SILT
Well, first of all, we didn’t actually stay in Glenwood Springs, we stayed in Silt, about 25 minutes away. Had we realized how far it was, we might have looked for something closer. Oh well, our first adventure was to explore the tiny town of Silt (1.4 square miles). There was supposed to be a farm to market store, so we headed there first to get some goodies, but it was closed. We did notice that down the street there is a Historical Park, so that was our next stop.
There are about 10 or so old buildings on the property, which were interesting to meander through. We were hoping to learn about the town history, but there wasn’t much information about the town. Judging from all the farming equipment, we assumed it was a farming community, and later found out that in fact, they used to grow sugar beets. I have heard of sugar beets but don’t know much about them. Turns out 30% of the worlds sugar production is from sugar beets.
Paul is always fascinated by antique gadgets and equipment, and was happy to explain to me what this gadget is. It’s a smudge pot, which would be loaded with diesel and used on a highway as a flare. As an added footnote, I absolutely remember having baskets like the one in this picture.
I like looking at the day to day items of yesteryear…such as this iron. To my way of thinking, the old saying “too many irons in the fire” should mean that someone was heating too many irons at once and couldn’t iron their clothes fast enough to use them all. In reality of course, it refers to a blacksmith and how many irons he has in the fire. Apparently a good blacksmith will have Just The Right Amount. Anyway, I doubt either of my kids has ever even used an iron.
Aspen
Our intent on our second day was to hike Grizzly Creek- an 8 mile hike with lots of elevation gain. We weren't sure we’d make it the whole 8 miles, but I was game to try. It didn’t happen though. Many people may have heard that Rte 70 headed to Denver, was closed for quite a while due to a mud slide. Although it is now open, the parking lots for the hiking trails are not. We took a drive through the beautiful canyon before heading up to Aspen for the afternoon.
John Denver was one of my favorite musical artists when I was growing up, and I was happy to hear there is a John Denver Sanctuary in Aspen.
There are all kinds of pathways in the park, and a rock garden that features boulders with the lyrics to his songs etched into them.
Flat Tops Scenic Drive
This scenic drive took us through the White River National forest, which is actually the second national forest to ever be created (the first was Shoshone). The road loosely follows the White River. Years ago this area was home to the Ute Indian Nation, until an unfortunate misunderstanding resulted in their removal to a reservation.
It is still home to one of the largest Elk herds in the country. We were therefore expecting to see some elk- but we only saw one. Had we been camping up here at 10,000 ft. we could have done some hiking, but today we didn’t have time.
Doc Holliday
When you do a search for the town of Glenwood Springs, three things pop up : Hanging Lake Trail (closed due to mudslide), the Hot Springs Pool, and Doc Holliday’s grave.
One of our few hikes was a short one to his grave. All I know about Doc Holliday is that he was at the shootout at the OK Corral, in Arizona. Turns out, he spent his last few years in Glenwood Springs, suffering from late stage Tuberculosis. He died destitute, and was buried here, and since no one knows exactly where his grave is, a memorial was put in place overlooking the town.
I was interested to learn that Kid Curry is also buried here. In 1904, after robbing a train, he was so severely injured by the posse that chased him, that he took his own life. I will admit, most of my "knowledge” about Kid Curry comes from the TV show Alias Smith and Jones.
Rifle Falls
There are 3 state parks near us, and one day we drove out to check them out. The most interesting one is Rifle Falls State Park.
There is a short hike that circles the falls. Taking our time, we walked the trail and enjoyed the falls.
Glenwood Springs Hot Springs Pool
Our last day in Glenwood, we finally made it to the hot springs pool. This thing is enormous! Built in 1888, it is the largest mineral hot springs pool in the world. “The small” pool is 40’ wide and 100’ long. It’s kept at 104*, a little too hot for me.
The regular pool is 100’ wide and 405’ long. There are swim lanes for lap swimming, and a diving board at one end. It is kept at about 93*, much better for us. After about 2 hours we were waterlogged and made our way back home.
