Rain, Rain Go Away

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Brett came to visit for a couple of days-- I convinced him (ie guilted him into it) because first, it was my birthday, second, since he's now job hunting, I was afraid it would be one of the last times he'd be able to come out on short notice, and lastly (and probably most importantly for him) because I paid for his ticket. He's never been camping before, something most of my friends seem to find incredible. 😊 I've always loved camping and being outdoors, and thought it was time he tried it out. Memorial Day Weekend sounded like the perfect time. I had to work Saturday and Sunday, but had Monday and Tuesday off. I figured that would be better - less campers. It seems like everyone in the state likes to start their camping season off on Memorial Day weekend.

In a state that boasts "300+ days of Sun a year - more than Miami!" you don't often get bad weather for camping in Colorado. Of course, Memorial Day weekend had to be the bearer of a 6-7 day storm, with grey skies, clouds, and rain, rain and more rain. Of course! The rain was so sporadic, and never in the same spot twice, so that it would be downpouring near my apartment, but if I drove 10minutes to Boulder, no moisture to be seen. It made it hard to decide what to do, keep the camping trip on, or cancel it and just hang out around the apartment. Even as I drove to the airport to pick up Brett, I was still unsure. I waited for about 45 minutes, as his flight was late arriving.

Rain pouring, visibility about 10 feet, I still decided we should make the trek up the mountains into Leadville. The rain clouds looked as though they were concentrated in one area, and we could see blue sky in the distance. It was only a two hour drive, however due to google map's bad directions, and Leadville's lack of signage, we took a 40 mile detour. At least we were driving on a scenic byway, so the scenery was nice, and we went over the Continental Divide at Tennesses Pass, but still, it meant we didn't get to the campsite until after dark. At least the rain let up for a couple of hours, so we could set up camp and start a fire without getting soaked.

The next day, we woke up to see what our camp looked like. There was still no sun, but reflected in Turqouise Lake (named for the semiprecious stone that was mined here) are Colorado's two highest peaks, Mt. Elbert and Mt. Massive. It was a gorgeous view! Leadville itself is the highest incorporated city in America-- at 10,430 ft.

We drove to St. Elmo, a supposedly "ghost town", but after we drove 19 miles down a dirt road, it was to turn onto the Main Street to find a guest house with a dozen people sitting out in the front yard! Not exactly our idea of a ghost town! But there were the remains of 24 original buildings, including a merchantile, saloon, county courthouse/jail and many private homes.
The town was built in 1878 in a heavily forested area, I guess the area is unique because the buildings are preserved, not restored. St. Elmo has been labeled Colorado's best preserved ghost town.

After our visit, we took a short hike to Agnes Vaille Falls, set into the mountains...a nice short hike, and the sun shined for all of it! then we went to Mt. Princeton Natural He rot Springs, where there are a couple of pools - one 104 degrees and the other 98!! Woooo! But it was really nice.

We also drove around Leadville and 4-wheeled it back along the hills to see some of the original mines and old time buildings. Brett knows my love of cemeteries, and pointed out an old one we checked out. Leadville is an old frontier mining town, with towns of cool Victorian houses. It's been said that everyone who is anyone has been to Leadville...some even struck it rich here! Leadville was a boom town for gold and silver. "In the spring of 1860, prospectors discovered what was to be called California Gulch. Abe Lee, one of the prospectors who had dug just a little bit deeper than his companions screamed, "I've got all of California right here in my pan!". In a heartbeat, thousands flocked to the valley for their share. There were at times more than 6,000 prospectors in the gulch, and before it was all said and done, roughly eight million dollars worth of gold was taken. Althought it only lasted about 6 years, it was replaced in 1877 with one of the richest and most famous silver districts the world has ever seen. Leadville produced seven hundred million dollars of the precious metal! It was here that Horace Tabor made his fortune."

That night, after getting back to our campsite, we were able to cook a nice meal over the campfire, and enjoy a couple beers and s'mores before the rain started again!

The next morning, since it was still raining, we decided to go into town for breakfast, and ended up at Doc Hollidays. Leadville is famous as the place where Doc Holliday had his last shoot-out. We had been trying to figure out for the past two days where it was, so we figured they'd be able to tell us in the restaurant, right? Well, they did us one better, the restaurant was the place! I guess it used to be a saloon, and then a whore-house, and a couple of years ago, these new owners bought it and turned into the restaurant. Mystery solved!

All and all, even trhough the rain, we had a good time, and I hope this won't be Brett's last time camping!

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Photos

Wild Burros
Miner's brought the burros, and there are still wild burros roaming the mountains today

Buffalo Bill
On the way home, we stopped on Lookout Mountain, the final resting place of Buffalo Bill

Comments

[Snowhawg]

Cool Place
Leadville looks and sound really great. I want to go there. A town at over 10,000 ft! How cold did it get at night? And, why don't they call it Silverville?

[HeatherLauren]

silverville...
well, it got pretty cold!! in the 30's. and there were so many towns at the time named after silver at the time, the founding fathers decided to call it Leadville, because the silver was mined in a heavy carbonate of lead.