Ghost Towns

Clear Creek Valley

Even though we are restricted in our travels, we can still explore where we are now. You would think that we had seen everything Colorado had to offer after living here for many years. But we found ourselves going to the same beautiful places that were in our comfort zones. Now we spend our days looking for places and trails we missed while living our regular daily lives.

I am taking my time posting on the blog since we aren't going anywhere soon. It is fun to go back and remember our days out. Kind of a do over. It is too easy to move on to the next adventure and not savor the one we just finished.

Driving north on highway 24 towards Twin Lakes, we passed a sign for Clear Lake and Vicksburg on county road 390. After some research we found that Clear Creek Canyon is full of ruins from Colorado’s early mining days. There are four remaining ghost towns in the canyon, which lies just west of Clear Creek Reservoir from Highway 24.

Clear Creek runs the length of the canyon to the Arkansas River. Miners began prospecting tributaries to the Arkansas River in the 1860’s. Most of the old mining towns reached their heyday around 1890. 

After turning off Highway 24, it was 9 miles of dirt road to Vicksburg and 14 to Winfield. The road was good until we entered the national forest. Then it got bumpy.

The first old town we reached on CR 390 is Beaver City, the first mining camp in Clear Creek Canyon. Two of the original twenty buildings remain.

Rockdale is also known at Crescent City mining camp.

Vicksburg and Winfield are the best preserved out of the four ghost towns.

Vicksburg was the second largest town in the canyon, with around 600-700 people during its peak. A museum is open some weekends during the summer. There’s also a recording outside that
tells the local history, available 24/7. Many of the cabins in Vicksburg are privately owned, and seasonally occupied.

 Missouri Gulch hike was steeper than we were prepared for but a nice stop.

Dexter

Winfield

Prospecting was done in the Winfield area in 1867, but the town didn’t reach it’s heyday until 1890. It had 1500 hundred residents and was the largest town in the canyon. There is a furnished school house and miner’s cabin, open on select weekends in summer.

Not a bad place for a picnic. The ghosts didn't even bother us.

That was some big avalanche!

I recently had a crown fall out while flossing. Imagine the stress I felt about going to the dentist. But first of all I had to find one that would see me. The short version was it went well. They wore N-95 masks and I felt a little uncomfortable taking off my mask around new people. A week later, I woke with a cough and stuffy nose. Benadryl took care of the allergies. When did I get so paranoid? Maybe too much TV news.

Who knew we had missed so much right in our own backyard while living in Colorado?

Not a bad way to end the day!

Cimarron Canyon, New Mexico

Stepping back in time

Driving through Cimarron, it seemed to be a town without much life left. We noticed a few signs indicating a walking tour of the old town that sparked our interest. The BLM trails in Cimarron Canyon we had planned to hike were posted "closed for bear hunting". We shifted our plans and headed the 10 miles back to the town to see what the walking tour was all about.

 

 Cimarron, New Mexico

Back in the late 1870s, Colfax County was a dangerous place. It was home to bawdy mining camps, range wars, Indian conflicts, and deadly gunplay.

 

The Historic Walking Tour of Cimarron included 14 sites dating back to the mid 1800s. Brass plaques mounted on stone pillars guide the way with information on each site including the Santa Fe Trail, Lucien Maxwell and  his 1.7 million acre Land Grant. Our imaginations were in overdrive.

The St James Hotel, built in 1872,  was witness to at least 26 murders during the wilder days in Cimarron.   Jesse James, Buffalo Bill Cody and Black Jack Allison have all left their mark on the St. James, as attested by the numerous bullet holes in the ceiling of the main dining room.

The St James Hotel started business in 1872. Built during a time when law and order was non-existent, the saloon quickly gained a reputation as a place of violence, where it is said that 26 men were shot and killed within its adobe walls. The first question usually asked around Cimarron in the morning was: “Who was killed at Lambert’s (St James) last night?” Another favorite expression following a killing was: “It appears Lambert (St James) had himself another man for breakfast.”

 

 When the railroads came through, the Santa Fe Trail died, and soon after, the gold in the area began to play out. Cimarron’s population began to dwindle and the elegant St. James Hotel fell into disrepair.

Bullet holes

I bet the people in the room above here were startled to say the least.

 

The St. James Hotel is said to remain host to several restless spirits. Both the owners and the guests of the hotel will tell you that it is haunted with many unexplained events. 

 

Room 18 at the hotel is kept locked because it houses the ghost of an ill-tempered Thomas James Wright, who was killed at his door just after winning the rights to the hotel in a poker game. Having been shot from behind, Wright continued on into the room and slowly bled to death. (I thought ghosts could go through doors.) Who am I to judge?

We didn't experience any spirits and had heard they had the best (only) restaurant in town. We headed out to the courtyard for lunch.

My chicken enchilada was enough for both of us. Mike fish tacos weren't so great.

 

Our next stop was the old jail.

The jail was surrounded by a 10-foot-high wall that was four-feet thick. Continuing the rowdy reputation of the area, the wall was dynamited in the 1900s during a jailbreak.

It was a bit creepy when we walked inside. The main door was bolted open and inner doors could be opened and closed. I made it half way in, looking in the first doors before I turned around and called it quits. It really creeped me out.

 

After our visit to the jail and hotel the time on my phone jumped ahead 6 hours. I adjusted it to the correct time and Mike's phone jumped ahead 6 hours for a few minutes. Shortly after that, my phone jumped ahead and Mike's went to the correct time again. We have tried several things to get it corrected but nothing works for long. It could just be getting old or maybe.....

The stone-block Aztec Mill built in 1864 was operated as a grist mill by Lucien Maxwell until 1870. Here trail travelers bought flour for the last push to Santa Fe and Ute and Jicarilla Apaches were issued government rations. 

The museum had 3 floors of too many items to take in. One wall on the upper level was dedicated to the Philmont Boy Scout Camp, the largest boy scout camp in the US and working ranch, 6 miles up the road.

 

The town is land locked by cattle ranches. When I asked where everyone one in the area worked, we were told either for the State or the ranches.

 

 Cimarron Canyon

We drive through so many towns that look life the life has gone out of them and find if we take the time, there might be and interesting story to hear.

A wildfire blasted through the east end of Cimarron Canyon in May leaving much of the east end charred, burning 37,000 acres. The campground hosts and residents of Cimarron had to be evacuated for 4 days.

 

The campgrounds were unaffected.



The Palisades

I wonder how long until this one tumbles.

 

The ponds and river in Cimarron Canyon State Park were restocked and the fishermen were catching them in no time. New Mexico has some great state parks that are quite affordable.