Day 92 – The Mount Manitou Incline Spoon

For a change today, I decided I’d just reach into the bag of spoons and pull one out. My random grab is a spoon from the Mt. Manitou Incline in Colorado.

The Incline used to be the site of a cable (or funicular) railway, which was built in 1907 to provide access to the hydroelectric plant and service pipes at the top of the mountain. Just after it opened, it was turned into a tourist attraction which was in service until 1990, when continual washouts along the track made the Incline too expensive to maintain and it was finally shut down. 

The Incline re-opened to the public in 2013 as a not-for-the-faint-of-heart hiking trail, where visitors can follow the path that the old railway used to take, experiencing a gain of 2,000 feet in less than less than a mile.

Day 86 – The Seward’s Day Spoon

Happy Seward’s Day, Alaska! 

This legal state holiday, observed on the last Monday in March each year, takes its name from William H. Seward, who, as Secretary of State, negotiated the purchase of Alaska from Russia 150 years ago on March 30, 1867*. 

To celebrate Alaska’s sesquicentennial, here’s a spoon with a little enamel Alaska flag at the very top, courtesy of my mother-in-law, Margie, who still lives there.

*Seward’s Day should not be confused with Alaska Day, which marks the formal transfer of control of Alaska from Russia to the United States.