Gold Rush Present and Past in Cripple Creek and Victor Colorado

(Cripple Creek, Colorado) 62 degrees, very windy, overcast

Entering Cripple Creek

The winds sure are howling today (50 mph).  The owner of our campground says the weather is very unusual.  John tried working on the motorcoach outside but found it very difficult.  So, we decided to finish up all our spring cleaning inside.  We are dusted, waxed, moped, and cleaned our coach from top to bottom.  It really was needed and it looks so nice.  We have been having too much fun traveling and it was time to take care of business. 

Over the past few days (between maintenance and cleaning) we have been checking out the area and some of the attractions.  Our first stop was the Heritage Center.  This is a wonderful visitors center that has numerous displays about the gold rush days in Cripple Creek.  We watched an excellent 20 minute video and the spent a great deal of time looking at all the exhibits. 

They gave us lots of information and brochures for the area.  We told them we were workamping at the KOA and they really spent a lot of time with us.  From the visitor center you can get a good view of Cripple Creek.  If you are visiting in the area, we'd recommend stopping here first.  Admission is free!

Gold was discovered in Cripple Creek and Victor in the 1890's. Thousand of gold seekers flocked to this area due to the encouragement of Bob Womack and his eventual strike in 1890. In three years the population exploded and many prospectors became instant millionaires. Over $500,000,000 of gold was dug from this area in a few years time.

There is an active surface gold mining operation currently in progress in Victor.  The visitors center recommended taking a road up to the American Eagle Overlook (click to view map).  It is a dirt road with very steep inclines and jaw dropping views.  Have jeep...will travel... so off we went eventually reaching almost 12,000 feet.  At the overlook  we saw  a massive strip mining operation taking place. Note the ore trucks.  They look tiny in our pictures but up close they were huge.  A big chunk of the mountain side has been removed. 

Original mine and headframes developed  by William Stratton

The original mine purchased  by William Stratton in 1895 eventually made him a very wealthy man.  We walked around the buildings and there were interesting signs describing past and current gold mining operations.  We also saw this spectacular view of Pikes Peak. 

Pikes Peak

Tomorrow we will share pictures of Cripple Creek today.  After the gold rush it became a ghost town.  It is quite different today due to legalized gambling and lots of renovations.