We just completed a visit to Bent’s Old Fort (NPS) & Koshare Indian Museum both in/near la Junta, about an hour and fifty minutes from the lodge, a bit of a trip, but in all honesty quite worth it as both sites are two hours from everything.
Bent’s Old Fort, operated by the National Park Service with costumed volunteers/employees, is quite the treat as it is as an authentic frontier fort as you are likely to see. A self or guided tour of the fort is quite rewarding as the fort is rebuilt to perfection, complete with adobe walls, period construction and all modern conveniences hidden from site. It is well worth the $3 admission and the trip to see this well executed tourist site.
The Koshare Indian Museum is not quite what one expects way out here on the plains. It is indeed a museum with an actual Hogan as its centerpiece as well as two floors of Indian art though all based on the Boy scouts efforts and active participation in Indian dances. It is a convenient stop on the way to/from Bent’s Old Fort.
Bent’s Fort & Hogan
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- Bent’s Fort
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- Trade Room
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- Room in Fort
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- Blacksmith’s Workshop
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- Wagons
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- Carpenter Workshop
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- Trade goods stored
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- Inside view of Fort
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- Inside entrance to Fort
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- Bricks to make Fort
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- Hogan
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- Hogan Roof
The Craftsman Lodge is a great place for a family reunion, a corporate/church retreat, hosting your wedding party or a romantic getaway for two. Located southwest of the quaint town of Rye in the Greenhorn Mountains of Southern Colorado, the lodge is done in the Arts and Crafts design era. Located southwest of the quaint town of Rye in the Greenhorn Mountains of Southern Colorado, the lodge is done in the Arts and Crafts design era.
