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Colorado Homes by
David Martinek
Featuring mountain homes and land in the Pikes Peak and Ute Pass region, as well as in South Park and the headwaters area of the Arkansas River.
For a quick shortcut to view real estate properties currently for sale, click "FIND YOUR DREAM HOME" in the blue box to the upper right. Then click "REQUEST INFO" in the top menu and send me an email about any properties you found.
The Wildflower Excursions
The train left in the early morning. For a nominal ticket price of a dollar passengers climbed aboard with packed lunches and baskets for the journey. They were embarking on a "wildflower excursion." From the onset of rail service through the central Rockies in 1886 until its demise in 1918, the Colorado Midland railroad frequently operated day trips from Colorado Springs up Ute Pass and all the way to South Park to gather wildflowers. The trips attracted tourists and local residents alike and were quite popular. Often a professional photographer accompanied the passengers and made exposures along the way. Later, the pictures were offered to the patrons for a modest fee.
Passengers boarded the trains at Colorado City, just west of Colorado Springs, about 8:00 am. The first part of the trip involved slowly chugging up Ute Pass, stopping at every little town and village along the way to pick up additional passengers, drop off the mail or fill engine boiler tanks with fresh water - towns like Manitou Springs, Cascade, Ute Park (now Chipita Park), Woodland Park (then Manitou Station), Divide and Florissant. Beyond Florissant, the land opened up into Park County and the trees became more scarce. At Lake George the train snaked through Eleven Mile Canyon and finally stopped at the little settlement of Spinney in the southeast corner of the South Park valley.
The remains of Spinney are now at the bottom of the Eleven Mile Reservoir. Completed in 1932 after two years of construction at a cost of only $1.5 million, Eleven Mile Reservoir stands 135 feet above the South Platte River that meanders through the South Park valley like an undulating serpent. The six-mile long reservoir is the second largest water retention basin in the state and one of the largest bodies of water in Colorado east of the Continental Divide. The reservoir has a surface area of 3,405 acres and 23.9 miles of shoreline. It sits at 8600 feet of elevation.
Twenty years before the canyon was flooded, the wildflower excursion trains reached Spinney around noon and disembarked their passengers to eat their lunches, pick flowers, hike and enjoy the sites of the canyon.
In the early afternoon they started back, stopping at Edlowe just west of Woodland Park, the last stop before heading down the treacherous incline of Ute Pass to Colorado City. Some of the best wildflower fields reportedly existed at Edlowe, including Indian Patinbrushes, Columbines and other varieties. The Edlowe stop was strategic because no one wanted to return home with wilted flowers.
Today, the railroads are gone and Spinney is silent beneath the waves of Eleven Mile Reservoir, but the wildlflowers are still here, waiting in perpetual beauty for the next present-day admirer. It could be you.
Sources: Various internet sources and Mel McFarland - local railroad historian, author and columnist.
Note: During the Colorado Midland Railroad's 30 year history, it conducted a variety of "excursions" along its rail route - including wildflower trips at various locations, as well as excursions to prominent natural features such as Hell Gate, the Frying Pan valley and other landscapes and attractions.
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YOUR ONLINE REALTOR
Let me help you find a mountain home or land in several central Colorado regions, including: COLORADO SPRINGS; the PIKE PEAK and UTE PASS communities in TELLER COUNTY (i.e., Woodland Park, Divide, Florissant and the gold camps of Cripple Creek/Victor); the South Platte River basin in PARK COUNTY (generally in South Park from Guffey to Bailey, and from Lake George west); and the communities and areas up and down the headwaters of the Arkansas River in CHAFFEE and LAKE counties(namely, Buena Vista, Twin Lakes, Granite and historic Leadville).
If you need real estate information, or if you just have a question, please contact me using the inquiry functions of this site (go to Request Info in the top main menu), or call or email using my contact information below:
Tel: 800.905.3811, ext. 1516; or 719.687.1516
Primary Email: davidmartinek@1stchoicerealtycb.com
Alternate Email: martinekCB1CR@yahoo.com
To read my bio and review my ten personal real estate policies which guide my conduct as a Realtor, please click "About" in the top menu above.
EXPLORE MY WEBSITE
Once you get past the home page, my website reveals a host of information.
Under the AREA INFO tab you will find local information about the Pikes Peak/Ute Pass communities, schools and weather.
Under the ADDITIONAL INFO tab you will see a variety of interesting sources, including several links to area attractions and other favorite sites; a collection of Colorado photos (and photos from across the USA); useful pages listing area restaurants, churches and important telephone numbers; a complete archive of all my monthly Pikes Peak Country newsletters; a blog of stories; and numerous pages of complementary real estate information.
The LINKS tab rounds out a lengthy list of other important websites about the Front Range and Pikes Peak/Ute Pass area.
Each month, I publish and distribute by email a newsletter called PIKES PEAK COUNTRY which features stories about the region, as well as a sample buyers' guide of homes and properties currently for sale. Send me your email address if you would like to receive monthly issues directly.
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Updated 6/16/08. Copyright 2008 by Albert D. Martinek. All rights reserved.
Photo: Pikes Peak by D. Martinek
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