We had a fun time in Colorado Springs enjoying views of the mountains, driving on the scenic roads and hiking on the trails around the city and into the mountains. We drove to Cripple Creek several times. It is a beautiful drive over there and a fun old mining area to explore. In the last few years the casinos have just about taken over Cripple Creek but the area around there is still like it was in the mining hey days. Just a few miles away is the town of Victor. It is just about deserted with a few houses and even fewer businesses that remain open. But it like Cripple Creek, it has many remains of old mines and in fact it has a very large mine that is back in operation. Cripple Creek and Victor Gold mine has been in operation since 1976. The entry of the United States into World War II brought on the L-208 Act restricting mining of nonessential metals and the gold mines were shut down. After the war, the district did not immediately recover. The idle mines had deteriorated and former miners did not return because there was no work for them. Then in the 1970’s, the United States citizens were once more allowed to possess gold and the price was permitted to seek its own level in the world market. Extensive exploration in the district disclosed large quantities of low grade gold-bearing material previously uneconomical for mining and processing. Cripple Creek and Victor Gold Mine was started with a new method of extracting the gold called the leaching process. They do, for a very small fee, allow people to tour the surface mine while they explain the process. We took that tour and were amazed with the process they use, with the size of the operation and the costs of the equipment used to mine these metals. The largest dump trucks, used to haul the ore and over-burden, is a Euclid and made in China. They cost $2.5 million each. They weigh 300 tons empty and can haul as much as 315 tons. The tires are 12 in diameter and cost $130,000 each. The diesel fuel tank holds 900 gallon. I’m talking BIG!!
Much very interesting information can be read at: http://www.ccvgoldmining.com/. You can read about the process of removing the gold from the ore, the amount of gold they have extracted each year and their plans for reclaiming the land. It is such an interesting process and massive area. There is also a scenic drive called American Eagle Drive that overlooks the surface mine where you can see the overall size of the huge mine.
We spent several days traveling on scenic drives and hiking trails. Our favorite seem to be the old railroad tracks that have been converted into roads through the mountains or when that is not safe due to tunnel collapses they were converted to walking/hiking trails. We walked on the old Gold Camp Road 2 different times. It is an 8 mile trail but we did not walk that far. We walked more like about 2.5 to 3 miles which converts to 5 to 6 miles round trip. It is a fun walk and interesting. In Colorado Springs the old railroad tracks have also been converted to walking trails and there are nice trails all over the city. In the cities main park, Memorial Park, is Prospect Lake. There is a walking trail around it and there is where we did the majority of our walking. It is partially shaded and beautiful. There is a very nice playground next to the park and a lake swimming pool. Also lots of picnic tables and shelters, rental of paddle boats and canoes and lots of fishing going on. Just a great place to spend time and walk.
Sue’s brother and wife came to visit the last week of August and so we kept some of the activities to do while they could join us. We did have a great time while they were visiting. We drove to the top of Pikes Peak, went to the Flying W. Chuckwagon Dinner Theatre, went to the Manitou Springs Cliff Dwellings and the Merimont Castle.
Sue’s brother and wife came to visit the last week of August and so we kept some of the activities to do while they could join us. We did have a great time while they were visiting. We drove to the top of Pikes Peak, went to the Flying W. Chuckwagon Dinner Theatre, went to the Manitou Springs Cliff Dwellings and the Merimont Castle.
We drove to Cripple Creek 3 times. We were so impressed with the gold mine we wanted to take my brother there too. He also was impressed and enjoyed it. We all went to the annual Colorado Springs Balloon Rally. We had never been to one and were quite impressed and enjoyed it very much.
Our last adventure before they went back to Kansas was a scenic drive called The Shelf. It departed out of Cripple Creek and traveled through the mountains to Canon City. It seems to be one of the most spectacular and beautiful scenic drive we have ever been on with unusual rock formations, beautiful views and an exciting rock ledge road. At the end of this road, as it leaves the mountains, we found the Red Canyon Park with formations similar to Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. And then we came upon the Garden Park Fossil Area. It provided a self-guided tour to see and learn about the archeological dig beginning in 1870’s and continuing today. Specimens from this area are on exhibit in America’s most prominent natural history museums.
