Watch for this historic barn on the north side of Highway 96 as you pass the Tn-Mix Concrete Company. Pioneer cattleman Charles Goodnight maintained his headquarters here from 1869 to 1875. Along with his partner Oliver Loving, Goodnight blazed cattle trails from Texas to ColoradoThe barn is on private property and is not accessible to the public at this time.

The 11-mile-long Lake Pueblo and surrounding 7,000 acres provide facilities for all types of recreation. Popular activities include boating, fishing, swimming, water skiing, camping, hiking and picnicking. A current Colorado State Parks Pass is required and may be purchased on site.To reach Lake Pueblo, head west on Thatcher which turns into Highway 96 and go approximately 3-1/2 miles. Turn right on Pueblo Reservoir Road.

The ecosystems along this scenic byway vary greatly. Biologists use the term life zones for plant and animal communities that change with elevation. Pueblo lies in the plains life zone which is characterized by grasses, prairie dogs, rattlesnakes and native trees growing only near water. At Jackson Hill, an increase in elevation brings more moisture.The lower part of this foothills life zone contains pinyon pines and juniper trees. Higher up, visitors see Gambel, or scrub, oaks; ponderosa pines; scrub jays and mule deer.

Mile Marker 28.6 From the 1870s until the advent of the automobile, horse-
drawn stagecoaches carried passengers over a bumpy dirt road from Pueblo to the mines in Silver Cliff, Rosita and Querida. Starting in 1873, the stages got fresh horses at the Jackson Hill Stage Stop. The weather-beaten buildings
are still standing. They can be seen from County Road 399. From Highway 96, watch for a pipe going over the highway. Turn at the first road near the pipe to see the old Stage Stop. The stage stop is now private property.

Over 150 years ago, buckskin-clad French traders, scrappy American farmers, and fur traders (some of whom had Mexican wives) lived in nearby settlements. In the 1830s, three French ex-trappers built a fort on Adobe Creek to facilitate trade with the Ute Indians. It was called Buzzards Roost, or Maurice’s Fort, after Maurice LeDuc. Later settlements included Hardscrabble in 1844 and Wetmore in the late 1870s.

The next part of the byway passes through the San Isabel National Forest and is flanked by rocks over a billion years old. Intense heat, pressure and chemical changes transformed some of this ancient rock into banded gneiss. Rock hounds recognize this metamorphic rock by its light and dark stripes. Both gneiss and granite are visible in road cuts for several miles. These rocks were pushed up from many miles below the earth’s surface. Look to the north side of the road for a pointed formation called Lover’s Leap.

In 1872, gold and silver were discovered east of present day Silver
Cliff, just south of State Highway 96. The area was named Rosita, possibly
for the small, wild roses then common in the area. By 1875, Rosita was
a booming town with 400 buildings and a population of over 1,000. Today
only several of the original buildings remain.