Colorado History Trip

Last summer I went on a trip with the school across Colorado. Here's a historical recollection of all things ;learned, as well as a personal narrative about how the trip altered my life permanently

History trip reflection questions

In the summer of 2024 I went on a trip through Colorado. These are the assignments I was given, detailing my historic learning experiences over the two weeks. But it covers nothing of the reflections in my personal life I was able to make. To remain faithful to my original work and add those elements I’m craving, I’ll add a full personal narrative negating most historic elements. Because, honestly? Colorado history isn't directly tied to mine, just closely. 

Refection #1: Turner Farm and Apple Orchard

 Question one: Which social, cultural, economic, spiritual, or political realities are evident at the time At Turner Farm and the Apple Orchard? People we’re a lot less picky about their food. Apple tree’s during the 1930’s lasted a very long time and only had a few flavors. Sense then demand for more flavors have gone up and more rapidly. As a result they've started genetically altering the tree’s to produce more apples and flavors. As a result the trees die faster; however, this has kept Hayden ranch in business even today. You could even go down September 1st to volunteer in picking your own batch.

Question two: What can we learn on site today? Due to the farm house being preserved alongside most items, we are able to get a very accurate picture on how people lived in the 1900’s. Matches everywhere, safer hazards galore, and no indoor bathrooms. It gives us a sense of their struggles and even potential benefits; like having full fields to yourself.

Reflection #2: Mesa Verde

Question one: What can we learn in Mesa Verde? All about the wonders of the pit house and its steady evolution, as they've worked to preserve as much as they can. The fundamentals were the same throughout, a hole in the ground, stick roofs, a fire pit, and a hole in the ground to remind everyone they came from the earth (Sipapu). In the second model they added a chimney to exit out all the smoke as well as cool down the place. In the third they added onto old structures, where they believed the spirits of their old ancestors were. They would use these locations for worshiping, spiritual cleansing, and courthouses. 

At one point, there were full villegas of pit houses lumped together. But as the makers were Pueblo people and traveled commonly these glorious structures would be left behind in the mountains for us to explore and discover. These towns were labeled as national parks throughout the entire town.

Question two: How might different Coloradans understand or find meaning in Mesa Verde? The place is a massive field full of homes where spirits live, it turns it into a very spiritual place for the pueblo communities, who spread into 21 different groups across colorado. They visit here and give appreciation to their past ancestors. They've fallen to regular sickness of course, but the museums also make it clear a big reason for deaths in the communities are because of the US government in their attempt to “Manifest Destiny” and taking part in the massacring of passing groups.

Reflection #3: Southern Ute Cultural Center

Question one: A historical narrative based on the Southern Ute Cultural Center would have to be based on the darkest, and my favorite, corner of the tour. The Ute boarding schools. As America was moving towards the goal of “manifest destiny”, the Ute’s provided a challenge for them. They didn’t believe in owning land at all, and this caused a huge amount of conflict between the two groups. Among several attempted genocides, one of the methods was these horrible schools.

The goal was white washing the youth. They would kidnap these children from their home and if for any reason they don’t have a family's kid, they would arrest the parents. Once inside the schools the kids would be given new names, have they’re braids shaved to buzz cuts, and would be beaten or locked in cages if they spoke any of the Ute tongue. These horrifying conditions wouldnt end until the Ute finally claimed a portion of the land for themselves and agreed to share in exchange for stopping the attacks and returning their children. The kids have refounded their culture, but unfortunately the trauma is everlasting. 

Question two: How does this site demonstrate historical change? Of course it proves the Ute’s survived the horrible treatment from the US. It also supports the idea the country as a whole has accepted and embraced these tribes, as people from everywhere visit to learn of the Utes. Or maybe it's just because the building is made by “Led Zeppelin'' member, John Paul Jones.

Reflection #4: Center for Colorado Women's History

Question one: The most important artifact for understanding the Center Colorado for women's history would be the corsets. While the house is filled with “womans” products and work environments for women 130 years ago, the entire house wouldn't be complete without the articles of clothing.

 I believe it's some of the most visual statements on women's issues at the time. Sometimes in-functional and most of the time focused on looks, the clothes for females were designed to keep women's feelings exposed and uncomfortable. The only purpose was to appeal to mens eyes, with anything other than that resulting in beatings for the woman. Thankfully the museum doesn't just show the negative aspects, it shows the clothes that start women protesting, as well as more efficient work clothing. 

Question two: The culture shift in culture can be shown in how we treat women then vs now. In the gift-shop they have a handful of books written by women. One specifically I bought was Frankenstein 1818, by Mary Shelly. The guide was my cashier for the book and informed me on how frowned upon it was for women to write back then. That people thought the book was disgusting, and even more disgusting when they found out it was written by a woman. This shocked me because I feel like some of the most influential authors (for teens at least) have been written by women. J.K Rowling and Suzanne Collins, were some of my favorites until Rowling turned out to be transphobic and haphazardly changed the story after publishing. But moving on from that, the way we treated these authors then v.s now is the perfect representation of our cultural shift in viewing women's rights.

Reflection #5: Molly Brown House and Museum

Question one: To make a narrative based on the Molly Brown House and Museum, it would have to be about her trip on the titanic. Her being on it shows who she is in the first place. The Titanic was presented as the unsinkable ship, and explorers dream. Molly at this point loved taking trips across the country and was ecstatic to go on board. She wanted her daughter to go, but thankfully she had to complete school. Because on April 15th, 1912 at 2:20, the Titanic started to sink, to everyone's apparent surprise. Molly as a wealthy woman was able to get on the lifeboats quickly, but she wasnt paralyzed like the other passengers. She used her knowledge in other languages and helped to translate for immigrants that were on the ship to get them proper help. But that wasn't her only talent. Seeing all the recently widowed women and even some orphan kids, she decided to do some fundraising for the people on board. By the end of the trip back to land she had made $2,000 for those on the ship. The horrible tragedy showed exactly who the woman was. Talented, kind, explorative, and family focused, she was one of the most horrible people at the time. At least in my opinion.

Question two: Which components of the site or which artifacts are the most helpful for understanding this history? Definitely the amount of work they put into preserving the house. It’s completely stunning, with near everything being implanted with some sort of jewel or sprinkled with some part of this family's history. It completely sucked me into the time and allowed me to get invested into the history of Molly Brown and her family.

Reflection #6: History Colorado Center

Question one: The historic value of the History Colorado Center cannot be overstated. It’s a general museum, full of historic items from all over Colorado. From 2010’s items in the 100-objects exhibit, to the old history of the utes in the 1800’s, and even predicting the future, its full of interactive exhibits that allow you to be right next to history. We spent the entire day there because of how much information there was to absorb, you can’t say that about most of these other sites. Only one building for thousands of years of information.

Question two: This site connects to past locations because of the many different cultures within the exhibits. The floor dedicated to the Ute genocides and shows the peaceful tribe that got eradicated, giving a great deal of respect for the travelers. Aside from that, the museum has plenty of pueblo art including claypots, wheat baskets, and beadings. 

Reflection #7: Colorado Ski and Snowboard Museum

Question one: What social, cultural, economic, spiritual, or political structure does the Colorado Ski and Snowboard museum affect? Our views over how skis are.  They started out as a dangerous sport, something only daredevils would try to pull off. Later, with the help of Mini Dole creating the Mountain 10 Division, it became something a group of soldiers in the US military would use in the battle of Rever Ranch in 1984. After this battle the veterans would repurpose the boards, making them for games rather than war. And with the help of Alvin Wegeman, it became a family sport, to the point where a lot of people don't even know its military past.

Question two: How does this location connect to the previous museum in Denver? In the basement it has a section dedicated to the cold war. In it they went a little into how ski’s were used and gave respect to the fallen soldiers. Though I believe it did mention the Mountain 10 Division, I don't believe it explained its evolution nearly as well as this museum.

Refection #8: Hayden Ranch

Question one: A historical narrative based on Hayden Ranch. It was not originally named after the Hayden family, but instead Elkhom. It was around the start of the great depression, from 1860’s-1890’s that there were two big mining rushes, the second naming Leadville Silver city. They would use horses to transport these minerals and the rancher's role was to use the Arkansas River to grow hay for the animals. 

After being passed around for a while, from a founder of Leadville, to a tragically murdered judge, It finally landed in the hands of Olive and Francis Hayden. They gave it their own name, which strangely matched what they were selling at the time, and kept up the business for about 60 years. In 1919 it was given to one of their son in law. Due to the rise of cars he decided to add cattle grazing into the farms market. He installed the ranch with a water turbine, which made it self sufficient enough until it began to deteriorate.

After a failed attempt of making a hotel complex, it got passed around and landed into the hands of CMC to preserve the land. This made it classified as a national park, though a very gross one. 

Question two: What can we learn from what remains? We can provide homes for animals as the place stores a murder of crows, cattle, and even a few owls. As for humans, it provides us students with a hands-on learning opportunity to explore how a ranch is structured and where things would be located. 

Reflection #9: Pueblo History Museum

Question one: How does this museum show historical change? The way we treat immigrants then vs now. Back then immigrants weren't really classified as so, since they didn't believe in the concept of land. As a result they would cross over the not-yet built border for supply. Sometimes it was fine, sometimes Americans would shoot them. At one point during the miners labor strike, they would use immigrants as replacement workers. This was one of the first ways immigrants were integrated into society, the next way was through music. Frank Hoffer started playing live in 1901, in a genre called tamburitza. It was a huge success and in music other cultures have been widely accepted. But in America, there are still massive border problems due to our current political climate. But, it did not talk about that.

Question two: How many different groups can gain value out of this site? The most important groups are the Europeans and Spanish people, as they are the reason our country had enough of a population to mark it officially, giving us our star on the flag. It was to the point where the government provided spanish and european constitutions, written in their language. I imagine this would mean a lot to those groups at the time, as well as people who might have racial biases today. They can look at these versions in the museums and think differently of immigrants coming from across the border today.

Reflection #10: Pueblo Mining areas

Question one: The Ludlow Colony strikes are evident today in the economy. Miners who decided to go on strike because of unfair working conditions would take shelter at this site, the Ludlow tent colony. They would have access to food, cars, and sometimes even water because of the companies supporting the cause. Mining was a big resource in Colorado at the time, the government believed they needed them. So they would send the state militia, the national guard, and the Baldwin felts detective agencies to kill off protesters. Women would have to smuggle in guns in potato sacks from the mining facilities to defend themselves and men would dig out cellars for kids to hide in. 

This would backfire, as they would set the tents on fire, killing twelve kids who were hiding in the bunkers, and having the oxygen sucked out of the rooms. This would initiate a five day riot, resulting in the deaths of eleven protesters, leaving a total of twenty-two deaths during the protest. While the protest was unsuccessful, some demands would be met. The 8-hour shift laws would be enforced, worker unions would be allowed, and pay would be appropriate. They are the reason who have any sort of a reasonable work environment at all, we owe it to them.

Question two: The Rocky Mountain Steel Museum spins a different perspective then the Ludlow Tent Colony. It shows the tales of less savory protesters, mainly veterans. But more importantly it  goes in depth on the poor working conditions in the mines. This includes like child labor and forcing a dependence on the company with personalized money, stores, as well as housing

But I feel no better part of the museum represents this than the hospital wing. The Ludlow Tent site showed us the results of protesting, but this museum and this section shows us the why. Losing limbs, hearing, and smell would be the most obvious sources. But the dust from the coal also provides a big issue, causing black lung disease, and a painfully slow death.  

Reflection #11: Bent’s Old Fort

Question one: A historical narrative based on Bent's Old Fort would have to follow a day in trading. After traveling anywhere from five days to two weeks, they finally arrive at Bent's fort. They let their slaves set up the TP in the lobby as they go meet with William Bent. They sit down together, chatting, catching up with each other's lives, and telling stories of the events of the trip. 

After the hours finally pass, the travelers are allowed a currency in exchange for wool hides. They use this currency to buy mainly cooking utensils, but also weapons, wood, animals, or anything else they might want to take on their journey back. Hunters who bought their guns from the trading post would have to reload on gunpowder and bullets. 

After finishing their shopping, they would be offered a free meal. A rare treat in which they don't have to hunt from their food. Who could say that? They stay and chat with their slaves as they wait for the food to be prepared. It could take anywhere from a few hours to 2 weeks. After eating they make their slaves pack their tents, and prepare for the journey home. A peaceful one at that, if the heatstroke didn't kill them.

Question two: The historic importance of this sight is representing early signs of equality. While the slaves were not equal, you would have people from the United States, Mexico, and Canada around regularly as well as several unique cultures coming in for pit stops. I feel this to be extremely significant, if not lasting. 

Reflection #12: Sand Creek Massacre Historical Site

Question one: Constructing a historical narrative based on this site is simple thanks to the bulletin boards. We learn about the story of the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes, peaceful Indians who owned the land, but ended up murdered by the US military. A group of soldiers believing they were led to a group that could fight back, inspired by the media of the time leaning into fear mongering in order to make more money, and led by Colonel John M. Chevington. A person who, when time and time again faced surrender and friendship from the Indians, would respond with a spread of bullets from his troops. 

After the murder and limb removal of 200, they returned home to a field of praise and worship from the Colorado community. They would even have stage reenactments, depicting the Indians as monstrous. Thankfully, thanks to the bravery of Captain Silias .S Soul and Lieutenant Joseph, it would not be kept in history. They would sit out of the battle and watch the horrifying event unfold, and send letters depicting these stories to the U.S president at the time. This would lead to the public humiliation of John Chevington, though nothing else. Sillias was later murdered in the street by a pack of thugs, and rumor at the time states John was responsible, though there is no evidence. 

Soon after this the place would be labeled as a national park. A place the survivors would visit years later to pay respect for the fallen and attempt to grieve. 

Question two: What components of this location can we learn from? As stated previously, the history boards are helpful to tell the story. But we can also take another aspect of this site into consideration, for how the survivors were able to take this place for grieving. I believe all the new life that has grown since then is a big factor as it is everywhere. You can hear it in the grass whistling, you can smell it in the newly grown flowers, you can feel it by letting a beetle crawl across your hand, you can see it in the newly planted trees, and you can even taste it if you try a fruit from the cactuses. Though don’t do the last bit, as it is illegal in a national park. 

Reflection #13: Amache Relocation Camp National Historic Site 

Question one: This site is connected to the last site visit in its relation to the cause, racial fear mongering. Only Japanese and Japanese-Americans were sent into the camp during the events of world war 2. This was because people had a fear that those groups were spies. This kind of thinking was the motive behind the sand creek massacre, and now the Amache camp. Where their privacy got stripped away, they were fed cottage cheese as their main food source despite a common gluten intolerance amongst the group, and were not given access to running water or working electricity. 

Question two: The most helpful components in the site for understanding the conditions at the time are the remaining buildings. The water tower showing where they had to work to drink, the sleeping quarters showing the distinct lack of privacy, and the watchtower showing how they kept track of the prisoners. There are also plenty of building bases remaining to show there were 560 buildings at the time, though these have become covered in plants, and overgrown. 

Reflection #14: Busses, cars, and hotels

This reflection will function differently as it’s written months after 1-13. It’s a through line of the entire journey from the focus of a non-historic lens, but instead a personal one.

I was 18 and thought I had my entire life figured out. It was nearing the middle of summer and I had been working for a year. I’d earned 2 free semesters of college through a new government funded program. The plan was to use the opportunity at home, then move to Seattle for the remaining semesters. To get history credits, I was gonna take a summer class as a free vacation. 

I got down to Buena Vista before anyone else. I took pictures with my camera until it died and groaned as I realized I left my charger at home. I met with the group from Leadville later. I didn't know any of them, and I didn't plan to learn either. 

But then the first night arrives. I use pot as medicine, but I wasn’t gonna take any that week as I couldn’t afford it. But the person I was roomed with noticed I was taking puffs out of an empty container and started sharing his. He became extremely comfortable with me after that. He introduced me to his friends and girlfriend who occupied the trip. His girlfriend became a second roommate as she spent most nights smoking with us. 

So my trip had gotten infinitely better with access to consistent pot that week. But as I got to know the guy and his friends while in the hotel's pool, I realized they were really kind people. I got comfortable with the idea of a roommate. Then as I got more comfortable in the group, I realized I could be whoever I wanted in a new environment. 

Through most of the trip I was able to relax and have fun, But on the bus rides It was mainly my thoughts. As I watched the river flow by out the window and the night turned the buses lights on, I started to think of my spot in life. 

I was bored. Sucked into a monantis routine in a town I had known all my life. In a town that had known ME all my life. I was afraid to be myself and that blocked out a lot of friendships. On this trip I had the opportunity to see amazing sights, but I also was sociable. We arrived in Leadville that night. My new friends went home, and I spent the night in the dorms. I had my blanket and a pillow. Despite not having sheets, the mattress was soft. It wasn’t nearly as bad As I figured. 

I had three main issues with leaving home for college. I was uncomfortable with a roommate, I thought the conditions would be uncomfortable, and I was afraid to leave my mom. After the first week I had 2 out of 3 worries thrown out the window. 

The next day, my final fear would be resolved. After an adventure through Leadville’s town, my mom picked me up. I told her I had the opportunity to go out of town for college and the reason I didn’t was because I was worried about her. She was mad, not because I thought she needed me, but because I didn’t look out for myself. I was a little upset that she still found a way to be upset at my gesture, but I got to actually reflecting, and I realized it allowed me freedom. When I arrived home that first week, I got a gift of 20 movies, and a warm hug from her. The second week was coming up and I didn’t have time to think about my future, so I pushed the thoughts to the back for now. I did my class work and soon was back on the road for week 2. 

Over the final week of the trip we reflected on tragic historic sites. I didn’t have time to think of myself or my new friends. I never properly said goodbye. I sometimes wonder if it affected them, but most likely not. I went home after, and finished up my final project. 

During my time back, I was able to make the same realizations I made in this essay. So I asked my advisor if there was any way I could spend a semester in the dorm. Through cramming the process into the final month of summer, I was successfully able to grab a free year of college at Steamboat, one of the most expensive tourist towns in the state. I’ve never felt happier.