The Route of the Silver Kings

[Rogerson785]

I ended up in Leadville and drove this cool rout that took you past many abandoned silver mines. The Route of the Silver Kings.
http://coloradoinfo.com/leadvilletwinlakes/silverkings

This is the marker at the crest of the Venir Shaft.


Here I am going from south from the Venir Shaft towards the Lower Printer Boy mine and Oro City on a four wheel drive only road. It was not too bad and never had any white knuckles.


This is what greeted me as I finished my 4X4 descent, an old air compressor that was used to power machinery or provide ventilation inside the mine.


Here I am standing at the edge of the tailing pile where ore cars were pushed and the waste rock was just dumped off the end. You can see the road to the right and further right is the town of Leadville.


When I was finished with my driving adventure I stopped in at the Leadville National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum, well worth the $7 admission. The only other museum that comes close is the museum in Golden that is ran by the Colorado School of Mines which has the most impressive mineral collection I have ever seen, even better than the Smithsonian.


This was a coal mining display that you walked through as though you were inside the mine.


Here two coal miners eating their lunch. Notice the yellow canary in the wooden cage above the miner on the left.


Here is a good sample of Malachite and Azurite taken from the Copper Queen mine in Bisbee Arizona, a mine I visited quite often during my four year stay in Arizona.


The only thing left of a town that was moved to Leadville to make room for mine expansion, the town of Climax and it is no longer on the map.


The Denver & Rio Grand provided valuable supplies to the townsfolk and miners.

[GMan]

Bringing back some family history for me. When my parents first got married they did live in Climax. Great shots.

[SFCRick]

love that mule shot

[Chas]

Funny how things change. A main stream industry finishes and becomes part of the tourist industry. Thanks again Chris - really good pictures.

Regards

Chas

[Ancienne Alliance]

Thanks for the photos.


Best,

Robert

[Streetcar]

I spent a weekend in Cripple Creek once, I believe it's in that general area.
Beautiful country. I remember how fresh the air was, and the bray of the wild donkeys at night.

[Dr. Mac]

Very nice pics... would love to visit that museum!

[Phil]

An interesting bit of industrial history. Thanks for your photos.

[Santa Wally]

Interesting photos, thanks for posting them. Anyone interested in taking a REAL underground coal mine tour can do so in Scranton PA from April 1 through Nov 30. For information and details go to: http://www.lackawannacounty.org/attractions_coal.asp

[beloitpiper]

The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago (one of my favorites!) has an elevator and mine tour from reconstructed equipment.