On a beautiful summer afternoon in 2010, I visited the Holzwarth Homestead for a class assignment. The homestead is located in the picturesque Kawuneeche Valley, in the shadow of the Neversummer Mountains, on the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park.
The ranch was originally settled by homesteaders John and Sophia Holzwarth in 1917. A few years later the Fall River Road opened, increasing the amount of tourist traffic in the area. The Holzwarth family created guest accommodations on their property, and they and converted their working ranch into a “dude ranch” which offered guests a great base to explore the new national park.
Today the site is preserved as the Holzwarth Historic site. Visitors to the site can tour the historic cabins, and there are many kiosks that present a picture of what life was like in the valley for Holzwarth family. For anyone who loves mountain life (such as myself), it appeared to be quite a dreamy life running a guest ranch in the (then secluded) wilderness of America’s 9th national park.
Near the homestead’s main group of cabins, in the shade of a grove of pine trees, next to a small creek, there was a lone adirondack chair looking out over a lush meadow. The scene so perfectly captures the relaxing feel of the ranch! I just wanted to sit in that chair, watch the wildlife, and listen to the peaceful creek all day!
As the sun set, I started to make my way back to my car. I headed back down the short trail from the homestead, through the valley, back to Trail Ridge Road.
As I crossed the humble beginnings of the Colorado River, a very large herd of caribou began to move through the area. I was pretty excited, so I stopped to watch, but pretty soon the herd ended up blocking the trail. So I watched (and waited) as the caribou moseyed south towards Grand Lake. It felt like there were hundreds of them! Finally, after about 30 minutes of waiting, the pack was thin enough that I was able to safely run through and get back to my car. What a special (and memorable) day!
