It’s summer which means it’s time for a haunted travelogue! I took a MUCH NEEDED break in Steamboat Springs with HLAS Producer Carolyn this week and I came back with some fun shit for you guys.
First of all, Steamboat is slept on. It’s gorgeous there! A cute little downtown that hasn’t been turned into an extension of a Denver suburb, strange mineral pools scattered all over town, sparkling aspen trees and gorgeous green valleys. We also saw a camel ranch, which I regret not pulling up to and waving at their security camera and begging to come in a pet one. Next time!
Lithium Pool
I have to make this joke, the people expect it from me and I would never let my audience down. This is the ghostly bubbling LITHIUM SPRING in town and its history is exactly what you think it is. People used to drink this shit for (1) vague wellness purposes (2) to treat mental illness. Did I dunk my entire head in it? No bc it’s “not recommended” now, lol.
There are all kinds of hot springs in the area, and the Ute people used them for lots of great reasons. I myself traveled to this intense hippie hot spring situation, scrambling from pool to slimy pool, stepping on weirdly sharp gravel and feeling awkward among the many, many couples making out in this, the least romantic spot on earth.
Lithium made its medical debut in the Victorian era, which checks out. It has a long history of medicinal uses. It was used to treat epilepsy (I think this is now called seizure disorder), mania, depression, psychosis, and inflamed joints. From 1929-1948 it was the ACTIVE INGREDIENT IN 7-UP. Considering the bullshit we are living through, I think the one useful thing that human carburetor RFK Jr could do is bring back sodas with real drugs in them.
In the 1930s, an entrepreneur named HW Goddard leased this spring from the town and started bottling the water as a curative – it was called Miraquelle Water. He also opened the pool to the public for an admission fee. The original toll booth is preserved on the site but now it’s FREE TO MAYBE PUT YOUR WHOLE HEAD IN. If you need it, which I’m not saying I do.
Hahn’s Peak Cemetery
You know I always need to check out the cemeteries when I travel, especially the old timey, off the beaten path ones. I saw an incredible historic graveyard in Hahn’s Peak that I’m still thinking about!! Probably because when we showed up, a local woman was doing volunteer maintenance (hero!) and she brought her huge, fluffy, angel bear of a dog.
Just look at this magnificent creature!!! He followed us around like a guardian sprite and I didn’t even get his name.
Hahn’s Peak is a small town way the hell up the mountain. It’s sometimes referred to as a ghost town but I was able to get a cold brew there so idk about that. It started as a gold rush town in 1865, and the cemetery graves go back to that time. Most of them are unmarked, but the plot is fenced in now, and newer graves are visible. It’s surrounded by forest, and covered in wildflowers. It has a slightly overgrown, controlled chaos vibe that is honestly my favorite. Lay me to rest in the mountains, among the grasses and the flowers and gorgeous Newfie friends.
The Sleeping Giant
Steamboat, and the Yampa Valley, were famously not empty when settlers looking for gold showed up. The Ute people lived on this land for thousands of years, and their folklore has worked its way into Anglo culture, too. The story of the sleeping giant is an incredible example of how these stories reflect the lives and anxieties of the people that produce them – in this case, watch out for the paleface.
Elk Mountain, also called the Sleeping Giant, looms over the Valley. According to Ute legend, this mountain houses a friendly giant that once protected the people. There are two versions of this legend – in one, the giant broke his vow to never hurt another living thing when he fought off an evil ogre who came to terrorize the people. He had to be put to sleep in the mountain as a consequence. The people gathered up all of the rattlesnakes in the land and placed them in the mountain to protect the giant as he slept.
In the other version, the ogre is more literal. In order to protect their sacred mountain from the invasive settlers who were gobbling up the land and extracting its resources, the Ute people gathered up all of the rattlesnakes and put them in the mountain. No one dared go near it because it’s infested with snakes, and the Giant is thus protected. THREE GUESSES WHICH VERSION I PREFER.
On Writing
Don’t worry, I also used my time to do book research! We checked out the Steamboat Springs History Museum, which has a beautiful model of a Victorian home. There I snapped a bunch of pictures of KEY PERIOD DETAILS, like complicated ladies’ undergarments and AN OLD TOILET. I also bought books about folklore, wild west women, and local ghosts to add to my enormous library of haunted travel memorabilia. I read them in the sun with a Colorado hazy and life was great.
