Olympic Peninsula

 I am banging around on the Olympic Peninsula. Not only is it gorgeous out here, it is COOL. 

The wild black berries are ripe and delicious 

I am at the South Beach Campground. 

The only campground that is first come on the peninsula.

Great walks 

Razor clams off shore

Sand dollars are related to sea urchins

Winter storms pile the beach with whole trees

There be crabs 

Washington Pass

 I was traveling across Washington on hi-way 20. The highlight of this route is the gorgeous Washington Pass area. 

Diablo Lake

The unique, intense turquoise hue of the lake's water is attributed to the surrounding glaciers that grind rocks into a fine powder that is carried into the lake through creeks. That fine powder, also called glacial flour, stays suspended in the lake, giving the water its brilliant color.

It is a beautiful area that calls to me to spend more time exploring here. But alas, I was more interested in visiting my friend in Vancouver BC. I will return. 

Games in McCall ID

 From Steamboat Springs I headed west while the WINs continued on the circuit north to Cheyanne. 

My first stop was in McCall ID I to visit my good friend Adelle and her daughter in law, Tina. We reveled in two days of marathon game play. 

Taking a short. Adelle has a lovely cabin on a beautiful small lake 

We did take a break to pick Huckleberries

There were not many ripe Huckleberries. Stands in the area sell Huckleberry pies.

 I can't imagine how long it would take to pick enough of these tasty nuggets for a pie.

Steamboat Springs

 The area surrounding Steamboat Springs was originally inhabited by the Yampatika band of the Utes, who hunted in the valley during the summer. Trappers began to move through the area during the first decades of the 19th century. James Crawford, the founder of Steamboat Springs, first arrived in the spring of 1874. Originally, skiing was the only method of transportation during harsh and snowy Rocky Mountain winters. In turn, the popularity of skiing as a winter pastime catalyzed development of the town. Today “the boat” as the locals call it, is a premier recreational ski resort. Steamboat Springs has produced more athletes for the Winter Olympics than any other town in North America.

Camped on beautiful Rabbit Ears Pass

One day we watched a chinook helicopter dump multiple loads

 of water on a fire on the other side of the butte. 

Heading down the mountain into Steamboat springs.

Homes along the way

A short hike out to Fish Creek Falls

Just another great day on the road

A very lovely and free botanic garden

Marsha on the upper path

Very interesting flowers

Peruvian Lilly

Out to lunch at TacoCabo. Excellent mexican food.

Tubing is very popular. When the water reaches 75 degrees, 

the river is closed to fishing and tubing because the trout are becoming stressed.

Human interaction contributes to that stress 

Found a friend

Sulfur Springs, one of many in the area.

How the boat got it's name

Steamboat Springs was a geyser until workers dynamited the hillside behind it to construct the new railroad. The blast probably collapsed the underground chamber where pressure built up causing  the geyser to erupt.

Hoping for a princess

A gondola ride to the mountain top to watch the sun set

Up up and away

Looking down on Steamboat Springs

The band was very good

and the main attraction 

Leadville

The Leadville area was first settled in 1859 when placer gold was discovered in California Gulch during the Pikes Peak Gold Rush. The early miners had noted that mining for placer gold was hampered by heavy black sand in the sluice boxes, and in 1874 it was discovered that the heavy sand that impeded gold recovery was the lead mineral cerussite, which has a high silver content.. By 1872, placer mining in California Gulch yielded more than $2,500,000, roughly equivalent to $57,000,000 in 2021. Today Leadville is a thriving town and the highest city in the U.S. at 10,510 feet.  

Morning hike at Turquoise Lake

Next a visit to the Mining Museum. The best attraction in town

It houses a spectacular mineral collection

A tribute to the miners who lived, worked and died here

There is a room full of dioramas that depicted import events and methods of mining 

The rocker box is an improvement on the pan and with the help 

of water, sorts larger amounts of gravel and gold 

without having to squat in the river all day

An extended version of the rocker, long toms

are wooden troughs that wash water through gravel. 

Using a continuous water source, the gravel is pushed 

down to a riffle with a rake. The gold is caught in the 

riffle box below.

The sluice box is made of a series of riffle boxes fitted together 

with a constant flow of water. Miners load gold bearing gravel in

along the sides of the box and let the water wash out the dirt.

The gold particles are caught in the riffles where the miners collect them

There is an excellent model mine one can wander through

An yes, there is gold in the museum. Lots of it.

Crystalline gold

Gold in quartz

This nugget of Crystalline gold has a name, Little Jonny.

It was recovered from a muck car at the Little Jonney Mine in 1892

It weighs 24 oz, 6 oz shy of two pounds.

A gold coin scale used to detect counterfeit gold coins

A magnificent time clock for the miners to punch in on