sfarson
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It is a lonely section of chip n seal, in a lonely county, in an unfriendly season... Park County 77, sometimes known as the Tarryall Road. We take three hours to explore 45 miles. Not a lot has changed since the Utes placed their teepees here. I think whispers of their spirits remain, as well as those of early pioneers and miners who tried to eek out a living in this high and windswept place. It is a secluded area; the last wild bison in Colorado was taken nearby in 1901.
The pavement is broken and rotting, but at the northern end the Feds helped pay for seven miles of new tarmac. Connected a digital camera, placed it in movie mode, and followed Rick past old homesteads and a frozen stream. Acoustic Alchemy's "Caravan of Dreams" accompanies...
The Tarryall Road in February - Streaming Video
Here's a map of the ride with image locations called out...
At about ten miles down the road we pass the ghost town of Bordenville. Here's an excerpt found about this hardscrabble place...
Bordenville was a thoroughfare in the 1860’s for miners and passing traffic. In 1865 Timothy and Olney Borden built a 2000 acre ranch, sawmill, general store and a post office. Bordenville’s had a population of 50 with a blacksmith, stage stop, school house, and a mining surveyor.
Bordenville’s school was the site of a grisly murder of all 3 school board members. Widower Benjamin Ratcliff became enraged at the distasteful gossip about his kids which was being spread by the head of the school board and ended up shooting them all. Ratcliff turned himself in at Como and was tried, hung at Canon City, then buried in the back hills of Bordenville.
Found this 1940's image of Bordenville...
In 2007...
We pull off after passing the above structures when noting a lonely cemetery on a hillside. It is the Bordenville Cemetery...
Looking back. You know, stand here 200, 500, 1000... years ago looking this direction, except for some poles and strands of barbed wire, the only diff would probably be the kind of horse tied up waiting...
What little traffic exists on this road can mostly be traced to other hardy souls of this day. Wandered out onto the ice. Rainbows are the harvest. Two feet of icy flooring is between me and the water. That's Mt. Silverheels and the Continental Divide holding back the snow clouds...
Luminescent Bald Mtn. peers over a lumpy hillside to watch the patient action...
Further along, there is one of the Derby homestead cabins. Honey, we're home!
Across the road...
We pause at a place of color, regardless of season... even midwinter. Rick and I were noting (and imagining) how this was probably a prime location for the Utes to erect their village of teepees... a protective valley from the elements, flowing water, pastures for ponies, nearby big game hunting. Except for the vanished bison, the big game remains. I think some of us could see this as a pretty good place to settle and live. Even back then, even today.
The ghost town of Tarryall once boasted a population of 800, largely supported by the flare of mining activity for a short period of time. Rick noted in his ghost town book that the community also went by the unflattering name of "Grab All". Guess it wasn't known for fair and equitable business practices. Indeed the name of the nearby county seat of Fairplay came from its mining days motto, "We Play Fair".
First we park in front of two decaying structures...
Then we walk to the other side of them. Here's the garden city of Tarryall in 1898...
We had fun trying to stand in the same spot, framing the same image as the photographer did 111 years ago. Came pretty close. Some things change, and... some things change!
So, a bikeful of reflection and consideration from this 45 mile explore. Eh, maybe it was just good to score a few two wheeled points against winter! Appropriately, at the family run diner in Lake George, we end up sitting next to a group of fun loving "Colorado Cowboys" in period attire who shoot period firearms at a nearby ranch mocked up to look like an old west town. Regardless of horse, great to have fun isn't it?
The pavement is broken and rotting, but at the northern end the Feds helped pay for seven miles of new tarmac. Connected a digital camera, placed it in movie mode, and followed Rick past old homesteads and a frozen stream. Acoustic Alchemy's "Caravan of Dreams" accompanies...
The Tarryall Road in February - Streaming Video
Here's a map of the ride with image locations called out...
At about ten miles down the road we pass the ghost town of Bordenville. Here's an excerpt found about this hardscrabble place...
Bordenville was a thoroughfare in the 1860’s for miners and passing traffic. In 1865 Timothy and Olney Borden built a 2000 acre ranch, sawmill, general store and a post office. Bordenville’s had a population of 50 with a blacksmith, stage stop, school house, and a mining surveyor.
Bordenville’s school was the site of a grisly murder of all 3 school board members. Widower Benjamin Ratcliff became enraged at the distasteful gossip about his kids which was being spread by the head of the school board and ended up shooting them all. Ratcliff turned himself in at Como and was tried, hung at Canon City, then buried in the back hills of Bordenville.
Found this 1940's image of Bordenville...
In 2007...
We pull off after passing the above structures when noting a lonely cemetery on a hillside. It is the Bordenville Cemetery...
Looking back. You know, stand here 200, 500, 1000... years ago looking this direction, except for some poles and strands of barbed wire, the only diff would probably be the kind of horse tied up waiting...
What little traffic exists on this road can mostly be traced to other hardy souls of this day. Wandered out onto the ice. Rainbows are the harvest. Two feet of icy flooring is between me and the water. That's Mt. Silverheels and the Continental Divide holding back the snow clouds...
Luminescent Bald Mtn. peers over a lumpy hillside to watch the patient action...
Further along, there is one of the Derby homestead cabins. Honey, we're home!
Across the road...
We pause at a place of color, regardless of season... even midwinter. Rick and I were noting (and imagining) how this was probably a prime location for the Utes to erect their village of teepees... a protective valley from the elements, flowing water, pastures for ponies, nearby big game hunting. Except for the vanished bison, the big game remains. I think some of us could see this as a pretty good place to settle and live. Even back then, even today.
The ghost town of Tarryall once boasted a population of 800, largely supported by the flare of mining activity for a short period of time. Rick noted in his ghost town book that the community also went by the unflattering name of "Grab All". Guess it wasn't known for fair and equitable business practices. Indeed the name of the nearby county seat of Fairplay came from its mining days motto, "We Play Fair".
First we park in front of two decaying structures...
Then we walk to the other side of them. Here's the garden city of Tarryall in 1898...
We had fun trying to stand in the same spot, framing the same image as the photographer did 111 years ago. Came pretty close. Some things change, and... some things change!
So, a bikeful of reflection and consideration from this 45 mile explore. Eh, maybe it was just good to score a few two wheeled points against winter! Appropriately, at the family run diner in Lake George, we end up sitting next to a group of fun loving "Colorado Cowboys" in period attire who shoot period firearms at a nearby ranch mocked up to look like an old west town. Regardless of horse, great to have fun isn't it?
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