Leadville Mines

An Old Mine, Leadville, CO

Wednesday, August 8 - Leadville Mines, CO - 26.4 Miles Today, 12,510.6 For the Trip

It was even colder this morning - 37°F when I woke up at 6:30. I didn't bother to turn the furnace on during the night, but with the inside of the trailer at 44°F, I fired it up before climbing out of bed.

Dick and Anne are in Denver today but they gave me a key so I could do laundry & take a shower. I have still managed to find a way to avoid trying to shower in the Escape trailer. Not that it couldn't be done - there is hot water, a shower head and all, but the space it pretty tight for my 6' body.

After doing a couple of loads of laundry & my shower I headed out to the east side of Leadville to photograph some of the old mines. As far as I know, all but one of them are no longer active, but the weathered wood & colorful tailings piles are fun to shoot. The roads are all either gravel or dirt & the back of the RAV4 looks like it did in Utah, except the dust is grey rather than red.

The view from the mines is magnificent. Even if they didn't find what they were looking for, I can't imagine the miners not appreciating the surrounding mountains. Of course they probably also cursed them since they had to find a way to get up & down them! While the mines are no longer producing minerals, some of them are open for tours. I included some photos from the Matchless Mine & Baby Doe's Cabin. I didn't take the tour.

There are a couple pictures of the Mineral Belt Trail. It goes all the way around Leadville, passing many of the mines, complete with signs identifying some of them. It is paved and open to walkers & bikes. After returning to town on 7th Street, I stopped to take a photo of Locomotive 641. At the station where it is parked they are still offering train rides through the countryside.

As usual, more photos at today's LakeshoreImages page.

Until Tomorrow -