Colorado

After Ludlow I dropped back down to Trinidad to take scenic CO-12 through the mountains on the way to Alamosa. I had not realized that along the way I would be going through historic Cokedale, a complete contradiction to what the miners had experienced at Ludlow. “Constructed in 1906-1907, it was long heralded as a model camp, with housing, educational and recreational facilities provided for its inhabitants by their employer, the American Smelting and Refining Company.” (http://www.historycolorado.org/content/las-animas-county ) The black mountain behind the sign is a slag pile, remnants from the coking operation which removed moisture and other impurities so as to create a hotter burning coal for use in creating iron.

Memorial to the coal miners of southeastern Colorado. Per the link below, the first coal mine in Cokedale blew up and killed many workers in 1909 and a similar accident happened in 1911. The company determined that the coal at Cokedale was too gassy so they stopped mining there and shifted to coking coal that was brought in from other locations. See: www.sangres.com/colorado/lasanimas/cokedale.htm#.WYQJiohtmCg

If you look closely you can see that this is the remains of two huge rows of 350 coke ovens. Coking continued in Cokedale until 1946.

The only detail I could find on these ruins was a picture where these are labeled as 'mine works and wash plant'.

Part of the slag pile. If you look at the satellite view you can see that the slag heap is much longer than the section visible here, turning away from road and being about .5 mile long.

In honor of American Labor Day, postings about the labor movement. Monument to the Ludlow massacre, erected by the United Mine Workers in 1918.

On April 19, 1914, the miners in the colony and some of the militia celebrated, together, Greek Orthodox Easter. On the next day, April 20, gunfire between the militia and the striking miners erupted at about 9AM and lasted through the day, ending with a torching of the miner’s tent colony by the militia. To avoid the gunfire, the women and children in the camp hid in dirt basements that had been dug under the tents; the majority of deaths were family members who burned to death in those dirt basements. Sources: text in above, plus Wikipedia ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludlow_Massacre )

The UMW (United Mine Workers) has done an excellent job of describing the massacre.

In honor of American Labor Day, a post about the labor movement. Finding the Ludlow labor movement memorial was one of my main goals on this trip. From various web sources it seemed like it was going to be on unmarked dirt roads and difficult to find, neither of which were true. There are multiple signs on I-25 and access roads pointing you to it, and a clearly marked UMW parking lot at the site.

Oil/gas drilling at Pawnee National Grass(gas)lands in northeast Colorado, with wind turbines in the distance. When I first visited the Grasslands in 2002 it was very rare to see any traffic; the large version of the picture will show six vehicles on the road. The grasslands are administered by the US Forest Service.

Pawnee National Grasslands in northeast Colorado. Note the wind turbines in the far distance. The grasslands are administered by the US Forest Service.

Pawnee National Grasslands in northeast Colorado. Note the oil/gas drilling derrick to the right of the center of the picture. The grasslands are administered by the US Forest Service.

Oil/gas drilling at Pawnee National Grass(gas)lands in northeast Colorado. When I first visited the Grasslands in 2002, there were neither oil exploration nor wind turbines in the grasslands, and you could spend hours without seeing another person. The grasslands are administered by the US Forest Service.

Historic ranch windmill and modern wind turbines, at Pawnee National Grasslands in northeast Colorado. The grasslands are administered by the US Forest Service.

Wind turbine at Pawnee National Grasslands in northeast Colorado. The grasslands are administered by the US Forest Service.

Wind turbines (and a single tree) at Pawnee National Grasslands in northeast Colorado. The grasslands are administered by the US Forest Service.

On the eastern edge of the Pawnee National Grasslands is Colorado route 71, and more Minuteman missile sites (see adjacent picture for details).

Approaching the Nebraska border on Colorado route 71, with wind turbines in the distance. The route runs along the eastern edge of Pawnee National Grasslands. To the immediate left in the picture is fencing for a ranch residence.