Cripple Creek?

We hadn't really decided where to go next, as our plans were basically wide open after Lake City. By the end of July 4th, Sean and Scott decided it would be best to go to Cripple Creek, CO. So, on July 5th we headed that way. It was a beautiful drive on the way there.

Cripple Creek is a very neat little "big" town. It is home to ~14 casinos stretched through the downtown area and the town's history is thick with mining stories and lots of ruins throughout the landscape to prove it. The area made millions of dollars of the gold it provided in the 1920s. I can't imagine what that would be worth in today's value, but the people at that time were making tons of money.

The miners left behind quite a few things. For instance, there is a railway used by the miners that is still in use today for tours of the area's mines. They use smaller steam engines because the railway is only 2' wide, versus today's railway, which is a bit over 4'. We decided to take the train tour and were the first ones on the train passenger car behind the engine. This made for an up-close experience of how the train is operated.

This was the first train I've ever ridden on, and I have to say it was super fun! There was one point in the tour where the engineer stopped the train at Echo Valley and blew the horn, and we figured how that valley got its name...