Lori Graves has welcomed a seemingly endless stream of people at her Morning Fresh Dairy Farm in Bellvue, Colorado since a shiny monolith mysteriously appeared there more than a week ago. At first, she was amused by the curiosity of locals stopping by to catch a glimpse of the structure and ponder theories about its origins.
But the onslaught of visitors has also exhausted Graves and her staff — emblematic of why similar monoliths have been quickly removed from other locations where they popped up.
“We had easily 800 people yesterday,” Graves said Monday by phone, “and yesterday wasn’t as busy as the day before.”
The intrigue around the monoliths has been undeniable since the installations first captured headlines in 2020. According to a website called monolithtracker.com, there have been more than 200 monoliths reported worldwide, including the most recent ones in the desert near Las Vegas and in Bellvue. Most of the time no one knows who is responsible for them and guesses run the gamut from local artists to aliens.
Graves previously told The Denver Post she didn’t intend to remove the structure, which stands about 8 feet tall, 4 feet wide, and 8 inches deep. But she’s now reconsidering after hordes of visitors have caused congestion on the road where the dairy resides, trespassed on her land and in some cases damaged the natural environment.
“It’s been quite overwhelming. We’re having a lot of problems with trespassers and people being disrespectful and leaving trash all over the place. I completely understand why they took down the one in Nevada,” she said.
One person drove a car through the corn fields killing the crops that provide food for the company’s cows, Graves said. Others have hopped fences or cut the barbed wire to access the monolith. To control crowds, Graves stationed kids by the gate closest to the structure and created a parking area for visitors. Most people have obliged, but not all of them.
Many previous monoliths popped up on public lands; this one is distinct because it’s located on private property. Graves surmises that others were quickly taken down to avoid the negative impacts of increased visitation.
“It does upset me when people can’t be respectful and careful and take care of the hill that was in a natural state before. There’s a very marked trail up it now, it’s been flattened,” Graves said. “When there’s rain it’s going to rush down (the trail) and start eroding the hill.”
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Taking down the monolith at Morning Fresh Dairy Farm will be tricky not only because of its size. Graves said the edifice is bolted into a concrete pad that was not there prior to its arrival. As she decides how to move forward, Graves asks that people be kind to staff at the dairy’s onsite Howling Cow Cafe and heed directions from others helping manage traffic.
“We’re really hoping today isn’t as crazy as the last few days,” Graves said. “Next time I’m going to ask them aliens to do it at a time when I’m not busy already.”