Norwood, Colorado

Norwood is in the heart of a large, flat mesa surrounded by deep river canyons eroded into the Uncompahgre Plateau over the millenia. It's beautiful, near perfect farm and cattle and horse ranch country. The town was originally established as a stage stop on the route between Telluride and Uravan, two gold mining camps in the 1880's. Over time those gold mines petered out and Norwood developed into a ranching center.

When I came through, I stayed overnight in the Back Narrows Inn, an inn on Main Street that was built in 1898 and has been open ever since. The interior has been kept pretty much as it was when the inn was first built (although there have been indoor bathrooms and electricity added). It was the last room in town that evening because most other motel rooms were filled with men who either worked on the oil drilling rigs scattered around or for the oil well service companies. Norwood was a great little town in a nice location, but it's a long way from here to anywhere...