Fort Vasquez, April 17, 2010

It was a pleasant Saturday morning in Arvada where we met at Club Sponsor, Motogear Outlet for our ride north to historic Fort Vasquez in Fort Lupton. The temperature was in the 60s with a partly cloudy sky and a good chance of rain in the forecast. It did rain, but not until the end of our ride. The six of us included Mark, Lynn, Ed, Susan, Alan and Bob.

After a stop to say hello at Club sponsor Sun Enterprises in Thornton, ride boss, Mark, led us up the winding Riverdale Rd along the South Platte River to 160th Av in Brighton. Then, we traveled east through the double roundabout to U.S. 85, then north to the Fort Vasquez.Museum.

Just before we reached our destination, we couldn’t help but notice the unusual train traveling southbound on our right. It was a BNSF freight, but there were no freight cars – only locomotives – about two dozen of them all connected and most likely deadheading to the Denver yard and beyond. More than a few of us had never seen a train comprised only of locomotives. It would have made a nice photograph.

Fort Vasquez, which sits in its original location between the northbound and southbound lanes of U.S. 85 just below Colorado 66, was built in 1836 by two entrepreneurs as a fur trading post to support trade with the Cheyenne and Arapaho. The fort was in operation as a trading post only 7 years and was abandoned in 1842. The building was restored by the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s and acquired by the Colorado Historical Society in 1958. Archaeological studies were made in the 1960s – the discoveries of which are on exhibit and explained in the Museum, today. We absorbed some history and imagined life almost 200 years ago in this part of our beautiful state – at least as much as about 30 minutes would allow, as skies were threatening.

We decided to abbreviate our journey north and turned west on CO 66 to ride through rolling farmland on our way to lunch in Longmont at a recommended barbecue establishment, The Rib House, on S Coffman St just west of U.S. 287 in a development of multi-colored row houses. If you enjoy ribs, this is a place to remember. Lunch was excellent. After we had finished and were chatting, our waitress alerted us to the approaching rain. After thanking her, we pulled the raingear out of our saddlebags, dressed quickly and headed home in a steady downpour going south on U.S. 287. We waved good-bye in Broomfield as members peeled off to return home.

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