Was hoping for a little sun today, and it was trying to make a presence, but the clouds have an affection for the highest of places when there is moisture in the air. Pointed the Road King towards nearby Kenosha Pass, bringing the camera. Usually prefer the sun for images, but you know, the black bike kinda fit in well with the leaden clouds and snow laden peaks.
A cold, moody ride up high to a lonely area. Early spring in the Rockies. Lunch in a small and unchanged town in South Park.
In 1885 here was Kenosha Pass. Image by famed photographer William Henry Jackson... Denver Public Library, Western History Collection, CHS.J3535:
The peaks to the right above are the ones in the image below. The RK is paying homage to the history of South Park down below, a history including vast herds of bison, rich indian hunting grounds, and mining. Big time wilderness remains in many places here...
Made it to the very small town of Jefferson in the Park, where I will have lunch, but first going to take a couple of pics. Until 1938, the only way into the Park was by narrow gauge train. From the Denver Public Library, Western History Collection, X-9573:
The Jefferson Depot today. We turn right here to take two pics down the Michigan Creek road.
Focused on this spur of the Mosquito Range. Bike kinda fuzzy. Bald Mountain (13,684ft) is the backdrop. The Continental Divide goes over these ridgelines. Moisture on this side makes its way to the Gulf of Mexico. Moisture on the other side will flow to the Pacific. It is getting cold.
Further down the road is Mt. Silverheels (13,822). Snow falling up high is blending the peak with the sky. The mountain was named after a caring woman who looked after sick miners. See the tale below following the image...
The residents of Buckskin Joe weren't all miners, of course, and there were certainly women to be found. One of these women was a dancehall girl known both for her beauty and for the distinctive silver shoes that she wore while performing. She was one of the more popular girls among the miners and probably made pretty decent money. Because of the color of her shoes, she was known popularly as "Silverheels."
1861 was a big year in Buckskin Joe. In addition to getting a new courthouse, the town was hit hard by a smallpox epidemic. Letters begging for help were sent to Denver, but little came. A good portion of the citizenry skipped town fairly quickly, but most of the miners decided to remain behind and risk infection because they feared claim jumpers. For many, this proved to be a fatal mistake.
Hope for the miners came in the person of Silverheels, who stayed by the stricken miners' sides, caring for them the best she could. In addition to nursing the miners, she also helped by cooking and cleaning for them while they were ill. Through her efforts, a number of men who might otherwise have died were saved. Unfortunately for Silverheels, the constant exposure to the disease eventually caused her to contract it as well. She was placed in the infirmary with many of the miners, and managed to beat the disease.
The miners she had worked so hard to save took up a collection that they hoped to give to Silverheels to thank her for helping them. After raising $5,000, they went to her cabin to deliver their gift, only to discover that Silverheels was nowhere to be found. One version of the story says that all that was there was a pair of her silver shoes sitting on the table. She is said to have fled because the scars from the smallpox had scarred her beautiful face.
The money was returned, but the miners decided to name a prominent nearby peak in her honor: Mount Silverheels.
It is said that many years later, after the mines had been exhausted and the town mostly died, a mysterious veiled woman would sometimes be seen placing flowers on the gravestones of the victims of the 1861 smallpox epidemic. And some people say that even today you can see the ghostly figure of a veiled woman walking through the Buckskin Joe cemetary, placing flowers on the graves of the friends that she wasn't able to save. How about that Silverheels story? OK, lunchtime! And here's the five star place... the Jefferson Market off of Hwy 285. Hey, there isn't a lot to chose from here! Paid a visit to the Port-a-Let. Man am I glad #1 doesn't require sitting down. With gear and chaps on. On a cold day. Do you know what I mean? Microwaved a burrito. Mmmmm
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Topic: The CVO Up High Where It is Cold and Gray (Read 4103 times)