Leadville & Caribou Ranch (August 2011)

Written by ceddammit

Howdy and welcome to another episode of ThrowBack Thursday. Today we’re throwing up back to August of 2011, when I took a day trip to Leadville, Colorado and another day trip (on another day, don’t ya know) to Caribou Ranch, also in Colorado. Everyone please take your seats. The performance is about to begin, and there will be NO standing in the aisles.

We’ll begin with Leadville. Well, to be accurate, we’ll begin with the old mining areas just east of Leadville. I didn’t actually photograph the town on this visit, just some of the more interesting remnants of the days when Leadville was one of the world’s leading producers of gold, silver, zinc, copper, and (of course) lead. Take a look at what old-timey mining left behind:

Nasty pollution leftover from the old mining days.
Nasty pollution leftover from the old mining days.
I’m guessing this pile has tailings from more than one ore vein.
HUGE funky looking mass of tailings
Near Leadville, Colorado (Photographed August 14th, 2011)

Would you like to know more? Would you like to Seymour? If so, check out my later visits to Leadville, which happened during Autumn 2012, Spring 2013, and Summer 2013.

Now, let’s head back to Boulder County, to the scenic mountain meadows of Caribou Ranch…

This road was once the route of the Denver, Boulder, & Western Railroad.
Didn’t see any caribou at Caribou Ranch, but saw this moose!
The moose walked to within about 20 feet of me.
That’s a BIG dog!
Caribou Ranch, near Nederland, Colorado (Photographed August 7th, 2011)

Now hold on a second there, folks! Caribou Ranch has more to offer than scenery and meese. There’s some history here, too. Most notably, an old silver mine called the Blue Bird. The mine was supported by a few scattered buildings, as was usual. Some of these buildings have decayed; others have been preserved by the various property owners over the years, and appear to still be in use. Have a look…

Blue Bird Mine bunkhouse and office
Blue Bird Mine bunkhouse (built around 1873)
Blue Bird Mine.
DAMMIT!
Blue Bird Mine tailings pile
Blue Bird Mine entrance portal / tunnel / snowshed
Ore cart rails
Looking out from above the (now sealed) mine entrance
Blue Bird Mine, near Nederland, Colorado (Photographed August 7th, 2011)

Well, shucks, folks, I guess that’s it for today. Exit to your right, please, and walk slowly down the ramp. Come on back next Thursday! We’ll have beheadings! OK, we won’t actually have beheadings. But we will have pictures from Fruita, Boulder, and possibly Chattered Nugent. ‘Til then, watch your ass! I’m not sure why.

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