New Southern Ute Museum in Ignacio

The Southern Utes opened their new museum in Ignacio this weekend with a two-day open house. We made the drive from Durango through the farms and ranches of La Plata County and arrived to be spell bound for hours by the new building and the collections it houses. This is a very sophisticated museum that still relates to you, the visitor, on a very personal level. Lovely. The exhibits tell many stories about the multi-faceted Ute culture. I liked that both the past and the present are included in the exhibits. It gives a strong message about how knowing where you come from strenghtens you on your journey to the future.

Sustainable History

On Mother's Day we ventured with some friends on a spring time hike to the Tacoma Hydropower Plant. Built in 1906, the plant has steadily provided electricity to the area since 1906!!  This is one power plant you can not drive to.  It sits along the route of the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad at the bottom of the Animas Canyon.  All of the plant's construction materials and supplies arrived by train, as they do today. Although it is perched on the edge of the Animas River, the plant actually receives water from Cascade Creek which is stored high above the Canyon in Electra Lake. Water pours through a pipe down the steep cliff, gathering the necessary force to turn the turbines.
Of course, the return trip is an uphill grunt, but it was worth it.