Inspired by Forest Fenn, we have a treasure hunt you can more easily win.
Look for a clue in the Sopris Sun to let you know when the hunt has begun.
The treasure vault awaits the clever mind, who reads the clues and seeks to find.
Before each First Friday’s celebration starts, this treasure will be hidden in Carbondale’s heart.
Through Main Street’s charm and gallery halls, past murals bright on building walls.
The treasure waits where artists gather, where community bonds grow ever stronger.
So, gather friends and family near, let the hunt begin without a fear.
For somewhere in this valley blessed, adventure calls — begin your quest!
For First Friday, July 4
In the shadow of Mount Sopris, where the crystal rivers flow,
Two unlikely partners worked the mines of long ago.
Black Diamond Bill, a coal-dust soul with hands as black as night,
And Rowdy Pete, a cowboy bold who’d never start a fight.
The year was eighteen-ninety-three, the winter fierce and cold,
When Bill discovered something strange within the mountain’s fold.
Not coal or silver, gold or gems, but something far more rare—
A friendship born of hardship in that thin mountain air.
Pete would bring his cattle down from summer’s grassy heights,
While Bill would tunnel underground through endless winter nights.
They’d meet each day when shifts would change, beside the old town square,
To share their tales of triumph and their burdens hard to bear.
One autumn day, when aspen leaves turned golden in the sun,
They made a pact together when their working days were done:
“Let’s hide something precious where our friendship first took root,
A treasure for the future—our legacy to boot.”
So seek the place where cowboys rest and miners pause to dream,
Where children’s laughter echoes and the mountain waters gleam.
Not grand or vast, but small and sweet, a pocket of delight,
Where friendship blooms eternal in the fading evening light.