Colorado 28th July to 6th August

COLORADO

 


Vail Village was much like Whistler, a winter playground for the rich and famous. 

The Village was pedestrian friendly and it was easy to window shop without getting run over.  The cobblestone streets gave it a bit of atmosphere and it had all the usual designer outlets and restaurants.  

 

 

Being Summer we found it fairly quiet and sleepy but come snow time I believe it hosts some of the wealthiest skiers in the world. 

By Saturday evening we were running out of time to book a camp so took a chance and drove straight into Glenwood Canyon Adventure Park.  $54 per night!  What a rip off!

The Adventure Park was a dream come true for school age children.  Wonderful activities ranging from rock climbing to river rafting.  They also had a Zip-line but at $32 a pop it was pretty pricey! 

 
 

We camped near a muddy river and of course the train track was only metres away.  Trains roared through the night shaking the RV’s and waking the campers.   

The mood was feral in the morning so when we had to negotiate a mile long queue for a shower, we said “Stuff this, let’s go”. 

Sunday 29^th July - As luck would have it we ended up at the beautiful historic town of Georgetown in Clear Creek County. 

With nowhere to stay we found a nice carpark at the back of the Mexican Restaurant.  Nobody bothered us although I could have done without the smell of freshly made corn chips and nachos wafting over. 

The Georgetown Loop Railway was the ultimate attraction for Allen.  In 1884 the railroad builders designed a corkscrew route to connect the mining towns of Georgetown and Silver Plume. This clever idea reduced the incline from 6% to 3.5% which was still steep, but manageable for these tough little Steam Trains. 

The following morning we went to the Ticket Office and were thrilled to see the staff dressed in 

authentic period costume.

 

With the tickets in our hot little hand we patiently waited on the platform.  When the train arrived the Station Master yelled those famous words All Aboard and blew his whistle.   It was a magic sound and all us oldies were transported back to our childhood. 

 

We were like a couple of kids.  We pushed our way through the covered carriages to sit in an open top car.  We were keen to smell the steam and feel the wind in our hair but as the train chugged out it wasn’t long before large particles of soot showered down on our head and up our nose……and what silly person wore a white teeshirt?   ( Not me! )

The train traveled 3.1 miles at an elevation of 640 feet.  It crossed 4 bridges and went around 2 loops with Allen hanging over the side of the carriage to capture some of his legendary photographs.

The train stopped at the Lebanon Silver Mine and we joined a group of people for a tour.   Junior led us down a slippery hill to the first shed, the Manager’s Office, and he explained in gory detail what a miner’s life was like back in the 1800’s.

Blue's the largest - Too small for Linda

Next door in the second shed was the Miner’s Dry Room where they were able to dry their wet clothes by an oil fire.  The third stop was the Tool Shed and Junior proved to be very entertaining as he passed around various sinister looking objects and tried to explain their use.

 

The last part of the tour was the best. 
We donned hard hats and warm clothes and walked a quarter of a mile on wooden planks into the tunnel that was last bored in the 1870’s. 
It was cold, wet and cramped and not recommended for the claustrophobic. 

 

 

                            A great trip, sooty faces and all.

Drove back to Georgetown and as it was well past lunch time, I was absolutely STARVING.   Allen thinks I have a split personality when I get hungry, I turn into a Monster !!!!! (Just worse when she's hungry).

Georgetown Main Street

We soon realized that everyone from the train was also in town looking for food.  aarrgghh   The town is small and somehow doesn’t cope too well with the influx of tourists.  

We found Ed’s 1859 Café, it looked good and people were sitting outside enjoying the alfresco dining. 

We quickly ordered and sat watching these cute little Hummingbirds feeding outside the Café (lucky them).  

 

 1 hour 30 minutes later we got our lunch and it was at the exact same time the mother of all storms hit Georgetown.  Thunder, lightening and torrential rain pelted down so we had to dash inside with our plate and drinks.   

Ed was very apologetic about the delay and bad weather but as I sank my teeth into this mighty burger, all was forgiven. 
(Peace reigns again).

Our next location was Winding River Resort, Grand Lake, Colorado on the boundary of the Rocky Mountain National Park. 

It was a huge park, well organised and had a beautiful Animal Nursery.   Are those pigs sun-tanned??

 

 

The Stables looked wonderful and when I saw the horses saddled up ready to go on a trail, I wished we’d had more time. 

 

 

Our journey continued through the National Park Colorado and we stopped for lunch in Black Hawk.   Population only 120 people and 18 Casinos(!) the residents must be either very rich or very poor.  

 

It was a tidy little town, some of the original buildings had been restored and they had a town park with a water fall and lots of animal statues hidden in the trees. 

 

 

 

 

The Internet Cafe was right in the middle of the 18 Casinos.  We managed to catch up with emails and tried some of the owner’s blow yer head off green chilli.  Hope he’s got a licence to sell that stuff. 

Colorado Springs 

  

 

Spent a couple of hours in the 

Ghost Town Museum.  Can’t say I saw anything new or different EXCEPT for the amazing mirror that made us look slim.  I would give my right arm for one of those.  Walked in front of it about a hundred times. 

  

 

 Actually I loved watching Al try his luck at panning for gold.  After only a short while he found a tiny piece and stuck it on his finger while he searched some more.   Not exactly sure what happened but he sneezed and lost it. ( Story of my life ). 

 

 

Manitou Springs

“Manitou” is a native word for spirit.  The Native Americans considered the area sacred because of the cool mountain air and the mineral springs.  

There are 11 natural mineral fountains in town that run free for anyone wishing to enjoy the therapeutic benefits.   

I was keen to find a quick fix to my ailments so I decided to drink from a couple of springs.   The first one was like drinking stagnant salty bore water. 

The second one was like camel urine!  Don’t ask me how I know. 

( She will drink anything ).

 

The Manitou Railway train on display in the middle of town was the first cog and rack train to make it up to Pikes Peak.

 

This Gutsy little engine was in service constantly for 47 years without missing a beat.

Home for the next 3 days was a lovely Park called Mountaindale RV Resort. 

The staff were hardworking and friendly.  On Saturday evening they organized an Ice-cream Social for $1.  Our bowls were ladled with lashings of every flavour ice-cream you could imagine and then came the topping!

Sunday morning was free coffee and pastries for everyone.  A little brown bear heard about this and came strolling through the park looking for food.  There is nothing like a bear sighting to get everyone excited. 

 

 

The deer were in the next field and were a bit shy about getting their photograph taken.  

The next night we stayed at the John Martin Reservoir State Park in Hasty, Colorado.    

Dam at 20%, 1997 was the last time water came over the top

What a sad place. This campsite would have been beautiful in it's heyday.  This must be one of the State Parks affected by the budget cuts and the drought that is affecting over 2/3 of America.   Only a handful of people staying there and we found it a bit depressing.  The Hasty Lake was almost empty.  Al went fishing and caught 5 Catfish and threw them back. 

In the morning before we left Al went fishing again and caught a yellow Carp, again threw it back.  

                                Goodbye Colorado

  

                                  End of Blog 15