Another
trip across the mountains on Trail Ridge Road took us to the beautiful Kawuneeche
Valley. Ute Indians hunted game and gathered
plants in the valley for more than 6,000 years, Arapaho were latecomers to the
area arriving in the valley in the early 1800’s.
We
stopped at the Holzwarth Historic site and took the easy ½ mile trail to the
old ranch buildings.
One
of the oldest buildings left standing in the valley belonged to Joseph Fleshuts
who homesteaded 160 acres in 1902. It
must’ve been tough out here as in 1911 he vanished and was never heard of
again.
Although
the valley is a prime moose habitat, as the wetlands along the Colorado River
support aquatic plants, willows and aspens that moose like to eat, as we
strolled along the trail we didn’t see hide nor hair of a single one.
Holzwarth
Trout Lodge, owned by Sophie and John Holzwarth, was an early ‘dude ranch’ in
the 1920’s.
Guests
made their way to the valley driving wagons or Model T Fords and at the end of
a day’s fishing guests enjoyed home cooked meals.
A
freshwater spring behind the cabins, guests stayed in rustic cabins, one of
which was used as a taxidermy shop.
The
building with no roof was a tent cabin; it had a wooden floor and a tarpaulin
for a roof.
In
1925 the Holzwarths built a more modern ‘Never Summer Ranch’ along the river
and used the old buildings for overflow.
There
were stunning views along the river.
Have
fun, we are!
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