No visit to Cahone, Colorado is complete without stopping at the Ruins of America Trading Post. You won't find any details about it on Trip Advisor, but then you won't find anything about Cahone there either. Most of the community appears to be for sale and the part that isn't looks abandoned. Located on Highway 491 between Dove Creek and Yellow Jacket, I can say with confidence that you are likely on your way to somewhere else if you get to Cahone.
While the community may be dying, the spirit of American enterprise lives on in Cahone. Amid the maze of trash and treasures left to the environment in front of the trading post is a jerry can with a sign that says, "Take a Picture, Leave a $1." There were eight quarters in a puddle on top of the can when I unscrewed the lid to add my dollar. Looking inside, I counted another three dollars in bills and change for a total of six bucks. A pretty good return on an investment of a repurposed gas can and a hand-lettered sign. While I'm not an economist, nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, I think it's going to take more than six dollars to get the community back on its feet. Still, I sleep better knowing I did my part. I also left my contact information in case Cahone rises from the ashes like a phoenix and city officials want to recognize early investors with a statue or by naming a building after me.
