The Never Summer Ranch

Near the western entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park lies the Kawuneeche Valley. Towering over the valley are the Never Summer Mountains, which I think is a great name even though summer does pay a visit, albeit brief. In 1917 German immigrants Sophia and John Holzwarth settled here after their Denver bar was closed due to prohibition. They soon turned their working ranch into a dude ranch named appropriately enough The Never Summer Ranch. Here they hosted city folk who wanted to hunt, fish, ride horses and generally play cowboys and cowgirls. In the early seventies the ranch became property of the National Park Service, which has now designated it as the Holzwarth Historic Site. Several of the older buildings from the original home site have been preserved and are open for tours. However, the newer lodge buildings located in the meadow were removed so the area could return to its natural state.

The first shot is looking south down the valley, across the meadow towards the town of Grand Lake. I kept expecting to hear dramatic music rise as Lorne Greene approached on horseback.

This little stream is actually the Colorado River only a few miles from its source. The picture below and the one that follows it were taken within yards of each other. Looking north a fast approaching storm was moving in, and to the south postcard skies.

Ligularia bigelovii - Bigelow's Groundsel

Oxytropis splendens - Showy Locoweed

Potentilla fruticosa - Shrubby Cinquefoil

Further up the valley we stopped late in the day at an area called Beaver Ponds. The setting sun was playing off the water and illuminating the emerging insects into little points of darting light.

Next Colorado Post: Lost Among The Lodgepoles