Need advice re Meeker, Colorado (Greeley, Montrose: condo, new home, safety)

[shirlnbama]

My husband and I are traveling to Meeker, CO in Mid-June. We will be spending a few days in Beaver Creek at a friend's condo then driving up to Meeker to meet other friends at a new home they've had built there. In my research, Meeker looks pretty isolated and mostly far away from other sites of interests in Colorado. We're trying to decide if we stay in Beaver Creek longer before driving on up to Meeker because of it's central location to points of interest. Will we be leaving the beauty and scenic spots behind if we head on up to Meeker? Our schedule is flexible.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

You are right, Meeker is really isolated and it's not a very pretty part of the state. I would suggest that when you leave Meeker to drive north to Highway 40 (Craig), then go east through Steamboat Springs and eventually back to I-70. This will take you through Winter Park and over Berthoud Pass.

Of course, the other option is to stay in Beaver Creek longer as you suggest. Either way you can't go wrong.

[SheridanL]

Depends on what you consider beautiful. I would assume if you are here to do some fun things, you would want to stay a little longer in BC.
There is so much around there: Vail, Breckenridge, Dillon, etc. All right down I70. Oh yeah, Glenwood Springs!
Meeker is nice for wide open spaces, etc. It nice if you want to just relax and stay in! Nice for some folks!!

[bluescreen73]

Meeker itself isn't very scenic, no, but if you head east of town, the Flat Tops Wilderness area is absolutely beautiful.

[jazzlover]

If you like tourist bull****, stay in Beaver Creek. If you want to see some real Colorado, there is some gorgeous country near Meeker. Upper White River, Flat Tops Wilderness, the upper Williams Fork--all splendidly scenic and relatively uncrowded country. Your choice.

[bluescreen73]

Originally Posted by jazzlover

If you like tourist bull****, stay in Beaver Creek. If you want to see some real Colorado, there is some gorgeous country near Meeker. Upper White River, Flat Tops Wilderness, the upper Williams Fork--all splendidly scenic and relatively uncrowded country. Your choice.

The Meeker area has a dark past. The town itself is named after Nathan C. Meeker, a former journalist and founder of Horace Greeley's utopian Union Colony (now the city of Greeley).

The Federal government tapped Meeker to be the agent for the White River Ute reservation. Meeker's lack of experience dealing with Indians would be his undoing. He attempted to convert the Utes to farming & religion overnight and they didn't take kindly to it.

Meeker wired the government to send in the Cavalry after he was attacked by a Ute for plowing their horse track under.

A cavalry unit led by Major TT Thornburgh was dispatched to the agency and met up with a group of Utes who claimed that they came in peace. The Utes requested that Major Thornburgh and 5 soliders come with them to the agency while the rest of the soldiers stayed behind. Thornburgh refused and the unit pressed on.

The soliders were ambushed near Milk Creek, about 20 miles north-northeast of Meeker, and Major Thornburgh and all his high-ranking officers were killed within minutes.

The Utes then killed all the white men on the agency and took the women captive to ensure their safety. Nathan Meeker's body was particularly brutalized by the Utes.

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by bluescreen73

The Meeker area has a dark past. The town itself is named after Nathan C. Meeker, a former journalist and founder of Horace Greeley's utopian Union Colony (now the city of Greeley).

The Federal government tapped Meeker to be the agent for the White River Ute reservation. Meeker's lack of experience dealing with Indians would be his undoing. He attempted to convert the Utes to farming & religion overnight and they didn't take kindly to it.

Meeker wired the government to send in the Cavalry after he was attacked by a Ute for plowing their horse track under.

A cavalry unit led by Major TT Thornburgh was dispatched to the agency and met up with a group of Utes who claimed that they came in peace. The Utes requested that Major Thornburgh and 5 soliders come with them to the agency while the rest of the soldiers stayed behind. Thornburgh refused and the unit pressed on.

The soliders were ambushed near Milk Creek, about 20 miles north-northeast of Meeker, and Major Thornburgh and all his high-ranking officers were killed within minutes.

The Utes then killed all the white men on the agency and took the women captive to ensure their safety. Nathan Meeker's body was particularly brutalized by the Utes.

All true. For the Utes, it also meant that the Northern Utes would be expelled from Colorado to a reservation in Utah the following year; and the Southern and Mountain Utes to be confined to reservations near Ignacio and Towaoc, Colorado respectively. So, the outcome for them was hardly pleasant, either. Of course, the whites had been demanding expulsion of the Utes for several years, as the whites coveted all of their lands for purposes of mining and ranching--so that outcome was probably inevitable; the "Meeker Massacre" just provided a convenient excuse to accomplish it. Prior to the massacre, the whites had repeatedly violated the Brunot Treaty, negotiated with the Utes only a few years earlier. It is really pretty difficult to blame the Utes for their behavior at Meeker and elsewhere during the period.

Interestingly, the worst forest fires to ever hit Colorado (even worse than the Hayman fire a few years ago) burned millions of acres in the summer and fall of 1879. That year was horribly dry, and fires were likely unavoidable, but there has been widespread historical speculation that the Utes, knowing they were about to be expelled, set the fires intentionally. There are numerous areas in southwestern Colorado where the evidence of those fires is still plainly visible today.

[shirlnbama]

thanks for all the input. I've been doing research online to look for points of interest nearby. The Arapaho National Forest looks interesting. Any comments on this?

[Parkerscedaredge]

Originally Posted by shirlnbama

thanks for all the input. I've been doing research online to look for points of interest nearby. The Arapaho National Forest looks interesting. Any comments on this?

If you want some variety you might consider going through Glenwood and Carbondale...up the Crystal River through Redstone and over McClure Pass. Then take the road through Crawford..over Black Mesa to Blue Mesa Res... on to Montrose and Ridgway...take the road over Dallas Divide into Naturita and then on to Gateway and back through the Uniweep to Whitewater...but then I also think Meeker and Maybell are special in an "older Colorado and still unspoiled" sort of way. In my not so humble opinion the west end country is rapidly starting to look too much like Sedona (thank you Mr. Discovery Channel).

[80skeys]

Beautiful part of the state.

Originally Posted by shirlnbama

thanks for all the input. I've been doing research online to look for points of interest nearby. The Arapaho National Forest looks interesting. Any comments on this?