Cripple Creek to Red Rocks Camp

Today I got quite a late start, about noonish. After I went down to help Chris clean up the bar a bit we came back to the cabin and I did a load of laundry to let the weather pass. It rained off and on in the morning and I was letting the road dry out a bit so I didn't repeat the ride up there and put the bike down. Once I left I headed up the hill to the Molly-Cathlene Mine. It is no longer a working mine but you still ride the same elevator cars that the miners took up untill it closed in the 50's, and you drop 1000 feet underground. It was a very informative and spectacular tour. The tour was set up as a time line, so you started out with a hammer and a chisel and worked your way up to modern phneumatic drills and every step in between. Very cool stuff, and all of the tour guides used to be what they call "hard rock" miners so they do this to make a little extra money. After that I made my way up to the American Eagle Overlook to the moden open pit mine just outside Cripple Creek. When I got up there I was told they were blasting and I had to wait 15 before I could go up there. While I was waiting there is an old mining town you can walk through. So I was leaning against a huge rock and all of a sudden the rock starts shaking and then you can here the blast, I was not expecting that. I thought you would just be able to hear it and thats it. So once they let me pass I rode right across and active mining road where the huge ass dump trucks were traveling along. Once you get to the top you can pretty much see the whole open pit mine but at the top was the actual mine of the mining town I saw while I was waiting. The area around here is so rich with history and I would venture to guess one of the only placed you can see the old and the new side by side then learn about everything in the middle.

After all the excitedment of the day it was getting late so I rode back to Woodland park grabbed some food and then headed north a ways to get to a set of camp ground. I found a good little spot and now its dark gonna get some rest then make my way further north and hopefully make it to Rocky Mountain National Park and if I don't no big deal because I love this whole area here and could spend plenty of time here.