My Spanish Fort

After leaving the canyon Matt headed back to the condo and the rest of us headed back to the mountains.

Last winter while researching the local area I learned the Spanish history of the western US and their role in Colorado and New Mexico.  A part of that was a fort that they built on the Sangre De Cristo Pass.  There are several suggested sites, but no one knows for sure where the fort is nor does anyone seem to care.  I decided to try my hand at finding it and have been asking the landowners if I could have permission to look on their property.  There are two land owners I have been trying to contact.  One owns a 20 million dollar ranch and lives in New Jersey and hasn't returned my emails or phone calls.  The other lives in Denver and finally talked to me after I showed up on his door step this spring.  I sent him an email telling him I was going to be out this week and asked if I could have access to his property to take a look.  He never returned my email so the closest we got was the at a locked gate a mile from where I think the fort site sits.  The fire burned all the way up to the area and my hope was that with the vegetation gone we might be able to see more.  But I will have to keep asking in hope that some day they will let me take a look.  The arrow above points to the place I think the fort is.

Along the way we stopped to visit the Yellowstone Church, or what is left of it.

Behind the pulpit.  Don't worry, we didn't go inside.  This picture was taken through a crack in the wall.

On the way back to the condos we got to experience some of the flash flooding that follows a forest fire.  We made it through just fine, we asked a truck that passed through before us and they said it was ok.