S '23, Ep. 6 Leadville, CO (08-05-23)

 At 10,152 feet, Leadville is the highest city in Colorado. I was a little nervous about staying at that high an elevation, but we both did pretty good. Once in a while, for no apparent reason, we would feel short of breath, but it passed pretty fast.

Leadville is surrounded by the highest peaks in Colorado- Mount Elbert and Mount Massive. A local woman was telling me that her friends from Washington are surprised the mountains aren’t taller- they seem shorter than the peaks in Washington. To which she replied “Ah yes, but we are already standing at over 10,000 feet, and still looking up”.

We started out slowly by heading to the National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum. With such a small town having a mining museum, it gives an indication as to the origins of the town.

Indeed, gold was discovered in Leadville in 1860, but the town came into being during the silver boom of the 1870s. The population grew to a record 30,000 (compared to 3000 right now). Many of the people living here today are descendants of the original families.

Before the California, or even the Colorado Gold Rush, the southeastern states were producing gold at such a fast rate that the Philadelphia Mint couldn’t handle it all, and 3 other Mints had to be created to turn all the gold into coins. Even so, when large deposits of gold were discovered in California, The California Gold Rush became the greatest mass migration in United States history.

The first section of the museum focused on industrial minerals- the every day minerals that we don’t think about.

Another section of the museum was similar to a fun house, in my mind.

 I walked through a tunnel , staying “on the tracks” and it took me through a “mine”, showing what I presumed I would see if I was in a real mine. It was actually well done.

There is a “fun facts” display that insists that nearly all of the gold found in the last 6000 years is still in use, and that an ounce of gold can be hammered into a 100 square foot sheet. Obviously gold is very malleable, so it can spread itself very thin but I guess that explains why it can be used in printed circuit boards.

Our first hike in the area took us to the back side of nearby Turquoise Lake. I admit I was excited to see this lake in the sunshine, so it could “light up”, but it turns out it got its name from the fact that there are so many turquoise deposits nearby. The lake was pretty, but certainly not turquoise.

Our hike took us past the ruins of Douglass City, an old, abandoned mining town, to the Hagerman Tunnel.

Along the way we passed by pretty ponds, and several small waterfalls. The hike was a good one, about 6 miles long and 700 ft of gain.

I did not venture into the tunnel- I was happy to sun myself on a nearby rock while I waited for Paul. As it turns out, he didn’t go too far into the tunnel because the entrance is a sheet of ice. Good Call.

Of course, the major history of the area is mining, so we looked for things we could do related to that. We had already toured the nearby Molly Kathleen Mine (one of my favorite mine tours) but Tripadvisor says that the Capital Prize Gold Mine tour is one of the best. It’s in Georgetown, about an hour drive from where we are staying, so, off we went.

The entrance to the property gave me a sinking feeling about the quality of the tour because it was basically a yard full of old cars and junk that no one bothered to get rid of. The entrance to the mine is barely noticeable. However, the tour itself was really good. It was different from any other mine tour we had taken.

 

Our guide is from Slovakia, and comes from a long line of miners. She was personable, knowledgeable, and fun. 

This is what is called an “active mine”. I assumed that meant they are fully mining and are making money at it. What it actually means is that there is definitely gold here, and they are actively looking for “the mother lode”. If they had already found it, it would be a “producing mine”. So, now I know.

Putting on our helmets, we went underground- our first stop being the “Shaker Table”. It is actually one of the last steps once gold ore is found. After being crushed, the gold containing rock is shaken. The heavier minerals settle out on the bottom, leaving everything else behind. Gold “nuggets” would not be found in this environment- they would be found in a stream, where small pieces of gold sink and because they are so soft, adhere to other pieces of gold, creating a nugget.

I learned a lot on this tour ( and wrote an appropriate review) in a way that was anything but boring. One of the things I learned was the differences between an Adit, a tunnel, and a shaft. A tunnel has an opening at both ends, an Adit goes horizontally into a hill, and a shaft is vertical.

As we walked further into the mine, we passed by a shaft and she asked us how deep it looked. After we all gave our answers, she laughed and said its about 2 feet deep. The effect is done with mirrors.

One of the “fun facts” we learned is that the “honey wagon” was brought in on the same rail tracks that loaded the ore and took it out. Because the tracks were put in at a slope to make it easier for full ore cars to leave the mine, a chain was put across the tracks to keep the cars in place. As a joke, sometimes someone would “remove/yank” the chain, and the car would move down the track. Not great for the person who was using it as a commode. So, the term “don’t yank my chain” was coined. True story- look it up.

As we walked further into the mine, we were able to see veins that contain a lot of gold in them.

After our tour, and lunch, we continued up the scenic drive high up above Georgetown to Guanella Pass. We got out and admired the scenery several times, but this wasn’t our day for hiking.

The other hike we Did do, was a trail around Turquoise Lake. There are several, and its a big lake, so our goal was to hike 2 or so miles to the historic lodge and then turn around- and that’s what we did. By the time we finished the sky was spitting out water, so we were glad we hadn’t gone further.

Apparently we did a lot of things in Leadville, because I am not finished.

There is a train ride you can take from Leadville –it calls itself a scenic ride, and it was.

It didn’t feel like it had the historic value of other train rides we have taken, but once in a while the scenery was good.

We were glad were sitting inside when the heavens opened on our way back. I admit, I walked outside just to see what the hail felt like.

Being a historic town, we of course wanted to walk the historic downtown. The Silver Dollar Saloon opened in 1875 and still serves drinks, but we decided to pass.

As we walked along the boardwalk, we passed a store called Melanzana Outdoor Clothing. This is a custom made clothing store- all of the clothes are made here in Leadville. When we entered, we were assured that they were happy to show us around, but there is nothing we can buy. Literally nothing. The way it works is that you make an appointment for a fitting. At that time you are allowed to order two articles of clothing. They specialize in hoodies, and inner/outer layers. The next available appointment? January. I said Kudos to them for finding a niche.

Along the same quirky lines was the restaurant we chose for dinner, Quincy Steak and Spirits. As we entered and requested a table for 2, the hostess replied “certainly…and are you familiar with our menu?”  We were. The menu has 3 entrees on it. Filet Mignon (3 sizes), lasagna, and Mac and Cheese. There is no choice of vegetable- you get a salad. The meal also comes with a baked potato- no other choice.

The meal was incredible, as was the ambiance. Comfortable seating in a lounge type setting. We thoroughly enjoyed it.

In our downtime in Leadville, we made friends with the mountain bikers who were here for a race, and we sat by the fire while watching the hail and rain fall.

As a side note- driving around this area of Colorado, we several times drove north or south on Rte 9. This area has taken part in a wildlife study since 2016.. Along the highway, a variety of escape routes and wildlife overpasses and underpasses were created. This area had a large amount of wildlife-vehicle collisions, mostly involving deer, but also elk and moose etc. Over the course of the study they determined that there was a 96% reduction in collisions.

In addition to deer, at least 15 other species, including bears and  mountain lions, have been recorded using the overpasses.

S ‘23 Ep. 5 -Grand Lake, CO (8-1-23)

 We have been to the east side of Rocky Mountain National Park a few times, and I have been itching to see the west side. The closest town to the western entrance, is Grand Lake, Colorado. Our RV park is about 1 mile from the park entrance.

This is actually a perk, because like some other national parks, Rocky Mountain has moved to a timed entry system.

Essentially you have to “book” a 2 hour window for you to enter the park- and they sell out, so you aren’t guaranteed to get what you want. However, timed entry is required from 9 am to 2 pm. and being so close to the entrance, all we had to do is arrive before 8:30 to get in line. 

Our plan for our first day in the park was to drive up Toll House Rd. (the main scenic drive) to the Alpine visitor center and work our way back, hiking short trails along the way.

 The views along the way are spectacular.

 We got to the visitor center, but then we noticed that there is a one way gravel road that looked interesting, so we decided to drive that before looking at hikes.

The road was narrow, but in pretty good shape, so it was an easy drive. We stopped whenever there was a pull off to check it out. Some had nice views, some had hiking trails. One stop was Chasm Falls, a pretty cool waterfall that was a short walk from the road.  That was one of the more interesting stops.

 As we approached the end of the road (which is 9 miles long) the weather started looking a bit ominous.

We knew rain was in the forecast but we hoped to beat it. Just before reaching pavement again, we saw a bunch of people taking pictures- turns out there were some bull elk nearby.

Armed with my good camera, I got a few good shots before we moved on.

Soon after that the rain started- and the hail- so our plan of hiking went out the window, so to speak. On the way down the hill I caught sight of a bull moose, just a few yards from the road, but Paul was driving and it was a torrential downpour, so, no pictures.

After a day of vegging out, we decided to head in the other direction, towards the town of Grand Lake. Grand Lake is home to the headwaters of the Colorado River. It looks a little different here than it does at home in Arizona. The Lake, and town, are called Grand Lake, because the Colorado River used to be called the Grand River, before it was renamed due to the existence of the Rio Grande.

The town is a small one, typical of tourist towns, with restaurants and shopping along the waterfront. Our first item on the agenda was to hike to Adams Falls, technically a short trail to a waterfall, but the trail continues on, so we hiked for 2 miles before turning back.

I really enjoyed the trail, because every few minutes the view changed and we saw something new.

Done hiking, we headed to the waterfront to check out the annual Wooden Boat festival. There were a couple of dozen wooden boats to look at , which didn’t take long, and then we looked for a place for lunch.

The view from our table was the best thing about lunch. It gave us a decent view of Grand Lake. After a little more shopping, we headed home.

Because our plans to hike the short trails in the park was thwarted by the weather, the next day we did a “take 2” and headed up to the Alpine Visitor Center. Our first “hike” is affectionately known as Huffer Trail.

It starts at the visitor center and goes up. Its very short at .63 miles round trip, but it ends at 12,000 feet. Hence the name.  

There were signs along the way that explained why none of us felt like we could breathe. Although the oxygen level in our air remains constant at 21%, the air pressure is decreased, and the oxygen molecules are more spread out- so, each breath we take contains less oxygen than we are used to...hence the huffing.

As soon as we reached the top of the trail, we realized there were elk in the area. About 14 males, lounging around, enjoying the day. We couldn’t see too much of them except all the antlers poking up from the grassy area.

Once we had our fill, we headed down the hill to our next short hike- Medicine Bow Trail. Round trip is .83 miles, with essentially no gain.

From here we could see the same bull elks we saw before, from a different vantage point.  As we walked the trail, we realized there was a lone female, hunkered down on her own.

Very soon we were back at the truck and noticed people taking pictures. There were two cow elk munching on the greenery nearby.

Continuing down the road, our next stop was Irene Lake . No wildlife here, except the new to me Clark’s Nutcracker- but the lake is pretty and it was only .85 miles to walk around it. It was a bonus that there were nice picnic tables where we could have lunch.

Our final stop/hike of the day was the Holzwar Historic Site. The Holzwar family settled here in the late 1800s, and by 1920 had created a dude and trout fishing ranch. They owned the land until the 1970s, at which time it was the last parcel of private land to be sold to the National Park. One of the conditions was that they retain the historic aspect of the homestead, so several of the buildings are still standing.

Our “push” hike of the week was the 7.4 mile hike(1400 ft gain) to Grand Ditch. Along the way we met up with a small group of college students who were out measuring and making notes about beaver activity or lack thereof.

 

They are backpacking into the wilderness to make these reports. As we chatted with them, I mentioned some flowers and plants I had seen, and they all knew their flora and fauna-by name. It was actually really nice to come in contact with young people who care about our natural world.

In my “down” time, I took some pictures of the hummingbirds: