CROSS COUNTRY TRIP 2010 - COLORADO

There was no doubting we reached Colorado - the incredible mountain views, the steep inclines and those darn 8% downhill grades!  It's a good thing there was rush hour traffic around Denver, because I couldn't accelerate faster than 35 mph on some of those ascents.  And I had the pedal to the metal! The engine temp was elevated, and the transmission was working overtime with some downshifts resulting in a bang. Yikes!! It was a nailbiter, but the campground had a hot tub, so that soak calmed the nerves a bit. 


We drove into the nearby town of Black Hawk, which was renovated with all new buildings and more casinos than you can count. 

Of course, Tony Z visited one and left a few dollars richer.
This is a deserted mine tunnel: 

Tomorrow, we'll head to Nathrop, CO, but we are changing our planned route, to minimize the number of mountain passes and we are disconnecting the Jeep to reduce the strain on the engine.
In Nathrop, we attended a Rodeo - This is a shot of a child in the sheep riding event called 'Mutton' Bustin' - He's hanging on for dear life!

We spent some time at our friends Gail & Steve's place nearby.  

The owner of the property has horses, chickens, goats and rabbits:

Tony got to try out his metal detector - the easy way to dig for gold.  We're planning on prospecting again later this week.

Went to the Mining Museum in nearby Leadville.  There was a mining exhibit displaying the process of underground mining - This one shows the fuses of the dynamite sticks:

Here, a miner is waiting to be hoisted up:

There is a canary in a cage, which was used to indicate safe air in the mine - if there was too much carbon monoxide, the canary died, and the miners had to evacuate the mine.

We learned that the saying: "Fire in the hole" was what was yelled just prior to detonating the dynamite in the mine.  And the term "grease monkey" originated to designate the boy who oiled the machinery in the mine.


Some trivia which was posted in the Museum:


Denver International Airport is larger than Manhattan (53 square miles vs 34 square miles).
There are 54 mountains in Colorado over 14,000 feet high. (By the way, in the valley where we are, we are surrounded by 10 peaks over 12,000 feet high).
Leadville, where we were today, is the highest incorporated city in the country, at 10,430 feet elevation.
The highest paved road in North America is the one leading to the summit of Mt. Evans off I-70, at 14,258 feet above sea level.
And, the highest suspension bridge in the world is over Royal Gorge, at 1053 feet high. We'll check that out tomorrow.


Here's one of the gold nuggets Tony discovered: (Ha Ha)

We passed through a small mountain town named Guffey - It looked like the town that time forgot - 1800's cabins and eclectic lawn decorations:

These are lean-to's which have only enough room for a cot or sleeping bag, and a hot stove.

We visited Royal Gorge, called Colorado's Natural Wonder.  Here, looking down is even more breathtaking than looking up. 

You can barely see the Suspension Bridge at the top - it was built in 1929, in only 6 months! 

A red tram parallels the bridge, 1178 feet above the Arkansas River - it is the world's longest single span aerial tram, at 2200 feet.  The incline Railway is the world's steepest, at a 45 degree angle.  There is a bungee, called Royal Rush Skycoaster, where only the bravest riders free fall on a bungee up to 50 mph, 1200 feet above the river. The ride was recently named the scariest Skycoaster of all 87 in the world. Look for the dot to the right of the Skycoaster - that's someone swinging on the bungee with nothing between him and the river 1200 feet below.

And, no, none of us even entertained the thought of trying it!
Colorado is one of our favorite places to visit in the summer. Here in the valley, between the towns of Buena Vista and Nathrop, we are surrounded by 12,000+ foot peaks. The days are dry and in the high 70's -80's, and you can count on a rain shower every day in late afternoon.  Then, the nights are cool - in the 50's.  We use the heater at night, and the A/C during the day. Tomorrow, we head out to Utah, with a stop at Arches National Park.