Perhaps you have some. Here's a selection of "then and now "photos captured over the years, standing where the photographer stood many years ago. I didn't always get it right... rushed pics, different lens, and other excuses, but hey, there was always a bike pausing nearby or idling underneath . They do, or can, cause moments of reflection. The mining community of Apex in the late 1800's, having a 4th of July parade... Apex today, a semi-ghost town about five miles NW of Central City... Bonanza, as in "It's a bonanza boys!" flared when a rich gold vein was discovered nearby. President Ulysses S. Grant visited upon reports Bonanza could be the next Leadville... The gold was mined and fires swept through the close proximity structures (A common fate of many frontier towns... wood heat, wood structures, no 911)... Tracks were laid over the Boreas Pass summit to haul ores from Leadville to Denver... The tracks were pulled up in the 1930's, and in the 1950's a road was placed on the old rail bed. Riding friend Rick cheesily agreed to place himself where the train was... The Cathedral Spires along the North Fork of the South Platte... Two rails then, two wheels today... The pastoral Dedisse Ranch above Evergreen... That pastoral Bear Creek above would turn demonic when its raging waters would crash through towns below after heavy rains. The dam creating Evergreen Lake had me off to the side for the "now" pic... The Bradford Junction community in the late 1800's would gather at this ranch for all things social... dances, celebrations, etc. Perhaps this was a July 4th gathering. Bring your best attire was often the unstated rule... Today, busy U.S. 285 passes by the same place near the town of Conifer. Had the elevated highway not be present, could have gotten lower for a better comparison... Gold Hill is the location of one of Colorado's earliest gold strikes. An image from around 1890... In a way, not a lot has changed. Well, there are more trees... less need to cut down the nearby woods for structures and heat. Colorado's oldest continuously operating school is here. The massive Four Mile wildfire of September 2010 licked the edges of the town off to the left, but a valiant firefighting effort spared the historical buildings. If you have a BBQ sandwich at the general store, a pot bellied stove is a main source of the heat and the bathroom is about the size of your coat closet... A thrilling road just for owners of new fangled cars was built above Golden around 1920... Today the Lookout Mountain road thrills for owners of two wheeled transportation devices. The sun kindly obliged and a rider was caught just in time on the far left... Marshall Pass about 70 years ago... And today... Narrow gauge trains/rails were used 100 years ago because, well, they were narrow and could squeeze between canyon walls and rivers. Denver passengers often took weekend trips into the mountains on these trains. Not far from Buffalo Creek... The aptly named Peterhead Rock today. Could have climbed higher for a more accurate "now" image, but I risked life and limb just getting this high! An 1890's hacked out road just south of Ouray... Today's famed Million Dollar Highway... Cripple Creek and Victor pumped out so much gold, the amount was greater than the California and Alaska gold rushes combined. Back then Victor had a population of 5,000... Today about 100 call Victor home... Looking west towards Westcliffe in 1900, towards the dramatic Sangre de Cristos Range... Well, someone has surely came along since then with some seeds or seedlings!
Wow, I need to go out west. I love the pictures with the old barn in it. It's amazing how those structures were built to last generations.
This is a wonderful thread, and isn't it amazing how the landscapes are just a micro-second in time compared to the wooden buildings and trees. Thanks for this one, very cool. Ride safe all, Greg
Steve's too modest to mention this, so I will. Click on the link in his sig and all these routes are in his Colorado touring book along with lots of pics.. I'm spending my winter planning my routes for next summer's Colorado touring.. Lookout Mountain Rd is about 15 minutes from where I'm staying..
Hi sfarson. I put a bunch of now and then photos in my Death Valley trip report. Do you research before you go or when you get back? One time I was going out to find a old railroad stop. When we got out there--absolutely no structures or foundations to compare to our original photo. Had to use the mountains in the background for reference. Difficult to match that one up. Here is one from Rhyolite.
I do something similar with L & C sites but there were not original photo's just locations. So many of the original roads were animal and Indian migration trails that turned in to our roads of today. You have some really neat photo's and there's obviously more. I checked out your LINK and so others know, there is a brief review on Amazon of your book. Someone once asked, "What was the most significant invention in the last century". President Roosevelt answered, "without doubt the bulldozer".
Nice work It's interesting to see that the before areas were so stripped of their trees. Nice to see that there are more trees now than then.
Today, busy U.S. 285 passes by the same place near the town of Conifer. Had the elevated highway not be present, could have gotten lower for a better comparison... My house/property was adjacent to the property in this picture. It was the first place my wife and I lived when we moved to Colorado in 1995. We left Conifer in 2000 for suburbia (Littleton) when we had our daughter. Very much miss living up there. Thanks for the pic!
Palisades on the way down from the Alpine Tunnel, CO in 1900... Earlier this past summer riding the Yellow Devil...
