MUSEUM OF THE MOUNTAIN WEST

An incredible plunge in western Colorado from the 1880 s to the 1940 s. It is a real mini-village that is discovered in this open-air museum.

The site visits through guided tours about 2 hours. It seems long, but it takes at least this time to pay tribute to this condensed historical record, actually it would take days to observe all the details and really realize the wealth of the site.

We start the visit in the inner part, two small covered alleys concentrate many shops: Dentist, grocery store, chapelier, shoemaker… who's visiting and we're amazed at so much realism and detail.

The guide welcomes the round of anecdotes and crisp stories that carry visitors from decades to the heart of the American Far West. Outside, it's a mini village. Each place has its history: the church which belonged to the city of Montrose and which was saved from destruction, placed on wheels and transported for a whole day to join, a few kilometers later, its new residence; wooden cabins, where local families lived; the car that served in the famous movie Butch Cassidy and the Kid. The saloon is the only building that is not original and has been built to welcome the magnificent historic bar of Telluride. Inside, we think of a movie, the bar, the central tables, the tapestries, the climb of stairs where you imagine a cowboy coming down. The production team of Quentin Tarantino's last film wanted to buy the place for the shooting of the Eight Salopards. Finally, she praised many elements, some of which were broken in the fight scenes.

This incredible work is Richard E. Fike's work, which founded the museum in 1997. This retired archeologist began his collection since the age of 4. This museum is the result of a very strong interest and a desire to preserve western culture. Today, Richard continues to collect and many gifts and blows of the premises also allow instead of continually enriching.