CENTRAL COLORADO, LEADVILLE AND CLIMAX

It's time to leave Leadville.  We planned to stay just a few days, but ended up staying over two weeks.  This high altitude  town is our favorite so far. The mornings are always clear and chilly.  The afternoons become warm and then there is always a shower of rain.  There is a lot to do here.  The people are friendly and more than willing to take your money.

We visit the Leadville National Fish Hatchery.  This is the second oldest (1889) hatchery in the nation.  They raise the Greenback Cutthroat trout.  This fish was thought to be extinct until a small population was found in the Rocky Mountain National Park.  Now they have been re-established all across the state.  We watch as they are loaded into a hatchery truck for delivery.

We follow the Arkansas River north to it's beginning at Fremont Pass (11,318 feet).  We stop here and marvel at the Climax Molybdenum Mine.  Shipments from the mine began in 1915 and at it's highest output it was the largest molybdenum mine in the world.  After a 17-year shutdown, the Climax mine reopened and made its first shipment of molybdenum on May 10, 2012.  Molybdenum is a mineral that is used to strengthen steel.  The company states that this is the largest, highest-grade and lowest-cost molybdenum ore body in the world.  The town of Climax had to be destroyed to expand the mine.

We stay the night at the White River campground in the Arapaho National Forest.  We have a light rain almost all night.

Leadville National Fish Hatchery

Rainbow Trout

Greenback Cutthroat Trout

Moving fish to load into truck.

Scooping fish up into truck.

Placing scooped fish into truck

Climax Molybdenum Mine entrance.

Open-pit mining.

Mitch in front of Climax display.

Mitch and Poudre

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.

CENTRAL COLORADO, LEADVILLE

Today starts with a pancake breakfast in front of the court house and then the Boom Days parade.  The weather is clear and chilly, there is excitement in the air.  Several gunfights break out during the day.  We attend the mining events which include single jack drilling, spike driving, mucking and single hand bit drilling.  You've got to appreciate the strength and endurance of these guys and gals.  Tonight there is a spaghetti dinner and another dance.

This drill weighs 123 pounds.

Let the contest begin.

Go girl!

The nail competition.

Mucking, as in shoveling.

CENTRAL COLORADO, LEADVILLE

Peggy peddles the Mineral Belt Trail again while I watch the Olympics.  Track and field events have started. They are my favorite since I was a track star in high school.

We are fortunate to be in Leadville this week-end since they are having their Boom Days 2012.  This celebrates their mining boom which started in 1860 with the discovery of gold and continues today with the mining of molybdenum.  Today's events include motorcycle games and then a dance tonight at the Elk's Lodge.  We enjoy festival food which includes, of course, funnel cakes.

Peggy & Sky-this did not work.

'Honey, I'm home' - you had to be there.

Again, you had to be there.

CENTRAL COLORADO, LEADVILLE

Coffee and whitewater again this morning.  We watch Great Britain win the gold and silver in the men's C2 race.  They all celebrate by jumping into the water.  Again no USA entries.

We rent another ATV and head for Mosquito Pass.  I'm determined to bag this pass.  It takes an hour to go the last two miles.  Along the way we endure an ice storm while it rains in Leadville.  That's because we're over 3,000 feet higher.  We don't stay on top very long because we're not dressed for freezing temperatures.  The pika's up here must be really tough.

On our way back we drop into the Birdeye Gulch drainage.  Except for a couple of old prospector's cabins, this landscape is pristine.  We work our way up Prospect Mountain (12,615 feet) but run out of time before we hit the top.

As we turn the ATV back into 2 Mile Hi Ski-doo we learn that there are only a handful of towns in the world that are higher than two miles.  That's why Leadville (10,200 feet) has only 3 months of snow free weather.  They get over 300 inches of snow and several months of below 0 degree temperatures.  That's interesting since northern Virginia is about the same latitude as here.

Scenic View from Mosquito Pass

Remains of prospectors cabin.

Mitch on the top of Mosquito Pass

'The Snowshoe Itnerant', top of Mosquito Pass.

Sign at the top of Mosquito Pass.

Peggy enjoying a little elevation.

Another amazing view.

Very narrow ATV road.

More remains of a prospector's cabin.

Beautiful country.

Life above 13,000 feet, Mosquito Pass.

The lives of Yellow-bellied marmots.

More life above 13,000 feet.

Home sweet home.

Mitch 4-wheeling.

Almost there.

Made it!

Possibly an old tombstone.

Above timberline.

Mountain bluebird.

CENTRAL COLORADO, LEADVILLE

We motor home (6WD) it up Halfmoon Creek all the way to the Colorado Trail.  We hike up it about 2 miles before I determine that I really don't want to bag Colorado's highest peak, Mt. Elbert (14,433 feet) today.  The trail is well used since Mt. Elbert is a popular peak to climb.  We return to our slot and then bike into town to have yet another fried chicken dinner at the Golden Burro.

The Colorado Trail

Mitch hiking the Colorado Trail

Peg and the Pups on the trail.

Teaching the dogs the 'stay behind' command.