Dennis Weaver Memorial Park, Ridgway, Colorado
Image © James Burke
The Dennis Weaver Memorial Park is open dawn to dusk April 1 through October 31 and closed during the winter months due to snow and the need to preserve the area as a widlife sanctuary. The adjacent bike path along the Uncompahgre River between the town of Ridgway and Memorial Park remain open year-round.
The Park is located one mile north of the stoplight at the intersection of highways 550 and 62 in Ridgway. Turn west at River Sage Drive and follow the signs. Click here for arial map. On foot (or bike), follow the scenic route along the river, about 1 mile. Park in Ridgway and head north from Hartwell Park along the concrete bike path (cut the distance in half by parking at the north end of Railroad St.).
Dream Your Eagle
I saw an eagle in flight today
Free upon the wind.
And in my dreams, I touched his wing,
Caught the wind and flew with him.
We soared above the mountain top,
On our course, steadfast and true...
Amidst the beauty of nature's own land
Never once losing sight of the view.
Oh the glory, it was for me
Flying free in the sky.
For dreams become reality,
In our soul, they never die.
So sieze the moment this now
For your eagle lives deep within..
Hold the vision of your own truth,
Dream your eagle and fly with him.
Oh the glory it is for me
Flying free in the sky...
For dreams become reality.
In our soul, they never die.
Dreams become reality
in our soul, they never die
Dennis Weaver
1924-2006
Image
© James BurkeNumerous cairns (stacks of stones) can be found on and around the memorial, carefully placed by local citizens, schoolchildren, and visitors from around the globe. Many cairns contain prayers and pay tribute to loved ones. Others are simply a challenge of patience and skill. All add an undeniably mystical element to the park.
The showpiece of this beautiful 60-acre nature park along the Uncompaghre River is a 2,800 pound bronze American Bald Eagle with a 21-foot wingspan. Soaring 20 feet above the ground against a backdrop of the snow-capped San Juan Mountains, this magnificant work of art was sculpted by noted western sculptor and artist Vic Payne of Cody, Wyoming, and donated to the park by Ridgway resident and family friends Gerrye and Bill Widger. Nearby, embedded in a bonze plaque, is Dennis Weaver's inspirational poem, "Dream Your Eagle."
The park itself was created and built by members of the Weaver famly and friends and Ridgway Town staffers. The eagle is surrounded by a Native American medicine wheel and paths bordered with stone carins. Steps lead down to a lovely, riverside picnic area. Open to the public, this wildlife preserve offers miles of hiking and biking trails and spectacular mountain and river vistas. It's an artist's paridise, a photographers's dream.
The dedication of the Park, August 28, 2007, was blessed by Chief Terry Knight of the Ute Mountain Tribe and Manuel Heart. At the ceremony, Dennis Weaver’s widow, Gerry, and their sons — Rick, Robert and Rusty, thanked everyone for their help in making this park possible.
by Kathryn Retzler
The gravel path or "wheel" encircling the eagle is inspired by the design of the Ute Circle of Life. It is aligned astronomically to the summer solstice. Standing at a particular spot along the wheel on June 21st you’ll witness the sun rising directly over the eagle’s wing at the point where its tip brushes the “mountaintop.” Stone indicators are also laid out in alignment with magnetic, North, East, South, and West.
Image ©James Burke
Adjacent to the park and sharing it is the Weaver Family's RiverSage LLC