individual trees miles away, and the afternoon light creates a golden magic, transforming the land into a postcard you want to keep just for yourself. As the road levels off into the distance like some hope for the future, you feel like you could drive this range forever. Soon you notice a clump of buildings, rising from the wav-
ing grass like some mystical island. There you find 463 of the friendliest residents of Colorado—two of which are Doris and Mel Porth, married 55 years. Mel, tall and lean, with a crew cut and square jaw, makes some people of the right age think of cartoon good-guy Steve Canyon. Mel’s performed his own good deeds, most notably helping establish All Aboard Westcliffe Inc., a group committed to restoring the old train depot and an engine house, which is now a museum. “It’s a start,” Mel says with a note of pride, “but we still have a long way to go, using only volunteers and limited funds.” Even though it was after 5 p.m. closing, Mel showed people around the museum while Doris made numerous calls to help a stranger find a room for the night. Westcliffe offers a wide selection of interesting accom-
modations, from motels like the Golden Corner Motel and the Westcliffe Inn, to the newly opened three-room bed-and- breakfast, Over the Brim Inn, on the west end of Main Street, run by newcomers Kathy and Bob Seei. “I want this to be a place of bonding, sharing and healing,”
Kathy says. At the other end of Main Street, long time resi- dents John and Mo Johnston own another bed-and-breakfast, the funky Courtyard Country Inn B&B. Eight rooms open onto an Alice-in-Wonderland type of courtyard, packed with trees, shrubs, pond, little paths, benches and chairs. “It’s per- fect for reading a book or having an afternoon beer or wine and just relaxing,” John says. Walking the compact Main Street, you get the feeling this is
a community that not only welcomes strangers but also trusts its neighbors. An unlocked bicycle propped against the town’s library captures that feeling in a wonderfully peaceful image. At the Chili Bear Restaurant, a sign proclaims: “Stressed
spelled backwards is desserts.” The breakfast crowd includes three families of camouflage-covered hunters, as well as five black-leather-clad bikers—all of whom co-exist peacefully even though there’s enough testosterone in the room to intimidate a herd of bison.
The entrance to Skyline Drive in Canon City, Colo.
Driving east out of Westcliffe on
S.R. 96, visitors should stop at two old cemeteries one mile south of nearby Silver Cliff: Assumption and Silver Cliff (See Pin 3 on the map on p. 27), which is famous for nighttime “ghost lights.” While the lights haven’t been seen in awhile, the old headstones do their own illuminating in sad, subtle ways. A small gravestone near the entrance of Silver Cliff Cemetery now barely whispers that its resident is Emma Schneider, who died August 27, 1880, at 12 years, 3 months and 19 days. Looking out across the sea of sur- rounding prairie grass- es, listening to the lonesome trill of a bird searching for its mate, you can’t help but wonder what kind of life Emma must have had—and that her parents must have loved her very much to have erected a monument that’s probably outlasted the entire family. Returning to SR 96, the drive
turns northeast and cuts through Hardscrabble Canyon and the middle of the Wet Mountains. This section of the trip is part of Frontier Pathways (See Pin 4 on the map on p. 27), a national scenic and historic byway. At Wetmore, you take S.R. 67 north back up to Florence. Before taking S.R. 115 back to
Colorado Springs, you take one more stroll through the Florence antique shops and think about how this road trip has challenged your perception of a lot of things, from towns to scenic drives. Appearances can be deceiving and true value lies more in the experi- ence than geography. Such musings, though, only go so
far—especially when it’s close to lunch hour. You realize happily that you have just enough time before heading back to grab another order of those incred- ible sweet potato fries at the Mainstreet Grille and Bakery! l
Jeff Miller (
www.jbmwriter.com) is a
Denver-based freelancer and former editor of EnCompass.
EnCompass September/October 2011 29
The small gravestone of Emma Schneider in Silver Cliff Cemetery.
© Jeff Miller
© Jeff Miller
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52