The gold mines

Above the town of Victor looms the remnant of the past glory of the shaft mines, the largest of which was the famous Portland Gold Mine. Today on the property owned by the Victor Gold Mining Company are hiking trails and exhibits explaining how these mines functioned. You can also drive on the mine property and get a spectacular view of the current operations which are in the shadow of Pike ’s Peak Mountain.

They have signs warning you to watch closely for the mining vehicles, as they do not stop for traffic and clearly you do not want to tangle with them. The overlook is at 10, 745 feet, just a few hundred feet lower than the nearby Pike’s Peak. The mining exhibits are interesting but the open pit mine is unbelievable in size and scope. They are tearing down the mountain, removing the gold with mercury and cyanide and dumping the left over’s back on the ground to form a sort of crushed rock mountain.

The rumor we heard in the town was that all the gold was leaving the country. We could not independently verify that rumor. However, the web site does indicate headquarters in South Africa.

http://ccvgoldmining.com/

Victor, CO

From Cripple Creek we headed a bit south to Victor, CO, which also took part in the late 1800’s gold mine prosperity. Despite the fact that today the town has within its borders one of the largest open pit gold mines in the world, it has not fared as well as Cripple Creek. As you drive into town, you can feel a sort of depression and fatalistic feeling about the place. The buildings are all in need of repair or demolition and there is little to encourage a lengthy visit. After the shaft mines closed, the town apparently could not find a new commerce activity and seems to be just barely hanging on. We spent some time talking to the owner of the antique store in what used to be the town movie theater. She indicated that the town has been in its current condition for as long as she can remember. She finds it depressing and spends half her time in Denver.

We did find one gem at an old fashioned general store, where the owners hand make an assortment of brooms on the premises and they said that they ship them all over the US and around the world. We had a nice visit with them and purchased a broom we had autographed by them as a house warming gift for our daughter Katie.

http://www.victortradingco.com/

We will next visit some of the exhibits from the heyday of the shaft gold mines. We are told that we can enter the current open pit mine to an overlook with more exhibits and a view of the current operations.

Cripple Creek, CO

Cripple Creek, CO was a sleepy cattle town on the southwest slopes of Pikes Peak Mountain at an elevation of over 9000 feet. That all ended in 1891 when gold was discovered and the town became the center of a massive hunt for buried treasure. By 1900, it was a unique cultural and economic center for the region.

As so often happens, when the rush was over the town found itself struggling for a new identity. It found itself in a new kind of Gold rush-casinos. When we arrived after a pleasant drive through the mountains, if sometimes harrowing for the steep curves and the need to dodge the roaming cattle, we found a small town that at first seemed to be booming with all the old store fronts doing well. You quickly find out that this is a bit misleading as behind those fronts there are only extensive casinos waiting to lighten your purse. The whole town is now literally these gambling establishments.

http://www.cripple-creek.co.us

Nevertheless we enjoyed walking the streets and looking thru the gaming places. We also had a very good lunch in town before heading to the heritage center across from the Mollie Kathleen Mine. Here you can catch up on the history of the area and enjoy still more spectacular views. We then headed to the mine for a tour of a real gold mine that was in operation from the late 1800’s until the 1950’s. You drop down in a very narrow mine shaft to the lowest level of the mine, which is 1000 feet from the surface. The guide was very good and explained and demonstrated the many hardships of working in this mine before current mining rules were in place. About 10% of the work force suffered some kind of injury nearly every day with numerous deaths from the harsh conditions.

One of the major reasons for these shaft mine closures was the development of new and improved?? procedures that started the practice of strip mining the entire mountain. We will head to a nearby town to check on this kind of operation next.

Even if you have no interest in gambling, the scenery and gold mine tour are well worth the visit.

http://www.goldminetours.com/Home.html

A royal anniversary

Yesterday was our 29th anniversary and we spent the day on a rail tour of the Royal Gorge of Colorado. This is a deep and narrow gorge approximately 12 miles long carved out by the Arkansas River. The rail line was first built to carry silver ore out of the area. The region has a very interesting history, but today our interest was in enjoying the natural beauty of the river and gorge and enjoy the advertised gourmet lunch in the dome car as we traveled along the route.

It was a perfect day and the train was not crowded and we were able to have a very relaxed journey with a good meal and enjoyed the great scenery. A special attraction of the ride is the view of the Royal Gorge Bridge with sits well over a thousand feet above the river.

There remains evidence of the workers who struggled to build the railroad and some of their buildings and the wooden water lines that were run along the gorge walls. Today the river is enjoyed by the locals and tourists as a great outdoor venue. When we were here over 20 years ago we made the trip through the gorge in rafts. This was a much more relaxed and civilized way to enjoy the scenery.

www.royalgorgeroute.com