| Pueblo
started as a trading post in the mid 19th Century. Its location at the
confluence of the Arkansas River and Fountain Creek made it an ideal
meeting spot for trappers, Indians and traders. As with many Western
towns, Pueblo (Spanish for town) had a very colorful history but the real
stimulus to its growth and success was the discovery of economically
retrieval amounts of iron and coal in the area. By the 1880s, the town was
an establish industrial center, in fact the largest in Colorado.
Though Pueblo is 110
miles south of Denver, it is the site of Colorado's State Fair and well
established not only as an industrial center but cultural center as well.
Within the city limits are some 280 acres of parks completed outfitted
including nature and bicycle trails. Nearby is the Lake Pueblo State Park.
Sites specifically of
interest to most tourists include:
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Pueblo
is on Interstate 25, 42 miles south of Colorado Springs and 174 miles
north of Taos NM. If you are westbound and wish to really view the
incredible vistas of of the American Rockies, take US-50 west out of
Pueblo. (Note: Not recommended during the winter season. Check locally for
road conditions.) You'll cross the western Continental Divide at Monarch
Pass (11,312 feet elevation) and, just west of Gunnison, enter the
Curecanti Recreation Area. Just before Montrose (actually you'll be on the
west (downside) of the Cerro Pass, is CO-347 which will take you to the
Black Canyon of the Gunnison Nat'l Monument (about 5 miles north). Though
there are many outstanding, even awesome, natural features in Colorado,
this is so very convenient it would be a shame to pass it by. At Montrose
you can either continue on US-50 which now heads north to Grand Junction
and I-70 - or you can head south following US-550 to Durango, US-160 to
Cortez (passing Mesa Verde Nat'l Park - another recommended stop) and
US-166 to I-40.
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