I used to love to go to Cripple Creek before gambling took over. The stories of the Gold Rush days are really interesting. My grandfather's second cousin was the Sheriff of Teller County during part of the gold rush times. I haven't been to Cripple Creek for years now. Maybe I shouldn't go back?
If you go, David, be sure to go up to American Eagles Overlook. I made my shot from there. The overlook is the only place where you can get this kind of look at what's going on. Plan an hour or so for a walk through the Vindicator Valley trail. It goes past a couple dozen structures from gold rush days, including this one, the Vindicator Mine processing plant. You need to be in reasonably good shape to do the trail. It climbs and descends several hundred feet, sometimes sharply. If you're familiar with the highway from Cripple Creek to Victor you'll be appalled by what's been lost. One of the most interesting valleys along the way has been obliterated and plowed under by the mining company's bulldozers. Most of the pioneer cabins in the area have been either scraped away or covered with tailings. They even rerouted the highway so they could rape the valley. They also cut off the loop that ran past the little ghost town of Elkton. Elkton now is under a couple hundred feet of tailings.
I'm certainly no left-winger who feels nothing should be touched by man, but I'm sorry to see the loss of history in this historical area. I've been enjoying these mountains since 1965, and what I'm seeing grieves me very much. At least I have pictures of the area as it was, but that's not the same thing as being able to see it as it was. But I guess that's "progress."
