Telluride - part 13 of Independence Day trip 2015

To read previous part:
Ophir - part 12 of Independence Day trip 2015

Soon after returning back on the highway we also returned to our usual pace and were driving faster and faster and faster... Stopped only once just to take a look at the cloudy mountains and soon enough we reached Telluride - our destination.

Today Telluride is a famous ski resort in the Winter and the place that offers a lot of activities at the Summertime. But that wasn't always like this. The first gold was discovered in the area in 1858 and the first gold claim was made in the nearby mountains in 1875. The silver camp became a town in 1878 as Columbia. But due to confusion with a California town of the same name, the place was renamed to Telluride in 1887. It was named Telluride after Gold Telluride, valuable ore compounds of the chemical element tellurium which never were found in this area :) 

 

Before we will talk about the town of Telluride, let me tell you a nice story about Gold Telluride that happened in Kalgoorlie, Australia. Gold Telluride looks much like Foolish Gold (Pyrite) and when they found it they just threw it away and used it for the roads. A few years later, they discovered that they weren't using cheap pyrite but really  valuable stuff and the second gold rush began... They broke pavement on all roads in an attempt to remove even the smallest pieces of Gold Telluride and send it to the refinery :) Sh*t happens... you know... and sometimes people pay a lot to change it to the gold...

We dropped the car and took the gondola up to the summit. We really enjoyed the ride and the nice look to Telluride and Mountain Village from the saddle of the ridge. Later we returned back and had a short walk all around the streets, enjoying the buildings, flowers, trees, art and fresh mountain air. We planned to spend about an hour here because we still had six more hours of drive if we wanted to be in Denver before night.

And here is some more info about Telluride from wiki:
Telluride sits in a box canyon. Steep forested mountains and cliffs surround it, with Bridal Veil Falls at the head of the canyon. Numerous weathered ruins of old mining operations dot the hillsides. A free gondola connects the town with its companion town, Mountain Village, Colorado, at the base of the ski area. Telluride and the surrounding area have featured prominently in pop culture. It is the subject of several popular songs. It is especially known for its ski resort and slopes during the winter as well as an extensive festival schedule during the summer.

Telluride began slowly because of its isolated location. In 1881, a toll road was opened by Otto Mears which allowed wagons to go where only pack mules could go before. This increased the number of people in Telluride, but it was still expensive to get gold-rich ore out of the valley.

In June 1889, Butch Cassidy, before becoming associated with his gang, "the wild bunch", robbed the San Miguel Valley Bank in Telluride. This was his first major recorded crime. He exited the bank with $24,580, and later became famous as a bank robber.

In 1891, the Rio Grande Southern railroad, also begun by Mears, arrived in Telluride, eventually building a two stall engine house, water facilities, a section house and a bunkhouse, sidings and a depot.

Around the turn of the 20th century, there were serious labor disputes in the mines near Telluride. The Colorado National Guard was called out and there were deaths on both sides. Unions were formed as miners joined the Western Federation of Miners in 1896. 1899 brought big changes as union strike action led most mines to grant miners $3 a day for an 8-hour day’s work plus a boarding pay of $1 a day. At this time, workers were putting in 10–12 hour days and the mines ran 24 hours a day. Work conditions were treacherous, with mines above 12,000 ft, a lack of safety measures, and bitter weather in winter months. Even the boarding houses were precariously placed on the mountainsides.

Mining was Telluride’s only industry until 1972, when the first ski lift was installed by Telluride Ski Resort founder Joseph T. Zoline and his Telluride Ski Corporation (Telco). Zoline bought the land for the future resort in 1969 and began to craft the slopes. Along with his mountain manager, Telluride native Bill "Sr." Mahoney, they slowly and thoughtfully put together a plan for sustained development of Telluride and the region. As mining phased out and a new service industry phased in, the local population changed sharply. Mining families fled Telluride to settle in places like Moab, Utah, where uranium mining offered hope of continued employment. Mining families were replaced by what locals referred to as "hippies", young people with a 1960s worldview which frequently clashed with the values of Telluride's old-timers. These newcomers were characterized as being idle trust funders who were drawn to the town for a casual life style and outdoor excitements such as hang gliding, mountain climbing, and kayaking.

The new population opposed town growth and economic expansion, including growth due to tourism and skiing. At one point, a serious effort was made to ban cars from the city limits and force visitors to use horse-drawn carts. The 1970s had fluctuating snowfalls and economic recession. However, the town’s now famous music and film festivals were immune from anti-growth criticism and flourished. These festivals exposed hundreds of thousands to the grandeur of the valley for the first time and created iconic associations with elite entertainers. Meanwhile, ski area founder Joe Zoline worked to develop one of the best mountains in North America for expert skiers and created infrastructure for tourism which respected Telluride's need to stay small and beautiful.

Telluride is also home for the famous Telluride Film Festival (from 1974) and Bluegrass Music Festival (first happened in 1974 and visited about 1000 guests and later attracted up to 10,000 people per day, finally they count about 12,000 people per day or 48,000 per all four days in 2013).

Continue reading:

Ouray - part 14 of Independence Day trip 2015

Pictures were taken on July 05, 2015.