20070628 Thursday
156 miles to RV Corral, Leadville CO (alt. 10,152')


We breakfasted & headed west on US-50. Once past Canon City, the road climbs much of the time. At Salida we turned NW on CO291, then North on US24 to Leadville. Since Pueblo is at 5,000', we gained 5,152' of altitude today, or 33 feet per mile.

On the way here, we came up the Arkanasas River and followed it for many miles. We noted that the railroad (former D&RGW, now UP) that also follows the river upstream to Leadville has stored several hundred hopper cars on the old main line above Canon City. The rest of the line to Leadville Jct looks to be non-operating, but the tracks are still in place. I guess there's just no more business up here. At the top of the valley at Fremont Pass is the last mine to operate commercially in the area - Climax Molybdenum. It closed in 1981, devastating the local economy. There's still a bit of individual mining, but nothing large. The town seems to survive on summer tourism and a little winter skiing.

The weather was variable today, clear as a bell while driving here, then a few clouds, then a shower, and now just cloudy. It did get up around 75*F and felt hotter in the sun when it was shining. Right now, it's 61* at 6:45pm and going down to a forecast 39*F. We tested the heater in the little house this morning to make sure it's working.

The campground is on 2nd street, right downtown, just off Harrison. Second street was the red-light district in early Leadville, so I feel right at home. First street, behind us, was the first business district, but Harrison Avenue (perpendicular to both) is now the main business street.

We arrived early, since the trip was short. We headed across the street to the Pasttime Saloon for lunch. The Pasttime started as a "theatre" back in the 1870's but has been a saloon since 1938. At one time there were 64 saloons on Second street, but the Pasttime is the last. Not that there aren't saloons - they're all over the place, but in other locations.

With lots of time available, we took a ride 30 miles north, then 30 miles west, then 30 miles southeast back to Leadville.

The first leg will be our exit from Leadville Saturday. We went up to the top of the Arkansas River valley and over the top at Fremont Pass (11,318'). It's nearly flat for a bit, then it goes down rapidly - to 7500 feet at Frisco, so that's just under 4000' in 10 miles. The downhill grade is marked 7%, but it's straight, which means a lot going downhill with a fifth-wheel trailer - the big frontal area of the trailer helps hold down the speed once it gets up around 50.

We'll also use the second leg west to Vail and beyond. This part goes up and over Vail Pass (10,666'), at the Continental Divide. All water here flows toward the Colorado and the Bay of Colorado; of course it never gets there because California, Nevada, and Arizona use it all for irrigation and people. This leg is up and down, with sharper curves than the usual interstate as it follows rivers in canyons up and down.

The third leg I would never use for a trailer - it has many curves, low speeds, switchbacks, and wild descents in places. But it's scenic coming back over the Divide at Tennessee Pass. Here again, the D&RGW/UP rails are in place all the way to and through the pass down to Leadville Jct, but appear unused.

I should mention that diesel fuel costs $3.199 in Leadville & 3.419 in Frisco. Hmm...

We stumbled upon the Colorado and Southern train station and found a tourist train operation, the Leadville, Colorado and Southern. It runs north out of Leadville on the old C&S tracks almost to the Climax mine. We'll probably ride it tomorrow. I'll get more of the history of the station then, as well. There were three railroads here at one point, the Denver & Rio Grande Western, the Colorado Midland, and the Colorado & Southern (former Denver & South Park).

One reason for riding & driving tours is that there isn't much oxygen up here. A two-block walk stops me for a minute while I get my breath. It doesn't seem to affect the bicycle riders - they're all over town and on all the paved roads. Leadville must be a "destination" for these bikers.

I just took a walk to a book store & wineshop. The bookstore was full of people. Heck, the whole town is full of people. I found results posted in a window for a marathon, a half-marathon, and four separate bike events, including one trailbike event. So the place is full of healthy-looking people.

I bought a pinot noir and a brief history of Leadville. Might as well get another view of it.

So now we're settling in for the evening.