Craig. A town 4 hours from Denver. Memorial Day 2019 trip, part 1.

It was early on the Saturday morning before Memorial Day when we jumped in the car and started our short trip. We had a long weekend ahead of us. As well as endless roads that weaved like ribbons before disappearing somewhere over the horizon.

 

We crossed Continental Divine, drove through the Eisenhower Tunnel, and took the first exit to Silverthorne, which we passed with one short stop to enjoy some sculptures of the frozen actors next to the Lake Dillon Theatre Company. That was fun, actually. We stretched our legs and got back on the road... it was a beautiful morning... sunny and quiet... and we really enjoyed the road that looked like an endless ribbon.

We left the beaten path in Heeley and drove around Green Mountain Reservoir. We admired the views there. And this small village turned out to be more attractive than we expected. We even started thinking about having a small cabin here, so we can have a datcha and enjoy escaping from the summer heat.

We passed Kremmling and began to climb up so we crossed the mountains at the Rabbit Ears Pass. Surprisingly, there was a lot of snow up there. Much more than we expected. Steamboat Springs didn’t catch our attention this time, so we passed by, deciding to stop for a short rest a bit later, probably in Craig.

Finally, 200 miles and 4 hours behind us, we were tired enough to make a pit stop, stretch our legs and to have something to bite. Craig is a small town in the middle of nowhere and a good place to spend some time exploring. Downtown is small and quiet, and when we locked the car and started walking, it was very sleepy.

 

We didn’t really have any expectations, so it was really nice to find many nicely carved wooden benches and sculptures here and there. Several small shops, beautiful murals on the walls of the shops... We decided on a "cool place" and were really happy that we stopped there.

There doesn't seem to be much history here... but no, there are some stories about this place. The Ute Indians were the last Native American tribe inhabiting the Yampa Valley before settlers moved into the area in the 1800s. The tribes had carved their existence on rock walls. Later, cattle and sheep men etched their legacy in the vast territory through range wars and skirmishes as the land was opened to ranching, agriculture, and hunting. By 1881 early homesteaders arrived and a post office was established by cattle king Ora Haley.

 

Businessman W.H. Tucker, prompted by talk of a railroad being built through the area, traveled from Glenwood Springs in 1887. Seeking to profit from the rumor, he secured land and established the town of Craig in 1889.The railroad wasn’t built until 24 years later, but its arrival opened the area to national cattle and sheep markets. Today, it solely transports coal.

Craig, named for Rev. Bayard Craig in 1889, was incorporated as a city on April 24, 1908. Craig became the county seat when Moffat County was created out of the western portion of Routt County on February 27, 1911. In the same area as Craig, at the confluence of the Yampa River (then known as the Bear River) and Fortification Creek, were previous towns known as Yampa (as early as 1885) and Windsor (as early as 1878). In 1878 the area consisted of a number of ranches and at least two businesses: Himley’s Ferry (which allowed crossing of the Yampa River) and Peck's Store (a one room trading post).

Set in a high-desert landscape, Craig is a thriving town steeped in cowboy and Native American history as well as gunfighter and outlaw lore.

In the late 1800s cattlemen, lured by the region’s mild winters, game, grass, and water, arrived and settled the area. They left a colorful western history complete with range wars and gunfights. Because of the area’s remoteness and access to three state borders, outlaws — Butch Cassidy, Sundance Kid, Isom Dart, Tom Horn and Matt Rash — also frequented the region. Brown’s Hole, now Browns Park, was home to a few of them before it became a refuge for wildlife.

Did you know that Craig, Colorado is central to a long history of sheep ranching? I guess even for now this is one of the biggest businesses in the area. In the 1970s and early 1980s, the largest power generation plant in Colorado and several coal mines were constructed near Craig.

 

So this town left some interesting pages in the history book. We enjoyed walking around downtown, spent some time in the museum (will talk about it in the next story) and moved on.

 

We still had some more places to see. But first, we saw the road... the endless road...

The next town that caught us was Maybell, a really small town named after May Bell, the wife of a local cattleman.

 

This town is tiny and you can only find a meat processing plant, general store with gas pumps, a garage, an elementary school, a residential hotel, a restaurant, a post office, and housing. Not much... not much...

 

The most famous of all these are the General Store and gas station, both established in 1933 and serving the locals and travelers every day. We filled up the gas tank as a sign informed us there were no gas stations for the next 57 miles and moved further with the intention of not stopping for at least the next 57 miles.

 

Our next stop was a museum. Interesting to look at it? Click here - Craig. Museum of Northwest Colorado. Memorial Day trip, part 2.

Pictures were taken on May 25, 2019.