Copper Mountain and Frisco

Sunday 19th February

As my knees were a bit sore, I decided not to ski today. Paul went out very early in the morning and exhausted himself by about 2 pm. I copied my photographs from my camera to Paul's laptop, then I formatted my camera card so I would be able to make more photos. Then I caught a bus into Frisco, where I paid a visit to the Heritage Park, a collection of historic houses which have been transported to the area round the old Schoolhouse.



This is the schoolhouse from the back. The building was built as a Saloon in 1899. It was purchased by the school district and converted to become Frisco's second school. It operated as the school from 1901 to 1963. The bell tower and bell came from a school house in Breckenridge, and was added about 1909. It is now a Museum.

Inside is a wonderful diorama of the town and area around 1900.



There's a train going round the area as well. It's hard to photograph, as no flash is allowed. There are old school desks



as well as lots of relics of the original school.

There are examples of typical flora and fauna of the area.



There are some relics and photographs of the original inhabitants, the Ute tribe, and some relics of the miners from the mid 1800s.

Outside the schoolhouse, there are nine other historic houses, most full of furniture and artefacts. I was quite fascinated by the old Jail, built around 1880. This is one of the cells inside it.



There is a one room cabin that was built in the 1930s as a summer holiday cabin. It is set up so it is rather like our current condo, except that we have a bathroom. This is the kitchen area



The Wood's Cabin is the oldest building, dating from 1860



It has been a family home, a post office, a bank, a madam's house, a saloon and a general store.

There is a little one roomed Trapper's cabin, full of skins.



There are a couple of larger houses, one which is an example of a middle-class mining family home and was lived in by a Norwegian who started a ski jump. His 8 foot home made skis are still in the house. This was really the beginning of the ski business in the area.

There is a typical 1890s two storey home, constructed of hand-hewn logs and good quality furniture. Some of the walls still papered with old newspapers as insulation.

There is an old ranch house, the residence of a family who had a dairy farm. It has areas set up as a saloon, and is stuffed with old artefacts. One corner is even set up as a whore house.




There are other buildings, all of which I photographed, though many of them are dreadful photos. The street next to the Historic Park is also full of old buildings.



There's a lot more to see in Frisco, but I was quite tired after nearly 3 hours so I caught the bus back to Copper. I'll try to visit again on another occasion.
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