Monarch Pass

The Monarch Pass Game Drive

by

High atop the Continental Divide, near Monarch Pass, on the eastern margin of the Upper Gunnison Basin, are the prehistoric remains of an intriguing and innovative hunting method employed by ancient tribes. The Monarch Pass Game Drive was an ingenious system of low boulder walls, hunting blinds and ambush pits designed to lure big game …

Read more

Regional News Roundup

by

Towns Sign on to Pact A group of Colorado towns has launched a “Mountain Pact” in an effort to reform the way the Feds collect royalty payments from the coal industry, and to offset the negative effects of climate change on their communities. Signed on to the pact are Leadville, Buena Vista, Ridgway, Carbondale, Aspen, …

Read more

Fooses Creek

by

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.

Read more

The Parlor House of Arbourville

by

Story and photos by Mike Rosso

Regular travelers on the east side of Monarch Pass have seen it. Just north of Maysville, the crumbling remains of a four-sided mansard roof rise like a sentinel above the guardrail on the south side of the highway. At 55 mph, that’s about all that motorists are likely to see, but closer inspection reveals an impressive piece of historic architecture that won’t likely survive any expansion plans on the part of the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT).

Read more

Excerpts from ‘Around Monarch Pass’

by

Author Duane Vandenbusche, a professor of history at Western State College in Gunnison since 1962, is the author of several books on the Gunnison Country and Western Colorado. Until 2007, he doubled as a cross-country coach at the college, where his men’s and women’s teams won 12 national championships and produced three Olympians. In this volume, photographs gathered from libraries, museums, private collections, and old-timers – many of them previously unpublished – bring the rich history of Monarch Country alive.

We have been given permission to publish excerpts from the book for you here. Dr. Vandenbusche will be giving a presentation about Monarch Pass at the Salida SteamPlant on December 11 at 6:00 p.m. All are welcome to attend.

Photos and text reprinted with permission from “Around Monarch Pass,” by Duane Vandenbusche. Available from the publisher online at www.arcadiapublishing.com or by calling (888) 313-2665.

Read more