This submission is written by Phil Helfrich of Salida, CO where he muses about hiking in a

canyon with his dog in early fall; “having fun, riffing to myself on what I see on the wonderment

of this hidden place.”

A stone’s throw from the Arkansas River, the Howard Colorado Cemetery awaits its next tenant.

The cemetery rests under the snowy shoulders of the Sangre de Christo Mountains. These

serrated

fourteeners knife into the sky across the valley. Rumor has it a chest of 1880’s Spanish gold

remains stashed in a secret cave in those hills.

A dirt parking area is empty when I arrive. Sticky burrs are the dominant plant species.

Latino and Spanish names headline many of the gravestones. 1867 was the earliest date I saw

on

a marker. That was a big stone with HOWARD–the Town’s founde

See Full Page