Off the Beaten Path continued from page 14 facturer to feature other animals alongside horses. Tickets are still just a quarter, with admission to the nearby must-visit Kit Carson Carousel Museum running a buck. On your way out of town, make sure to get the full amusement park experience with a doughnut and an ice cream cone at the Little Brick Creamery. Find Yourself in the New Age Capital of the World Crestone Hailed by some as America’s spiritual center and others as the “new age capital of the world,” Crestone is home to dozens of ashrams, institutes, temples, chapels and more facilities created by just about every belief system that you can think of — and some you never imagined. Many, like the Lakshmi Temple, are open by appointment to daily visitors, while oth- ers, like Dharma Sangha, the Crestone Mountain Zen Center, allow you to book longer retreats. If you’re not hip to that sort of thing, make the trip just to say you climbed the Crestone Ziggurat or explored the 93,000-acre Baca National Wildlife Refuge. Afterward, soak in some nearby hot springs: Joyful Journey if you’d prefer to keep your swimsuit on, or Valley View if you’re comfortable in the buff. Go Underground Creede There’s only one incorporated munici- pality in all of Mineral County, and that’s the City of Creede. But despite its small size, Creede has a vibrant underground scene: The Creede Underground Mining Museum, blasted out of solid rock on the north side of town, will fi ll you in on the area’s rich mining history. Next door, find the Creede Community Center, also completely underground — itself worth a visit to learn the fi ner points of woodworking at the annual Wood- carvers Rendezvous. While in town, see history in the making by visiting the “World’s Largest Fork,” or history as it was by taking in the place that cowboy legends Poker Alice, Soapy Smith and Bat Masterson once lived — and where Robert Ford, the coward who shot Jesse James, died. Commemorate the Rodeo Deer Trail Deer Trail, located on the outskirts of Arapahoe County, is technically part of metro Denver, so it makes for a quick You can hunt history as well as elk in Craig. visit. There’s no better time to go this year than Friday, July 8, and Saturday, July 9 — when Deer Trail will celebrate the 153rd anniversary of its rodeo, which claims to be the world’s oldest. While that’s up for debate, the fun to be had here is not: Enjoy a plateful of Rocky Mountain oysters for just fi fteen bucks at the Elks Lodge, then ramble over to the rodeo grounds for the historic fun and a country-Western concert, to boot. If you’re busy that weekend, never fear: The nearby High Plains Raceway, one of Colorado’s most popular amateur racing tracks, has free-to-watch events just about every week. Look Up, Way Up Westcliffe and Silver Cliff The sister towns of Westcliffe and Silver Cliff in Custer County were the fi rst in Colorado — and just the ninth in the world — to be certifi ed as an International Dark Sky Community. That means this area is home to world-class stargazing; nestled between the Wet Mountain and Sangre de Cristo ranges, these are the highest Dark Sky towns in the world. Public “Star Parties” run through Octo- ber, and you can even reserve a private, expert-led one for free as conditions allow. Book a stay at the Dark Sky Suites in Westcliffe, then drink away any pain caused by craning your neck with a bot- tle or two at Silver Cliff’s Silverdome Saloon — Colorado’s only dive bar in a geodesic dome. Find out more at dark- skiescolorado.org. Get Vindicated Victor Leave the slots in nearby Cripple Creek for colder days. For summertime fun, take a hike along the Vindicator Valley Trail 18 WESTWORD Summer Guide 2022 westword.com in Victor to see dozens of mines from the town’s gold rush days. Then catch the world-famous broom wall at the Victor Trading Co. and Manufacturing Works, grab a drink and a green chile burger at the 1899 Mining Claim and Saloon, and get some shuteye at the Black Monarch — a former brothel turned boutique hotel with rooms themed after Lizzie Borden, Jack the Ripper and even Nikola Tesla, who’s said to have fi rst wired the place for electricity (blackmonarchho- tel.com). The next morning, make sure to order a Bee Sting, baked with pride by German immigrants, at the Gold Camp Bakery. Celebrate Gunslingers and Geegaws Craig Craig lays claim to the title of “Elk Hunt- ing Capital of the World,” and with good reason: Two of North America’s largest herds can be found here during the fall hunting months. A pair of excellent mu- seums also call Craig home year-round. One is the Museum of Northwest Col- orado, a veritable historical jewel box housed in the former Colorado State Armory building, with nationally ac- claimed artifacts from the region’s gun- slingers, among other exhibitions. A few minutes just outside of town, you’ll fi nd the Wyman Living History Museum, an eclectic jumble of everything from farm equipment to Colorado license plates to a “premier chainsaw collection” and even a horse-drawn hearse. Both offer free admission, so take the money you saved and order the full rack of pork ribs at J.W. Snack’s Gulf Coast Bar & Grill, a fun road- house with an electric ambience that will make you forget you’re in the landlocked reaches of northwest Colorado and not, say, the Florida Keys. SKYLER MCKINLEY
