The tourist in search of grand and beautiful scenery finds an
embarrassment of riches in Colorado. Among so many attractions he is
at a loss which to choose, and having made a choice, he is frequently
troubled with doubts as to the wisdom of his selection. Recognizing
this fact, the Passenger Department of the Denver & Rio Grande
Railroad, after a careful and thoughtful discussion of the situation,
has decided to make a selection of a tour that shall embrace the most
varied and picturesque scenery to be found on the line of any railroad
in the world, included in a single trip, at a moderate cost. The
excursion "Around the Circle" presents all these advantages. It can be
made comfortably in four days, and no portion of the journey has to be
retraced, thus affording constant variety and keeping the interest of
the tourist pleasurably excited to the end. It is a remarkable fact
that this journey, if pursued in the line laid down in the following
pages, is cumulative in its character. Like a well-constructed
drama, the interest grows stronger and stronger with each stage of
its progress, until the final scene, which is an overpowering climax
of grandeur and majesty. The points of interest on the trip "Around
the Circle" are practically innumerable. The observing tourist will
discover many beauties and attractions which are not described by the
writer. No attempt has been made to include all that is worthy of
mention. Only those scenes which are of transcendent interest have
been touched upon, and in the pages which follow, the reader will
only obtain a bird's-eye view of the tour. This being the case, the
tourist can readily imagine what pleasure lies before him. In this
instance distance does not lend enchantment to the view. To penetrate
the heart of the majestic mountains, to cross and re-cross the great
Rocky Range, to gaze with breathless awe into the defiles of abysmal
chasms, and to behold with reverent, upturned eyes the ancient summits
of heaven-defying snow-crowned peaks, are privileges that familiarity
can never make commonplace nor belittle. Such privileges are granted
to the tourists "Around the Circle," and with full confidence that he
who takes the journey: will find his brightest anticipations more than
realised, this little book is placed before him.
[Illustration: SEVEN FALLS--CHEYENNE CAÑON.]
"AROUND THE CIRCLE."
The journey "Around the Circle" on the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad,
from Denver to Silverton, Silverton to Ouray, and return to Denver,
or via the Denver & Rio Grande to Durango, thence over the Rio Grande
Southern R. R. to Ridgway and return to Denver, briefly described in
the following pages, comprises more noted and magnificent scenery
than any other trip of similar length in the known world. Piercing
the heart of the Rocky Mountains, crossing and recrossing the "Great
Divide" between the Atlantic and Pacific slopes; penetrating five
cañons, each of which is a world's wonder, and no two having the
same characteristics; climbing four mountain passes by rail and one
by stage; achieving grades of 211 feet to the mile; reaching heights
11,000 feet above the sea; penetrating gorges whose walls soar a half
mile in perpendicular cliffs above the track; traversing fertile and
picturesque valleys, watered by historic rivers; passing through Indian
reservations and in sight of frontier cantonments of National troops;
pausing in the midst of mining camps, where gold and silver and coal
and copper are being taken from subterranean recesses; in a word,
making the traveler familiar with peaks and plains, lakes and rivers,
cañons and passes, mountains and mesas; with strange scenes in nature,
aboriginal types of men, wonders of science and novel forms of art;
surely no other journey of a thousand miles can so instruct, entertain,
entrance and thrill the traveler as this trip "Around the Circle."
Every mile of the journey has its especial attraction. A thousand
objects of interest present themselves to view in rapid succession.
A thousand novel impressions photograph themselves upon the mind, a
thousand landscapes of wonderful and bewitching beauty beyond the
power of pen or pencil, or brush or camera to depict, can be seen
from the windows of the car. Colorado is a land of wonders, a land of
surprises, a land of sharp and wonderful contrasts. Take Toltec Gorge
as a central point, and with a radius of two hundred miles describe
a circle. Within the confines of that magic ring will be found more
grand and wonderful scenery accessible by rail than within any similar
circle swept anywhere on the surface of the world! Pilgrimages are made
across the seas to behold the beauties of some one famed object The Via
Mala attracts one, Mount Blanc another, the Colosseum a third, and the
tourist, after all his great expenditure of time and money, comes away
with one impression.
[Illustration: PALMER LAKE.]
It ought to be the fashion for Americans to see something of their
own country before they rush across the ocean to gaze at the wonders
of the Old World. It is a good omen that many Americans appreciate
this fact and are turning their attention to the unsurpassed scenery
of their native land. The "Via Mala" is dwarfed into insignificance
when compared with the "Royal Gorge." The hundreds of peaks among the
Rockies, reaching an altitude of over fourteen thousand feet, should
compensate one for the solitary grandeur of "Mount Blanc," while the
ruins of the "Cliff Dwellings" tell of a race older than that which
built the "Colosseum."
It would be impossible within the pages allotted for this book to give
an adequate description of even half the noteworthy things to be seen
in a journey "Around the Circle." All that can be attempted is briefly
to characterize a few of the most remarkable objects of interest,
objects which deserve to rank with the greatest natural attractions of
the world, and most of which have already become known as marvels, to
behold which would amply repay a journey across the continent.
The trip naturally begins at Denver, the great railroad center of
Colorado, and a city of more than ordinary attractiveness.
For a hundred and twenty miles the railroad extending to the south
follows the front range of the Rocky Mountains, which is in plain
view on the right and to the west. After Denver has been left behind,
the tourist can see from the car window the snow-covered pinnacles of
Long's, James', Gray's and Pike's Peaks standing in a wilderness of
lesser mountains. Soon a remarkable promontory rising from the summit
of a conical hill and presenting the appearance of an ancient round
tower, attracts the tourist's attention. This is Castle Rock, under
whose battlements nestles a picturesque village of the same name.
Beyond Castle Rock the country becomes more broken, the ascent being
now begun at what is known as the Divide, a range of hills extending
eastward into the plains and rising to an elevation of 7,500 feet.
Curious formations of sandstone frequently occur, the most notable
of which is called Casa Blanca, and can be seen on the right between
Greenland station and Palmer Lake. This enormous monolith is a thousand
feet in length and two hundred feet high, and on account of its size,
its snow-white walls and its castellated appearance, can hardly fail to
attract attention. On the summit of the Divide is Palmer Lake, a lovely
little sheet of water, so equally poised that its waters flow through
outlets northward into the Platte and southward into the Arkansas. Here
has been established a pleasant summer resort, and here also is Glen
Park, where assemblies are held each summer, modeled on those of the
well-known Chautauqua.
[Illustration: CENTRE OF PIKE'S PEAK.]
Beyond Palmer Lake, on both sides of the track, may be seen wonderful
formations of brilliant red sandstone, taking the form of castles,
fortifications and towers. One of the most striking of these has been
named Phœbe's Arch, being a great castle-like upthrust of glowing red
rock, through which there is a perfect natural archway. The descent of
the Divide to Colorado Springs is through an interesting country, the
mountains to the west and plains extending to the east. As Colorado
Springs are approached, the great gateway to the Garden of the Gods can
be seen to the right, and Pike's Peak, rising to an altitude of 14,147
feet, its summit white with snow, attracts instant attention. A side
trip can here be taken, at nominal expense, to Manitou Springs, five
miles distant, the famous watering place of the west, a pleasure resort
possessing wonderful effervescent and medicinal springs, and surrounded
by more objects of scenic interest than any resort of a like character
in the old or new world, including "Garden of the Gods," "Glen Eyre,"
"Red Rock Cañon," "Crystal Park," "Ruxton's Glen," "William's Cañon,"
"Manitou Grand Caverns," "Cave of the Winds," "Ute Pass," "Rainbow
Falls," "Bear Creek Cañon," "Cheyenne Mountain," "Pike's Peak," and
hundreds of others, to name which space is lacking.
The cog-wheel railroad to the summit of Pike's Peak is now completed
and in operation, and is the most novel railway in the world. When it
reaches its objective point above the clouds, at a height of 14,147
feet above sea level, it renders almost insignificant by comparison the
famous cog-way up Mount Washington, and the inclined railway up the
Rhigi in Switzerland.
The route is the most direct possible, and about nine miles in length.
The track is the same as that of the Mount Washington line, standard
gauge, with an eight-inch cast-steel cog-rail. The cars are set on low
trucks to prevent them from becoming top-heavy on curves or in a high
wind. This is almost an unnecessary precaution, as it is not expected
to make the ascent in less than two hours. On the ascent the cars are
pushed by the engine, but on the descent the locomotive is placed
in front. The engine achieves the tremendous grades by means of a
cog-wheel, which fits into the cog-rail. This mountain road is a great
attraction, added to the many which already render Manitou the greatest
summer resort of the mid-continental region.
The run from Colorado Springs to Pueblo is down the valley of a
pretty little stream, the Fountaine qui Bouille, along whose banks
are situated rich farms, or as they are universally termed in the
west, "ranches," on which large crops are grown through the medium of
irrigation. A hundred miles to the westward may be seen the faint blue
outlines of the Greenhorn range of mountains, while to the eastward
stretch the plains, the view of which is limited only by the horizon.
Pueblo is the great manufacturing city of central Colorado. It has
one of the largest steel manufactories in the world, and a number of
extensive smelters. Its close proximity to coal and iron mines, and the
fact that it has become a railroad center of much importance, makes the
future of the city exceedingly bright in promise. With a population of
over 20,000, constantly increasing, and with the energy and push of its
citizens, it cannot fail of achieving the greatest prosperity.
[Illustration: VETA PASS.]
From Pueblo, 120 miles distant from Denver, the journey is continued to
the south, still across a level country, and to the left the Spanish
peaks soon rise to view. These mountains possess a peculiar attraction,
rising, as they do, directly from the plain in symmetrical, conical
outlines, and reaching an altitude respectively of 13,620 and 12,720
feet. The Indians, with a touch of instinctive poetry, named these
mountains "Wahatoya," or Twin Breasts.
Shortly after sighting the Spanish Peaks, the ascent of Veta Pass is
begun The ascent of this famous pass is one of the great engineering
achievements of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad. The line follows the
ravine formed by a little stream. La Veta Mountain rising to the right.
At the head of this gulch is the wonderful "Mule-Shoe Curve," the
sharpest curve of the kind known in railroad engineering. In the center
of the bend is a bridge, and the sparkling waters of the mountain
stream can be seen flashing and foaming in their rocky bed below.
Standing on the rear platform of the Pullman car as the train rounds
the curve, the tourist can see the fireman and engineer attending to
their duties. From this point the ascent of Dump Mountain begins,
rocks and precipitous escarpments of shaley soil to the right and
perpendicular cliffs and chasms to the left. The ascent is slowly made,
two great Mogul engines urging their iron sinews to the giant task.
The view to the eastward is one of great extent and magnificence. The
plains stretch onward to the dim horizon line like a gently undulating
ocean, from which rise the twin cones of "Wahatoya," strangely
fascinating in their symmetrical beauty. At the summit of the pass the
railroad reaches an elevation of 9,393 feet above the sea.
Veta Mountain is to the right as the ascent of the pass is made, and
rises with smooth sides and splintered pinnacles to a height of 11,176
feet above the sea level. The stupendous proportions of this mountain,
the illimitable expanse of planes, the symmetrical cones of the Spanish
Peaks, present a picture upon which it is a never-ceasing delight for
the eye to dwell. The train rolls steadily forward on its winding
course, at last reaching the apex, glides into the timber and halts
at the handsome stone station over 9,000 feet above the level of the
distant sea. The downward journey is past Sierra Blanca and old Fort
Garland, and through that pastoral and picturesque valley known, as San
Luis Park.
[Illustration: WAGON-WHEEL GAP.]
At Placer one can say that the descent of Veta Pass has been
accomplished, though it is still all down grade to Alamosa. This little
town is situated on the eastern border of the San Luis Valley and at
the western extremity of La Veta Pass.
From Alamosa station a magnificent view of Blanca is obtained, and
this majestic mountain, with its triple peaks capped with snow, and
two-thirds of its height above timber line, presents a noble and
impressive spectacle. To the north and south, silhouetted against a sky
of perfect azure, are the serrated pinnacles of the Sangre de Christo
range. It would be difficult to find, even in this land of peaks, a
more impressive mountain view than that obtained during the traversing
of the San Luis Valley, on the eastern rim of which Garland Station,
the site of old Fort Garland, rests. Here is a park 7,500 feet above
sea level, surrounded on all sides by ranges of rugged mountains whose
summits are whitened with perpetual snow. San Luis Park has an area
larger than Connecticut, watered plentifully by mountain streams and
traversed by the historic and beautiful Rio Grande del Norte. The soil
of this valley is fertile, and through the medium of irrigation the
park is rapidly becoming a great agricultural region.
From Pueblo the line diverges and the tourist may go via Veta Pass as
described above, or to Salida, and thence through the Poncha Pass to
Villa Grove and down through the beautiful San Luis Valley to Alamosa,
noted for its fine farms and phenomenal yield of agricultural products.
From the point named above there is a tangent of fifty-two miles and
the San Luis Valley portion is a straight line through one of the most
fruitful and beautiful sections of the State.
From Alamosa a delightful side trip can be taken to the Hot Springs at
Wagon Wheel Gap, and to the new and already famous mining camp, Creede,
for which a reduced rate will be given. A word about this wonderful
health and pleasure resort will not be out of place here. As the Gap
is approached the valley narrows until the river is hemmed in between
massive walls of solid rock which rise to such a height on either side
as to throw the passage into twilight shadow. The river rushes roaring
down over gleaming gravel or precipitous ledges. Progressing, the scene
becomes wilder and more romantic, until at last the waters of the Rio
Grande pour through a cleft in the rocks just wide enough to allow
the construction of a road along the river's edge. On the right, as
one enters, tower cliffs to a tremendous height, suggestive in their
appearance of the Palisades of the Hudson. On the left rises the round
shoulder of a massive mountain. The vast wall is unbroken for more than
half a mile, its crest presenting an almost unserrated sky line. Once
through the Gap, the traveler, looking toward the south, sees a valley
encroached upon and surrounded by hills
"Bathed in the tenderest purple of distance,
Tinted and shadowed by pencils of air."
[Illustration: SOUTH WILLOW CAÑON, CREEDE, COLO.]
Here is an old stage station, a primitive and picturesque structure
of hewn logs, made cool and inviting by wide-roofed verandahs. Not a
hundred feet away rolls the Rio Grande river, swarming with trout.
A drive of a mile along a winding road, each turn in which reveals
new scenic beauties, brings the tourist to the famous springs. The
medicinal qualities of the waters, both of the cold and hot springs,
have been thoroughly tested and proved equal, if not superior, to the
Hot Springs of Arkansas.
Ten miles beyond Wagon Wheel Gap is Creede; nothing yesterday, a city
of seven thousand people to-day. Here is Colorado's newest and richest
mining camp, bustling with all the activity of an older eastern city.
Situated in the heart of a cañon and extending through it and widening
out on to the less precipitous hills below, composed of buildings of
all kinds, from the temporary "shack" of the prospector to the more
pretentious brick store. The mountain side dotted with innumerable
prospect holes, with an occasional large building of unpainted pine,
rising from which is a volume of steam and smoke giving ocular evidence
of the presence of a mine of more than ordinary interest and value. To
the tourist desiring to combine business with pleasure, here is the
opportunity to buy what at present seems only "a hole in the ground,"
but which may some day develop into a mint within Itself.
Leaving Alamosa and continuing the circle tour, after crossing San Luis
Park, and just before reaching Toltec Tunnel, a sharp curve takes the
train into a nook among the hills. To the left are great monumental
and fantastic forms of rock, while to the right are cliffs rising to
a height of five or six hundred feet above the track. From the quaint
and curious formations which rise to the left as this bend is rounded,
it has been named Phantom Curve. In half an hour Toltec Tunnel is
reached, the great peculiarity of which is that it pierces the top of a
mountain instead of its base. For six hundred feet it has been blasted
through the living rock, and such is its solidity that no masonry is
needed to support the superincumbent rock masses above. When the train
emerges from the tunnel it rolls out upon a bridge of trestle-work
set like a balcony against the wall of stone. Beneath, to the left,
is Toltec Gorge. The traveler looks down fifteen hundred feet and,
glancing upward, sees the opposite wall of the gorge rising a thousand
feet above him. The scene is one of the most thrilling and unique in
the whole journey "Around the Circle." Below, at the bottom of the
gorge, swirls and dashes a little stream, whose waters are churned into
snow-white foam, and the noise of whose progress comes faintly to the
ear, borne upward from those tremendous depths.
[Illustration: RIO LAS ANIMAS CAÑON.]
An object of interest to all visitors to Toltec Gorge is the Garfield
Memorial, a beautiful monument of granite, raised by the National
Association of General Passenger Agents, who held service at this spot
on the 26th day of September, 1881, at the time President Garfield was
being buried at Cleveland, Ohio.
At Cumbres, the summit of the Cumbres range of mountains, is reached an
elevation of 10,115 feet, the journey of the descent is a trip fraught
with great variety of scenery and abounding in interest. Here may be
seen mountain meadows lush with vegetation, the surrounding hills being
heavily timbered and abounding in game.
At Ignacio the Indian reservation is entered, and the rude tepees of
the Southern Utes can be seen pitched along the banks of the Rio de
las Florida. Occasionally a glimpse can be caught of a stolid brave,
tricked out in all his savage finery, gazing fixedly at the train as it
speeds by. Frequently there is quite a little group of these aborigines
at the station, and they are always ready to exchange bows and arrows,
trophies of the chase, or specimens of their rude handiwork in return
for very hard cash.
From Durango the tourist has the choice of two routes to complete the
"Circle" tour; either via the Rio Grande Southern Railroad, through
the Mancos Valley, the Lost Cañon, the Valley of the Dolores and the
Dolores Cañon to Rico, over the Lizard Head Pass by Trout Lake and
Telluride, down the San Miguel and Leopard Creek to Ridgway; or via
the Denver & Rio Grande, through the Animas Cañon to Silverton, over
the Rainbow Route (Silverton Railroad) to Ironton, and thence over the
famous Ironton and Ouray Stage Road to Ouray.