Impression Evergreen

Animas Forks “Wherever nature has planted her richest treasures, neither heights or depths can withhold them from the grasp of man.” ~ The Omaha Commercial Record, September 1883 In February of 1884 a 23 day blizzard buried the small mining town of Animas Forks, Colorado under 25 feet of snow. Most of the residents had migrated down to Silverton for the winter. The handful of flinty miners who chose to stay did what miners do. They dug. The men created a network of tunnels that connected the buildings and they spent the entire month of March in a cold, underground city. At 11,200 feet, Animas Forks is a stunning landscape but it’s downright inhospitable. The rush for gold lured prospectors to seek their fortune in the rugged San Juan Mountains of Southwestern Colorado. The hazardous topography was not a discouragement if they could just strike it rich in the end. After stories about the valuable discoveries spread, “greenhorns” poured into the region. Once claims were filed, m...

The abandoned Caribou townsite The abandoned townsite of Caribou, Colorado is situated high in the Rocky Mountains west of Boulder just below the continental divide. It's the place where the winds are born and if you listen closely you can still hear the echoes of a glittery past. Silver was discovered on the hill in 1868 and a small mining camp was quickly organized. It's less than a ghost town now with just a few dilapidated structures still remaining but it's not the architecture that drew me here. I'm interested in the stories about the extraordinary people who gave Caribou its life. With high-grade silver ore coming out and Eastern investment dollars pouring in, the news spread internationally. A congregation of daring souls from Cornwall, United Kingdom, whose hard rock mining skills were in high demand, risked everything and immigrated to Caribou. The carpenters, merchants and common laborers were American but the heart and soul of the camp were the expert...