June 12, 2008 Fortsat fra sidste side ~ Continued from last page Dansk tekst til venstre English text on the right Dagens baghave: Backyard of the Day: Ashcroft, Aspen, Pitkin County, Colorado The ghost town of Ashcroft is located about 15 miles northwest of Aspen in Pitkin County, Colorado.   Vi forlod Aspen, og ikke alt for langt udenfor byen fandt vi spøgelsesbyen Ashcroft. Byen blev officielt grundlagt i 1880, efter der blev fundet sølv her i 1879. Den hed først Castle Forks, og senere Chloride, før den blev kendt som Ashcroft. Der var en diligence-station her, men i 1887, da jernbanen blev anlagt, gik den udenom Ashcroft til fordel for Aspen, og efter devalueringen af sølv i 1893 blev byen stort set lagt øde. We left Aspen, and not too far outside of town we found the ghost town of Ashcroft. The town was officially founded in 1880, after silver had been found here in 1879. It was first called Castle Forks, and later Chloride, before it became known as Ashcroft. There was a stage station here, but in 1887, when the railroad was built, it bypassed Ashcroft in favor of Aspen, and after the devaluation of silver in 1893, the town was largely abandoned.       Smedje ~ Blacksmith shop Ashcroft ligger i 1140 meters højde, og selvom det ikke var snevejr, føg der sne ned til os fra bjergtoppene. Ashcroft is located at an elevation of 9,500 feet, and although it wasn't snowing, snow was blowing down from the mountain tops.     Aspelund ~ Aspen

Ashcroft blev grundlagt af en mineforening, dannet af guldgravere Charles B. Culver og W. F. Coxhead, efter de fandt sølv i Castle Creek Valley omkring 1879. Byen var oprindelig delt op i 840 parceller, der hver kostede enten en dags arbejde og en dollar, eller fem dollars. I løbet af fem år havde Ashcroft 2500 faste beboere om sommeren, seks hoteller, mindst sytten værtshuse, en herretøjs-forretning, en læge, og et fængsel. Ashcroft was established by a miner's association, which was formed by prospectors Charles B. Culver and W. F. Coxhead, after they found silver in the Castle Creek Valley around 1879. The town was originally divided into 840 lots, each costing either a day's labor and a dollar, or five dollars. Within five years Ashcroft had 2,500 inhabitants in summer, six hotels, at least seventeen saloons, a men's clothing store, a doctor, and a jail.     Gammel konservesdåse ~ Old tin can     Den gamle landhandel ~ The old mercantile             Efter 1900 havde Ashcroft kun omkring halvtres beboere, og posthuset lukkede i 1912. Postmester Dan McArthur tjente kun halvanden dollar om måneden, og for den klat penge sorterede han omkring 250 stykker post. Hans hovedopgave var at holde sig grundigt informeret om den seneste sladder, som han så kunne give videre senere på aftenen, når han skænkede op på byens sidste værtshus, "Det Blå Spejl", som han ejede. After 1900 Ashcroft had only about fifty residents, and the post office closed in 1912. Postmaster Dan McArthur earned a mere dollar and a half a month, and for that sum he sorted about 250 pieces of mail. His most important task was to keep thoroughly abreast of the latest gossip, which he could then dispense later in the day, as he was tending the bar at the last open saloon in town, "The Blue Mirror", which he himself owned.

Et af Ashcrofts gamle hoteller, "Hotel View" ~ One of Ashcroft's old hotels, the "Hotel View"             Ashcrofts allersidste beboer var Jack Leahy, som kaldte sig "borgmester af Ashcroft." Han døde i 1939 af underernæring. Ashcroft's last permanent resident was Jack Leahy, who called himself "mayor of Ashcroft." He died in 1939 from malnutrition.

Her vokser masser af skovjordbær. Here are lots of wild strawberries.         Hvorfor man ikke bør lade træstumper udgøre sig for at være træstubbe. Why people shouldn't let tree chunks sit around posing as tree stumps.

Vurderingskontor og vaskeri ~ Assay office and laundry     Blue Mirror Saloon Værtshuset "Det Blå Spejl" var det sidste i Ashcroft, der var åbent, ejet af Dan McArthur. Størstedelen af byens indbyggere var ugifte mænd, og værtshusene var velbesøgte. The "Blue Mirror Saloon" was the last saloon open in Ashcroft, owned by Dan McArthur. The vast majority of people in town were single males, and the saloons did brisk business.     Fundet omkring værtshuset ~ Found around the saloon

Lige ved siden af "Det Blå Spejl" ligger denne bygning, som også var et værtshus. Right next to "The Blue Mirror" lies this building, which was a saloon as well.             Bemærk vintertøjet ~ Note the wintery outfit

Aspeknop ~ Aspen bud

Fortsæt turen ~ Continue the trip More Colorado Travel Information Here   A BIT EARLIER A BIT LATER