DOLORES : The door to the great outdoors

You will be charmed by this little town. It is located in the beautiful Dolores River Valley. The full Spanish name of the Dolores River was Rio de Nuestra Senora de los Dolores, "River of Our Lady of Sorrows," conferred by Fathers Escalante and Dominguez on their historic expedition in 1776.

The river winds through the valley and then empties into McPhee Reservoir, the second-largest lake in Colorado. The valley was once home to the Ancestral Puebloans, and more than 1,380 archaeological sites were identified in the Dolores Project area prior to the construction of the reservoir. The extensive collections from those excavations are archived and interpreted at the Anasazi Heritage Center just north of Dolores, which is also the headquarters of the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument.

Dolores Chamber of Commerce: 970-882-4018

A bull elk bugles in the high country

Galloping Goose, Motor No. 5

As part of the Christmas in Delores celebration,
Santa will visit the Rio Grande Soutern Railroad Museum on Dec. 11