It would have been a dream to have stuck Gold in those days when Gold may have been plenty. They say that the first sight of the discovery of Gold in Colorado was by George Jackson who discovered it right off the Cold Creek River. A great deal of Gold was also discovered in the rocks inside the mountains and the might Argo mill was created to extract gold out of the water-laden mountains making the task easier. If one has time, they can also visit a few mills in the area – Stanley and Phoenix. Usually, the tour comprises of explanation of various processes of God Mining during the 1800’s by the tour guide and Gold Panning.
A part of me still wonders if locals secretly find Gold there to date, or did we unintentionally miss landing on a big stone of Gold that could not only buy us the food but our entire stay and travel.
Sadly for us, our lack of research and lack of time both resulted in exploring just the one aspect that we dug into as our hungry tummies rumbled after our early morning drive from Rocky Mountain National Park to Idaho Springs. As we walked on Miner street that had all these restaurants and cute little shops, we could help but love the old charm these places still have.
One such was Beau Jo’s. Recommended to us online by Facebook Groups on US travel and as said to be popular with locals and tourists alike, their Colorado style Pizza and Honey Cheese Bread was the best. The Pizza was huge and could serve 3 people. The decor was quintessential Colorado – with skis and skateboards hanging from the walls and Gold Mining equipment and vehicles. Down the street is Tommy Knockers where you get local beers and soda. Definitely worth the try!
Fact: Right at the entrance of Idaho springs (and behind Miner Street) is the parking lot. The parking is free for 1 hour. And then for the next 1 hour, it’s $2.
Parking Lot with Parking Ticket Machine.
Aspen via Independence Pass
When Google flashes that the route is closed, and the route is open indeed, there is a gift wrapped in what could have been a misery had it been closed. Before we were leaving from Rocky Mountain National Park, we checked onto our phones the directions to Independence Pass which purposely detoured us via Vail and Glenwood Springs letting us skip Independence Pass altogether and taking a longer route.
Independence Pass
Located at 12,095 ft on the Continental Divide, this popular route is Cyclist’s Favourite. The route to Independence Pass takes us through Curvy roads with jaw-dropping valley drops and views. There were countless times that we had paused to enamor our vision with a vast vista that it gave us to ponder on.
As we drove from Idaho Springs to Independence Pass, we also found that there was a shift in perspective of things – RMNP and Silverthorne were snow-clad mountains, while this had more trees, aspens plus the mountains.
Leadville – Copper Mountain – Twin Lakes – Top of the Rockies Scenic Byway
The Top of the Rockies Byway travels 75 miles starting in Aspen, traveling through Leadville to either Minturn or Copper Mountain, literally at the Top of the Rockies. We took the route opposite as we were going towards Aspen, than from Aspen. For us it took us via Copper Mountain, Leadville and Twin Lakes.
At the Valley of Ghosts, In the late 1800’s this valley busted with the commotion of three mining towns. Fortunes were made and dreams were crashed in the ores hauled from mountains. By 1950. the area was deserted as the mining boom had busted. The valley is now filled with tailing from the Climax mine – a fit burial for the towns born out of mining.
Now, this was another hidden gem route expressed to us by members of a Facebook Group who suggested us that we take the drive via “The Top of the Rockies Scenic Byway”. When we enter on Google, it shows no results.
The route is incredibly scenic and short detours can lead us to mountain streams, lakes and mountains. It also runs through a few national forests in the area. To know more read, https://www.coloradodirectory.com/maps/topoftherockies.html