Adventures of Tin Can Lulu

Tucked between the Wet Mountains and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains is a small town called Westcliffe. The town has 1.2 square miles of land and a population of 652. Westcliffe had its start in 1881 when the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad was extended to that point. It is the county seat of Custer County Colorado. Great Sand Dunes National Park is southeast of Westcliffe just over the Sangre de Christo Mountains.

The elevation is 7,888 feet, and Westcliffe is one of the international dark sky communities.  Star gazing is incredible… in the wee hours of the morning we saw the milky way and so many stars we could not identify any constellations or planets (of course it was 39 degrees and we were shaking).

During the day the temps were in the low 70’s and each afternoon the winds picked up across the valley as storms were brewing over the mountains (we needed blankets in bed and our air conditioning never ran!). We saw many virga (or dry storms) over the mountains. A virga is an observable streak or shaft of precipitation that evaporates before reaching the ground.

The campground we stayed in was two miles outside of town and only had 34 sites. Small, rustic and cozy. We had amazing views of the valley and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains from our front door.

We did several hikes along the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Each hike started at an elevation over 9000 feet. The fours days that we were in Westcliffe was all about acclimating to the higher elevation. We huffed and puffed on our hikes, got up to snow all with slow going but we did make it over 10,000 feet on our last hike.

There is an amazing amount of history in this area. Copper and silver mines, German colonists from Chicago settled in the area to farm, the railroad had an impact on the valley, and large cattle operations were founded.

We did a self-tour of the picturesque Beckwith Ranch located outside of Westcliffe. This ranch was established in 1869 by Edwin & Elton Beckwith. The Beckwith family was originally from Maine and had no ranching experience. This family built one of the largest and most successful ranching dynasties in Colorado. By 1907 the Beckwith ranching dynasty was over and the land was sold off after Elton passed.

Should you ever visit Westcliffe (and we encourage you to do so) in town there are several nice small restaurants, shops, grocery, gas stations and an outfitter; “All the Range” that spent a lot of time showing us where the best hikes were and how to get there. As strange as this sounds there is an Ace Hardware that is unlike any we have ever seen, upscale, well stocked and with items not usually found in a hardware store.  There is also a Mennonite community, so be sure to check out the Yoder Deli (excellent sandwiches) Yoder Furniture and a bakery; Sugar & Spice Mountain Bakery (yummy baked goods).

Next up Steamboat Springs. More Colorado adventures to be made.