Off the Beaten Path
Many Colorado towns boast Hot Springs….natural baths first discovered by the Native Americans that became centers of commerce. Those places have names like Steamboat Springs, Pagosa Springs, Glenwood Springs, and even the one in my own backyard, Manitou Springs. But have you heard of Mt. Princeton Hot Springs or Strawberry Park?? Can you think of a nicer day trip than to pack the swim suit, take a gorgeous ride, and then relax in the warm, refreshing waters of natural springs?? There are several opportunities to explore Colorado and have an experience such as this. And I am not down playing the luxury and enjoyment of Glenwood Springs’ historic pools and lodge. If you want help booking an overnight trip, that will just extend the opportunities to explore. But at times, it is nice to get off the beaten path and find that special quiet place where you can take an enjoyable ride and come back with a special memory making it a day all by itself.
Mining History
Mining was the impetus that made Colorado what it is. Long before rafting, climbing, and tourism, exploration of the state was done to find riches. Towns like Cripple Creek, Blackhawk, and Central City; all of which have been allowed to have gambling, were boom towns in their day. Strikes in towns such as Leadville, Ouray, Telluride, and Creede pushed the miners to more and more remote areas of the then territory.
Besides the attractions of gambling or skiing, many of these former boom towns have mining museums which will give you a sense of how the efforts to settle this portion of the west. One such museum is the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine located in Cripple Creek.
The historic city of Leadville, North America's highest incorporated city (10,430 feet elevation), and the frontier West's wildest, richest, silver mining Boom Town, hosts the National Mining Hall of Fame & Museum.
Take the Million Dollar Highway and look off to the mountain hillsides at the sites left from days-gone-by. It is amazing how many of these structures survive today. You can also see the scars of many of these former sites: tailing piles here and there marking the hillside. While riding along, you wonder if a fortune was made or heartbreak of another easterner hoping to strike it rich. While we are on our steel steeds, what would it have been like walking with a burro laden with all we own wondering what was over the next crest. Speaking of days gone by, how about stopping at a ghost town....or what would be a ghost town but for a few tourist stops. Follow that smaller side road up the canyon into a living ghost town. See what it was like many years ago and think about being in that canyon with hundreds of others with civilization no where in sight.
Railroad History
To get the ore out of the major mining districts of Colorado, entrepreneurs brought the rails to the ore. Trains criss-crossed Colorado. Many of these were narrow gauge due to the steep, narrow canyons. Look today on many of the roads and you can see the original railroad beds, or you realize that you are on top of the original road.
One of these is the Cripple Creek & Victor Narrow Gauge RR which offers a 4-mile, 45-minute narrated trip behind a coal-burning steam locomotive through an area of abandoned mines.
The most famous and recognizable is the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. Reservations required, but worth the effort to catch in both getting there and the rewards of the ride.
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