Steamboat Springs between rains

Click here to look at Meeker, the town where rain didn't bother us ;)

We left Meeker and moved further to Craig, which we passed without stopping there. But we stopped in Steamboat Springs. We got out of the car and took a loot at the sky... We didn't like what we saw - deep brown clouds didn't foreshadow anything good so we just jumped back into the car and drove along the town streets under the heavy rain. We stopped again about 15 minutes later - when the rain stopped. Next hour we were walking along the main street, looking around and enjoying the fresh air.

 

This nice town was incorporated in 1900, but the first trappers have hunted here since the first decades of the 19 century. The permanent settlement appeared here in about 1876 and the town economy was based on ranching and mining. Later, in 20 century, the town became a world famous ski resort and also it is very popular for its hot springs. One spring is located in the town, so you can ski in the morning (or ride a bike at Summer time) and enjoy a hot pool in the afternoon. This is a very nice resort, but if you want something even better, you go to the Strawberry Park Hot Spring, which is located out of town in the mountains. Freezing cold river, deep forests, mountains... they are all around the hot spring and when you are sitting in the pool you feel like you are staying deep in nature. This is an absolutely unforgettable feeling... Nice touch - the water of the river flowing just outside the pool walls, so when you are tired of the hot water - just top over the wall and 35 degrees water will cool you down in a sec ;) jump back into the pool and enjoy the contrast between the two waters ;) But we had no plans of going there, so... let's look at the town, should we?

It doesn't matter what highway you are taking to get into Steamboat Springs. On every one you find  a lot of yellow and black signs, advertise F.M. Light and Sons store in Steamboat Springs. This store was opened in 1905 by Frank M. Light and his two sons, who moved from Ohio 7 months before. Frank found this was no one men's clothier in the town and would like to become one. The store started with boots and later they also sold Stetson's hat and wool shirts. The start was really tough, Frank bought the goods worth $2000 but the first day’s receipts totaled $11.50, with the second day even less. But later business improved and the store became very popular and well known even far away from Steamboat Springs. Later, in 1933, the 1st National Bank locked its doors one morning and Light lost all of his money. But the family fought for their store. The idea was the traveling store and Frank took the wagon with goods and started driving around, staying at the ranches and offering his goods to farmers and their workers. Later his two sons, Olin and Clarence, were alternating weeks on the road, traveling as far north as Jackson Hole, Wyoming, west to the Utah border and south to Aspen. Clarence was still traveling at the ripe old age of 87. Clarence found a new marketing idea. No matter what road you traveled into Steamboat, you knew about F.M. Light & Sons. In 1928, Clarence Light erected 260 signs in a 150-mile radius of Steamboat Springs. Eventually, that number grew to 300. Lady Bird Johnson’s highway beautification act resulted in more than 150 signs being removed from roadways. Those that do remain standing are considered historic, with each one numbered and registered with the state of Colorado.

We enjoyed walking around and having a rest here, but in a while we hopped back into the car and drove toward Denver where we finished our three days trip. This time we added 1130 more miles to the car's odometer and had seen a lot of new places. We also made some plans to see some of these places again, when the weather is less rainy. This was a nice (but way too short) vacation!

Pictures were taken on May 25, 2015.