Hodge vs. Podge – who will win?

Written by ceddammit

It’s Thursday once again! Time for me to retrieve some more photos from my JPG vault, deep below the Earth’s crust. This week, we’re looking at another hodgepodge of pics. Not surprisingly, it’s mostly Colorado, but this time there are some Las Vegas pics as well. Let’s begin with the highest incorporated city in the USA – the soothingly named Leadville, Colorado! You may remember Leadville, as I’ve been there many times (and I plan to visit again). So far, I have shown you Leadville in spring and summer; today, I bring you the amazing golden aspen leaves of autumn 2012:

We begin today’s journey far above, and a little east of, Leadville.
Remains of an aerial tramway. The cable carried buckets of ore.
Old mine structures stand below an amazingly gravelly mountain.
Another view of the same building; note the lean-to standing at the rear.
View from the leanin’ lean-to
Small old mine entrance next to a remote gravel road
Not sure what this was; it sits above a county road southeast of Leadville.
Spectacular abandoned ore mill!
Looking back up the valley towards the gravelly mountain
An old headframe in the aspens
The aspen were astoundingly golden on this day.
Old electrical substation
Some old industrial building
An abandoned piece of electrical equipment outside the old substation
Some old industrial building’s smokestack
On the outskirts of Leadville
Setting sun shining through a dead home on the outskirts of Leadbille
Leadville at sunset
I don’t know what this building was, but it had quite a smokestack…
…and not much in the way of windows.
Turquoise Lake at sunset
Mining Areas to the southeast of Leadville, Colorado (Photographed September 2012)

Earlier in the day, I visited the site of Oro City, which is also southeast of Leadville. The environmental damage in many of these old mining areas leaves almost a Martian-looking landscape:

Welcome to the red planet. And green. We have green things, too.
There are no buildings left at Oro City, but plenty of artifacts, like this.
A previous visitor apparently brought all these artifacts together for a pic.
These appear to be remnants of a sluice, or flume, or Jet-Ski.
Pretty grass!
Not sure what this was, but it was probably about 7 feet wide.
Dare ya to jump in!
Ruins of an ore mill; unfortunately, I couldn’t find a way to get any closer.
And finally, more golden aspen
Remnants of Oro City, Colorado (Photographed September 2012)

In October 2018, my (then) employer sent me to an industry seminar / conference / orgy in Las Vegas, Nevada. I didn’t do much sight-seeing at ground level, but I did take the time to ride High Roller. At the time this was the world’s tallest Ferris wheel, at 550 feet high. (An even bigger wheel has since been built in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates.) My timing was (accidentally) perfect, as the sun was setting during my 30-minute ride. Hmmmm…I wonder if they offer a 15-minute ride for base jumpers. Anyway, these pictures, taken aboard High Roller, speak for themselves. I offer no comments or captions…

Views from High Roller, Las Vegas, Nevada (Photographed October 2018)

Let’s shift gears. In 1901, the mountain known as Grassy Top, in northwestern Boulder County, was the scene of a horrific railroad accident. Y’see, the north branch of the Colorado & Northwestern Railway (C&N) once passed across the southern face of Grassy Top on the way to its terminus at the nearby town of Ward. Near the grassy top of Grassy Top, the railroad builders had to cut through a rock formation. The resulting rock cut would quickly fill up with snow during much of the year, so the C&N had to plow the cut frequently. The C&N had a method for this; a method that was surprisingly common, given how crazy it sounds now. They had a plow attachment they would connect to the front of a locomotive. A second locomotive would then be connected to the back of the first (well, technically, to the back of the first locomotive’s coal car). Together, the two locomotives would start from a long way back, getting up as much speed as possible before flat out ramming into the wall of snow. You can probably imagine what happened on the occasion in question. Yep. Both of the locomotives derailed and went tumbling hundreds of vertical feet down the side of Grassy Top. Everyone aboard the two locomotives was killed. Amazingly, the C&N transported what was left of the locomotives back to their shops, and at least one of them was eventually put back in service. So, now that I’ve told you that grisly story, here are some pretty pictures from where it happened:

There’s no marker indicating exactly where the accident happened, but…
…the rock cut is at the upper left of this photo, so it must’ve been here.
The insanely steep, but well-maintained Sawmill Rd is at left.
Looking up at the perilous rock cut
Dunno why they call it Grassy Top…
…it’s grassy all over. And sagebrushy…
…with only a few scattered trees…
…until you get down into the valley.
This was taken from a moving car in north Boulder on the way home.
Grassy Top, near Ward, Colorado (Photographed September 2012)

One last trip and one last pic. The same employer that sent me to Vegas also sent me to the mighty, mighty city of Metropolis in September 2016! Metropolis, Illinois, that is! This Metropolis is in the southern end of the state, right on the Ohio River, which is the border between Illinois and Kentucky. In fact, we flew into the Paducah, Kentucky airport for this trip. This is a VERY lightly travelled airport. I believe they said they only have two flights each day – one incoming, one outgoing. And there was ONE person on duty. She was the ticket agent, the gate agent, the security screener, the baggage handler, and the flight attendant. I guess if she calls in sick, ain’t nobody flyin’ nowhere. 

I only took one photo while I was in Metropolis, and that was of the Metropolis Bridge, a railroad bridge that I just now learned was built in 1917. I had no idea at the time that this bridge was 99 years old…

Metropolis Bridge at Metropolis, Illinois (Photographed

I think that satisfies my community service plea deal for the week. Come back next Thursday, when I hope to take you to three more places in Colorado: the long-forgotten Union Pass, the High Park burn area, and the happiest place on Earth: Grand County!

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