| Author | Message | ||
     Sfarson |
Placed this elsewhere, but thought my fellow and adventurous ULY riders would enjoy. It's a ride report developed over many years, in more ways than one. Finding where the photographer stood a long time ago. Then and now. I didn't always get it right... rushed pics, different lens, and other excuses, but hey, there was always a bike pausing nearby or idling underneath! They do, or can, cause moments of reflection. Oh, FWIW, some of these are in the book "Complete Guide to Motorcycling Colorado" found many places, including Amazon. The mining community of Apex in the late 1800's, having a 4th of July parade...  Apex today, a semi-ghost town about five miles NW of Central City...  Bonanza, as in "It's a bonanza boys!" flared when a rich gold vein was discovered nearby. President Ulysses S. Grant visited upon reports Bonanza could be the next Leadville...  The gold was mined and fires swept through the close proximity structures (A common fate of many frontier towns... wood heat, wood structures, no 911)...  Tracks were laid over the Boreas Pass summit to haul ores from Leadville to Denver...  The tracks were pulled up in the 1930's, and in the 1950's a road was placed on the old rail bed. Riding friend Rick cheesily agreed to place himself where the train was...  The Cathedral Spires along the North Fork of the South Platte...  Two rails then, two wheels today...  The pastoral Dedisse Ranch above Evergreen...  That pastoral Bear Creek above would turn demonic when its raging waters would crash through towns below after heavy rains. The dam creating Evergreen Lake had me off to the side for the "now" pic...  The Bradford Junction community in the late 1800's would gather at this ranch for all things social... dances, celebrations, etc. Perhaps this was a July 4th gathering. Bring your best attire was often the unstated rule...  Today, busy U.S. 285 passes by the same place near the town of Conifer. Had the elevated highway not been present, could have relocated for a better comparison...  Gold Hill is the location of one of Colorado's earliest gold strikes. An image from around 1890...  In a way, not a lot has changed. Well, there are more trees... less need to cut down the nearby woods for structures and heat. Colorado's oldest continuously operating school is here. The massive Four Mile wildfire of September 2010 licked the edges of the town off to the left, but a valiant firefighting effort spared the historical buildings. If you have a BBQ sandwich at the general store, a pot bellied stove is a main source of the heat and the bathroom is about the size of your coat closet...  A thrilling road just for owners of new fangled cars was built above Golden around 1920...  Today the Lookout Mountain road thrills for owners of two wheeled transportation devices. The sun kindly obliged and a rider was caught just in time on the far left...  Marshall Pass about 70 years ago...  And today...  An 1890's hacked out road just south of Ouray...  Today's famed Million Dollar Highway...  Cripple Creek and Victor pumped out so much gold, the amount was greater than the California and Alaska gold rushes combined. Back then Victor had a population of 5,000...  Today about 400 call Victor home. Most downtown structures are empty...  | ||
| Portero72 |
Brilliant! | ||
| Orangeulius |
Awesome! | ||
| Roam |
Very cool.Excellent idea. | ||
| Davegess |
cool | ||
| Rays |
Nice work.  | ||
| Dcc46 |
Very Cool, Thanks for posting  | ||
| Thesmaz |
Very Cool!! I've been to most of those places but never thought to do the research behind some of them. Great pic and work digging up the old photos. | ||
| Motorbike |
Nice work! That is such a cool idea. You must have done a lot of research to put this all together. Thanks for sharing the great pics! | ||
| Balloyd66 |
Really neat reason to take a ride around my locale. Thanks for the post. | ||
| Buellerxt |
SUPER post,Sfarson! Thank you. Very enjoyable. | ||
| Sfarson |
Kind thoughts all. Reflections do have their way with me, especially when I see people from the past, as if then was their time on the great stage of life, and now we're up on the stage before our act closes. May we say our lines well and with gusto. A few more... In the late 1800's the townsite of Tarryall, on the magical Tarryall Road (County 77 - Park County) sprang to life with nearby gold and silver deposits... but it wasn't a long "sprang". The town also went by the unflattering name of "graball". Guess the merchants, tradesmen, middlemen, etc. charged or took whatever they could from the miners. The nearby county seat was named "Fairplay" because we "play fair" with the miners. The "garden spot" of Tarryall in the 1880's...  A riding friend and I wandered all over the place trying to find the location of the above...  Back when inmates were sentenced to "hard labor", the nearby residents at the Canon City Territorial Prison constructed this amusement park like road called Skyline Drive.  I found the photo above after taking the photo below. If ever in the Canon City area, ride this thing. The one way road with its blind rises will leave you with your stomach in your throat if you gas it a bit!  Quite the scene in Idaho Springs at the turn of the last century as the ore teams prepared to head to the mines in the morning...  Lunchtime is when the community nowadays often sees the most activity. If there was something to stand on other than a pick-up truck bumper, could have gotten higher!...  Explorer John C. Fremont discovered the pass containing his name in the 1840's...  That's 14,148 ft. Mt. Democrat in the distance guarding the SW corner of this broad and airy riding pass...  1901 Labor Day Celebration in Eldora...  A striking contrast from today...  | ||
| Motorbike |
I have driven on that Skyline Drive in Canon City, in a rented minivan..... My wife and kids would not join me for that. I liked it so well that I went around and drove through a second time. That would really be fun on the Buell! | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Very well done. | ||
| Etennuly |
Thank you for the time and effort you put into this thread. A welcome winter sight. | ||
| Thumper1203 |
Wow.. I REALLY enjoyed this thread, Sfarson! thanks for sharing!  | ||
| Fltwistygirl |
Love stuff like this. Thanks for sharing! B. | ||
| Brucespoint |
Dammit! Now I'm going to Have'ta Buy Your Book! And I only Pass thru Colorado! Do have a Good friend who lives there... One Book Recommendation Coming Up! Good Job, Keep up the Work! b.  | ||
| Mad_doctor |
It's been a while since I've been to Colorado, And that makes me want to go back! Great job | ||
| Motorfish |
Great thread! Love Colorado. | ||
| Bluzm2 |
Way cool! BTW Skyline on a Buell IS fun! | ||
| Dynasport |
Man, I love this thread! Great job. Inspirational. Living in Florida, I'm not sure I could match old and new locations using geography as a guide as so much of it is so similar. Still makes me want to try. Off topic, I will be going through Colorado this September. I am taking a coast to coast trip. I wish I would have more time to smell the roses (or rocks as may be the case) but I'll have to keep moving most of the time. I am going to ride the Million Dollar Road and Pike's Peak though. | ||
| 7873jake |
Steve (SFarson) doesn't show up often to post but when he does, I've learned to pay attention! He's posted some photos & ride videos in the past that were awesome as well. This thread has a great M2 wallpaper shot and several great Uly wallpaper shots (that M2 shot made me really want an M2 of my own). http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/142 838/611325.html Like this thread, I often end up forwarding links back to his pictures or videos posted here to about a dozen or more people outside of BadWeb. Thanks again, as so many have already said, for posting these. | ||
| Paint_shaker |
That's some cool stuff right there!! | ||
| Sfarson |
Thanks Jake, everyone else, and motorbike... riding Skyline Drive twice! Just like getting off an amusement park ride and running to the line to get on again.  Ahhh, fellow enthusiasts! If no objection, another batch... The well attended Boulder Falls in Boulder Canyon with well attended to men sitting still for the cam...  The Falls were closed to stabilize the rocks and hillside behind me, so I looked left and right and snuck in for a pic with no one present...  Platoro was a flare and fade mining community in deep southern Colorado...  Today, it mostly sees residents in the summer. While not observable in this pic, the South San Juan Wilderness abounds in all directions. The Uly would be eager for this area. Forest Road 250 winds through it all, and it is a truly magical place that will put you in a I-have-no-words-to-say trance...  Russell Gulch is another boom and bust town. During boom times over a thousand lived here...  Today during bust times it is hardly populated with people, but it is populated with old and empty and small miners cabins...  If you hopped off the train in St. Elmo in 1878, this is how you might have been greeted...  If you rode in today...  And after walking through town and looking back in 1880...  And doing the same today...  When roads were created for autos around 1910-1920, there was a craze to go on group "drives". We can relate with our two wheeled things eh? This is Bear Creek Canyon west of Denver. How would you like to be going the opposite direction?  At the mouth of Bear Creek Canyon then...  Bear Creek Canyon now...  When fires swept through communities back then, seriously, little could be done. Many towns saw flames pass through more than once. The Cripple Creek fire of 1896. Dang...  Hey, let's start building more often with brick. Early 1900's...  And 110 years later. I should actually be a few feet forward...  | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Enjoyed immensely. Love the before and after stuff. If you have more, keep them coming. Thanks. | ||
| Buellerxt |
I'm right with Eglider, Sfarson! You do GOOD work, Man! Thanks for thinking of us and taking the time and effort to post. Much appreciated. | ||
| Sharkguy |
Wow! Thanks for that. The wife and I rode some of that area on our bikes five or six years ago. I didn't know skyline drive was that old! Cool area. | ||
| Big_jim |
Wow, thank you. Great photography and research. I moved from Minnesota to Cripple Creek 14 years ago, to ride and explore. If any of you pass thru Cripple Creek, stop and say hello at Big Jim's. A great, free burger awaits. | ||
| Motorbike |
OK, that does it. I'm heading for Colorado right now. Yeah, I wish. Beautiful scenery, a great, free burger, it don't get much better than that! Man I really need to plan a trip West. |
