You all know South Park. But do you know about the real South Park? Traveling south on highway 285 between Kenosha Pass and Fairplay, you'll find the beautiful, wide-open expanses of South Park. Home of the Colorado Trail, Jefferson Lake and 11 Mile Reservoir, along with a wide range of almost any outdoor recreation you can think of. We've spent the past week and a half in South Park, battling white outs with record-breaking winds and snow with gorgeous days of sunshine and warmth in between.
In your mind, thoughts of Cartman, Chef and Stan may be at the forefront, but South Park, Colo., has taken advantage of the opportunity before them to capture an audience of millions. New shops and businesses in Fairplay are popping up like crazy, even attracting some of the movers and shakers from Breckenridge.
Steeped in rich history, the open pastures remind us of what once was. Ute Indians, the miners and loggers that worked their fingers to the bone and the backbreaking grind of staying alive and surviving in the cold and wind. Less than 200 years ago, the Nomadic Ute and Arapaho natives battled over summer hunting grounds. Zebulon Pike, Kit Carson and John Fremont traveled through South Park during their infamous Colorado explorations.
The weather created a mere inconvenience for us from time to time, but with food and warmth at our fingertips it is hard to imagine a life other than what we've become accustomed to. The pioneers that settled here over one hundred years ago lived in such harsh, and sometimes downright mean conditions that became more real each time the cold and snow settled in. My heart ached at the thought of the young mothers and fathers struggling to provide for their babies and young children.
South Park is a place for us to get away from the noise and complications of life in the suburbs. It's been a place for us to re-energize and reflect. Wildlife is plentiful, and the scenery from our cabin was magnificent. In our safe, secluded space, we watched the snow come. Flake by flake, then turning themselves horizontal, as the winds carried them over the plains.