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Photo by Hans Hallgren

Brett Clark, 3, held by his father, Daryl, looks at artifacts on display at the Hayden Heritage Center on Saturday during the second stop of the Parade of Museums.

Photo by Hans Hallgren

Earl and Buelah Kline, right, listen during a tour of the Hayden Heritage Center.

Photo by Hans Hallgren

Candice Lombardo, executive director of the Tread of Pioneers Museum in Steamboat Springs, talks about the history found in her museum with Parade of Museums travelers Saturday during their first stop on the tour.

They ranged in age from 9 to 89 and came from Moffat, Routt and Grand counties.

The 24 people boarded a school bus just after 8 a.m. Saturday at Wyman Museum for the Parade of Museums.

Their destination?

History.

They set out to see four museums, starting at Tread of Pioneers Museum in Steamboat Springs.

After picking up six more people along the way, the group traveled to the Hayden Heritage Center, then on to the Museum of Northwest Colorado, and then finishing at the Wyman Museum.

But the tour wasn't just about the museums.

Between stops, Lou Wyman talked about the various landmarks in the area and their historical impacts.

While he spoke, passengers on the bus, including many longtime area residents, chimed in with their own stories.

"This is not just out of a book; this isn't just at an exhibit," said Diane Holly, who is on the board of directors for the Hayden Heritage Museum, "the actual people are first-hand pointing things out."

"I was hoping I would meet other pioneer families," Holly said, "I just had no idea."

"I truly enjoy this," Gisela Garrison said, "because it's so much to learn about the Yampa Valley."

Garrison originally is from Germany.

Coming from an area inhabited heavily by coal miners and farmers, she said she appreciates seeing the history of that lifestyle - even in an area she's only lived in for nine months.

"I'm trying to learn everything I can about this area," Garrison said.

Stacey Clark brought her husband and four young children on the trip.

Clark home-schools her children and looked at the trip as an educational tour for her children.

"History is very important," Clark said, "and since I home-school, as well, I like to get as much information about local history."

But it was about having fun, as well.

"It was a field trip," Clark said, "but also, when you have a family of six, this was a vacation day."

When the bus stopped at the Museum of Northwest Colorado, it was time to take a lunch break.

As young and old alike chatted and laughed about the history in the area, it seemed as if the Clark family members weren't the only ones combining a field trip with a vacation day.

Hans Hallgren can be reached at 875-1792 or hhallgren@craigdailypress.com