Colorado Part 2 - Hike to the Old Homestead

This is a continuation of:

Christmas in Colorado - Part 1
http://eventingakhaltekes.blogspot.com/2011/12/christmas-in-colorado-part-1.html

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This afternoon we took a hike into the mountains surrounding our rental house in Carbondale, CO... and discovered something fascinating. The owners told us there was a trail on public land we could access just up the road... so we set off to see where it would take us. It was a beautifully sunny Colorado day, and even though the temps were in the twenties, it wasn't long before we could take off our jackets and soak up some Vitamin D. 

From left to right: my brother (Dale), sister (Sophie), and my mother (Debbo). 

These are my youngest and eldest brothers: Dale (left) and Garr (right). 

As we climbed higher, we went through tall scrub oak which encircled the trail like a tunnel. 

And then... we knew we had found something interesting when we came to this high valley and noticed this bit of barbed wire fencing. 

An old homestead! 

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There were multiple structures... including a barn, at least two tiny cabins, and a root cellar.

Here's a loading shoot buit into the side of the barn. 

The roofs were collapse... but the log walls were still holding strong. 

A testament to their sturdy construction! 

Here's a mysterious structure whose purpose eluded us. From afar it looked like the entrance to an old mine... but as we got closer, we discovered this wasn't the case. 

Pieces of sheet metal and fencing were laid across wood beams to construct the roof, which appeared to have originally been covered in dirt. The structure itself was built into a large pit and the roof was level with the ground up above. 

There was bark hanging from the beams... the trees that grow in these mountains are primarily junipers and small pines. This was the only building with the roof structure still intact... perhaps it was built more recently... or because it was fortified with scrap metal and protected with earth. 

I took this photo from inside, looking up at my brother who was standing on the ground at the edge of the pit. 

Here you can see how the roof was built... amazingly, with lumps of sod still in place! 

This cabin had a hole in one wall for a chimney, and one tiny window. We noticed the walls had sheet metal lining the inside... and wondered if it was mainly to block the wind, or keep out rodents? 

As we continued to explore... we found some old cans, shot up with bullet holes. 

The one that Dale is holding in the photo above was very old... 

Whereas this one was from the not-so-distant past... Pirouline cookies!

(Unidentifiable!)

And this looked like the cook stove that belonged to the cabin with sheet metal walls... a sacrificed for the "shooting range." This must have been an easy target... perhaps best for when they'd had a few too many beers! 

We headed home just as the sun was slipping behind the mountains... a daily occurrence which turns the air cold and the light dim by 4:30 every afternoon.  

Tomorrow we are headed to the tiny town of Marble, CO... 

and hopefully, hot springs!