector. More recently, she’s been a children’s librarian in five states. She takes a lot of pictures and lives near Durango, CO. You can see her photos at textless.tumblr.com.
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WELCOME TO CORTEZ CORTEZ, 200.5 m.  (6,198 alt., 921 pop.), seat of Montezuma County, is a trading center for sheep and cattle raisers who pasture their herds on the sage flats to the west.  The town was founded in 1887 when ranchers first pushed into the Montezuma Valley; many of the tan sandstone buildings were erected during that period.  Cortez is interesting on Saturday nights, when its main street is filled with ranchers, farmers, and Indians; the latter are usually dressed in brilliant velveteens and calicoes, and aglitter with silver and turquoise jewelry. (…) The majority are Ute, although there is a sprinkling of Navaho and Piute. — Colorado: A Guide To the Highest State (WPA, 1941) Today Cortez is a town of 8,500 people.  It is still the seat of Montezuma County, in the southwest corner of Colorado.  The main industries are tourism, energy, and agriculture, and Saturday nights tend to be quiet.  Most tourists who visit Cortez are headed for Mesa Verde National Park.  And don’t get me wrong, Mesa Verde is great.  Along with the famous cliff dwellings, the park has an old school museum, the Chapin Mesa Archaeological Museum, full of dioramas and displays made by Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) workers in the 1930s.  There’s also a sweet new visitor center right at the park entrance.  And from the top of the mesa, you can see forever. But if you go to Cortez, spend a day or two at Mesa Verde, and leave, you will have missed out on what makes this area so special.  [Read more over at textless.tumblr.com…] * * * Amadee Ricketts is an At-Large Guide to the West. She’s worked as a cemetary groundskeeper, a shoeshine valet, and a bill collector. More recently, she’s been a children’s librarian in five states. She takes a lot of pictures and lives near Durango, CO. You can see her photos at textless.tumblr.com.
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WELCOME TO CORTEZ CORTEZ, 200.5 m.  (6,198 alt., 921 pop.), seat of Montezuma County, is a trading center for sheep and cattle raisers who pasture their herds on the sage flats to the west.  The town was founded in 1887 when ranchers first pushed into the Montezuma Valley; many of the tan sandstone buildings were erected during that period.  Cortez is interesting on Saturday nights, when its main street is filled with ranchers, farmers, and Indians; the latter are usually dressed in brilliant velveteens and calicoes, and aglitter with silver and turquoise jewelry. (…) The majority are Ute, although there is a sprinkling of Navaho and Piute. — Colorado: A Guide To the Highest State (WPA, 1941) Today Cortez is a town of 8,500 people.  It is still the seat of Montezuma County, in the southwest corner of Colorado.  The main industries are tourism, energy, and agriculture, and Saturday nights tend to be quiet.  Most tourists who visit Cortez are headed for Mesa Verde National Park.  And don’t get me wrong, Mesa Verde is great.  Along with the famous cliff dwellings, the park has an old school museum, the Chapin Mesa Archaeological Museum, full of dioramas and displays made by Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) workers in the 1930s.  There’s also a sweet new visitor center right at the park entrance.  And from the top of the mesa, you can see forever. But if you go to Cortez, spend a day or two at Mesa Verde, and leave, you will have missed out on what makes this area so special.  [Read more over at textless.tumblr.com…] * * * Amadee Ricketts is an At-Large Guide to the West. She’s worked as a cemetary groundskeeper, a shoeshine valet, and a bill collector. More recently, she’s been a children’s librarian in five states. She takes a lot of pictures and lives near Durango, CO. You can see her photos at textless.tumblr.com.
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WELCOME TO CORTEZ CORTEZ, 200.5 m.  (6,198 alt., 921 pop.), seat of Montezuma County, is a trading center for sheep and cattle raisers who pasture their herds on the sage flats to the west.  The town was founded in 1887 when ranchers first pushed into the Montezuma Valley; many of the tan sandstone buildings were erected during that period.  Cortez is interesting on Saturday nights, when its main street is filled with ranchers, farmers, and Indians; the latter are usually dressed in brilliant velveteens and calicoes, and aglitter with silver and turquoise jewelry. (…) The majority are Ute, although there is a sprinkling of Navaho and Piute. — Colorado: A Guide To the Highest State (WPA, 1941) Today Cortez is a town of 8,500 people.  It is still the seat of Montezuma County, in the southwest corner of Colorado.  The main industries are tourism, energy, and agriculture, and Saturday nights tend to be quiet.  Most tourists who visit Cortez are headed for Mesa Verde National Park.  And don’t get me wrong, Mesa Verde is great.  Along with the famous cliff dwellings, the park has an old school museum, the Chapin Mesa Archaeological Museum, full of dioramas and displays made by Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) workers in the 1930s.  There’s also a sweet new visitor center right at the park entrance.  And from the top of the mesa, you can see forever. But if you go to Cortez, spend a day or two at Mesa Verde, and leave, you will have missed out on what makes this area so special.  [Read more over at textless.tumblr.com…] * * * Amadee Ricketts is an At-Large Guide to the West. She’s worked as a cemetary groundskeeper, a shoeshine valet, and a bill collector. More recently, she’s been a children’s librarian in five states. She takes a lot of pictures and lives near Durango, CO. You can see her photos at textless.tumblr.com.
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WELCOME TO CORTEZ CORTEZ, 200.5 m.  (6,198 alt., 921 pop.), seat of Montezuma County, is a trading center for sheep and cattle raisers who pasture their herds on the sage flats to the west.  The town was founded in 1887 when ranchers first pushed into the Montezuma Valley; many of the tan sandstone buildings were erected during that period.  Cortez is interesting on Saturday nights, when its main street is filled with ranchers, farmers, and Indians; the latter are usually dressed in brilliant velveteens and calicoes, and aglitter with silver and turquoise jewelry. (…) The majority are Ute, although there is a sprinkling of Navaho and Piute. — Colorado: A Guide To the Highest State (WPA, 1941) Today Cortez is a town of 8,500 people.  It is still the seat of Montezuma County, in the southwest corner of Colorado.  The main industries are tourism, energy, and agriculture, and Saturday nights tend to be quiet.  Most tourists who visit Cortez are headed for Mesa Verde National Park.  And don’t get me wrong, Mesa Verde is great.  Along with the famous cliff dwellings, the park has an old school museum, the Chapin Mesa Archaeological Museum, full of dioramas and displays made by Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) workers in the 1930s.  There’s also a sweet new visitor center right at the park entrance.  And from the top of the mesa, you can see forever. But if you go to Cortez, spend a day or two at Mesa Verde, and leave, you will have missed out on what makes this area so special.  [Read more over at textless.tumblr.com…] * * * Amadee Ricketts is an At-Large Guide to the West. She’s worked as a cemetary groundskeeper, a shoeshine valet, and a bill collector. More recently, she’s been a children’s librarian in five states. She takes a lot of pictures and lives near Durango, CO. You can see her photos at textless.tumblr.com.
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WELCOME TO CORTEZ CORTEZ, 200.5 m.  (6,198 alt., 921 pop.), seat of Montezuma County, is a trading center for sheep and cattle raisers who pasture their herds on the sage flats to the west.  The town was founded in 1887 when ranchers first pushed into the Montezuma Valley; many of the tan sandstone buildings were erected during that period.  Cortez is interesting on Saturday nights, when its main street is filled with ranchers, farmers, and Indians; the latter are usually dressed in brilliant velveteens and calicoes, and aglitter with silver and turquoise jewelry. (…) The majority are Ute, although there is a sprinkling of Navaho and Piute. — Colorado: A Guide To the Highest State (WPA, 1941) Today Cortez is a town of 8,500 people.  It is still the seat of Montezuma County, in the southwest corner of Colorado.  The main industries are tourism, energy, and agriculture, and Saturday nights tend to be quiet.  Most tourists who visit Cortez are headed for Mesa Verde National Park.  And don’t get me wrong, Mesa Verde is great.  Along with the famous cliff dwellings, the park has an old school museum, the Chapin Mesa Archaeological Museum, full of dioramas and displays made by Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) workers in the 1930s.  There’s also a sweet new visitor center right at the park entrance.  And from the top of the mesa, you can see forever. But if you go to Cortez, spend a day or two at Mesa Verde, and leave, you will have missed out on what makes this area so special.  [Read more over at textless.tumblr.com…] * * * Amadee Ricketts is an At-Large Guide to the West. She’s worked as a cemetary groundskeeper, a shoeshine valet, and a bill collector. More recently, she’s been a children’s librarian in five states. She takes a lot of pictures and lives near Durango, CO. You can see her photos at textless.tumblr.com.
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WELCOME TO CORTEZ CORTEZ, 200.5 m.  (6,198 alt., 921 pop.), seat of Montezuma County, is a trading center for sheep and cattle raisers who pasture their herds on the sage flats to the west.  The town was founded in 1887 when ranchers first pushed into the Montezuma Valley; many of the tan sandstone buildings were erected during that period.  Cortez is interesting on Saturday nights, when its main street is filled with ranchers, farmers, and Indians; the latter are usually dressed in brilliant velveteens and calicoes, and aglitter with silver and turquoise jewelry. (…) The majority are Ute, although there is a sprinkling of Navaho and Piute. — Colorado: A Guide To the Highest State (WPA, 1941) Today Cortez is a town of 8,500 people.  It is still the seat of Montezuma County, in the southwest corner of Colorado.  The main industries are tourism, energy, and agriculture, and Saturday nights tend to be quiet.  Most tourists who visit Cortez are headed for Mesa Verde National Park.  And don’t get me wrong, Mesa Verde is great.  Along with the famous cliff dwellings, the park has an old school museum, the Chapin Mesa Archaeological Museum, full of dioramas and displays made by Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) workers in the 1930s.  There’s also a sweet new visitor center right at the park entrance.  And from the top of the mesa, you can see forever. But if you go to Cortez, spend a day or two at Mesa Verde, and leave, you will have missed out on what makes this area so special.  [Read more over at textless.tumblr.com…] * * * Amadee Ricketts is an At-Large Guide to the West. She’s worked as a cemetary groundskeeper, a shoeshine valet, and a bill collector. More recently, she’s been a children’s librarian in five states. She takes a lot of pictures and lives near Durango, CO. You can see her photos at textless.tumblr.com.
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WELCOME TO CORTEZ

CORTEZ, 200.5 m.  (6,198 alt., 921 pop.), seat of Montezuma County, is a trading center for sheep and cattle raisers who pasture their herds on the sage flats to the west.  The town was founded in 1887 when ranchers first pushed into the Montezuma Valley; many of the tan sandstone buildings were erected during that period.  Cortez is interesting on Saturday nights, when its main street is filled with ranchers, farmers, and Indians; the latter are usually dressed in brilliant velveteens and calicoes, and aglitter with silver and turquoise jewelry. (…) The majority are Ute, although there is a sprinkling of Navaho and Piute.

— Colorado: A Guide To the Highest State (WPA, 1941)

Today Cortez is a town of 8,500 people.  It is still the seat of Montezuma County, in the southwest corner of Colorado.  The main industries are tourism, energy, and agriculture, and Saturday nights tend to be quiet. 

Most tourists who visit Cortez are headed for Mesa Verde National Park.  And don’t get me wrong, Mesa Verde is great.  Along with the famous cliff dwellings, the park has an old school museum, the Chapin Mesa Archaeological Museum, full of dioramas and displays made by Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) workers in the 1930s.  There’s also a sweet new visitor center right at the park entrance.  And from the top of the mesa, you can see forever.

But if you go to Cortez, spend a day or two at Mesa Verde, and leave, you will have missed out on what makes this area so special. 

[Read more over at textless.tumblr.com…]

* * *

Amadee Ricketts is an At-Large Guide to the West. She’s worked as a cemetary groundskeeper, a shoeshine valet, and a bill collector. More recently, she’s been a children’s librarian in five states. She takes a lot of pictures and lives near Durango, CO. You can see her photos at textless.tumblr.com.

WEMINUCHE WILDERNESS  “Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity….”-John Muir Tucked away in the mountains of the San Juan and Rio Grande national forests in southwest Colorado is the Weminuche Wilderness, the state’s largest wilderness area. The Weminuche was officially designated as a protected wilderness in 1975, under the 1964 Wilderness Act’s National Wilderness Preservation System.  It was added to in 1980 and again in 1993. At just under 500,000 acres (the entire state of Rhode Island is 776,957 acres by comparison) the Weminuche Wilderness is a rugged and nearly roadless expanse of untamed mountains and forest crisscrossed by nearly 500 miles of trails and 63 cirque lakes. The Colorado Trail crosses for 21 miles on its way to Denver, and the world famous Continental Divide Trail runs through the Weminuche for almost 80 miles of its 3,100 mile run between Mexico and Canada. Of the 53 ‘fourteeners’ (mountains 14,000 feet or above) in Colorado, three of them reside within the Weminuche Wilderness.  The average elevation for the area runs about 10,000 feet, making this area as difficult as it is scenic. Link: NWPS map   * * * At-Large Guide to the West JAMES ORNDORF was born in Minnesota, but knew at a very young age that the future lay out west. He is currently photographing and illustrating outside of Durango, Colorado. You can see what he’s up to at inlandwest.tumblr.com and roughshelter.com.
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WEMINUCHE WILDERNESS  “Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity….”-John Muir Tucked away in the mountains of the San Juan and Rio Grande national forests in southwest Colorado is the Weminuche Wilderness, the state’s largest wilderness area. The Weminuche was officially designated as a protected wilderness in 1975, under the 1964 Wilderness Act’s National Wilderness Preservation System.  It was added to in 1980 and again in 1993. At just under 500,000 acres (the entire state of Rhode Island is 776,957 acres by comparison) the Weminuche Wilderness is a rugged and nearly roadless expanse of untamed mountains and forest crisscrossed by nearly 500 miles of trails and 63 cirque lakes. The Colorado Trail crosses for 21 miles on its way to Denver, and the world famous Continental Divide Trail runs through the Weminuche for almost 80 miles of its 3,100 mile run between Mexico and Canada. Of the 53 ‘fourteeners’ (mountains 14,000 feet or above) in Colorado, three of them reside within the Weminuche Wilderness.  The average elevation for the area runs about 10,000 feet, making this area as difficult as it is scenic. Link: NWPS map   * * * At-Large Guide to the West JAMES ORNDORF was born in Minnesota, but knew at a very young age that the future lay out west. He is currently photographing and illustrating outside of Durango, Colorado. You can see what he’s up to at inlandwest.tumblr.com and roughshelter.com.
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WEMINUCHE WILDERNESS  “Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity….”-John Muir Tucked away in the mountains of the San Juan and Rio Grande national forests in southwest Colorado is the Weminuche Wilderness, the state’s largest wilderness area. The Weminuche was officially designated as a protected wilderness in 1975, under the 1964 Wilderness Act’s National Wilderness Preservation System.  It was added to in 1980 and again in 1993. At just under 500,000 acres (the entire state of Rhode Island is 776,957 acres by comparison) the Weminuche Wilderness is a rugged and nearly roadless expanse of untamed mountains and forest crisscrossed by nearly 500 miles of trails and 63 cirque lakes. The Colorado Trail crosses for 21 miles on its way to Denver, and the world famous Continental Divide Trail runs through the Weminuche for almost 80 miles of its 3,100 mile run between Mexico and Canada. Of the 53 ‘fourteeners’ (mountains 14,000 feet or above) in Colorado, three of them reside within the Weminuche Wilderness.  The average elevation for the area runs about 10,000 feet, making this area as difficult as it is scenic. Link: NWPS map   * * * At-Large Guide to the West JAMES ORNDORF was born in Minnesota, but knew at a very young age that the future lay out west. He is currently photographing and illustrating outside of Durango, Colorado. You can see what he’s up to at inlandwest.tumblr.com and roughshelter.com.
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WEMINUCHE WILDERNESS  “Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity….”-John Muir Tucked away in the mountains of the San Juan and Rio Grande national forests in southwest Colorado is the Weminuche Wilderness, the state’s largest wilderness area. The Weminuche was officially designated as a protected wilderness in 1975, under the 1964 Wilderness Act’s National Wilderness Preservation System.  It was added to in 1980 and again in 1993. At just under 500,000 acres (the entire state of Rhode Island is 776,957 acres by comparison) the Weminuche Wilderness is a rugged and nearly roadless expanse of untamed mountains and forest crisscrossed by nearly 500 miles of trails and 63 cirque lakes. The Colorado Trail crosses for 21 miles on its way to Denver, and the world famous Continental Divide Trail runs through the Weminuche for almost 80 miles of its 3,100 mile run between Mexico and Canada. Of the 53 ‘fourteeners’ (mountains 14,000 feet or above) in Colorado, three of them reside within the Weminuche Wilderness.  The average elevation for the area runs about 10,000 feet, making this area as difficult as it is scenic. Link: NWPS map   * * * At-Large Guide to the West JAMES ORNDORF was born in Minnesota, but knew at a very young age that the future lay out west. He is currently photographing and illustrating outside of Durango, Colorado. You can see what he’s up to at inlandwest.tumblr.com and roughshelter.com.
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WEMINUCHE WILDERNESS  “Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity….”-John Muir Tucked away in the mountains of the San Juan and Rio Grande national forests in southwest Colorado is the Weminuche Wilderness, the state’s largest wilderness area. The Weminuche was officially designated as a protected wilderness in 1975, under the 1964 Wilderness Act’s National Wilderness Preservation System.  It was added to in 1980 and again in 1993. At just under 500,000 acres (the entire state of Rhode Island is 776,957 acres by comparison) the Weminuche Wilderness is a rugged and nearly roadless expanse of untamed mountains and forest crisscrossed by nearly 500 miles of trails and 63 cirque lakes. The Colorado Trail crosses for 21 miles on its way to Denver, and the world famous Continental Divide Trail runs through the Weminuche for almost 80 miles of its 3,100 mile run between Mexico and Canada. Of the 53 ‘fourteeners’ (mountains 14,000 feet or above) in Colorado, three of them reside within the Weminuche Wilderness.  The average elevation for the area runs about 10,000 feet, making this area as difficult as it is scenic. Link: NWPS map   * * * At-Large Guide to the West JAMES ORNDORF was born in Minnesota, but knew at a very young age that the future lay out west. He is currently photographing and illustrating outside of Durango, Colorado. You can see what he’s up to at inlandwest.tumblr.com and roughshelter.com.
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WEMINUCHE WILDERNESS  “Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity….”-John Muir Tucked away in the mountains of the San Juan and Rio Grande national forests in southwest Colorado is the Weminuche Wilderness, the state’s largest wilderness area. The Weminuche was officially designated as a protected wilderness in 1975, under the 1964 Wilderness Act’s National Wilderness Preservation System.  It was added to in 1980 and again in 1993. At just under 500,000 acres (the entire state of Rhode Island is 776,957 acres by comparison) the Weminuche Wilderness is a rugged and nearly roadless expanse of untamed mountains and forest crisscrossed by nearly 500 miles of trails and 63 cirque lakes. The Colorado Trail crosses for 21 miles on its way to Denver, and the world famous Continental Divide Trail runs through the Weminuche for almost 80 miles of its 3,100 mile run between Mexico and Canada. Of the 53 ‘fourteeners’ (mountains 14,000 feet or above) in Colorado, three of them reside within the Weminuche Wilderness.  The average elevation for the area runs about 10,000 feet, making this area as difficult as it is scenic. Link: NWPS map   * * * At-Large Guide to the West JAMES ORNDORF was born in Minnesota, but knew at a very young age that the future lay out west. He is currently photographing and illustrating outside of Durango, Colorado. You can see what he’s up to at inlandwest.tumblr.com and roughshelter.com.
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WEMINUCHE WILDERNESS  “Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity….”-John Muir Tucked away in the mountains of the San Juan and Rio Grande national forests in southwest Colorado is the Weminuche Wilderness, the state’s largest wilderness area. The Weminuche was officially designated as a protected wilderness in 1975, under the 1964 Wilderness Act’s National Wilderness Preservation System.  It was added to in 1980 and again in 1993. At just under 500,000 acres (the entire state of Rhode Island is 776,957 acres by comparison) the Weminuche Wilderness is a rugged and nearly roadless expanse of untamed mountains and forest crisscrossed by nearly 500 miles of trails and 63 cirque lakes. The Colorado Trail crosses for 21 miles on its way to Denver, and the world famous Continental Divide Trail runs through the Weminuche for almost 80 miles of its 3,100 mile run between Mexico and Canada. Of the 53 ‘fourteeners’ (mountains 14,000 feet or above) in Colorado, three of them reside within the Weminuche Wilderness.  The average elevation for the area runs about 10,000 feet, making this area as difficult as it is scenic. Link: NWPS map   * * * At-Large Guide to the West JAMES ORNDORF was born in Minnesota, but knew at a very young age that the future lay out west. He is currently photographing and illustrating outside of Durango, Colorado. You can see what he’s up to at inlandwest.tumblr.com and roughshelter.com.
Zoom Info
WEMINUCHE WILDERNESS  “Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity….”-John Muir Tucked away in the mountains of the San Juan and Rio Grande national forests in southwest Colorado is the Weminuche Wilderness, the state’s largest wilderness area. The Weminuche was officially designated as a protected wilderness in 1975, under the 1964 Wilderness Act’s National Wilderness Preservation System.  It was added to in 1980 and again in 1993. At just under 500,000 acres (the entire state of Rhode Island is 776,957 acres by comparison) the Weminuche Wilderness is a rugged and nearly roadless expanse of untamed mountains and forest crisscrossed by nearly 500 miles of trails and 63 cirque lakes. The Colorado Trail crosses for 21 miles on its way to Denver, and the world famous Continental Divide Trail runs through the Weminuche for almost 80 miles of its 3,100 mile run between Mexico and Canada. Of the 53 ‘fourteeners’ (mountains 14,000 feet or above) in Colorado, three of them reside within the Weminuche Wilderness.  The average elevation for the area runs about 10,000 feet, making this area as difficult as it is scenic. Link: NWPS map   * * * At-Large Guide to the West JAMES ORNDORF was born in Minnesota, but knew at a very young age that the future lay out west. He is currently photographing and illustrating outside of Durango, Colorado. You can see what he’s up to at inlandwest.tumblr.com and roughshelter.com.
Zoom Info
WEMINUCHE WILDERNESS  “Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity….”-John Muir Tucked away in the mountains of the San Juan and Rio Grande national forests in southwest Colorado is the Weminuche Wilderness, the state’s largest wilderness area. The Weminuche was officially designated as a protected wilderness in 1975, under the 1964 Wilderness Act’s National Wilderness Preservation System.  It was added to in 1980 and again in 1993. At just under 500,000 acres (the entire state of Rhode Island is 776,957 acres by comparison) the Weminuche Wilderness is a rugged and nearly roadless expanse of untamed mountains and forest crisscrossed by nearly 500 miles of trails and 63 cirque lakes. The Colorado Trail crosses for 21 miles on its way to Denver, and the world famous Continental Divide Trail runs through the Weminuche for almost 80 miles of its 3,100 mile run between Mexico and Canada. Of the 53 ‘fourteeners’ (mountains 14,000 feet or above) in Colorado, three of them reside within the Weminuche Wilderness.  The average elevation for the area runs about 10,000 feet, making this area as difficult as it is scenic. Link: NWPS map   * * * At-Large Guide to the West JAMES ORNDORF was born in Minnesota, but knew at a very young age that the future lay out west. He is currently photographing and illustrating outside of Durango, Colorado. You can see what he’s up to at inlandwest.tumblr.com and roughshelter.com.
Zoom Info
WEMINUCHE WILDERNESS  “Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity….”-John Muir Tucked away in the mountains of the San Juan and Rio Grande national forests in southwest Colorado is the Weminuche Wilderness, the state’s largest wilderness area. The Weminuche was officially designated as a protected wilderness in 1975, under the 1964 Wilderness Act’s National Wilderness Preservation System.  It was added to in 1980 and again in 1993. At just under 500,000 acres (the entire state of Rhode Island is 776,957 acres by comparison) the Weminuche Wilderness is a rugged and nearly roadless expanse of untamed mountains and forest crisscrossed by nearly 500 miles of trails and 63 cirque lakes. The Colorado Trail crosses for 21 miles on its way to Denver, and the world famous Continental Divide Trail runs through the Weminuche for almost 80 miles of its 3,100 mile run between Mexico and Canada. Of the 53 ‘fourteeners’ (mountains 14,000 feet or above) in Colorado, three of them reside within the Weminuche Wilderness.  The average elevation for the area runs about 10,000 feet, making this area as difficult as it is scenic. Link: NWPS map   * * * At-Large Guide to the West JAMES ORNDORF was born in Minnesota, but knew at a very young age that the future lay out west. He is currently photographing and illustrating outside of Durango, Colorado. You can see what he’s up to at inlandwest.tumblr.com and roughshelter.com.
Zoom Info

WEMINUCHE WILDERNESS 

“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity….”-John Muir

Tucked away in the mountains of the San Juan and Rio Grande national forests in southwest Colorado is the Weminuche Wilderness, the state’s largest wilderness area.

The Weminuche was officially designated as a protected wilderness in 1975, under the 1964 Wilderness Act’s National Wilderness Preservation System.  It was added to in 1980 and again in 1993.

At just under 500,000 acres (the entire state of Rhode Island is 776,957 acres by comparison) the Weminuche Wilderness is a rugged and nearly roadless expanse of untamed mountains and forest crisscrossed by nearly 500 miles of trails and 63 cirque lakes.

The Colorado Trail crosses for 21 miles on its way to Denver, and the world famous Continental Divide Trail runs through the Weminuche for almost 80 miles of its 3,100 mile run between Mexico and Canada.

Of the 53 ‘fourteeners’ (mountains 14,000 feet or above) in Colorado, three of them reside within the Weminuche Wilderness.  The average elevation for the area runs about 10,000 feet, making this area as difficult as it is scenic.

Link: NWPS map  

* * *

At-Large Guide to the West JAMES ORNDORF was born in Minnesota, but knew at a very young age that the future lay out west. He is currently photographing and illustrating outside of Durango, Colorado.

You can see what he’s up to at inlandwest.tumblr.com and roughshelter.com.

Colorado: Year of the Wildfires (Year of living in the endless haze) James Orndorf at Inland West looks back on a tinder dry year out West for #AmericanGuideWeek:  Colorado, as did much of the West, endured a summer of wildfires that has continued on in to the autumn in many parts of the state as drought conditions, forest management decisions and above average temperatures have left large portions of the state tinder dry and prime for fire. While the giant fires near Denver and Colorado Springs grabbed much of the headlines there have been, and continue to be, many more fires spread out across the state due to the lack of any snow cover. Follow James Orndorf (aka inlandwest) on Tumblr and let him be your guide to the American West. Track the fires at InciWeb.
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Colorado: Year of the Wildfires (Year of living in the endless haze) James Orndorf at Inland West looks back on a tinder dry year out West for #AmericanGuideWeek:  Colorado, as did much of the West, endured a summer of wildfires that has continued on in to the autumn in many parts of the state as drought conditions, forest management decisions and above average temperatures have left large portions of the state tinder dry and prime for fire. While the giant fires near Denver and Colorado Springs grabbed much of the headlines there have been, and continue to be, many more fires spread out across the state due to the lack of any snow cover. Follow James Orndorf (aka inlandwest) on Tumblr and let him be your guide to the American West. Track the fires at InciWeb.
Zoom
Colorado: Year of the Wildfires (Year of living in the endless haze) James Orndorf at Inland West looks back on a tinder dry year out West for #AmericanGuideWeek:  Colorado, as did much of the West, endured a summer of wildfires that has continued on in to the autumn in many parts of the state as drought conditions, forest management decisions and above average temperatures have left large portions of the state tinder dry and prime for fire. While the giant fires near Denver and Colorado Springs grabbed much of the headlines there have been, and continue to be, many more fires spread out across the state due to the lack of any snow cover. Follow James Orndorf (aka inlandwest) on Tumblr and let him be your guide to the American West. Track the fires at InciWeb.
Zoom Info
Colorado: Year of the Wildfires (Year of living in the endless haze) James Orndorf at Inland West looks back on a tinder dry year out West for #AmericanGuideWeek:  Colorado, as did much of the West, endured a summer of wildfires that has continued on in to the autumn in many parts of the state as drought conditions, forest management decisions and above average temperatures have left large portions of the state tinder dry and prime for fire. While the giant fires near Denver and Colorado Springs grabbed much of the headlines there have been, and continue to be, many more fires spread out across the state due to the lack of any snow cover. Follow James Orndorf (aka inlandwest) on Tumblr and let him be your guide to the American West. Track the fires at InciWeb.
Zoom
Colorado: Year of the Wildfires (Year of living in the endless haze) James Orndorf at Inland West looks back on a tinder dry year out West for #AmericanGuideWeek:  Colorado, as did much of the West, endured a summer of wildfires that has continued on in to the autumn in many parts of the state as drought conditions, forest management decisions and above average temperatures have left large portions of the state tinder dry and prime for fire. While the giant fires near Denver and Colorado Springs grabbed much of the headlines there have been, and continue to be, many more fires spread out across the state due to the lack of any snow cover. Follow James Orndorf (aka inlandwest) on Tumblr and let him be your guide to the American West. Track the fires at InciWeb.
Zoom
Colorado: Year of the Wildfires (Year of living in the endless haze) James Orndorf at Inland West looks back on a tinder dry year out West for #AmericanGuideWeek:  Colorado, as did much of the West, endured a summer of wildfires that has continued on in to the autumn in many parts of the state as drought conditions, forest management decisions and above average temperatures have left large portions of the state tinder dry and prime for fire. While the giant fires near Denver and Colorado Springs grabbed much of the headlines there have been, and continue to be, many more fires spread out across the state due to the lack of any snow cover. Follow James Orndorf (aka inlandwest) on Tumblr and let him be your guide to the American West. Track the fires at InciWeb.
Zoom Info
Colorado: Year of the Wildfires (Year of living in the endless haze) James Orndorf at Inland West looks back on a tinder dry year out West for #AmericanGuideWeek:  Colorado, as did much of the West, endured a summer of wildfires that has continued on in to the autumn in many parts of the state as drought conditions, forest management decisions and above average temperatures have left large portions of the state tinder dry and prime for fire. While the giant fires near Denver and Colorado Springs grabbed much of the headlines there have been, and continue to be, many more fires spread out across the state due to the lack of any snow cover. Follow James Orndorf (aka inlandwest) on Tumblr and let him be your guide to the American West. Track the fires at InciWeb.
Zoom
Colorado: Year of the Wildfires (Year of living in the endless haze) James Orndorf at Inland West looks back on a tinder dry year out West for #AmericanGuideWeek:  Colorado, as did much of the West, endured a summer of wildfires that has continued on in to the autumn in many parts of the state as drought conditions, forest management decisions and above average temperatures have left large portions of the state tinder dry and prime for fire. While the giant fires near Denver and Colorado Springs grabbed much of the headlines there have been, and continue to be, many more fires spread out across the state due to the lack of any snow cover. Follow James Orndorf (aka inlandwest) on Tumblr and let him be your guide to the American West. Track the fires at InciWeb.
Zoom Info
Colorado: Year of the Wildfires (Year of living in the endless haze) James Orndorf at Inland West looks back on a tinder dry year out West for #AmericanGuideWeek:  Colorado, as did much of the West, endured a summer of wildfires that has continued on in to the autumn in many parts of the state as drought conditions, forest management decisions and above average temperatures have left large portions of the state tinder dry and prime for fire. While the giant fires near Denver and Colorado Springs grabbed much of the headlines there have been, and continue to be, many more fires spread out across the state due to the lack of any snow cover. Follow James Orndorf (aka inlandwest) on Tumblr and let him be your guide to the American West. Track the fires at InciWeb.
Zoom Info
Colorado: Year of the Wildfires (Year of living in the endless haze) James Orndorf at Inland West looks back on a tinder dry year out West for #AmericanGuideWeek:  Colorado, as did much of the West, endured a summer of wildfires that has continued on in to the autumn in many parts of the state as drought conditions, forest management decisions and above average temperatures have left large portions of the state tinder dry and prime for fire. While the giant fires near Denver and Colorado Springs grabbed much of the headlines there have been, and continue to be, many more fires spread out across the state due to the lack of any snow cover. Follow James Orndorf (aka inlandwest) on Tumblr and let him be your guide to the American West. Track the fires at InciWeb.
Zoom Info

Colorado: Year of the Wildfires (Year of living in the endless haze)

James Orndorf at Inland West looks back on a tinder dry year out West for #AmericanGuideWeek: 

Colorado, as did much of the West, endured a summer of wildfires that has continued on in to the autumn in many parts of the state as drought conditions, forest management decisions and above average temperatures have left large portions of the state tinder dry and prime for fire.

While the giant fires near Denver and Colorado Springs grabbed much of the headlines there have been, and continue to be, many more fires spread out across the state due to the lack of any snow cover.

Follow James Orndorf (aka inlandwest) on Tumblr and let him be your guide to the American West. Track the fires at InciWeb.