If you met me at the Reference Desk, you'd be surprised to find that I spent my vacation on the back of a big, red Harley Davidson, touring Colorado and Wyoming for 10 days. At 64, I'm still a fledgling 'Biker Babe,' and this was my first long-distance trip. I was a little apprehensive about those wide, open spaces, but with a little 'wild West' research in advance, the scenery really came to life!
The first leg of our trip took us to Estes Park, over Trail Ridge Road. Roadside History of Colorado was the perfect book to learn about the early days of the Big Thompson Canyon, when Indians called it a trail. By 1902, developing tourism in Estes demanded a road, and by 1904 the trip between Loveland and Estes could be made in a mere two days! Northwestern Colorado became ranching country in the late 1800's, but it also became a war zone as cattlemen and sheepmen vied for the grass and water of the open r
