FROM HERE TO THERE AND BACK: TRAVEL DAY 7

Pueblo

So, today's task was to photograph beautiful Pueblo, Colorado. I never knew or could have imagined the richness of architecture in an old cowboy town, but here it is!

However, first a few words about this big little town.

Trapper named George Simpson and other trappers claimed to have helped construct a camp that became known as El Pueblo or Fort Pueblo around 1842.

Adobe structures were built with the intention of settlements and trade next to the Arkansas River, which then formed the U.S.-Mexico . (Gee, I did not know that about the Arkansas River. Did you? Of course you did... But I have to add that that river popped up in several states as our journey advanced.) About a dozen families lived there, trading with Indian tribes for hides, livestock, as well as (later) cultivated plants.

Pueblo was once a major economic and social center of Colorado. It was considered the “Saddle-Making capital of the World.” Roughly one-third of Pueblo's downtown businesses were lost in a flood in 1921, along with a substantial number of buildings. Pueblo has long struggled to come to grips with this loss, and has only recently begun a resurgence in growth.

And how!

My preplanned purpose for seeing Pueblo was all the wonderful houses and mansions still darning the wide avenues in the affluent part of the town. I do not have much information about many of them, but this one has an interesting "air" about it...

The grandeur of a bygone era awaits you at the Rosemount Museum. The 37-room mansion was built as a private residence in 1893 using the best available materials, from woods to Portuguese tiles to Oriental carpets to Tiffany chandeliers. It was the John Thatcher Family's beloved home for 75 years. This mansion has something extra... it is haunted! Lucky for us the place was not open! I mean, would I admit I would stay out of a gorgeous building like this just because "unknown entities" still reside in the mansion... You see, I would!

More "unknown entities" (mansions):

And some details. I think the Arabian Nights was an Arabian hookah/shisha water pipe smoking place, but that's just my guess. Who knows what they might smoke nowadays...

Cañon City

Cañon City was laid out on January 17, 1858 during the Pikes Peak gold rush as a commercial center for mining in the upper Arkansas River. However, soon the land was abandoned. A new lease on life was given to the town's site in late 1859, and the first building was erected in February 1860.

The town is a popular tourist destination for sightseeing, white-water rafting and rock climbing. Cañon City is noted for being the location of nine state and four federal prisons and penitentiaries.

The most notable structure in town is the Abbey of the Holy Cross in Cañon City is a former monastery of the Order of St. Benedict in the United States. It existed for nearly 120 years, operating such various enterprises as a boarding school for boys and a winery. It is listed on the National Register of Historical places.Like other religious communities in the United States, the abbey saw its numbers prosper during the 1950s and 1960s, only to see a steep decline begin after that. The abbey school was closed in 1985. By the early 2000s, the community was composed of about 20 monks, mostly elderly. In an effort to find a means of income for themselves, in the year 2000 the monks decided to return to the idea of planting a vineyard again. They entrusted the production to a professional viticulturist (I don’t know what it is, either...) who began to produce wine the following year. (Oh, now I get it.)

We did not go in.

Some beautiful details:

Speaking of prisons and penitentiaries, how would you like to call this your home:

Would you still like to call this your home?

Yes, that is the warden's home in town...

But on to more pleasant surroundings.

An this little home, old and a bit out of the usual house tour and a little neglected but nonetheless beautiful. And a clock tower the like of which always awakens my attention due to my intense interest in the bell towers (kellotapulit) in Finland.

Manitou Springs

"Manitou Springs has been the quintessential tourist town since the 1870s, when visitors discovered the healing waters the Ute Indians had been drinking for years. Many of the town's mineral springs still function today and the water is free.”

The town was founded for its scenic setting and natural mineral springs. The downtown area continues to be of interest to travelers, particularly in the summer, as the downtown area consists of many one-story, adjoining, small shops, restaurants, and pubs, as well as a creekside city park with a children's playground made from unusual materials. Among other services, shops cater to tourist interests such as clothing, candy, souvenirs, and outdoor recreation.

The Manitou Cliff Dwellings

The greatest site in this area is the Manitou Cliff Dwellings. "A rare historical treasure, the authentic Manitou cliff dwellings of the Anasazi Indians were built more than 700 years ago. Preserved under a protective red sandstone overhang, you and your family can explore inside each dwelling, touch the sandstone and roam free through these architectural remnants of American Indian culture that roamed the Four Corners of Colorado."

Well, maybe, not so fast...

The Anasazi did not live in the Manitou Springs area, but lived and built their cliff dwellings in the Four Corners area, several hundred miles southwest of Manitou Springs. The Manitou Cliff Dwellings were relocated to their present location in the early 1900s, as a museum, preserve, and tourist attraction. The stones were taken from a collapsed Anasazi site near Cortez in southwest Colorado, shipped by railroad to Manitou Springs, and assembled in their present form as Anasazi-style buildings closely resembling those found in the Four Corners.

Here's another take on this interesting place.

The Miramont Castle

The Miramont Castle located in Manitou Springs was built in 1895-1896 by French-born Catholic priest Father Jean Baptist Francolon as a home for the Montcalme Sanatarium. Today Miramont Castle is owned by the Manitou Springs Historical Society and run as a very popular tourist attraction museum featuring 42 rooms. Here’s another haunted castle for those who are bent that way. Not I, said the little red hen...

Seen on the road: Castle Rock