The Gang by Kole Kostelic

Story

Where Is the Colorado Desperado? - Week 1

Tours and Treks - Online

Where Is the Colorado Desperado? 

Welcome to our new Tours & Treks digital travel adventure! Where Is the Colorado Desperado? will be a weekly post with clues to a location in Colorado. This could be a city, a building or a natural area, such as a park. We invite you to join in to help solve the mystery! The following week we will reveal the location and provide information for you to explore more on your own. To help facilitate our virtual exploration, we have created a set of fun characters and their backstory. Learn more about Jimmy Maddo, the Colorado Desperado and his wild west adventures here. Let’s have fun and explore the places of Colorado digitally until we get to traveling again!   
 
Jimmy Maddo, the Colorado Desperado, and his sidekick, Opus, are on the hunt to find Ophelia the Outlaw and stop her from her maniacal plan to take over the state! Ophelia has stolen Colorado’s prize antlers, a terrible loss for the state’s history. Where in Colorado is Jimmy hunting for Ophelia and the Bailey Baddies this week? Check for clues below. To get a backstory and to find out more on Jimmy Maddo and his adventures, go here. 
 
The bells toll high noon at St. Mary’s as Jimmy Maddo, the Colorado Desperado, and Opus walk through the streets of downtown.  It wasn’t just people walking down the streets.  Jimmy and Opus saw a giraffe!  Opus was scared, of course, thinking he might need a giraffe-raft to get away on the nearby creek, but Jimmy Maddo just kept on walking.  He saw that a cowboy had already lassoed the wild beast and was riding it back to its home. “That must be some cowboy, t’lasso a giraffe!” Opus said. “Ah, it’s nothing for a city like this. Them rodeo cowboys can lasso anything,” Jimmy Maddo said, speaking low and squinting under his hat against the noonday sun.  He knew Ophelia was here somewhere. “Well, I’d give ‘em a gold medal, for sure,” Opus finished, matching his slow stride to Jimmy’s “I wouldn’t be surprised if Ophelia set that giraffe loose to confuse us.” “Maybe she done put out all kindsa animals,” Opus replied, his eyes wide.  “Bears ‘n bulls ‘n wildcats n’ camels!” “Jus’ takes two for kissin’,’” was all Jimmy had to say to that.  He stopped, snapping his fingers with a resounding tone.  “I know how we’ll find her.  They’ve got tracking technology here that’s the best in the state.  Sure, it only gets used one night a year these days, but it’s still going to work for us.  Let’s go, Opus!”  Jimmy explained his plan. Opus had been only partially listening just at that moment.  He was thinking of the fruited plains east of town because he was hungry, so he was confused at first, thinking they were going to the capital of Wyoming.  Jimmy set him straight, though, and soon they were lit by the ghostly green lights of military computers. “There!  There she is!” Jimmy jubilantly cried, pointing to the spot on the map where Ophelia the Outlaw was lurking. “Five stars!” Opus shouted, for it was, as always, a world-class job well done for Jimmy. 

They jumped into the History-Mystery-Mobile and made their way to Ophelia’s temporary hideout.  Sneaking their way up on her as smoothly as ice, they burst out to find Ophelia and Lariat Louise admiring their stolen antlers. “We’ve gotcha now!” Opus shouted. “Not this time!” Ophelia countered, turning a mirror that was pulling in the shine enshrined on the mountain and using it to blind the do-gooder duo. By the time they’d regained their vision, Ophelia and Louise were gone. “Well, at least we got back the antlers,” Opus said. “Not the original, but it’s better than nothing.  All right, Opus.  She got away this time, but we’ll keep on her trail.  There’s no place she can hide where I won’t find her, because I’m Jimmy Maddo, the Colorado Desperado!” “Maybe next time we should put her feet on the other legs.  Then she won’t get away so easy,” Opus suggested. Jimmy nodded, because what could you say to something like that? 

Where is the Colorado Desperado?  C'mon back next week for the answer!