Year: 2014

All That Remains of Bonanza is a Name

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By Allen Best

When does a town cease to be a town? That’s been the question this year for Bonanza, a place that for most of its existence has failed to live up to its name.

It’s located in south-central Colorado, 13 miles of gravel road from the nearest highway, post office or business. This is in the forested fringe of the northern San Luis Valley, a broad triangle of high desert sandwiched by 13,000- and 14,000-foot peaks.

The town was launched as a formal municipality in 1881. This was during Colorado’s mining boom. Bonanza had seven dance halls, four smelters, two hotels and one newspaper, along with 1,000 residents.

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Fooses Creek

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By Ericka Kastner

Beloved by locals as one of the quickest routes to getting in a skinny ski fix, Fooses Creek Trail affords not only quick access from Salida (about a 15-minute drive by car or hitch by thumb) but also varied terrain and numerous route options, making it a trail with something for everyone in all seasons.

The trailhead approach begins about 9.5 miles west of the intersection of U.S. Hwys. 50 and 285 in Poncha Springs. Traveling west on 50, take a left turn onto C.R. 225 and drive a snowy, usually plowed road about .7 miles to the parking for Fooses.

Youngsters along for the adventure will appreciate seeing Fooses Lake at the start of the trail (elevation 8,920 feet) and likely will be curious as to whether it’s frozen enough to skate on during the colder months. It’s actually a small reservoir and the water flowing out of it to the east to a hydroelectric plant at lower elevations tends to keep the lake soft just beneath the surface all winter.

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Camels in Moffat are no Mirage

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By Judith Reese

The late afternoon sun is just beginning to cast long shadows on the San Luis Valley floor. In pastureland renown for sheep and cattle, three vaguely Dr. Seussish fantastical creatures graze on the low brush of the high desert of Moffat. Camels, once thought exotic, now make their home in Colorado’s heartland.

Mudita Camel Dairy, a modest two-story combined home and milking barn, sits framed by the Sangre de Cristo Range to the east and the La Garita Wilderness to the west. Out front, a young couple loads milk into refrigerators in a pickup. They are Matt and Meghan Stalzer, and the camel dairy farm is their labor of love.

Matt moves inside, and nine-foot-tall Dora pokes her head into the barn, her 1,500-pound girth framed by the doorway with the Sangres supplying the backdrop. Inquisitive Dora just wants to be part of the welcoming. 

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Writing in the Age of LOL, BRB and WTF

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By Hal Walter

When I spoke to my son’s 5th grade class back in September, I did a short reading from my book Wild Burro Tales. I had a little postscript in mind, and after the reading I asked how many of the kids want to be writers when they grow up.

I was expecting one or two to raise their hands, and I had some premeditated advice for them. What I was not expecting was to see a lot of little hands shoot enthusiastically into the air.

I was paralyzed briefly. I thought, really? This many kids want to be writers? What exactly will they write in this day and age of social media, online “news” feeds and Kindle Shorts? And who will pay them to do this writing? Should I warn them of the frustrations, the long odds of “success” … the pay?

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News From the San Luis Valley

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by Gena Akers Wolf Creek Development Approved The Rio Grande National Forest (RGNF) has completed The Village at Wolf Creek Access Project analysis. The land exchange between the National Forest and Leavell-McCombs Joint Venture (LMJV) will provide the opportunity for LMJV to develop year-round access to their property. Approximately 177 acres of privately held land …

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Regional News Roundup

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Election Results The yards signs are gone, the glossy mailers no longer clog our mailboxes, the robocalls have ceased (for now) and the results are in. In one of the most expensive races on record for a U.S. Senate seat, Republican Cory Gardner (with a leg up from The Denver Post) defeated Democratic incumbent Sen. …

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From the Editor: Year’s End

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by Mike Rosso Here it is, our final issue of 2014. Looking back, we’ve covered quite a bit of ground – geographically, culturally and historically. Along the way, we’ve sadly lost a few of our readers as well as a valued contributor, but we’ve also gained new subscribers and some brand new voices to the …

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About the Cover Artist: Tim Brown

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Since 1982 Tim Brown has been traveling the globe experiencing and photographing the people and places of various locations. His passion for adventure, humankind and good lighting has led him to embark on over 50 trips to Central and South America, Southeast Asia and Indonesia, as well as numerous travels throughout the United States and …

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Reviews – Edward Wynkoop, Soldier and Indian Agent

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Edward Wynkoop, Soldier and Indian Agent By Nancy Oswald #7 in the “Now You Know” series for young scholars by Filter Press ISBN: 978-0-86541-184-5 Reviewed by Forrest Whitman Cotopaxi author Nancy Oswald does a nice job of presenting this historical Colorado figure. Some young scholars will recognize that Wynkoop Street down by Union Station in …

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Reviews – Plight of the Dam’d Rascals

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Plight of the Dam’d Rascals By Tom Rollings 178 pages, Dog Ear Publishing 2014 ISBN: 978-1-4575-2950-4 Reviewed by Forrest Whitman Literally thousands of books and articles have been written about the Zebulon Pike Expedition of 1806-1807. The expedition is especially interesting to readers from Central Colorado, since many of the dramatic events on Pike’s long …

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A Farmer Far Afield – My Better Half

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by John Mattingly I  recently acquired eight female jenny miniature donkeys and one miniature male jack, together with three youthful donkey offspring. This occurred in a complex trade involving 111 goats, a terracer blade, a jayhawker, an angular boring tool and a rusty Fresno. But I digress. Having donkeys around has reminded me of all …

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Quillen’s Corner – Fear and Loathing One Hundred Years After Sand Creek

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by Martha Quillen In The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil, Stanford professor Philip Zimbardo illustrates how ordinary people can be incited into acts of almost unimaginable violence. “The process begins,” he warns, “with creating stereotyped conceptions of the other, dehumanized perception of the other, the other as worthless, the other as all-powerful, …

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The Real Deal Music Review – Kevin Danzig, Playground

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by Brian Rill Kevin Danzig – Playground 2104 Bandanzig Music, Alma CO 2014 Alma resident Kevin Danzig just released his ninth solo album, Playground. It is a multi-instrumental and polyphonic collection including two dozen fully produced acoustic demo songs engineered in Leadville, Colorado by Grammy nominee Tim Stroth. Kevin Danzig is himself a six-time Billboard …

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Heading Home

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by Maria Weber I have a fondness for fire, For stew pots with fragrant ingredients, Comfort food that wraps a blanket Around my heart in cold weather. My ancestors came from high frozen mountains With high frozen hearts that needed to thaw. On a beach under the heat of a dead volcano I find my …

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The Velhagen Clock: Crown Jewel of Downtown Alamosa

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by Susan Foster The Velhagen Clock, located for over 50 years at 505 State Avenue in Alamosa, might be called a “horologe”: an obsolete term for a timepiece that is antiquated yet timeless. Alamosa’s historic, 18-foot-high, two-ton, Velhagen Clock is a five-foot diameter, two-faced structure with cast iron gingerbread ornamentation which was built by the …

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The Push Is on to “Take Back” Public Lands

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by Brian Calvert Utah is ground zero this year for the attempt by some Western states to claim federal lands. In September, when Southern Utah University hosted a debate on the controversial proposal, close to 250 people packed the hall as two professors, Bob Keither and Dan McCool, argued that however messy its oversight, the …

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A Sister City for Salida

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by Mike Rosso A recent decision by a town council 6,000 miles away has led to the first sister-city designation for Salida, Colorado. Lago, in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy, is the ancestral home of many early settlers to Salida, many of whose names are very familiar to locals. A …

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News from the San Luis Valley

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Alamosa Agencies Look to Revitalize Historic Building Alamosa agencies are looking to revitalize the old Rio Grande Motorway for regular and special events, such as the Alamosa Farmers Market and Alamosa Live Music Association concerts. Other revitalization ideas include installing a catering kitchen, and banquet facility amenities that could hold up to 800 people. Building …

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Regional News Roundup

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Police Close Case on Western Student’s Death An investigation into the death of a Western State Colorado University wrestler, Dammion Heard, whose body was found hanging in a tree east of Gunnison on April 2, has officially been closed. After conducting 45 interviews and receiving 187 pages of investigative reports, Gunnison police have determined that …

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Q & A with Geologist Vince Matthews

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Dr. Vince Matthews is principal of Leadville Geology LLC, and recently was interim executive director of the National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum. He retired as state geologist and director of the Colorado Geological Survey at the beginning of 2013. Vince received Bachelors and Masters degrees in Geology from the University of Georgia and …

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From the Editor– Back to Normal

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by Mike Rosso As another election season comes to an end, many Coloradans are likely breathing a sigh of relief. I’m a registered Independent and non-TV watcher, so have been spared the nonstop robocalls and the wall-to-wall commercials that have dominated the airwaves in our “swing state.” As a media entity, we’ve also been mostly …

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About the Cover Artist – Sherrie York

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Thirty-something years ago I took a printmaking survey course that allowed students to study two of three techniques: relief, intaglio and silkscreen. I chose to learn intaglio and silkscreen because “Everyone knows how to do relief prints. They’re like rubber stamps, right?” I loved etching, but without access to an intaglio press my printmaking practice …

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A Season Through the Classroom of Time

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By Hal Walter

Summer is short at this altitude, and the beautiful autumn is even shorter. Blink and it is gone. The snow on the high peaks is just a reminder that the opportunity to get into the high country is running out at high speed, and winter is slinking down the mountain like a phantom.

This is a tale of two Thursdays.

There was a teacher’s planning day on the calendar, which meant no school. As the parent of a child with autism, these long days can be a source of anxiety and strain. For starters, there goes your workday. A full day of solo caring for someone with autism can also be an exhausting experience of trying to schedule constructive activities and redirect undesirable, repetitive or annoying behaviors.

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The Natural World – WIld Turkeys

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By Tina Mitchell

Okay, I’ll show my age. Anyone else remember the 1980s situation comedy WKRP in Cincinnati? One episode highlighted an ill-fated Thanksgiving advertising campaign featuring domesticated turkeys dropped from a helicopter flying over the city – and plummeting straight to the ground. Covering the event on the ground, reporter Les Nessman wailed, “Oh, the humanity!” If only they had known just a bit about domesticated turkeys, especially in contrast to their wild cousins …

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Wendell Forbes Hutchinson, Sept. 25, 1924 – Sept. 20, 2014

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By Betty Plotz

Salida area rancher, veterinarian, historian and pioneer Wendell “Doc Hutch” Hutchinson died on Sept. 20, 2014, just five days short of his 90th birthday.

His great-grandfather, Joseph Sykes Hutchinson, came to Colorado in 1866 after being wounded during the Battle of Vicksburg during the Civil War. Joseph began as a prospector near Granite but eventually became involved in the cattle trade. In 1868, he and his new wife, Annabelle, bought a homestead about three miles east of South Arkansas. By the 1870s, the Hutchinson ranching operation had grown to include 5,000 head of cattle that ranged over meadows in the San Luis Valley, Marshall Pass, South Park, Leadville and Westcliffe.

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The Headwaters Conference – Celebrating 25 Years

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The 25th Headwaters Conference, The Working Wild, began Friday, Sept. 20 at Western State Colorado University in Gunnison. The auditorium was full in anticipation of the keynote speaker, Gary Snyder. One spectator mused, “It’s the gathering of the eagles,” with community leaders from all over the Headwaters region in attendance. After a poem by Art Goodtimes and a song by Alan Wartes, Conference Director John Hausdoerffer introduced Snyder. He revealed that Snyder, a beat generation poet, inspired Jack Kerouac’s famous character from the Dharma Bums, Japhy Ryder. 

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The Fantastic Eureka Mine

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By Duane Vandenbusche

It was the most fantastic mine in the history of the Gunnison Country. Located by William Mansfield in July of 1879 on the west flank of Treasury Mountain at 13,440 feet, the Eureka defied description. The mine was located above Yule Pass and near the top of the mountain. Even getting to the Eureka was difficult. One way in followed Yule Creek from Marble. The other route came from the headwaters of the Slate River and over terrifying Yule Pass. Silver ore from the mine was at first brought down by burro teams over Yule Pass and then down the Slate River to the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad spur at Anthrocite, four miles north of Crested Butte. The burro trains made the round trip in two days, and it cost $3 per ton for haulage.

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The Curecanti Needle

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By Forrest Whitman

How many Colorado Central readers have seen the Curecanti Needle? It’s one of those well-known, but seldom visited iconic sites in the Central Colorado region. It’s located in the Curecanti National Recreation Area in the upper Black Canyon of the Gunnison. The access road off Colorado Hwy. 92 is short and well marked. The path to the three overlooks might be a little dicey for folks who are physically challenged, but it looks doable. We took it easy on the rain slick-rocks on our recent visit.

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The Time of Reflection

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By Hal Walter

Fall has always been a time of reflection. The leaves as they turn and fall to the ground are a beautiful reminder that the circle of life does have a beginning and an end. And that if you have things you need to get done, there’s no better time than right now.

I was rushing to town one September afternoon to pick up my son from school. On a big curve about six miles east of Westcliffe I saw a logging truck approaching in the oncoming lane. As it drew nearer, I suddenly realized it was trailing a big loop of heavy steel cable that was whipping from side to side. This loop was large enough to lasso a full-size pickup truck, and it reached nearly across the other lane. I did not have much time to react as I saw it swinging into the road in front of me. The options raced through my head – brake, swerve or do nothing?

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A Farmer Far Afield – The Unimportant ‘Merican (TU‘M)

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by John Mattingly Inner Old Man yields the page to The Unimportant ‘Merican, also known as TU‘M. As with IOM, the views of TU‘M should never be confused with those of the author. Here in Central Colorado we stand protected from war, fracking, heavy industry, rabid police, mis-speaking billionaires, racial tension, ebola, fat-old-white men against …

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Quillen’s Corner – One Nation Indivisible With Liberty and Justice for Cockroaches

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by Martha Quillen Republicans and Democrats seldom agree on anything, and Congress is determinedly divisive. But what about us? Do we still agree on America’s founding principles? Do we still believe in the proposition that all men are created equal? And that people have certain inalienable rights, among them Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of …

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On the Ground – Down on the Ground with Democracy

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by George Sibley We’re in the middle of an election season again, and again I find myself asking: Are we humans really ready for democracy? Have we evolved that far? That question rolls around in my mind as I watch the current political campaigns, where we are being asked to decide on our next governor …

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Book Review – Individuals Create Value

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Individuals Create Value By Kevin Barnes Self published, Booktango, Bloomington IN  58 pages Reviewed by Forrest Whitman In 58 pages, Salida author Kevin Barnes attempts to untangle one of the oldest questions about society: How does the individual create value within the sometimes oppressive rules of a society? Barnes gives credit to Thomas Jefferson for …

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Making a Difference on Earth: Conservation Easements

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by Virginia McConnell Simmons Roughly 30 years ago, we began to notice the loss of open land, water, other natural resources, traditional ways of life and tranquility in our high mountain valleys. None too soon, we also noticed that something had to be done to prevent the continuing loss of the region’s natural resources, working …

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Restaurant Review – Dorothy’s Homemade Tamales

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By Central Staff Dorothy’s Homemade Tamales Fairplay, CO 80440 Dorothy (Montoya) Russell has been making tamales all of her life, and that’s saying something. Dorothy is 74 years old and learned to make the traditional Mesoamerican dish from her grandmother while growing up in Denver. In 1994, after preparing and selling the traditional delicacies out …

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News from the San Luis Valley

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By Gena Akers Rio Grande Basin Adds to State Water Plan Gov. Hickenlooper expects to see a statewide water plan by December 2015 that encompasses all nine river basins. Under the jurisdiction of the Rio Grande Roundtable, the Rio Grande Basin water plan draft outlines 14 goals, including: protecting and restoring sustainability, watershed health and …

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REGIONAL NEWS ROUNDUP (and other items of interest)

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A Mysterious Suicide in Turret A 92-year old Turret resident was found dead in the basement of his home by friends Sept. 12 after they had not heard from him in over a week. Edwin Bartheld, who hand-built his off-grid home on an abandoned mine site in the old ghost town, had lived alone since …

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