Abandoned Colorado School House

by Janice Pariza

Title

Abandoned Colorado School House

Artist

Janice Pariza

Medium

Photograph - Photograph Art

Description

This is an abandoned School House located on the Western Slope of Colorado on Highway 285 on the Western Slope of Colorado. It was digitally manipulated for an antique effect. Old Nathrop Schoolhouse is the name of this building.
There is so much History to be found here below the Mountain peaks of the Continental Divide.
Kenosha Pass, elevation 10,000 ft, is a high mountain pass located in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado in the United States. The pass is located in the Rocky Mountains southwest of Denver, Colorado, just northeast of the town of Fairplay, Colorado. Geologically, the pass is located atop a large granite batholith that forms the spine of the Front Range along the eastern side of South Park. It is traversed by US 285 between Jefferson and Grant, and provides a route between the valley of the North Fork South Platte River and the headwaters of the South Platte River in South Park. In addition to providing one of the principal access routes to South Park, the pass offers dramatic view of the surrounding Rockies, including the nearby peaks of Mount Evans and Mount Bierstadt.
Colorado's newest scenic byway, the Collegiate Peaks Byway, was designated in November of 2005 in order to connect several important cities in South Central Colorado, while providing scenic vistas, undeveloped ranchlands, and recreational activities such as skiing, fishing, mountain climbing, rafting and kayaking. The byway stretches 57 miles north to south connecting Granite, Buena Vista, Salida and Poncha Springs. This byway also connects to the nearby Top of the Rockies and West Elk byways.

The byway provides many opportunities to explore the past. Scattered with many historic buildings, such as the Old Nathrop Schoolhouse, built in 1881, or the Gas Creek School built in 1890 and used till 1942. Be sure to also visit the Hutchinson Ranch, an 1870's homestead registered with the National Historic registry. The Buena Vista Heritage Museum, completed in 1883, gives visitors an opportunity to learn more about Buena Vista.

The Midland Tunnels are also worth your exploration. The tunnels are the remains of the Midland Railroad, the area's first standard gauge railroad. The Midland Railroad Company had to dig into the hillside, creating a series of short tunnels for the train to pass through. These tunnels offer an enjoyable hike for deep exploration.

The byway runs through the Collegiate Peaks wilderness area, so named because of the many nearby fourteeners of the Sawatch Range named after prestigious universities: Mt. Oxford, Mt. Harvard, Mt. Yale, Mt. Princeton and Mt. Columbia. Also explore the area by traveling along the Clear Creek Canyon Road (CR 390), the Chalk Creek Road (Highway 162) and Cottonwood Pass (Highway 306). Also worth your time is the Highway of the Fourteeners, a 19 mile stretch of highway with views of 10 of Colorado's fourteeners. From this highway you can view Mounts Princeton, Yale Columbia, Harvard, Belford, Oxford, Huron, La Plata, Elbert and Missouri Mountain, and the area is filled with many lakes, scenic overlooks and the 13,000' Buffalo Peaks. Explore these roads off the Collegiate Peaks byway to discover the wilderness area in more depth.

Uploaded

January 27th, 2014

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