It was a hot day, so we rode west into the relatively cool foothills, up the shady Bear Creek bike path to the town of Morrison.
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| "Downtown" Morrison Colorado |
Morrison sits just across the way from the famed Red Rocks park & Amphitheater, where many a musical hero has performed.
But, as fate would have it, this day the gate was open, and there was a sign with an arrow reading "CCC Camp tour." We had no earthly idea what the CCC Camp was, nor why someone would be giving tours of it, but we weren't gonna pass up a chance to explore uncharted territory!
So we rode onward. The road winds around on some VERY steep hills, and soon we saw this:
At which point CatMan put it all together and realized that it was an old Civilian Conservation Corps camp.
We missed the official tour, but around the corner from this photo there was a group of park rangers who were just thrilled to tell us all about it.
For those who don't know the details (as I didn't) the Civilian Conservation Corps (or CCC as it was known) was one of those New Deal programs back during the depression, which "employed" young men for the bargain price of $30/month. The men were housed in camps across the country, and worked on projects including roads, bridges, dams, irrigation, and of course, our National Parks.
And... the men housed at this particular camp actually built Red Rocks Amphitheater!
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| This photo was taken from the stage area, showing the seats roughed in |
Turns out this is the 75th anniversary of Red Rocks, and there are lots of events commemorating the construction, so that's why they were giving the tours.
This is one of the few remaining CCC camps in the country (it's called the Mt. Morrison Camp), and it's been beautifully restored using "period appropriate" materials.
Anyhoo... we pedaled on through the camp and up another incredibly steep hill, where we were treated to an amazing view of Red Rocks. (I'm not sure if the view was quite as amazing as the pain in my legs, but it was pretty.)
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Did you enjoy the ride back down the hills?
ReplyDeleteHa! Yes, the trip down was much more fun, but unfortunately they weren't the kind of hills you can just fly down, the road was so twisty that I had to keep the breaks firmly clasped so as not to lose control! :-)
DeleteI was wondering the same thing. We were on vacation in the Smokey Mountains in Tennessee last week and I have to say, I preferred hiking the trails that did the uphill work early in the hike, so that the return trip was downhill, rather than the reverse. ;) I can only imagine how sore your legs were after your bike ride! I would have enjoyed it, though--history and beautiful scenery is a great combo. So neat that you live close to such great experiences.
DeleteWell, I figure that when it comes to hills, that which does not kill me makes me stronger! Seriously though, I had to employ the old "slalom biking" technique to make it up that one!
DeleteThe Smokey Mountains are beautiful. I spent a night there once - just passing through on a long road trip. Wish I could have stayed longer. There was some amazing BBQ in that area too!
I visited a WV State Park last year that was built by the CCC and was a former site of a CCC camp. I found it very interesting especially learning about the different people who were there.
ReplyDeleteI think the ranger said there were projects in all 50 states (well... I'm not sure if Hawaii & Alaska were states back then, but you know what I mean.) It's pretty interesting when you think about it. That program not only saved a lot of people from complete ruin, it also built some incredible things.
DeleteThanks, a very enjoyable read. It was interesting to see the pictures of the CCC camp.
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed the post. It was such a fun surprise to find something so interesting and historic hiding so close to a place that I go all the time.
DeleteI just moved from Colorado and attended many concerts at Red Rocks. Great times. Cool to know now that the construction of it was related to the New Deal - something I've read about in the history books. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed it, and sorry you had to leave Colorado. Perhaps I'm biased, but there are few other places I'd want to live. :-)
DeleteI always wonder why programs like that don't get a revival. So many people wanting to work and contribute in some way, and so many infrastructure problems needing fixing.
ReplyDeleteAll we need is a huge pile of government money to cut checks with. Seems like a problem we could solve.
I totally agree. I was hoping we'd see something like the CCC back when we had the stimulus package in 2008.
DeleteOh that would have been awesome.
DeleteYes, I love the CCC. Back then, the government thought people didn't want hand-outs. And even though people say they just kind of made up jobs, some of the jobs actually did add value.
Now we have things like welfare and unemployment, and because they're "handouts," we cut people off guilt-free after a while to encourage people to get more jobs. Ugh.
(My dad got food stamps once. After all the hassles and terrible attitudes, he said never again. I think he'd rather starve than apply for benefits again.)
My grandmother worked for the WPA during the depression. My dad often remarks that it saved their lives since she was a single mother with an 8th grade education trying to raise a son.
DeleteWow. Nice.
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