Cripple Creek

We got in the truck and headed to Cripple Creek a little over a hour from our park.


Cripple Creek lies in a valley on the West slopes of Pikes Peak. Gold was discovered here in 1891 and the town swelled to about 15,000 inhabitants. Today the population is about 1,500. Gambling is the main industry with casinos on every corner.

The town was originally constructed of wood but after the entire town burned down in 1904 they passed a ordinance that all buildings within one block of main street be made of brick. Hence, red brick is seen in most of the buildings.



We took a 45 minute ride on a narrow gage steam train from the early 1900s. It was a fun little excursion and we got some information on the local history.





Along the way we passed several abandoned gold mines such as this one. Today there is only one large mine remaining but that one takes about 400 Million dollars in gold every year.


That concludes our sightseeing in Colorado Springs. Tomorrow (Sunday) is church, breakfast, shopping if necessary and getting ready to head East on Monday morning. The next major stop is the Truman library in Independence, Mo. More from there.