Mariano’s Crossing – Book Tour of Historic Sites

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In cooperation with Loveland’s Historic Preservation Month, I will be leading a tour of sites described in my award-winning historical novel, Mariano’s Crossing on Sunday, May 17, 2015.  The tour is sponsored by the Heart-J Center for Experiential Learning at Sylvan Dale Ranch.

The event will begin with brunch at Sylvan Dale, followed by a presentation and a walking tour of the ranch grounds, including Indian tipi rings and the remains of the original Alexander homestead dugout, which was exposed by the 2013 flood.  We’ll end with beverages and snacks and a presentation on the history of Sylvan Dale and the great floods of 1976 and 2013. In between, the group will visit the site of the old Weldon School, the Medina Cemetery, Namaqua Park (Mariano’s original Crossing) and Red Ridge, the novel’s imagined location of John Alexander’s hideout and Lena’s secret gravesite.

A group tour at Sylvan Dale RanchThe Red Ridge segment of the tour will be available only to participants who have their own four-wheel drive vehicles, who can car-pool with someone else, or who choose to climb the last half-mile on foot (calculate a half-hour fairly steep hike up an old quarry road bed).  Those who are unable to join the Red Ridge segment will return to Sylvan Dale for happy hour before the late afternoon program. 

Cabins are available for optional bed-and-breakfast stays for anyone who would like an overnight spring get-away.

I look forward to your joining us!

David M. Jessup

970-481-8342

PS. For those not able to join the tour, please consider attending a “virtual tour” (my Fact-to-Fiction slide presentation) at 5:00 PM on Thursday, May 7, at the Loveland Museum, 503 N. Lincoln Ave. No charge, no RSVP necessary.

COST:  $79.00, paid in advance.  Includes full brunch, late afternoon snacks, meeting facility and tour.  Optional Bed-and-breakfast overnight “spring getaway” stay available for $110/night (double occupancy).

REGISTRATION:  On-line at http://www.heartjcenter.org/marianos-crossing-tour.html,

Or send a check to National Center for Craftsmanship (fiscal sponsor of Heart-J Center, at PO Box 150, Masonville, CO 80541, with “HJC book tour” in memo line.   Questions?  E-mail davidj@sylvandale.com, or call (970) 481-8342.  

SCHEDULE:

12:00 Noon.  Full brunch in the Sylvan Dale Heritage Room.

12:30 PM.  Historic photo slide presentation Mariano’s Crossing – From Fact to Fiction. Heritage Room, Sylvan Dale Ranch.

1:00 PM.  Walking tour of main ranch grounds, including the original William Alexander Homestead, the original bridge location, old barn, Indian tipi rings, and view of Mt. Alexander.

2:00 PM.  Depart for driving tour, car caravan to the Weldon School ruins, Marianna Butte, Medina Cemetery, and Mariano’s Crossing near Namaqua Park.

4:00 AM.  Red Ridge, the “Hideout,” overlooking the river valley below. (hikers and 4-wheelers only. Others return to main ranch for happy hour). 

5:30 PM. Beverages and snacks at Sylvan Dale Heritage Room, with presentation on the history of Sylvan Dale and the great floods of 1976 and 2013.

Optional: Overnight Bed and Breakfast “spring get-away” stays available at Sylvan Dale. $110/night.

 

 

These Fishermen Don’t Lie

David J with big fish croppedEver ask a fly fisherman how he did?  Did you believe his answer?

We fly fishing fanatics are sometimes known to exaggerate stories about our catch.  Hey, it’s part of the fun!  But at a river habitat restoration workshop on March 9 at Sylvan Dale Ranch, a group of anglers pledged to tell only the truth.  Their job?  Take a fish inventory to see how trout are recovering in the Big Thompson River 18 months after the devastating flood of September 12, 2013.

After hearing speakers talk about techniques of river habitat restoration, five avid anglers set out to do some “fish sampling.”  Armed with fly rods and their favorite trout flies, with notebooks and pens in pockets, they fished for three hours pledged to keep careful track of size, type and condition of all trout caught.

The results:  twenty one healthy, bright-colored rainbows, ranging from 12 to 16 inches, caught mostly on small nymphs, and released back into the water.

How can trout recover so fast from a deposition of rubble and silt up to twelve feet in depth from a flood that left the river corridor looking like a moonscape?  Bugs, mostly.  A “bio-blitz” of aquatic insect life, carried out by another group of workshop participants, found a healthy population of mayflies, stoneflies, caddis flies and midges in the river.

Mother Nature can be destructive, but also has awesome healing powers.  We’re pleased by the Big Thompson River recovery so far, and we’re looking forward to even greater fly fishing when we implement a grant this fall to place boulders and downed trees in the river channel to create even more spectacular trout holding water.

David J