Gold Mines and Bordellos
By courtney | July 13, 2010
The second full day of our trip, we drove up to Cripple Creek. Cripple Creek sits very near to the top of the Continental Divide at roughly 9000 feet in elevation… whew! It’s a famous gold mining town just over an hour outside of Colorado Springs, and while there, we visited a gold mine. As in: we went down into the mine. 1000 feet underneath the surface of the earth. In a tiny miner’s cage, packed like sardines.
We’re happy to report that this particular structure is, err, no longer in use. But you can see mining structures in the background on the hill that are in better repair. That’s because the district is still being actively mined for gold.
Keith takes a break while we wait for our chance to go down into the mine. There is a miner inside that building operating the lift for the cage, who receives communication from below the surface via a simple bell system.
Courtney in front of the miner’s cage that descends into the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine. You can’t read it here, but there is a sign to the left of where she stands that says you can be fined for farting on the miner’s cage. Good to know.
Keith poses in his snazzy hard hat! While we toured the mine, we had a chance to see mining equipment from throughout the last several hundred years. It was incredible how little has changed, relatively speaking, and how dangerous a profession it still is.
After we finished the mining tour, we went into the town of Cripple Creek to tour one of the most famous bordellos in Colorado history! Sorry, no pictures. There wasn’t exactly a photo opportunity inside of a brothel, even one no longer in use. 
Then it was off for soft pretzels and a walk about town, which seems to be turning into the next Reno. Hmm. Somehow, it’s historically fitting.
Topics: family, photos, travel | 1 Comment »