Cripple Creek

We went to Cripple Creek after we were at the Air Force Academy. We ducked around the North side of Colorado Springs on Garden of the Gods road. Then drove South on 30th street, to the West Side of Colorado City and took US 24 North of Pikes Peak.

That's how you go when you drive up to Cascade where the road up the mountain starts. But by going on around and following 24, you eventually get to where you turn South on to Co 67. That goes up to the back side of Pikes Peak, and to the Gold mines that I pictured from the top.

Once you get over 10,000 feet, you wind around what seems forever, you come out above the town. I stopped at the overlook and snapped this photo of the town.


I drove the full length of the main street, and then took this shot in front of the court house looking back North. You can see some of the mine tailings above the town, and to the left is the over look where the first picture was taken from.


The whole town is now a tourist trap, with gift shops and restaurants. The old hotels seem to still run, but there was a brand new hotel as you came into the North side of town. The most prominent business is the one pictured below. All of the blue awnings is Bronco Billy's. A saloon and casino.


We didn't need curios or a drink, heck we were drunk enough with the effects of 10,000 feet, so we left. Driving South of the town, we went past the large tailings of the gold mines.


I parked and began to snap photos. This is the wide shot.


I zoomed in and snapped again. Not good enough.

So I changed the lens to the larger zoom and steadied my self against the truck and shot some more.


This building was in two of the pics above.


This old mill looks as if it will fall down in the next year or so. But it has been there forever. I was here 20 years ago and it looked like this then too.

This building is in the first gold tailings photo.


We didn't have the nerve to take Gold Camp Road back to Co Springs, as we were quite head achy from the altitude, and the dirt road is so narrow that cars cannot pass without backing up to a wide spot. So we went back on the Highway, even though it is much longer.

We didn't loose any money, since we didn't go in the casino, so all it cost to see the town was the gas.

We went over to Gunnison today which is on the other side of the continental divide from here. Hwy 50 goes up thru Monarch pass at 11,300 feet and then comes back down to a much dryer high plain. I have some pictures but they are still in the camera.

With the 11 Meg wifi it takes forever to upload these pictures, so we will have to work on more tomorrow.


We are slowly becoming used to the altitude, as we were at the 11,300 mark going over the pass and coming back. While I did have some effects, they haven't lasted as long, and were not as severe as our previous encounters. It is 8,000 feet here at the RV park. We should adjust eventually.