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.

Our New Workamping Location - Cripple Creek KOA

(Cripple Creek, Colorado) 45 degrees, blue skies, windy

Office and Kampstore

We will be workamping here in Cripple Creek from May 15 - September 15th.  Originally we had committed to work part time (12 hours/person) for our site.  However, the other workamping couple suddenly cancelled due to medical reasons.  The owners gave us the option to work full time.  With the price of gas and some extra expenditures we thought this might be a good option.  

Our Committment:   We will be working about 34-38 hours/person and will have every Monday and Tuesday off.  The first 12 hours per person go towards our site and then we are paid an hourly wage.  We also receive propane at cost, free laundry, and discounts in the kampstore. 

Owners: This KOA is a privately owned campground. Some of them are owned by KOA.  Jimmy and Pam live on site and are very actively involved in the campground.  They have owned it for three years and have added a lot to the campground since purchasing it. 

Responsibilities:  We will work in the office from 12 noon until 8 pm checking in campers,  taking reservations by phone,  and handlling campstonre purchases.   We also escort cameprs to their sites and deliver wood for campfires.  There is also a lot of maintenance and lawn mowing.  Plus, we will help clean bathrooms and cabins.  This is a small campground so we'll probably help with just about anything that is needed. 

Weather:  The season is short here and we will not be very busy until June.  Spring has not quite arrived and in a few weeks everything will be a lot greener.  Right now the temperatures range fron 19 degrees to the mid 60's. Nights are chilly and we have had to use our propane.  Once the sun come up over the mountains it is very nice.  It is very quiet and peaceful- at least for now.   The views are spectacular and the stars are very bright at night.

Mountain range (Pikes Peak is behind the snow caped mountains)

Pam has two horses that are also on the property and she goes out often on trail rides.  Campers can also bring their horses too.  They have a seperate area for them.

Here are a few photos of some of the sites and amenities. 

Our site

Kamp Kitchen for tent sites and a fire ring

Hot tub

Sleeping Kabins -sleep up to four (not pictured are the two lodges with bath and kitchen)

Picnic area (our rig is in the background)

Deluxe tent sites and kabins

Primitive campsites (no water or electric)

Trail up the mountain

Toy Train

Right now we are not working.  The altitude here is very high (9700 feet).  The owners wanted us to arrive 2 weeks early to adjust and have provided our site to us complimentary.  We were encouraged to drink a lot of water and to take it easy for a few days.  You can get out of breath very quickly.  We have been here three days now and it seems a little better today.  We have been cleaning our coach and even simple tasks take longer. 

The town of Cripple Creek is about 20 mintues away.  It is an famous gold mining town and most of the stores are now fancy gambling casinos. I'll post some pictures of the town in another post.  There is a small grocery store and post office.  Most people shop at a nearby town called Woodlawn Park which is about 45 mintues away.  Colorado Springs is about 1 1/2 hours from here.

Town of Cripple Creek in the distance

We are looking forward to exploring the area.  There are a lot of hiking trails and some four wheel jeep trails.   There is also a gold mine tour that looks very interesting.  If you are in the area this summer please stop by for a visit.