The following is a summary of the weekly excursions I took in January of this year. This and future recap posts are meant to be a record of my travels, so please forgive my brief captions. I fully understand that each location deserves more. This is why I have provided outside sources (the “Click Here” links under each photograph) for you to check out, as those websites have far more information about each location/event/person.
Week 1
The Ute Council Tree is located in Delta, Colorado. Now only a stump, the massive Grandfather tree stood for over 200 years before being cut down due to being a safety risk. The site was considered a meeting place for the Ute People and is still a very beautiful and sacred place to visit. I am honored to be in the tree’s presence every time I stop.
Click Here to learn more from The Southern Ute Drum.
Week 2
The Atomic Legacy Cabin is located in Grand Junction, Colorado. It has been turned into a museum, and you can find the above office setup of Second Lieutenant Philip Leahy. He was sent to Grand Junction to set up a secret operation to obtain uranium for the Manhattan Project. This, of course, helped develop the first nuclear weapons in the 1940’s.
Click Here to learn more from the U.S. Department of Energy.
Week 3
The Prisoner of War Camp 202 is located in Greeley, Colorado. All that remains are the brick bases for the entry posts. They were almost lost in a highway expansion project, however authorities ultimately moved the monument down the road a bit in order to preserve the history. Here, German and Austrian prisoners of war were housed and fed while they worked the farms around Weld County.
Click Here to learn more from Colorado Preservation Incorporated.
Week 4
The Crossing is located just east of Evans, Colorado. This memorial lists the names of 20 school children who lost their lives in a tragic train versus school bus collision. The bus driver had tried to verify that the tracks were clear. However, the Denver bound train was there, and unfortunately, struck the bus at around 70 miles per hour. It was a devastating loss and the most striking place I have visited to date. The silence here was deafening.
Click Here to learn more from a series that had been published by the Rocky Mountain News.
Week 5
The Homestead of Enos Mills is located south of Estes Park, Colorado, on Highway 7. Enos is known as the “Father of Rocky Mountain National Park.” He advocated for it’s creation and originally had requested so much more then what was given. He wanted around 1000 square miles to be included in the park. We have him to thank for the 352.5 square miles we have today.
Click Here to learn more from the Denver Public Library Special Collections and Archives.
Since this was the first month of the “Something Important Project,” I didn’t really know what I was doing. I wasn’t sure what kind of things I should be documenting beyond the sites having a prerequisite of importance. The struggle was to keep up with my goal of going out once a week and finding these places. I had no idea the direction it would take me; I just knew I was having fun.
Ash Thoreau 
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