CENTRAL COLORADO, LEADVILLE

Another pancake breakfast and then the start of the burro races.  Each burro must carry a pack that weighs no less than 33 pounds.  This represents the minimum baggage a prospector would carry.  Each burro is led by a runner and the course goes up to Mosquito Pass and back, a distance of 21 miles.  This years fastest time is 3 hours, 40 minutes.  The Colorado legislature has declared this a heritage event so there are burro races all across the state.

The mining events continue today with team jack drilling and team hand bit drilling.  John Henry would have been proud of these guys.

There is a frontier costume contest which is well attended.  At 5:00PM everything is over but several of the burro racers have yet to return.  We learn that one fellow has just now reached the pass.  He is expected to finish by 9:00PM.

Burro races begin.

Their off.

Children's burro racing.

Team drilling.

Single spike drilling, don't miss!

My oh my, are those carrots in your holster?

She took first place and made her own costume.

Beautiful.

Love this one.

Representing a family of the old west.

The crowd loved their costumes.

The old west had many styles.