CHAPTER 1
Tincup Creek or Bust!
Bumpity-bump! Ten-year-old Violet Alden clung to the edge of the Jeep’s open window. “This is the bumpiest car we’ve ever been in,” she exclaimed.
“It’s the bumpiest road we’ve ever been on,” Jessie said, pushing her bangs out of her eyes.
“It’s both,” agreed Henry, squeezed between his sisters in the backseat. “These four-wheel-drive Jeeps are made to go over rough roads.” The oldest at fourteen, Henry knew a lot about automobiles.
Sitting next to Grandfather in the front seat, six-year-old Benny twisted around to talk to his brother and sisters.
“I think it’s like a ride at the carnival,” he said.
“It’s a ride, all right,” said Grandfather, laughing. “I forgot my property was located on top of such a high mountain!”
“The Rocky Mountains,” Violet said. “They sure are rocky!”
Just that morning the Aldens had left their home in Greenfield, Connecticut. They flew to Denver, Colorado. There Grandfather rented a car at the airport and they drove west into the Rockies. They checked into their motel, Eagles Nest, then set off to find the property Grandfather had recently purchased.
Mrs. Harrington, owner of Eagles Nest, told Grandfather his rental car would never make it up the mountain but her trusty old Jeep would. So Grandfather borrowed the tough little car from her.
Jessie tried to read the survey map, but the fine lines kept blurring. “I hope we’re on the right road,” she said, concerned.
“Just think if we’d lived in the olden days,” commented Grandfather. “Back when there was a gold rush in these parts.”
“Gold rush?” Benny asked. “Was that like when we went to Alaska?”
The Aldens had visited Alaska and learned about the gold rush in the Yukon Territory.
“In our nation’s history gold has been discovered more than once,” said Grandfather. “The first big gold rush was in California in 1849. Later, gold was found east of here near a mountain called Pikes Peak.”
“I read about that,” Henry put in. “All these people came out here in covered wagons with banners on the sides that said, ‘Pikes Peak or Bust.’ ”
“We could have come in our boxcar,” said Benny. “We would have beaten everybody else.”
The others laughed.
When their parents died, the Alden children had no place to live. They found an empty boxcar in the woods that became their home. They knew they had a grandfather, but believed he was mean and hid from him.
Luckily, Grandfather found his grandchildren and took them to live in his big house in Greenfield. Kindhearted James Alden knew the boxcar meant a lot to the children and had it moved to their backyard. The kids never forgot the abandoned train car that kept them together. Now they used it as sort of a clubhouse.
Life with Grandfather was one big adventure, they quickly learned. And now they were beginning a new one.
It started when Grandfather received a call from his old business friend Jay Murphy. Mr. Murphy owned some property in Colorado that he wanted to sell. He offered the land to Grandfather, briefly describing the acreage along Tincup Creek.
Grandfather visited the property when he signed the final papers. When he came back, he was eager to show his grandchildren the land. So he arranged a second trip to Colorado, this time with the children.
James Alden was still chuckling at Benny’s idea of traveling west in the red boxcar. “I suppose our banner would say ‘Tincup Creek or Bust!’ ”
“Tincup Creek is one side of our property,” reported Jessie. She pressed the map against her knees so the wind wouldn’t blow it away.
Violet nodded. “We saw Tincup Creek at Eagles Nest, too.”
“The stream is supposed to be great for fishing,” Henry said. “I think the guys staying at Eagles Nest are fishermen. At least, they had poles and stuff.”
“What a funny name, Tincup,” remarked Violet. “I wonder how it got that name.” She was trying
Tincup Creek or Bust!
Bumpity-bump! Ten-year-old Violet Alden clung to the edge of the Jeep’s open window. “This is the bumpiest car we’ve ever been in,” she exclaimed.
“It’s the bumpiest road we’ve ever been on,” Jessie said, pushing her bangs out of her eyes.
“It’s both,” agreed Henry, squeezed between his sisters in the backseat. “These four-wheel-drive Jeeps are made to go over rough roads.” The oldest at fourteen, Henry knew a lot about automobiles.
Sitting next to Grandfather in the front seat, six-year-old Benny twisted around to talk to his brother and sisters.
“I think it’s like a ride at the carnival,” he said.
“It’s a ride, all right,” said Grandfather, laughing. “I forgot my property was located on top of such a high mountain!”
“The Rocky Mountains,” Violet said. “They sure are rocky!”
Just that morning the Aldens had left their home in Greenfield, Connecticut. They flew to Denver, Colorado. There Grandfather rented a car at the airport and they drove west into the Rockies. They checked into their motel, Eagles Nest, then set off to find the property Grandfather had recently purchased.
Mrs. Harrington, owner of Eagles Nest, told Grandfather his rental car would never make it up the mountain but her trusty old Jeep would. So Grandfather borrowed the tough little car from her.
Jessie tried to read the survey map, but the fine lines kept blurring. “I hope we’re on the right road,” she said, concerned.
“Just think if we’d lived in the olden days,” commented Grandfather. “Back when there was a gold rush in these parts.”
“Gold rush?” Benny asked. “Was that like when we went to Alaska?”
The Aldens had visited Alaska and learned about the gold rush in the Yukon Territory.
“In our nation’s history gold has been discovered more than once,” said Grandfather. “The first big gold rush was in California in 1849. Later, gold was found east of here near a mountain called Pikes Peak.”
“I read about that,” Henry put in. “All these people came out here in covered wagons with banners on the sides that said, ‘Pikes Peak or Bust.’ ”
“We could have come in our boxcar,” said Benny. “We would have beaten everybody else.”
The others laughed.
When their parents died, the Alden children had no place to live. They found an empty boxcar in the woods that became their home. They knew they had a grandfather, but believed he was mean and hid from him.
Luckily, Grandfather found his grandchildren and took them to live in his big house in Greenfield. Kindhearted James Alden knew the boxcar meant a lot to the children and had it moved to their backyard. The kids never forgot the abandoned train car that kept them together. Now they used it as sort of a clubhouse.
Life with Grandfather was one big adventure, they quickly learned. And now they were beginning a new one.
It started when Grandfather received a call from his old business friend Jay Murphy. Mr. Murphy owned some property in Colorado that he wanted to sell. He offered the land to Grandfather, briefly describing the acreage along Tincup Creek.
Grandfather visited the property when he signed the final papers. When he came back, he was eager to show his grandchildren the land. So he arranged a second trip to Colorado, this time with the children.
James Alden was still chuckling at Benny’s idea of traveling west in the red boxcar. “I suppose our banner would say ‘Tincup Creek or Bust!’ ”
“Tincup Creek is one side of our property,” reported Jessie. She pressed the map against her knees so the wind wouldn’t blow it away.
Violet nodded. “We saw Tincup Creek at Eagles Nest, too.”
“The stream is supposed to be great for fishing,” Henry said. “I think the guys staying at Eagles Nest are fishermen. At least, they had poles and stuff.”
“What a funny name, Tincup,” remarked Violet. “I wonder how it got that name.” She was trying
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