For our first full day in Colorado, our son Greg offered to drive us on a tour of the Rockies. Leadville was one of my requested destinations as it was once a famous mining town.
There was so much to document on this trip - I have divided it it three parts.
PART ONE - Boulder to Leadville
Visible from our rental house in Boulder are the Flatirons. As we headed south for our “guided tour”, I snapped a photo from the car.
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| The Flatirons |
Clear Creek Canyon
Next Greg took us through the Clear Creek Canyon, Winding through craggy rocky cliffs, tunnels and strewn with abandoned mines, it was awesome. There were occasional remnants of old railroads but Greg was “captain of the voyage” and refused to stop!
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| One of so many abandoned mines |
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| We turned left here to head toward Leadville |
Interstate 70 and the Road to Leadville
We then got on Interstate 70, which was amazing as well. For this segment of the trip, the interstate even goes through a long tunnel.
After a steep climb we had such a huge descent that my ears were popping as if in an airplane!
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| Note avalanche cannons |
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| Note Runaway truck ramp |
We stopped across from the Copper Mountain Ski area for a quick pit stop. Greg skiis here quite often in the winter. There were still piles of snow visible!
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| Copper Mountain |
The twin tunnels on I-70 are the longest mountain tunnels and highest point along the Interstate Highway System. They have a maximum elevation of 11,158 feet and a length of 1.7 miles.
On the road up to Leadville, we passed the still active Climax mine which is primarily involved in reclamation these days. Huge evaporation lakes of mine tailings fill the valley and we just kept climbing and climbing…
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Great pix Rich! Anne, the family and I drove out to Los Vegas back in 2004(?) when her Dad passed, and my most memorable part of the drive was through the Rockies. We did 900 miles a day, so no sight seeing, but etched a good chunk of fond memories in my brain dispite....
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