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In fact the Rockies were so clear I had to stop and get
out before reaching Greeley to take a good look. You see I have lived here all my life and a clear
view of the front range is a rare thing now-a-days. When I was a
youngster it was an every day occurrence but with all the folks moving
here and the increased automobiles and other industrial pollutants the air has become increasingly dirty.
I turned north on a county road and drove for about 20 or so miles
until I hit Colorado 14 and then headed east toward Ault. Highway 14
run right into the Pawnee around Briggsdale Colorado if you are
looking at the map
But enough negative thought onwards for a brief stop
in Ault at the small grocery store. Looking for every day aspirin and
water. Found the water but they do not carry aspirin. Which leaves me
with the impression that the small quiet town of Ault has no headaches
or small aches and pains like me.
From Ault it is about a 15 minute drive east until
you reach the first portions of the Pawnee Grasslands designated as National.
The grassland contain close to 200,000 acres of prairie and there
are private farms and ranches scattered throughout that adds
to the immensity. It stretches east from highway 85/87, north to the
Wyoming border and south to Highway 14. Most of my exploring is done
from north and east of Briggsdale a small town on highway 14.
A short drive further east from Briggsdale you reach
county road 103 and a small green sign pointing left to Koeta. This
little town is not on any maps nor is it referenced in any literature I
could find. There is a map at the Colorado visitors center on Prospect
and I-25 that shows it on a wall mural map as a ghost town. Which it
really is not Koeta does have at least a couple of families there both I
believe work for Weld County road division.
About a 15 minute drive north of highway 14 finds the
ghost town of Koeta at an intersection of three county roads. One
of these roads is the abandoned railroad right of way of the CB&O
railroad. You can actually see Koeta from quite a distance as an old
water tower is still standing black against the sky. There do seem to be
people living there and they appear to be with Weld County. There is
some rock foundations and a few uninhabited houses and one large
building that at on time looked like the corner general store or bar in
old western movies but is now in total disrepair.
I continued east from town and shortly turned north
following the carved wooden signs that say Pawnee Buttes. About a mile
out of town is an interesting study in history and present
day caring. There is an old cemetery here that still is in use
although infrequently. The head stones date from the late 1800's to
2002. Many young people and small children are buried here which I
think shows the hard life that people in this area endured trying to
make farming work.
The one unusual feature was that ever headstone or
marker no matter how crude had a stuffed animal beside it. The ranged
from daffy duck, Elmo, dogs, cats elephants and just about everything
else imaginable. Some were very new and showed they were recent
additions. The wind must play havoc with them yet they are still
there. I don't know who or how many people are involved, since there
is nothing in sight except the Koeta water tower, but someone cares
and it is evident.
About another 15 or 20 minutes and you arrive at
the Pawnee Buttes. There are two parking areas on to the west is the upper
parking and the one to the east is the lower parking area. These are
my descriptions not theirs. The upper parking area is at the trail
head and observation point where you can view down from the northern
buttes or start the main trail down into the flats and continue
between the buttes to the base of the furthest butte east. The trail
ends at the base of the east butte. This trail is 4 miles round trip.
On this day I took the lower parking area and
started off cross country around the east side of the butte. I spent
about 5 hours walking exploring, meditating and enjoying the suns
warmth from the rocks. Walking across country is not trail walking and
is much rougher on my old body but sometimes it's worth it for the
quiet and solitude that it offers. There was not another human in site
all day and sometimes that can be a great joy.
If you are a walker or hiker and have not explored
the Pawnee National Grassland it is very different, beautiful,
desolate and very enjoyable. Written by Dan
Keating
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