Homestead Meadows (Summer 2008)

Written by ceddammit

Two months ago, I took you on a magical voyage to a land called Homestead Meadows. In that post, I explained that Homestead Meadows contains historic remnants of eight homesteads, accessible via 15 miles of trails. But even back in 2008, a 15-mile hike was not in my wheelhouse, and it would’ve left very little time for exploring the homesteads. So, on that visit I only went to two of the homesteads. For the same reasons, my next visit (which is the focus of today’s ThrowBack Thursday) consisted of only two more of the homesteads. This time, I was not alone. I was joined by two dogs and their owner, who I believe to be some sort of moose. We accessed Homestead Meadows via the Lion Gulch Trail, the same route I had used before. I took fewer pictures this time…




Cool, clear water (not safe for human consumption)



The dogs found some tiny coves that had an enchanted feel to them.



“Yer gonna throw a stick aincha?”



Tiny waterfall in Lion Gulch.

Once we reached the meadows, we turned left at the first junction and headed to the Engert homestead. Sadly, what remained of this homestead had been destroyed by a forest fire just a year or two prior to my visit. But there was still plenty of great mountain scenery to be had…

Imagine this being your driveway.
wildflowers of the Rockies
Some dogs want you to throw sticks…other dogs just chill and enjoy the view.
It was amazing how many of the standing dead trees did not burn.
This, um, stove (?) has seen better days.

Our last and best stop of the day was the Laycook homestead. It featured at least three buildings, including a main cabin (uncertain vintage) with at least one addition (also of unknown age). The main cabin was still in pretty good condition, and there was still a lot of authentic frontier crap layin’ around the grounds. Let’s start with the latter…

I assume this was a livestock penitentiary.
Notice the chain (?) hanging on this section of fence / wall.
Anytime you see rusty bed springs with no trace of cloth on them, you are looking at authentic frontier crap.
I don’t know what this was, but I’m guessing it used to be taller.
Remains of an ancient automobile
Another view of the ancient automobile
Dashboard; I couldn’t find anything indicating the manufacturer.
This appears to be an old farm implement of some kind.
Was this a well? A fruit cellar? A nuclear fallout shelter?
Livestock had plenty to graze.
More scenery and cow food
More scenery and cow food
Looks like the remains of an outhouse
A couple outbuildings of unknown purpose

OK, that’s enough frolicking around the grounds! Hush now, children, it’s time to check out the main cabin…

Approaching the main (surviving) cabin on mooseback (moose not pictured)
Old, well-crafted log cabin with cheap-and-crappy addition
Front door of main cabin
Two hinges from two different eras on one door
Hey! This place has an exhaust pipe!

With such an interesting and intact exterior, surely the interior has got to be worth checking out as well, right? Well, then, let’s step indoors and see what there is to see…

Roof of the original cabin.
Roof of the hallway between the original cabin and the addition.
Concrete insulation
Wow! Largely intact wallpaper!
At some point, they installed electric lighting.

All right, then! That’s it for this week’s throwback. It’s looking like I may only have enough digital photos left for three or four more posts – all of which would be hodgepodge-style posts. Once those are done, what should I do with my Thursdays? I’m open to suggestion / requests…

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