Leadville & Buena Vista, CO (7/19 & 7/20/2018)

On my way to Leadville, I made a loop into the San Isabel National Forest for a quick look at Turquoise Lake.  Well, it wasn't turquoise and it wasn't quick, being much larger than expected.  It was worth the time, however, since it's a pretty lake with mountains in the background.

Leadville is an interesting and colorful old mining town, but not nearly as interesting and colorful as its history.  Located near the headwaters of the Arkansas River thirty-five miles north of Buena Vista, the town sits at an elevation of 10,152 feet (higher than Independence Pass) making it the highest incorporated city in the U. S.  Its population is only about 2600, but in its heyday it had more than 15,000 residents.  Founded in 1877 by mine owners Horace Tabor and August Meyer, some thirty mines in the area produced large quantities of gold, silver and lead.  One mine is still actively producing most of the country's supply of molybdenum, used in making hardened steel.

Horace Tabor struck it rich, was once said to be worth $10 million (a lot of money then) before Congress repealed the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, causing the price of silver to plummet.  He also served as mayor, and divorced his wife of 25 years to marry "Baby Doe" who was half his age.  A con artist once dumped a wheelbarrow load of good silver ore into a pit on his claim in order to sell it to Tabor.  Later, Tabor's miners dug a few feet deeper and found a rich vein of silver.

One Leadville hotel owner used entertainment to lure customers, offering dancing girls, dog and cock fights, boxing, wrestling, etc.  To tame the lawless town, Tabor brought in Mart Duggan, a hard drinking, brawling, tough gunfighter.  This was after the first marshal was run out of town after three days, and the second was killed after a month.  Duggan succeeded but was ambushed and shot dead long after his retirement as marshal, no doubt a revenge killing.

Tabor built an opera house that still operates today.  When he died, destitute, he told Baby Doe to hold on to his mine because "silver will come back".  She followed his advice and lived at the mine in poverty for more than thirty years.  She was found frozen to death at age 81.  Earlier, she had bought the Hope diamond for $180,000.  There are several books about her life that would make for good reading.

Other colorful characters in Leadville's past include Doc Holliday, the Unsinkable Molly Brown (Titanic survivor), Poker Alice and Oscar Wilde, who came to lecture at the opera house.  Wilde later remarked he had seen a sign in the saloon saying "Please don't shoot the pianist, he's doing the best he can".

Leadville's downtown probably hasn't changed much since the early days.

Overall, I would describe the town as quiet, quaint and quirky.  Most homes are Victorian style, many dating to the late 1800s, but updated with colorful paint jobs.

Many homeowners take pride in their flower gardens.  One man gave me permission to photograph his garden, but turned away from the camera.

There are cute signs and pieces of art adorning many homes and businesses.

I was tempted to ride the Leadville Southern train ride into the mountains, but I was a few minutes late for one train and didn't want to hang around four hours for the next one.

The historic mining district became an EPA "superfund" clean-up site in 1983.  In the past 25 years, the site's risk level has been reduced to a low level, at a cost of some $55-$60 million.  Fishing has improved and parks have been built on the site.  Consequently, Leadville property values are on the rise, now that the stigma has been removed.

Back in Buena Vista the next day, I visited the downtown park that includes a pond and a "waterfall" where the water exits.  Notice the young boy fishing at the waterfall.

 I think this willow tree is the largest of its kind that I've seen.  It must date back to the park's creation in 1879.

 Here are a couple photos of rafters dodging boulders in the rapids of the Arkansas River.

This wraps up my time in Buena Vista.  I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have.  I've moved on to Steamboat Springs, so the next update will be from that lovely town.