Colorado - Part 1

So, the parental units & I went on a vacation to Colorado. We stopped at Dodge City on the way out there to wander around Boot Hill for a while. We didn't get many pictures & all of the graves (as far as they know, anyway) were moved to the regular cemetary way back when, so they had a few markers & several pair of concrete boots pointing out of the ground, toes up, on the hill. We went through all the buildings, but the favourite part for Mom & me was the room with Victorian clothes. We both fell in love with this purple, lace-trimmed gown below. I think I've found the inspiration for my wedding gown...

We stayed in a little cabin in Manitou Springs the first three nights. (Tweren't too clean, but it was cheap.) Did a lot of sight-seeing, including touring Miramont Castle. We ended up talking to this fella named Virgil, who was dressed as a sheriff & was carrying a purty little revolver. He had some good stories about ghosts & changes that had been made to the castle over the years. Mom & I had tea in the tea room while Dad hung out with the model trains. The scones - wow. Best ones I've ever had. Our tea sandwiches are pictured below. Yum yum...

We drove down to Cripple Creek & Victor one day & toured a mine (the Mollie Kathleen) that went down 1,000 feet. That was very cool. The lives those men lived & the work they did (and still do) was amazing & so very dangerous. We each got a little piece of gold ore to take home. You can see the gold sparkle in it. Unfortunately, we forgot the camera up top with Mom, so no pictures.

After the mine tour, we went on a ride in an old narrow gauge train that wound through some absolutely gorgeous country & showcased some historic mining sites. There were lots of old buildings like the pictured below. It would've been so fun to go explore through some of those.
This big pile of discarded ore holding up the train tracks replaced an old wooden trestle bridge. They figure there's over a million in gold in them thar rocks, but it wouldn't be worth the labor to pull it out.
We stopped at an old ghost town that was burned to the ground long ago, with the exception of a very few buildings, one of which is pictured above. After telling us a bit more of the history of the area, the engineer let off the steam that had been building up. Mom managed to get a shot of it.