Sightseeing in Colorado


Things to do in Denver while you’re here

Things To Do in Denver When You’re Dead was the title of a 1990s movie.  For those of you who don’t want to wait that long, these are some suggestions:  

Three institutions have outstanding collections of Western history and art, historical photographs, genealogy material, and other resources of interest to OCTA members:

They are all near the intersection of Broadway and 13th Avenue in downtown Denver, about a one-hour drive from Loveland.  Parking is available at the Cultural Center Parking Garage.  The garage entrance is on 12th Avenue just west of Broadway.

The Colorado State Capitol is a block away from the museum and library area.  Forty-five minute historic tours are conducted on weekdays.  The Colorado State Archives are located nearby at 1313 Sherman Street.

In addition to two restaurants in the Denver Art Museum, a popular nearby restaurant for lunch is Cherokee Dining on 12th Avenue, 1201 Cherokee Street.  For a drink at the end of the day and a great view of Denver: the Peaks Lounge on the 27th floor of the Hyatt Regency Denver, 650 15th Street, about a half-mile from the museum and library area.

No trip to Denver is complete without a stop at the Tattered Cover Book Store, 1628 16th Street, in the historic LoDo (lower downtown) district of Denver.  Tattered Cover is one of the largest independent book stores in the country and has a wide selection of books on Western history and art.

Four Mile Historic Park

Four Mile Historic Park, a Denver park operated by a nonprofit organization, Four Mile Historic Park, Inc., is located at 715 South Forest Street in Southeast Denver, a short drive from downtown.  Its mission is to preserve and interpret the western rural heritage and environment of Colorado to educate a diverse public.  This 12-acre rural site is home to Denver's oldest house, Four Mile House, a Denver landmark that is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Built in 1859, Four Mile House once served as a stage stop, wayside inn, and tavern for travelers on the Cherokee Trail on their way to Denver City.  It was the last stop coming west to Denver on the Cherokee Trail.  It is open Wednesday through Sunday.  The hours and several interesting videos are on the website link above.

Arvada

Arvada's history began in 1850 when Lewis Ralston made the first documented discovery of gold in Colorado.  OCTA member Chuck Hornbuckle is a descendant of Ralston and wrote the article below on the history of Gold Strike Park.  The park is located at West 56th Avenue and Depew Street, near the intersection of Sheridan Boulevard and Ralston Road.  Historic Old Towne Arvada is a short drive away.  Arvada is about a one-hour drive from Loveland, and about 20 minutes west of downtown Denver.

"We call this Ralstons Creek"
By Chuck Hornbuckle

Gold Strike Park was the location of the first documented gold discovery in what became Colorado.  The park was dedicated on June 22, 2004 exactly 154 years later.  The location was at the confluence of two creeks that became Clear Creek and Ralston Creek.  Eight years later in 1858 the bonanza occurred just a few miles from this historic site.  Why the name Ralston and who was this Ralston person? 

Following the 1848 discovery of gold in California many adventurers went west.  Among the gold seekers were two Cherokee wagon trains, one in 1849 and another in 1850.  Traveling with the 1850 train was an Irishman named Lewis Ralston who was married to a Cherokee lady.  He and his brother-in-law Samuel Simons left Georgia in early 1850 hoping to gain wealth in the west. 

Arriving in northeastern Indian Territory they joined a Cherokee wagon train headed for the gold fields.  About May 22nd they left the Grand Saline with Cherokee John Lowery Brown keeping a diary of their journey.  Several days later they came to the Santa Fe Trail and turned west along the Arkansas River.   Passing the remains of Bent’s Fort the train continued west to Pueblo where they traveled north along the east range of the Rocky Mountains.

Near present day Denver the 1849 Cherokee train continued northerly along the east bank of the South Platte River.  However, the 1850 group chose a more direct route which crossed the Platte and headed northwest.

On June 21st they stopped at the confluence of two unnamed streams to rest.  There Brown wrote in his journal, “finished crossing at 2 oclock  left the Platt and traveled 6 miles to Creek  Good water grass & timber Camp 44”. 

The next morning Lewis Ralston arose from his sleep and, hustled to the stream, shoveled gravel into his gold pan.  Within a few minutes he shouted “Gold!”  Others joined him but only a few flakes of the treasured gold were found.  

In his journal Brown wrote, “June 22 Lay Bye. Found Gold” and in the margin of his leather bound book he noted “We call this Ralstons Creek because a man of that name found gold here.”

They concluded the almost certainty of riches in California was more compelling and continued west.

Gold Strike Park was the culmination of many years of research by Lois Lindstrom Kennedy, an Arvada historian.  Local and state dignitaries participated in the park dedication.      

 

Golden

Golden, about a 15-minute drive west of Arvada, is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year.  There are things to do in Golden to interest all family members:

 

Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site
La Junta

La Junta is about 225 miles southeast of Loveland.  For those traveling to Loveland from that direction, a stop at Bent's Old Fort provides a good introduction to the special connection between the history of Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site and the theme of the OCTA convention.  

The following summary of the site's history appears on its website:

Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site features a reconstructed 1840’s adobe fur trading post on the mountain branch of the Santa Fe Trail where traders, trappers, travelers, and Plains Indian tribes came together in peaceful terms for trade. Today, living historians recreate the sights, sounds, and smells of the past with guided tours, demonstrations, and special events.  Interpreters in period clothing perform guided tours daily and living history demonstrations seasonally. Visitors can also explore the fort on their own using a self-guided tour booklet.

William and Charles Bent, along with Ceran St. Vrain, built the original fort on this site in 1833 to trade with plains Indians and trappers. The adobe fort quickly became the center of the Bent, St. Vrain Company's expanding trade empire that included Fort St. Vrain to the north and Fort Adobe to the south, along with company stores in Mexico at Taos and Santa Fe. The primary trade was with the Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians for buffalo robes.

For much of its 16-year history, the fort was the only major permanent white settlement on the Santa Fe Trail between Missouri and the Mexican settlements. The fort provided explorers, adventurers, and the U.S. Army a place to get needed supplies, wagon repairs, livestock, good food, water and company, rest and protection in this vast "Great American Desert." During the war with Mexico in 1846, the fort became a staging area for Colonel Stephen Watts Kearny's "Army of the West". Disasters and disease caused the fort's abandonment in 1849. Archeological excavations and original sketches, paintings and diaries were used in the fort's reconstruction in 1976.

The Fort Restaurant
Morrison

The Fort Restaurant is a replica of Bent's Old Fort, with an interesting history of its own.  It is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Built in 1962 by Dr. Samuel Arnold, it incorporates the design, scale and materials of the original Bent's Fort.  The Tesoro Cultural Center, established by the Tesoro Foundation, conducts educational programs, reenactments, historical tours and other events at The Fort.  Morrison is southwest of Denver, about a 1 1/4 hour drive from Loveland.

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