Welcome to the Wild West - Pt #1: Move Over Cowboys

Colorado is much more than mountains and rugged land, which is all I knew it to be before I went there. But if I thought Vieques was the 'wild west' so to speak, I'm really in for it moving to Colorado! This is true Wild West territory; it was the last frontier for American exploration and settlement (of the contiguous states, that is). Wild animals with precious fur and mountains rich in minerals is why hardy men entered this unforbidding territoy to begin with, but I'm sure it is the beauty of the mountains and the serenity of this landscape that has kept people coming ever since.

"The Old West, often referred to as the Wild West, encompasses the period after the Civil War, the rest of the 1800's, and the early part of the 20th century. During this time, thousands of pioneers pushed their way westward in search of land, better lives, gold and silver, and sometimes, to escape the law. Geographically, the "Old West" applies to those states west of the Mississippi River." [1]

Colorado's history is a heady mix of mountain men, cowboys, Indians, gunslingers and miners, and despite the metropolitan 21st century cities of Denver and Colorado Springs, much of the state still retains a good deal of its old west charm. The buildings and abandoned mines and mills stand as mementos to this era and the vast railroad network that crisscrosses this land is a legacy of the hardships and progress these men (and women) made.

This is conveniently all coming alive for me in the new TV show here in the States on AMC (I think it's playing in Australia too but perhaps on cable) called Hell on Wheels. It centres on the settlement of a camp adjacent to the construction of the first transcontinental railroad in 1865 (specifically, the Union Pacific Railroad). It showcases the company men, surveyors, support workers, labourers, prostitutes, mercenaries and others who populate such settlements and the dramas that arise in a lawless, hostile society such as that. The tensions between the former black slaves and the white men, and also with local Indian population play a major role. From what I've been reading of Colorado's history, it's a great to be able to visualise and personalise the stories, even though this particular railroad never went through Colorado.

I've gotten to know a little about Colorado from the stories and people I've met who currently live here. It's a great outdoors state; much of the countryside remains undeveloped and as it was centuries ago. This breeds a conscious society. Many people go hiking, farmers are environmentally conscious and recycling has long been fashionable. A slogan I've seen about captures these ideals: "cows not condos." But this is all dubiously misleading. On the outset, one would think the state is predominantly liberal, and maybe it's turning that way with the newer generations and the new arrivals that flock here for this reason, but underneath, this place maintains its country roots. For one, hunting is a huge past-time.

But with the lawless days of the Wild West a fond memory, the state is emerging as an interesting mix of hash-cooking hippies and hard-core Republicans, and this clash of ideals is clearly evident in the current political climate of Coloradoans and its emergence as a swing state [2].

A Wide, Wild Landscape:

But let's start with Colorado's geography, because it does play a large role in defining the state and its people. Colorado is considered part of the Western United States and creates the division between east and west with the Continental Divide that runs north to south along the Rocky Mountains which stretch from Canada down to the state of New Mexico. It is the highest state in the US, with an average altitude of 6,800 ft. The State itself contains three distinct landscapes: The Great Plains, The Rocky Mountains, and The Colorado Plateau.

Colorado is best known for its Rocky Mountains but over one third of the state is very flat. East of the Rockies the High Plains (part of the Great Plains) unfold flush to Kansas and beyond. 

If you thought Australia was flat, well this is flat - pancake flat; and predominantly bare, as a result of the semi-arid climate. We drove through this countryside in 2008 towards Denver on Interstate 70, a very uninteresting drive; the only deviation in the monotonous scenery were the oil derricks scattered here and there and a wind farm, all the way across Kansas! But though it appears flat to the naked eye, the landscape rises subtly from approximately 3,500 feet at the eastern border of Colorado to 6,000 feet east of the Denver Basin.

Continuing west across the plains, the slopes of the Rocky Mountains rise magnificently behind Denver, the capital, as if from nowhere. Coming from Kansas you start to see them as little ridges on the horizon and slowly and surreally they form as you continue closer, and then suddenly there they are, in all their glory.

Driving across the High plains towards Denver, the Rockies beginning to rise in the distance

The Rocky Mountains of are a magnificent mountain range and the Colorado Rockies contain approximately 54 peaks14,000 feet (4,267 m) or higher in elevation above sea level (known as fourteeners). These are 'mountains' in the pure sense of the word; mountains that stay snow-covered all year round and who's peaks are bald and jagged like their namesake (tree-line stops at about 12,140 feet (3,700 m) in southern Colorado and about 10,500 feet (3,200 m) in the north). 

The Rockies form the backbone of the continent. Over 30 million years old, their peaks have been carved by glacial ice into "cirques", "hanging valleys" and knife-edged "arêtes." [Insight Guides: Colorado]



The Switzerland of America: Maroon Bells near Aspen. Source

The Canadian Rockies get all the attention in Australia, but although I haven't seen the Canadian Rockies, I can't imagine they are any better than what I have seen of the Colorado Rockies, especially since the 30 highest major summits of the range all lie within the state. However:

"The Canadian Rockies are more jagged than the American Rockies, because the Canadian Rockies have been very heavily glaciated, resulting in sharply pointed mountains separated by wide, U-shaped valleys gouged by glaciers, whereas the American Rockies are more rounded, with river-carved V-shaped valleys between them. The Canadian Rockies are cooler and wetter, giving them moister soil, bigger rivers, and more glaciers [and] the tree line is much lower in the Canadian Rockies than in the American Rockies." [4]

West of the Rocky Mountains is the Colorado Plateau which flows into Utah, New Mexico and Arizona. It is largely dessert with scattered forest characterised by valleys, deep canyons and mesas (this is where the Grand Canyon of Arizona, and the other wonderful formations in Utah, such as Bryce Canyon and Zion, are found). This north to south area west of the Rockies in Colorado is commonly known as the Western Slope. It is sparsely populated with only 2 major centres, Grand Junction and Durango, though there are many ski towns along this region, such as Telluride, Vail and Aspen. To the southeast of Grand Junction is the Grand Mesa, said to be the world's largest flat-topped mountain.

 

From One Extreme To The Other: The Continuing Story

So yes, we're becoming Innkeepers and uprooting to a new place and situation again. And we're taking another leap of faith even if Puerto Rico didn't turn out quite like we'd expected. But you have to take risks to get to where you want to be, and we've lived and we've learned, and for sure, this time we won't be taken for the same ride.

We began to feel that was happening to a certain degree quite quickly in Vieques, bet a security deposit and the lure of a long-term house-sitting reference reeled us back in when circumstances screamed at us "run, run now!" (Those feelings were confirmed by the drama we had in retrieving our deposit at the end of our assignment, but by that time we finally learnt how to play the game).

Winter Park Chateau B&B

This time will be different because nothing is going to hold us back from running if we need to. Firstly, not much money invested to get there, just a cheap plane ticket from Alabama. Secondly, we've met the husband, Greg, of the husband and wife team that own the B&B, and spoke to Laura, the wife, on the phone. The feeling we got from talking to them both was a lot different from the one we got from contact with the owner in Puerto Rico (but which we brushed aside for the excitement of the experience). Thirdly, we're actually going to be making some money - a little bit different from the bumming around we've been doing, or were supposed to be doing. In Vieques we were supposed to work only enough to cover room and board but it turned out to be a little more on the work and a little less on the board at times.

This new endeavour is actually going to yield us some dividends, along with room and board - plus benefits. The experience is going to be really beneficial to us in the future; this is a direction we've been wanting to take for a while. With all the couchsurfing and hosting we've done, we decided meeting people and making sure they have a good time was a lot of fun - and why not get paid for it! This job will entail looking after, or helping to look after, all aspects of the Bed and Breakfast (B&B): from playing host, to handling reservations, to house-keeping and cooking breakfast. Nothing we can't do (if I can handle those early morning starts!). We'll get great experience and be able to decide if it's as good as it sounds.

And if it doesn't turn out as expected? We can always get the hell out of there!

We may not know what we're in for at the B&B in terms of living conditions (but we're told we get out own area with bedroom and bathroom, and there is even a kitchen, a balcony and cable TV!), work conditions (approx 40hrs a week between the both of us) or general fit with the owners who will be there a lot of the time, but we will know the town and area we are going to live in this time; and that's big, because in the case of Vieques, pictures can lie.

Chase, my husband, knows Winter Park and the Rocky Mountains very well; he lived there for a while during his single years and has always revered it as his favourite place on Earth - besides New Zealand. We've tried New Zealand (earlier this year, and I starting blogging about that too here), which was awesome but turned out to be wrong timing, so now it's a great opportunity to try Colorado together and see what that holds for us.


New Zealand, another mountainous place

We're are excited about living in a town we know will be lovely despite the weather (me) or because of it (Chase). Okay, so I'm not really a fan of the cold, but I'm drawn for a number of reasons that will help make it more enjoyable: first of all, the frustrating cold can be forgotten once the first dusting of picture-perfect snow hits the ground turning the place into that clichéd, but true, winter wonderland.  

Aspen, 2008

Secondly, Chase tells me it's a dry cold, which when the sun is shining (as he assures me it does often), it won't bite at you, like say, an Alabama winter, or even an Australian winter. It doesn't get nearly as cold in Australia, for sure, but it feels it and then without snow it's just dreary. And did I mention not having to leave the house to go to work! None of that freezing-your-butt-off while cranking the car in the morning and trying to scrape ice of the wind-shield. In fact, we shouldn't even need a car, at least during the winter with the free resort shuttle running all over town and almost everything in walking distance anyhow.

The other reasons to head here are more obvious: a picturesque mountain setting and complimentary architecture, and the lure of hiking and seeing wild animals in the summer.

And after spending 6 months in the tropics I'm ready for a change - a big change. Holidaying might be fun in the tropics, but living is no easy task. Mosquitoes, bugs, dripping-sweat heat, rust, mould, hard-as-a-brick sugar and chips that soften within minutes of opening! That is not fun.
But while Winter Park and Vieques are worlds apart, they have some similarities. Like Vieques, Winter Park is small and tourist-driven, and both have aspects of isolation.

But how both places address each of these similarities, I'm confident to say, will differ exponentially!

Firstly, the people of Vieques didn't seem too thrilled to have visitors despite them supplying most of the only real income coming into that little island. Winter Park's economy is also based around vacation and adventure, which I'll delve more into in a proceeding post, but tourist-focused or not, we'll definitely be in America now - the land of overwhelmingly diligent consumer attentiveness (commission anyone?), and whether genuine or not, I'm looking forward to being in a place that seems happy to see people and willing to go out of their way to help you. (I must add, we did experience that a little more of that on the mainland of Puerto Rico, but Vieques is a parallel universe).

 

Similarly both towns have barriers that make it hard to get in and out, but while for Vieques it is the sea, for Winter Park it is the mountains. Unbelievably enough, the mountains have proved an easier barrier to break than the sea it seems. While it should be very easy to cross the 8 miles (13km) of water that separates Vieques from the mainland, the boats became almost non-existent by the end of our term there, 7 out of 8 vessels having worked their way into disrepair; and even the one boat left working seemed to be a gamble as to when and where it went (having to also service the other nearby island of Culebra). While it was quicker to fly (the ferry chugged slowly across the straight in no less than an hour one way), flights were also cumbersome, expensive and had limited seating.

Thankfully, the road has already been explored and carved from Denver to Winter Park up through those precarious mountains; now a luxurious four-lane highway, not quite a 2 hour drive, separates the two (snow forbidding). And if you don't have your own car, there's Amtrack and even a bus service to the town.

I do feel a sense of claustrophobia enclosed by all those mountains, but knowing Denver is in easy reach makes it bearable. Also, I'm sure I won't get that fish-bowl feeling I had on Vieques - for starters, so many more shops and so much more variety: cafes, restaurants, a library, even a movie theatre! And most importantly: fresh produce - something surprisingly lacking on that tropical island we just came from.

So I'm ready to try this new venture and see how I like it. Come find out on my all new rocky-mountain-high adventure!


*Author's Note: Spelling is Australian English, for those that think there's u's where there shouldn't be.