Colorado's mountains are packed with reminders of the state's past. In this one tank trip, Bill Clarke starts in Boulder and heads west in search of the Switzerland Trail and some rock 'n' roll history.

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See Bill's One Tank Trip To Caribou Ranch

Boulder was a starting point for the Narrow Gauge railroads -- the ones that brought gold and silver ore from the mines west of Boulder. Sand kept the mining operations supplied.

More than a 100 years ago, Engine 30 and others like it took passengers and freight up what became known as the Switzerland Trail. It was named that because of the spectacular scenery and it eventually found a life as a tourist railroad.

It's an easy drive but you can get off into a little more difficulty if that's your inclination. Bill went looking for a shortcut to what's left of the old rail line and headed up Boulder canyon.

If you pull over and take a look, you'll still see traces of the old railroad lines, though the trains stopped and the tracks were pulled nearly 100 years ago.

A handful of communities dot the countryside around Sugarloaf, and the roads connect, in a way, Bill said.

The Switzerland Trail is hard to see, but there it's there. The trail was blazed by the Greeley, Salt Lake and Pacific Railway Co., which never got as far as Salt Lake City or the Pacific. It actually never made it to Greeley, either.

At one time, the railroad crossed a place with a rich history of its own -- the Caribou Ranch. It's quiet there now but in the 1970s and early '80s the barn at Caribou Ranch rocked. The Beach Boys, Chicago, U2, Rod Stewart and even Frank Zappa recorded in the barn's second floor studio.

Elton John's album "Caribou" was also recorded there.

Behind the glass studio, the engineering equipment was some of the best. And because it was a destination remote from big cities, Caribou was well-suited for musicians used to recording in New York or Los Angeles.

Coming up to the mountains got them away from the distractions and let them focus on the music.

Will Guercio grew up on the ranch and now he's the property manager. He said he didn't give the celebrities much thought except that more bands meant more kids his own age to play with and more than a few musicians as well.

But the studio closed after a fire in the mid-1980s.

Caribou Ranch is off limits to the public though some of the land will become Boulder County open space this fall.

If you go down Highway 72 a few miles, you'll see the camp that gave the Caribou Ranch its name. This area was and still is mining country.

Most of the land at the old Caribou mining camp is private property, but the owners say if you're walking around, and not in a sport utility vehicle or bicycle, feel free to explore. There are some great trails for long walks, especially with the dogs.

At the camp, you can explore the old stone bunkhouse. The stones are still here but the miners are gone.

It's peaceful at Caribou and most of the gold's gone for now but there's still plenty of history in those hills.

Bill's Travel Notes:

The easiest way to get to the Switzerland Trail is to drive up Four Mile Canyon from Boulder toward Gold Hill. T

The road we took, while paved for much of the way, makes it much tougher to pick up the route for the old Greeley, Salt Lake and Pacific Railway. But it took us through Sugarloaf and a community of dropouts, dot-com millionaires, and middle class commuters among others. If you've never driven up here, that trip, too, is worth a day.

If you take the Switzerland Trail route from Boulder, you may not want to do it in anything less that an SUV or a motorcycle. Ultimately, you'll wind up on Colorado Highway 72 and you'll turn left, heading south toward Nederland.

Remember that in the fall, some of the Caribou Ranch property will be turned over to Boulder County for open space. But for now, it's best to respect the property rights of the landowners. There's plenty of space to go around without going onto someone's privately owned land.

The road to Caribou Mining Camp is just north of Nederland and as you start climbing again, you'll be going back into history. You'll love it.

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