SENIORS ENJOY COLORADO



Seniors Journey Uphill to Fairplay

Home_page_B_Nagy Fairplay, just south of Breckenridge, is located in South Park at an elevation of 9,953 feet with a population of 672 hardy folks. Senior travelers find a small town that is loaded with history.

This historic gold mining settlement was founded in 1859 and incorporated in 1872 during the early days of the Pike’s Peak Gold Rush. The town got its name by settlers who were upset by the generous mining claims given to the earliest prospectors and promised a more equitable system for its residents.

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Surrounded by Kenosha Pass to the North, Wilkerson Pass to the East, Trout Creek Pass to the South and Weston Pass to the West sits the quiet valley of South Park in the Central Colorado Rockies.

In the heart of this valley lays Fairplay, one of the many wild mining towns from the time of gold and silver and the largest community in this grassland basin.

Less than 200 years ago, the Nomadic Ute and Arapaho native Americans did great battle over what was once incredibly rich summer hunting grounds. Famed frontiersmen like Zebulan Pike, Kit Carson and John Fremont crossed the region in their explorations of Colorado.

Seniors Say Yes To Burros, Trout Fishing and History

Start-of-the-race

Among the major events in Fairplay is the Burro Days Festival held on the last weekend of July. The event celebrates the town’s mining heritage with many colorful burros. The main feature of the festival is a 29-mile burro race over rough terrain and approximately 3,000-ft elevation from downtown Fairplay to the 13,000-ft summit of Mosquito Pass.

Senior visitors enjoy an authentic restoration of a mining boomtown dating back to the 1880s. Originally called Tarryall, Fairplay sprang into life about 1859 as miners found gold along the South Platt river. A church built in 1874 still stands as does the 1874 courthouse.

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Also interesting to note  beside the Hand hotel, ia the grave of a burro that worked in the mines for 62 years. Rupert M. Sherwood, partner to the burro, requested when he died he be cremated and buried beside Prunes, his burro. Where else in the world can one find a grave for a renown burro?

The local Chambers notes that… “Today, Fairplay is the center of commerce for Park County, with a thriving business community and vibrant local arts. The many lodging, dining and retail options reflect the unique character of this quaint mountain town.Surrounded by majestic peaks and pastoral beauty and fall foliage, Fairplay calls out to artists of all media, many of whom have made Fairplay home.”

Fairplay is known as the official Trout Fishing Capital of Colorado.  Senior visitors enjoy the unique mountain character of Fairplay, Colorado scenery at its best, good food and ambiance that this unique town has to offer. -jeb

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