Fifteen minutes from breck-enridge, Colo, lies a town so colorful yet so obscure that even locals can't recall its name. Nestled in a grove of evergreens, Dry Gulch once was home to 1870s miners hoping to strike gold. Today it stands deserted, save for its owner, John Cooney, who uses it as a weekend retreat for himself and his family. "It's got some of the finest backcountry skiing in Colorado," says Cooney of DryrnGulch's 40 acres. "It has an old growth forest. There's a spring. The access for recreation is just fantastic." Not to mention that there's an ore crusher, a spooky mine shaft, a horse corral and a blacksmith's shop. Cooney, 45, a general contractor in Breckenridge, bought it all for $1.25 million at public auction in October 2006.
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