A Visit To The Highest City in the U.S. - Leadville Colorado - A Rocky Mountain Wonderland

(Leadville, Colorado) 68 degrees, cool, blue skies, perfect

Road to Leadville

On our two days off this week we decided to venture further out and take a trip to Twin Lakes and Leadville.  We wanted to spend a couple of days in the area.  With the price of gas and the mountain passes it seemed like a good idea to stay in a hotel for one night.  Finding a place that will also allow our dog Jimmy can be a challenge.  I looked in the Frommers Colorado guide and found out there was a hostel and dogs could stay.  That sounded interesting.  The price was right for a "couples" room with a shared bath ($35) and Jimmy could stay. 

Leadville Hostel

We first went through the small town of Buena Vista and stopped at the Chalk Creek RV Park.  They frequently advertise for workampers.  The owner Joan took us all around.  It looks like a great place to work and the sites along the creek are very nice (electric only).

Road to Buena Vista

Twin Lakes is about 15 minutes away and is spectacular.  There are lots of campgrounds in the area.  It was quiet when we visited but can be quite busy on weekends.

Twin Lakes

Leadville is very cool.  It is the highest city in the U.S. and at one time was famous for its gold and silver mines.  We had a drink at a bar where Doc Holiday hung out for several years. 

It is such a picturesque town  It is surrounded by the fourteeners - mountains that are over 14,000 feet high. 

We checked into the hostel and found it to be quite a gem.  The hosts Cathy and Bill were very welcoming.  There is a huge kitchen where you can prepare your meals and two living rooms for relaxing and watching movies.  The outside patio was the best. 

Outside patio

Kitchen

Girls bunkroom ($20/night)

Our room

Trail Marker

Our room was small but comfortable and the bathrooms were super clean.  We met a couple who were hiking the Colorado Trail.  It is a 500 mile trail from Denver to Durango.  They have hiked a portion of it for the past four years and are almost done.  Unfortunately, one portion near Leadville was impassable due to snow.  They got off and hitched a ride to the hostel. 

Judi and Todd

We offered to take them to the next portion in the morning.  It was very interesting to hear about their adventure.  They treated us to breakfast the next morning and we really enjoyed watching them continue on their trail.

Afterward we drove around Turquoise Lake and then headed to the Fish Hatchery.  It was built in 1888 and supplies cutthroat trout to much of the region.  We hiked the Nature Trail and meandered around the five lakes where the fish hang out until they are large enough to be released.  It was a beautiful trail and Jimmy was allowed to run off leash.  He was a happy dog. 

Turquoise Lake

Fish Hatchery

Baby Trout

One of the lakes on the Nature Trail

On our way home we took a backroad trip that I'll write about tomorrow.  It was a 24 mile scenic drive from Leadville to Fairplay 

All Aboard The Royal GorgeTrain - Great Visit With Friends

(Canon City, Colorado) 78 degrees, hot, blue skies

John and Cathie

Our friends from Phoenix Arizona, John and Cathie, came to visit their daughter and her family.  Our campground was very close by so we arranged to get together for a fun train trip on the Royal Gorge Route Railway.  We met John and Kathie many years ago in Ixtapa Mexico.  In the past they came to visit us and we went to the Indianapolis 500 race.   We have also visited them at their home and in Sedona.  It was so good to see them and we all really enjoyed the train trip. 

We  had visited the Royal Gorge Bridge when we first arrived in Cripple Creek (see previous post).  The train runs along the Arkansas River for a 24 mile round trip and starts in Canon City.  The river is at an all time high and was roaring down the canyon. 

Arkansas River

Train station

Here comes our train to pick us up

We decided to make reservations in the vista car. There is a nice food service in this car and it is more elevated than the regular coach cars.  In addition, there are glass topped windows that give you a great view of the canyon and suspension bridge. 

Our car

The service was very good and Cathie and I really enjoyed our cocktails :).  After awhile we walked through the cars to the outside observation car.  Our best pictures were taken from this car. 

Royal Gorge Bridge and Cable Car

Big Horn Sheep

The trip was about two hours in length. The weather was perfect and it was great to be together.  Afterwards we took them up the Phantom Canyon (see previous post) and had a nice dinner at her daughters home.  It was a great day! We are planning to get together around the holidays in Phoenix - more fun times are planned. 

Off Road Travels Down Red Rock Shelf Road & a Visit to a Prison Museum & a Gold Mine

(Cripple Creek, Colorado) 29 degrees and snowing

Yesterday we woke up to freezing temperatures and snow.  Good Grief!  Certainly not a good start to our precious day off.  We checked the weather and found out that in Canon City (about an 1 1/2 hours from here) the weather was over 20 degrees warmer  That was all the encouragement we needed. 

We have been to Canon City  before and someone had recommended the Museum of Colorado Prisons.  The museum is housed in the former women's prison (1871). The are 14 prisons in Canon City.  "We love 'em" was a comment given by a recent mayor. 

The cost was $7 per person and it was a very interesting and rather macabre museum.  You can see the gas chamber, confiscated weapons, prison uniforms,  and a hangman's noose from the last hanging.  The exhibits are displayed in actual cells of the prison.  We received a audio tour to listen to as we walked around the prison and grounds.  There is also a gift shop that sells merchandise made by inmates at a nearby prison. 

After doing some grocery shopping at Walmart we drove back to Cripple Creek by the Red Rock Shelf Road.  It starts off as a paved road but quickly changes to dirt.  This is our third Jeep worthy trip and it was by far the most breathtaking.  Literally! There were sheer cliffs with no guard rails on a very narrow one lane road.  Check out this step drop off. 

 

John did a great job driving but this road is not for the faint of heart.  I found it to be very unnerving.  After we crossed the river it was easier and more enjoyable at least for me.  John was in heaven throughout. 

 

 

Traffic Jam

The weather today was much better.  We decided to take a tour of the first gold mine owned by a woman.  It is located in Cripple Creek and the claim was staked by Mollie Kathleen in 1891.  The cost of the tour is  $18 per person. 

We put on hard hats and descended with 8 other folks over 1000 feet below the surface in a sort of elevator called a man-skip shift ride.  It descended quickly and smoothly.  There was a small light in the cage but otherwise it was completely dark.  At the bottom we were met by our guide. 

Demonstrating the different types of lights used to illuminate the mine

He demonstrated  how the drilling has evolved over the years.   It was very interesting.  We walked along the actual tracks  that were used to haul the ore out of the mine. 

Vertical shaft following the gold vein

We rode the modern cars that transport the ore out of the mine

Gold vein in natural state

It was a very informative tour and we would highly recommend it.  We enjoyed our two days off. 

Original mining shaft