July 14, 2010
The East and Taylor rivers converge in the tiny town of Almont, Colorado to form the Gunnison River. Since I had fished two of the three, I wanted to get some angling time in the East River. After about 45 minutes of swatting at a mosquito air force, and watching a storm roll in, I wrapped it up after catching just one small fish. I did manage some more time on the Taylor, and hooked a few nice fish only to lose them. I’ve got the cast, the drift, the right fly, and now I’ve got to improve the hook-set.
We did take the afternoon to make a trip up to Tin Cup, Colorado. Tin Cup was a gold and silver mining town in the mid-1800’s and had a reputation as one of the wildest towns in Colorado. For a time it was actually run by a gambling mob that hired lawmen to give the appearance of a law-abiding town, only to later fleece the belongings from those who stayed. After the mining operations dried up, Tin Cup was considered a ghost town, after once having a population of 6,000, and the home of 20 saloons. Today, all of the old cabins have been restored to their original condition and are inhabited full-time by some, and part-time by many. There is actually a small store and café that remain open.
To us, the most fascinating place to visit is the cemetery, which sits in a beautiful meadow nestled among the mountains. Spread out around the small stream/beaver ponds are various burial knolls: Jewish, Protestant, Catholic, and Boot Hill. In addition, back in the woods, and not in a knoll, is one solitary grave marker of a black woman cook. The Protestant knoll is by far the largest and the graves are scattered seemingly randomly through the pine trees. Markers range from the very old to some very recent. Most are identified by outlines of native stones, some with faded wooden markers, and some fenced with logs or ornamental metal. We’re not for sure the significance of Boot Hill, which is mostly associated with the final resting place of gunslingers and/or paupers – which did not seem to apply to those markers we viewed.
We could spend considerably more time in this area as there are so many more features and places to explore – hopefully we will be back and stay longer. For the meantime, we have booked one more night before heading back to town.
July 14, 2010
The East and Taylor rivers converge in the tiny town of Almont, Colorado to form the Gunnison River. Since I had fished two of the three, I wanted to get some angling time in the East River. After about 45 minutes of swatting at a mosquito air force, and watching a storm roll in, I wrapped it up after catching just one small fish. I did manage some more time on the Taylor, and hooked a few nice fish only to lose them. I’ve got the cast, the drift, the right fly, and now I’ve got to improve the hook-set.
We did take the afternoon to make a trip up to Tin Cup, Colorado. Tin Cup was a gold and silver mining town in the mid-1800’s and had a reputation as one of the wildest towns in Colorado. For a time it was actually run by a gambling mob that hired lawmen to give the appearance of a law-abiding town, only to later fleece the belongings from those who stayed. After the mining operations dried up, Tin Cup was considered a ghost town, after once having a population of 6,000, and the home of 20 saloons. Today, all of the old cabins have been restored to their original condition and are inhabited full-time by some, and part-time by many. There is actually a small store and café that remain open.
To us, the most fascinating place to visit is the cemetery, which sits in a beautiful meadow nestled among the mountains. Spread out around the small stream/beaver ponds are various burial knolls: Jewish, Protestant, Catholic, and Boot Hill. In addition, back in the woods, and not in a knoll, is one solitary grave marker of a black woman cook. The Protestant knoll is by far the largest and the graves are scattered seemingly randomly through the pine trees. Markers range from the very old to some very recent. Most are identified by outlines of native stones, some with faded wooden markers, and some fenced with logs or ornamental metal. We’re not for sure the significance of Boot Hill, which is mostly associated with the final resting place of gunslingers and/or paupers – which did not seem to apply to those markers we viewed.
We could spend considerably more time in this area as there are so many more features and places to explore – hopefully we will be back and stay longer. For the meantime, we have booked one more night before heading back to town.
No comments:
Post a Comment