Making Tracks in Southeastern Colorado
By Marcy Hege, Managing Editor
Photos by Joe Hege

(Editor’s Note: In early May, Hege and her husband traveled to Colorado as guests of the Colorado Office of Tourism. Last month, Hege wrote about the city of Pueblo. This month, she writes on the other areas of southeastern Colorado that were a part of their trip.)

After our lunch at Gus’ Place and a visit to Gagliano’s Italian Store, we literally piled our luggage and bodies into a van that would be our “wheels” for the next few days. With Maggie as co-pilot/guide and John as our driver, we headed southeast to the John Martin Reservoir, known by bird watchers as an excellent destination to add to their lists of “sightings.” Many migratory and resident birds include the plover and tern. The afternoon was overcast and even though it was early May, the winds were piercingly cold. We kept our trek to the bird blind amazing short and did most of our “birding” in the warm comfort of the van. During the warmer months, the reservoir is a hotbed of water activities and fishing.

Next stop was Lamar, a small agricultural town. Our evening activities included a dress rehearsal of the town’s famous square dance teams and dinner with at the Community Center. The Lamar square dance groups provide the entertainment for national dance conventions and it seemed as though almost everyone in the town was a member of the teams. Ages ranged from elementary to those well past the baby boomer years with each age group class having a different costume.

We had been scheduled for a pre-dawn outing to catch the mating dance of the Lesser Prairie Chicken but the inclement weather gave us a chance to “sleep-in.” Our itinerary was changed so our driver picked us up at 7am for a visit to Amache, an internment camp that served as home to more than 10,000 Japanese during the World War II years. Abandoned for decades, the camp is being restored by the local high school students and many of the area’s residents. Only traces of the foundations remain for the hundreds of buildings in the camp. A memorial garden and marker stands as the reminder of those who died while confined to the camp. Another memorial honors those of Japanese ancestry who died while serving in the United States military during World War II.

Our morning continued with breakfast at Chez Duval, a restaurant jewel in Granada. During breakfast, we heard stories from Fred, a local icon who had been scheduled as our guide for the canceled early-morning prairie chicken viewing. Then, we were back in the van for the ride to Boggsville and Bents Old Fort.

Boggsville, on the banks of the Arkansas River, was one of the first settlements in southeastern Colorado. Located on the Santa Fe Trail, it was home to Kit Carson during his later years. Today, restoration efforts and archaeological research are the main activities on this once thriving ranch.

Bent's Old Fort

Next stop was Bent’s Old Fort, the only major permanent white settlement on the Santa Fe Trail. Originally built in 1833, the fort was the major hub of fur trading activities and a rest stop for those pioneers with destinations farther west. After 16 years of operation, the post was abandoned. Over the years, nature took its toll on the adobe construction. With no more than a barren site and diaries of those who were visitors to the fort, a major restoration/rebuilding project led to the fort’s reincarnation. Today, guarded by peacocks, the fort offers living history tours and provides a glimpse back to the fur trading days. Peacocks were used to warn the fort of incoming visitors since dogs were considered “lunch on a rope” by wildlife and Indians living nearby. Evidence of the fort’s social activities included the billiards room where only men of upper social status were allowed.

With another destination still on the day’s list, we packed into the van and headed to La Junta and the Koshare Indian Kiva Museum. Founded by Buck Burshears, the Museum was built in 1949 by a Boy Scout Troop and is a registered historical site of the Colorado Historical Society. Koshare is not an Indian tribe but an integral part of the Pueblo Indian culture. The Koshare, dressed in black and white stripes, served as a cultural guide for the community during dances, showing unacceptable behavior and offering entertainment. Burshears felt the name would be appropriate for his scouts who performed the ritual dances of several local tribes. Over the years, almost 600 of the troop’s members have achieved Eagle status.

Dancers at the Kiva Museum

As guests at the Kiva, a special performance of the dancers was scheduled. These dancers make their own costumes and perform a variety of intricate dances including the fire dance. Respectful of the Native Americans and their rituals, the troop only performs dances with the approval from the local tribe elders. Spellbinding is the best description I can give of their performance.

Although I had tried to “do my homework” before the trip, I was unprepared for the extensive collection of Native American art and artifacts on display in the Koshare Museum. Collections of pottery, beadwork, paintings, sacred pipes, sculptures and artifacts are artfully displayed. One could spend the better portion of a week examining and admiring the collections. Unfortunately, we were scheduled for a dinner with local leaders at the community college for a presentation on La Junta history and restoration plans. It was difficult to empathize with our hosts when dinner conversation turned to traffic and parking problems in downtown. You see, La Junta’s population is beginning to reach 8,000! We finally ended a very long day by returning to our hotel around 11pm. Thank goodness we missed the early morning prairie chicken sighting!

Breakfast on Sunday was at the Copper Kitchen in downtown La Junta. Our presence was of little note since the locals were all abuzz about a recent visit by Alton Brown of the FoodTV series “Good Eats.” The series, “Feasting on Asphalt” is scheduled to air in late July. Friendly folks offering small-town allure and great food are welcome attributes for this traveler. But, it was once again, time to board the van and check off another item on our itinerary.

Picketwire Canyonlands

Picketwire Canyonlands, a part of the Comanche National Grasslands, was our next destination. Maintained by the U. S. Forest Service, it is an extremely remote and pristine area with very little signage or markings. We were met by Forest Service staff, a paleontologist and an archaeologist to begin our excursion down to the largest (more than 1,300 imprints) dinosaur tracksite in North America. Luckily, we rode over the rocky terrain for what would have taken most of the day if we had traveled by foot. Auto tours (using your own four-wheel drive vehicle) are available to the public in May, June, September and October.

At the site’s entrance, we waded through the Purgatorie River to access the tracksite. Picketwire Canyon got its name when the Anglo settlers could not properly pronounce Purgatorie, the name given to the river by French trappers. History tells us that one group of Spanish soldiers died in the canyon without a priest to offer last rites, the souls of those explorers were left to wander in Purgatory, being unable to enter Heaven. The full Spanish name of the river was El Rio de Las Animas Perdidas en Purgatorio (the River of Souls Lost in Purgatory). Looking at the desolation of the Picketwire Canyon, I had to wonder why the river wasn’t named Hades or a four-letter word that starts with an “H.”

Toy dinosaurs placed next to a “real” footprint.

Once we made it to the dinosaur tracksite, I was in awe of these impressions left more than 150 millions of years ago when the area was a subtropical lake. Made in lime-concentrated mud, the tracks were filled with sediment and solidified over the eons. The waters of the river have eroded the top layers of rock to expose these fascinating tracks. For dinosaur enthusiasts, a visit to this area is a must!

We also had a chance to see some of the prehistoric rock art carved into the canyon’s rock walls. We trekked a couple of hundred yards up one side of the canyon (avoiding tree cactus and on the lookout for scorpions) to view these drawings made by prehistoric men. With a bit of imagination, you could envision hunters seeking shelter behind the massive rocks as they waited for antelope or other prey to come within the reach of their spears and arrows. Exhausted, the van was a welcome respite. On our way out of the Canyonlands, we were lucky enough to spot a herd of antelope on the plains.

Final destination for the day was Trinidad, only 13 miles from the New Mexico border. You could tell you were in Trinidad by simply looking up to a nearby mountain and seeing the Hollywood-like letters proclaiming the town’s name. Our evening schedule included a visit to the A. R. Mitchell Museum. Located in a restored department store in downtown Trinidad, the museum showcases Mitchell’s cowboy and Western life paintings and drawings. Mitchell’s work graced the covers of many cowboy magazines He was exclusively involved in Trinidad’s early historic preservation efforts. The Trinidad History Museum is one such effort. We toured the Baca House and the Bloom House and Gardens during our short stay in town. One word of warning for those visiting Trinidad, many of the town’s homes and buildings are still home to ghosts from the city’s past.

The world's largest tile tapestry.

One our way out of town, we viewed the world’s largest tile tapestry in the Mt. San Rafael Hospital lobby, a work depicting the history of Trinidad created by one of the local nuns. It was a truly fascinating display of devotion and talent.

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