Day 100. August 14, 2019. Rangely Colorado

It's Day 100...It's also August 14th, 2019....and we are in Rangely Colorado!

30 miles or so due east of Vernal, we passed through a town called Dinosaur, and into Colorado.

So before I dig into the next stop in our adventure...just a quick reminder. Apologies that I've not done a very good job of reminding you that there is a video version of the podcast available. If your listening on Spotify....you may already be watching that video version...if not....the episodes are published on our YouTube channel as well. I take tons of photo's on our adventure and all the links are in the podcast show notes below.....

Onward...where were we....oh yea....

Situated smack dab in the middle of the Dinosaur National Monumnet....the name Dinosaur Colorado...well that seems fairly obvious...what might not be so obvious...the millions of years of geological shifts and changes recorded in the rock formations we see today. From some 200 million years ago when the area was made up of low plains full of slow moving rivers....the very rivers that Dinosaurs lived....and died along...as geological shifts transformed huge parts of Colorado from these low lying plains to being submerged under inland seas...where they would remain for millions of years until further shifts...the combination of erosion and volcanic activity would eventually settle on what we look at today....geological activity in the area has been documented as recently as 5000 years ago.

First known inhabitants in the area were the Fremont and Ute native Americans. These hardy folks would live and prosper in the harsh climates and rugged terrain for centuries. Documentation of their presence can be seen throughout the area in the form of forts, look outs, and dwellings carved into the rocks, as well as pictographs and petroglyphs carved into the rock walls.

European and American Settlers would arrive in the area in the 1800's as exploration in the country pushed west

Thanks to the homestead act of 1862, Art and Fanny Baxter would settle the area as Baxter Springs...establishing and operating a successful ranching and farming operation. Proving the hardy nature of these early settlers...they would find creative ways to survive in the harsh climate. The area is known for it's hot and dry summers....then swinging wildly into insanely cold winters with deep snow events being common. Many pioneers would live in dugouts carved into the hillside, just big enough to stand in...utilizing the earth itself as shelter. These dugouts would serve as temporary shelters while they dry farmed their land, built cabins and established the other necessities of an early American settlement. You can still find evidence of these dugouts in the area today.

When the town was platted to accommodate the oil boom of the 1940's, it was renamed Artesia due to it's valuable water supply. In 1966 the town would be re-named again...this time...Dinosaur...to capitalize on the the towns proximity to the Dinosaur National monument.

Today...some 200 folks call this place home. As far as businesses go...I saw two gas stations, A Colorado Visitor Center, an ice cream and hamburger stand, a liquor store...and two...yes two....marijuana dispensaries. Puzzled at first...ya know....two cannabis stores in town of 200? But....I quickly remembered that 30 miles behind us there were 10,000 or so folks in Vernal Utah that might often wish cannabis was legal in Utah....like it is in Colorado. And that liquor store....it very likely has a few regulars from Utah as well.

I couldn't just drive through this one....I had to pull over...get out....walk around and ponder....how different life would be here. I mean...literally....no grocery store...no urgent care unit....no local diner...There's no court house or police station...The nearest any of these things are is almost 20 miles away....and that gets you to a town of 2k. Go in the other direction and and 30 miles later you get Vernal...with around 10k....if you need more than that....well....pack a bag. Because it's hours...in any direction. In many ways....so very awesome....odd's are I wouldn't have a dorkweed neighbor....I'd probably know what a garden was.... and I might even spend a little more time doing that than I do binging on Netflix or playing a game on my phone.....truth is...I wanted to spend more time looking....and even asking around...but...it was dang near 100 degrees outside....and I needed to crawl back into the A/C and trek that 20 miles....east....

To a place called Rangely...Colorado.

Here's the coolest thing about Rangely.... in my opinion....it's not a place you find by accident. You have to be looking for it....you have to be going there..... Rangely....it's quintessential ..... Colorado. It's quintisential....America. It's a place born in the shadow of the industrial age and the oil boom of the 1930's and 40's...and that...in and of itself makes it no different than hundreds of towns across America at the time.....but in most cases....those other hundreds of towns across America at the time were on the way to....or on the way From....some place else ...... here in Rangely....not the case. 50 miles to the east puts you back in Vernal....trek 50 miles in the opposite direction you'll find Meeker Colorado...with about the same population as Rangely. From Meeker....you could drive another 48 miles or so and find Craig Colorado...population some 9500 folks or so. Fact is....from Rangely....if you need serious shopping or medical services you will drive some 90 miles over Douglas pass to Grand Junction Colorado...population some 65,000. So fact is...if you live in Rangely it's because you want to....and it's because you know how to.

So why's it here....how did it come to be....and why do a couple thousand people call it home today....and why am I here?

I'm here....because of connection....because of memories. Skipping over a bunch of the detail in the middle.... suffice it to say that life happens. Sometimes...people get married.....they have kids...and then sometimes people get divorced....sometimes people go home....and sometimes a 15 year old kid might find himself hopping a plane in Minneapolis Minnesota and finding himself getting off that plane one thousand one hundred miles away in a place called Grand Junction Colorado....and then...said kid....spends a couple hours in a car traversing a terrain called Douglas pass to land in a place called Rangely. That 15 year old kid...in this case.... was me.....I spent 2 weeks in the wilds of Colorado's western slope seeing things I had not even seen in the movies....and then I left. And that was 40 years ago. So I thought maybe....I should go back. And have a look...so I did....and here I am.

Why's Rangely here....how did it come to be..... Well... Lets start at the beginning....

Rangely is here....because it sits on top of one of the oldest...and most productive oil fields in the history of the United States. yup....an area of the country that once sat below a shallow sea for millions of years has produced nearly a billion barrels of oil and contributed significantly to the country's growth.....during an era in which the US would find itself...and become the global leader we all, as Americans, identify with today.

The first oilmen would arrive in the area in 1901...the real bump in the history of the town would happen when Chevron arrived in 1931 and established the Raven A-1 discovery well in 1933. This well... would end up producing 230 barrels per day. World War 2....as it did in every element of American Industry......would kick things into high gear. By 1949, there were 478 wells across the Rangely field.... and by 1956, the peak rate of the area was 82,000 barrels per day. The Rangely Weber Sand Unit...as it would become known..., by 1998, had recovered more than 815 million barrels of oil, making it the largest oil field in the Rocky Mountain Region and ranked in the top 5 producing fields in the country.

All this would happen in a remote corner of Colorado's Western Slope. The town would be incorporated as Rangely....in 1944 named after the home town of one of the early arrivals in the area...from Rangely Maine.

No matter where I am these days....each time I fill up at a gas station I think about places just like Rangely....about the generations of folks that made their home in a place that the rest of America knows little to nothing about......and yet these folks....they made it possible for that "rest of America"....to pull up to a gas station and fill up.

Oil...that was Rangely Yesterday....What about Rangely today...and why do some 2200 folks call it home.

In just a few short months I've passed thru a Ghost town or two. Examples of Americana that came and went because of where the work was....and wasn't. Places like Hardman Oregon....where Farmers were forced to pick up and leave one day because they had to go where the work was...leaving their legacy behind.....

The folks in Rangely...as oil production in the area has declined...they didn't leave. As the world we live in shuts down oil production in the US and looks towards a brighter and cleaner future in the world of sustainable energy.......As we leave Fossil fuels behind, and close yet another chapter in the short history of humans and their impact on the planet....folks in Rangely?.....they look to the future....

What might have been over shadowed a bit by the oil boom of a by gone era...was everything else this Western Slope has to offer... The rest of the country might have lost sight of it....but not Rangely....they haven't lost sight of anything....in fact...they are laser focused on the future.......and the future is bright......

First....imagine this...in a town of 2200 in the middle of America......Rangely is home to a state of the art medical facility opened in 2013. In my travels to date I've learned a couple of things...first....if medical services leave a small community....and second....if education leaves a community...then...the odds are...that community is done....relegated to the past. we now look back and call that town ..... a ghost town.....exceptions being, of course, what we call bedroom communities or suburbs...many towns have survived in todays world because they are within commuting distance of a larger metro area....but we've established that is not the case in Rangely.

But even without easy access to larger metro areas...Rangely has held on to both.....local medical services as well as educational institutions.... And not just held on...but pressed forward. Rangely's Medical center opened in 2013 offering state of the art medical services and just as importantly....a lifeline transport point for folks that might need emergency life flight services from Rangely.....into the greater metro areas hundreds of miles away in Grand Junction or even Denver.....keeping the community connected to the medical services vital to any rural community.

And education..Rangley hasn't lost sight of the importance of education in their community either..... Rangely's elementary and high school system remains vibrant, and connected, to the community. In addition.....CNCC....Colorado's Northwestern Community College calls Rangely Home . This facility was established in the area in 1962...and to this date educates some 1000 students each year from around the country...all of which choose Rangely in search of their future. Whether their future is Aeronautics', Dental Hygiene, Park Ranger Programs, Law Enforcement, or liberal arts. And spending your downtime as a college student wandering around these rugged mountains exploring billions of years of evolution...whats wrong with that? Um...Nuthin

And lets not forget that Rangely is home to two museums....a classic auto collection, and an outdoor museum.... they have a golf course, a municipal airport....and the states only designated rock crawling park....all right here....in Rangely.

For me....this stop would be about remembering.....and exploring...those millions of years of evolution....in the mountains around Rangely...the mountains these couple of thousand locals call...the Western Slope...and home.

I could definitely get used to exploring around here! The Western Slope, which incorporates everything west of the continental divide in the state of Colorado and sprawls out over most of its northwest region. The county roads and trails throughout the White River Valley and into the Mesas of Northwestern Colorado’s high desert are seemingly endless. The fun is exponential when the roads and trails disappear and the real exploring begins. It quickly becomes easy to understand the popularity of these side by side vehicles everyone seems to run around town in here. Sometimes referred to as UTV’s (Utility Terrain Vehicles), or OHV's (off highway vehicles) these things are incredibly agile, competent…and addictive. UTV’s evolved into what they are today over several generations, continuing to grow in popularity even when ATV’s and Motorcycles see declining sales.

Most days we'd just hop in, head up or down river…depending on the mood…and explore. The best part is having a local providing a guided tour detailing the areas history, what used to be…what’s in store… and even pointing out the areas petroglyphs, and very well hidden historical sites.

This was all a new experience for me.....the exhilaration is beyond addictive....beyond explanation. Hopping in one of these open aired little 4 wheel drive machines....driving a few blocks up the road to fill up with gas and supplies for the day....then strap into a 5 point harness, crank the soundbar....and drive off into the mountains.

There are over 8.3 million acre's of BLM....or Public Access lands in the state of Colorado. More than 27 million acres of mineral estate....and most of this is concentrated in the Western part of the State. Rangely....comes with over 560 acre's of it's own. I'd never experienced a situation in which you could leave your driveway....drive less than a mile in any direction....pick a dirt road and head off into Adventure. Within minutes you are surrounded by the rugged terrain of the Western slope....with no sign of civilization around you. Occasionally you will happen upon an oil rig...or natural gas compressor station....the Deserado Coal Mine can be found 9 miles or so due east of Rangely....coal production in the mine has played it's part in Rangely's past as well.

A favorite was the day we packed up and headed up river for the day. By days end we had been swarmed and chased off a ridge by flying ants, roasted hot dogs over an open fire, climbed in and out of countless rock bordered ravines, got caught in a rain squall…and the mud it brought with it, and racked up nearly a hundred miles! At days end a bbq capped off the perfect day!

Driving into…or out of Rangely, you will pass a billboard that reads “Rangely…Way Outside Ordinary.” A few hours traversing the Western Slope and you will agree that there is nothing ordinary about this rugged, wide open, and hypnotic landscape. Showing different shades of personality around every corner, and with every shift in elevation, the scenery shifts yet again....making it ultra clear....that there is indeed ordinary.....and then there is Rangely.

And just when you think it couldn't get any better.....your introduced to Nite Rides.

It’s hard to imagine that a trek across the Western Slope…zigging in and out of the creek beds, ravines, and rangling the trails around Kinney Reservoir could get any more exhilarating. Turns out that when mother nature shuts the lights off…she has also opened a back door into a world you couldn’t possibly imagine…you just have to do it....The headlights of the side by side cutting through darkness...pulling back the curtains just a few yards at a time....and then immediately closing behind you...enveloping you in darkness...but at the very same time....putting a spotlight on exactly what you should be looking at just a few yards in front of you....it's as if the spotlight hits the star of the show...center stage....at exactly the right time....in perfect harmony with the side by side going from 50 or 60 mph.... then sliding to a stop...watching the dust settle in the spotlight.....and then launching yet again into the darkness in search of the next spotlight moment. And the spotlight moments are endless! The hum of the side by side blending with the music of your choice blasting from the soundbar....the taste of dust on your lips mixing with the tears forming in your eyes from sheer speed....the cool night air blending with, and reminding you of the vastness of whats around you....then fold in your imagination....what's watching the show from above....a completely different perspective than mine from inside this machine....the bears....the cougar's, the mountain lions, wild horses....Deer, Elk Antelope....jackrabbits...black widows and brown recluse spiders....rattle snakes....the list is endless....all speeding past in the darkness.....but in the darkness....you see none of it....but they see you...... It's the epitome of a roller coaster ride.....I read once that the largest and most extreme roller coaster ride in the united states is called Kingda Ka in New Jersy....I'm imagining Kingda Ka... on steroids....and in the dark.

And then there were the memories. Revisiting the spot where a 15 year old had spent an afternoon dragging one catfish after another out of the White River....running up the hill with each one and proudly handing off to Grandma C for lunch. Or the spot where an afternoon of go-carting would end in a brawl with a mailbox post...I lost....just ask my broken toe.

And you know how....a smell.....a song....or seeing something can sometimes transport you instantly back in time....to a different place...

That's exactly what happened one hot afternoon when I found myself standing in a driveway staring at a 1981 Chevy Silverado....paint faded to near metal...rust in all the usual places...the remnants of a chrome roll bar...complete with mounted fog lights....it had a for sale sign in the windshield.....and all of a sudden.....

It was October 1979. My cousin drove his brand new Chevy Silverado pickup from Gilroy California to North Branch Minnesota to celebrate our grandparents 50th wedding anniversary. It was the truck that would become legend in the collectors market all these 38 plus years later....affectionally referred to as a square body.... but even in 1979, in the eyes of this 15 year old that truck was the coolest gun metal gray thing I had ever laid eyes on. The 350 V8 announced its arrival, and even more dramatically its departure, in the way that Chevy’s did back then. The aftermarket lift kit, over-sized tires, custom hurricane wheels, chrome roll bar and KC spotlights made it clear, in no uncertain terms, that this truck would go wherever you pointed it. The top of the line Silverado trim package meant that it came with all the bells and whistles…You could even roll up the windows and lock the doors with the touch of a button. I learned to drive a stick shift in that truck. My cousin, with a little help from Grandpa…and at the risk of a perfectly good clutch, patiently showed me the way around the dance floor known as the clutch and gear box. “Nah….nope….slow down…she’ll wait for ya. Listen to the engine, you’ll feel it as you let off the gas a bit and start to push the clutch you’ll feel the rhythm of it all come together” And it did…I was shifting my way along the sod farms and corn fields of North Branch Minnesota in no time. What’s more, my reward for being such a quick learner was that I would get to drive that truck to the anniversary celebration in Minneapolis on the big night.

We all have those memories that stick with us…the ones that are etched into our brain and can be recalled in vivid detail anytime…like it was last night. That night is one of those memories for me. I can still feel how excited I was, wearing my brand new suite and tie, cowboy boots all polished up, big silver buckle with that gold “c” in the middle, and a dab of Grandpa’s Old Spice as I stepped up into the drivers seat of the truck. This 15 year old with his brand spanking new learners permit had not had a lot of time behind the wheel so that gold Chevy emblem grinning back at me from the center of the steering wheel made me feel pretty grown up….important even. I turned the key and fired up 175 horses, and at the end of the gravel driveway crossed the railroad tracks and turned right on to Rural Route 3. It would be a glorious 54 mile drive to Minneapolis on a chilly October night.

Fast forward, as time always seems to do, and I find myself staring at this diamond in the rough sitting neglected in a driveway in Rangely Colorado.....picturing in my mind that with some imagination, a bunch of elbow grease, and even more TLC…this little Rangely Colorado treasure could ad a few more memories to the many it likely already has within it. This time at the hands of this eager young at heart old guy….that reverts back to that 15 year old each time he slides in behind the wheel…and that gold chevy emblem grins back at me.

As of this post I’ve ordered new tires, a 4″ lift kit and new suspension. Then its off to the mechanic for a good run through for complete list of what's needed under the hood....looking forward to an episode in which my new found adventure buddy and I are exploring the western slope together.

Leaving Rangely this go around would be the first time I new I was leaving a place....that I would no doubt return to. You could spend a lifetime exploring this place and experiencing it in different ways....generations have. My fascination with the discovery of true wilderness grew here....it became an addiction....in a very good way.

Spent my last afternoon in Rangely sitting on the tailgate of the pickup on a bluff overlooking the town. I'm not sure exactly how long Dougie and I sat there absorbing it all.....the hot August air had begun to pick up the evening chill as the sun sank behind the Blue Mountain Range....All I know for sure is that the 6 pack we left with was half gone.....and it was time well spent.

We're heading back west tomorrow for some work on the RV. We'll take a different way out than we came in...have to see more.....of what's out there. Not spending much time looking at maps these days....just pick a direction and go. Where will we pull off and sleep tomorrow night.....I dunno.....but wherever it is.....I wonder what we'll learn there?