Posted in Colorado fun

Day 5

Today we took another round trip drive.

We started in Leadville, Colorado then went to Redcliff, then over Battle Mountain (us locals call the pass Battle Mountain.)  on to Midturn. From Midturn my mother took me to Edwards, CO to show me where I grew up. Then from there we went to Vail, CO to see where I lived there too. We ate lunch at the Vail McDonalds. I was later reminded why I don't like to eat at that place.

Then from Vail we drove to Climax, Co on back to Leadville. After a quick stop at  the Safeway in Leadville to get some diapers and some Pepsi we then drove over to Turquoise Lake. We drove on Hagerman Pass, which is a dirt road. We ended up at my great-grandfathers old Marble mine. He passed it down to my mother when he passed away. She no longer owns it, but we all still wish she did. The state has since closed down the mine. At the mine the I found some beautiful pieces of basalt that show the lava flow. I also found some small pieces of marble as a special keepsake. It was neat being in a place with family history. It tends to make a place even more beautiful when you know the history.

Below: Going under the bridge before entering Redcliff. I could so totally handle living in Redcliff. It has changed a bit since I've been there last. It is a really small town tucked in between the rock cliffs. A few of the houses had picket fences, but the pickets were ski's rather than wood. Perfect! If I made a fence like that here I'm sure I'd have problems with the city. LOL I loved the look of them!  In case your wondering, yes, I did drive over that bridge and followed the road.

When at the top of "Battle Mountain" with cliff on one side. When you look down at the train in the valley it does look like an ant. Many people have died on this road in the winter time.

 Below: Climax Molybdenum Mine near Leadville, Co.

Below: The entrance to my great-grandfather's and then my mother's old marble mine.

Below: Leaving the marble mine. I took this picture from the car... yup, straight down from a narrow dirt road.