August is time for the annual Colorado getaway! August 12-15 were spent in Crested Butte, and we went to Cripple Creek for the 16-19.
Started off the first full day by feeding butterflies at the RMBL lab in Gothic. After lunch my aunt Carol was kind enough to bring us on a 4wd trip. My original interest was in returning to Elko Park, which we visited 8 years ago and is probably what really fed my interest in ghost towns. Unfortunatly it's one of those years the snow wasn't planning to melt on some roads. Instead we headed up to the unforgettable Paradise Divide. Took a different route on the way back down, and visited an old truck I remembered.
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| old wagon trail ruts |
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| Maroon Bells behind Cinnamon Mountain |
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| Paradise Divide |
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| Had a bit more paint last time |
The next day we hiked up a short ways to Judd Falls for a geocache there. If you continue on this trail it eventually goes to Aspen. We've hiked this route many times on previous visits, at least to the first and second river crossings. We skipped the Meridian Lake hike given the weather, and instead geocached around town and enjoyed the farmers market.
The day after returning from Crested Butte, we left for my second favorite of the Colorado mountain towns: Cripple Creek and Victor! What's there that could be so interesting? Of course, abandoned mining structures galore!
Headed straight west from Colorado Springs on the historic and allegedly haunted Gold Camp Road. It follows an old railroad line, and Teddy Roosevelt once said the scenery of this route "bankrupts the English language"
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| Gold Camp Road |
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| Some remains we found of the old railroad |
The next morning we went on the CC&V open pit gold mine tour. They brought us right down into the pit where they were working, and even into the operators room at the crusher.
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| CC&V mine |
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| Mining equipment at the bottom of the pit |
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| Largest truck they own |
Back in Cripple Creek we went on the railroad tour which was very informative but I wish it were longer. Later spent some time in Mt. Pisgah Cemetery, and even found Mabel Barbee Lee and her parents there. She wrote "Cripple Creek Days" which is what inspired us to re-visit the town. The best comparison is to a little house on the prairie book, but based in a Colorado mining town.
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| Mining headframe |
There is an incredible number of mining structures still standing in Victor, almost all of which you can go right up to. The CC&V mining company has been doing a lot of work to preserve the buildings.
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| Ore House in Victor |
The day after, we started with a hike up poverty gulch, then visited the Old Homestead, which was the upscale brothel in 1900. Went on a scenic drive that afternoon down Phantom Canyon. It was very narrow, but Shelf Road is said to be much worse. Checked out Florence then took a peek at the Royal Gorge in Canyon City before continuing north on the gold belt tour.
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| An original bridge in Phantom Canyon |
At one point we accidentally turned west, and decided to stop for a cache happened to be heading towards. This brought us to an incredibly scenic canyon at sunset. The trail lead to a waterfall and little known swimming hole.
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| The secret swimming hole |
The great thing about visiting Cripple Creek on weekdays in the lack of people, there's a vast population difference on the weekends. Casino towns also tend to have cheap food, and Bronco Billy's has the 49 cent breakfast. There was a bit of a wait but we got immediate service by sitting at the bar in the middle of the casino.
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| Eric donates a few dollars |
