Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman in Colorado Springs

After flying into Denver International Airport, we drove our rental car south to Colorado Springs. Along the way we passed through the concrete canyons and big box store forests of urban sprawl. When we reached Colorado Springs, we ate lunch at a popular chain restaurant before touring the U.S. Air Force Academy. Then we drove along the freeway, and through wide paved streets lined by strip malls to our hotel. 

It wasn't until the next day, as we hiked in Garden Of The Gods, that I realized we were actually in Colorado Springs, where Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman was set. In the TV series, Dr. Michaela Quinn travels from Boston, Massachusetts to Colorado Springs in 1867, because the townspeople of modern Boston refuse to visit a female doctor. At first, the inhabitants of this frontier town refuse to trust Michaela also. But gradually, she wins their respect, and becomes a valued member of the community.

While Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman was filmed in California, this is the area in which the TV series was set. There may not have been a real Dr. Michaela Quinn. Nonetheless, the issues the character battles, and the events she lived through, were very real indeed. When you see General Custer leading his army troops against nearby Native American tribes, this is where those battles actually took place. When you see Army troops killing herds of buffalo to drive away Native American communities, and clear the land for homesteads and ranches, this is where that occurred. When you see the townspeople striving to attract the interest of the railroads, and thereby develop their town, this is where that occurred.

In the series, all that occurred, or at least began, in 1867. In the one hundred-and-fifty years hence, townspeople like shopkeeper Loren Bray and barber Jake Slicker won. The train came to Colorado Springs, and the town grew. Now there's far more than one school or church in Colorado Springs, let alone one doctor. The town has grown out all proportion to its original size, and has reaped all the benefits of becoming a modern city, as well as the accompanying traffic and overcrowding issues. 

In Garden of the Gods, the beauty of the land in which Colorado Springs was planted remains. This was the place where people like Dr. Michaela Quinn demonstrated that all people are equal, regardless of gender, race, or beliefs. I'm so glad it remains free to enter, and accessible to all.

Dragon Dave

Farewell Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman

In the TV series "Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman," Michaela Quinn travels from cosmopolitan Boston in 1867 to live in the rustic, limited surroundings of Colorado Springs. The residents are filled with prejudices, based on race, cultural heritage, and religious beliefs. But the first and biggest hurdle she must overcome is their reluctance to be treated by a female physician. Once she helps them overcome their preconceived notions of what a doctor can and should be, she urges them to take another look at all their other prejudices. 

In April last year, my wife and I visited Paramount Ranch in southern California, where the series was filmed. We set our chairs up in "Grace's Kitchen," the outdoor restaurant where a former slave fed her primarily Caucasian customers. We spent a quiet hour or two sketching, then took a wander around the town.

We found the set surprisingly small, considering the crew filmed 149 episodes here over six heartwarming seasons, plus two TV movies. We also noticed the buildings had been changed from the 1990s, when "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" was shot. This was because the buildings were just props, and Paramount allowed other production companies to make movies and TV shows there. The "town" not only held the history of its prior productions, but continued to serve the public by becoming part of new and exciting stories.

We walked across a small footbridge, and set up our chairs in a flat area where Ingrid and her fellow European refugees set up their camp outside town. While we enjoyed our lunch, a family held a children's party in a nearby pavilion. At one point, several adults arrived with horses, and whisked the children off into the surrounding hills for an exciting Western adventure. 

We always planned to return there, but life and circumstances got in the way. Last week, a wildfire rolled through the town, destroying this rich piece of Hollywood history. Thankfully, set a little outside town, the church in which the Reverend fought to allow Grace and Robert E. to marry, and worship therein, still stands. 

Was Someone watching over the humble center of worship, and sheltering it from the flames that ravaged the general store, barbershop, and saloon, as well as Dr. Quinn's surgery? One thing I know for certain. A part of California's cultural history was wiped out, and can never be replaced. 

Dragon Dave