COLORADO ADVENTURE FEBRUARY 2004 (Part 5)

Of course, the Rocky Mountains is full of those photogenic kind of places where you just want to get out of the car, climb down by the side of the road where the icy river is frozen over, and take lots of silly photos.....oh yes - there's that man again...! :)

The road that I took those photos on was the I-70. Now for where we went to next that day you have to find Central City first by taking the I-70 west into the foothills, passing the Genessee and Evergreen exits. Then take the exit 244 for Central City and Blackhawk. Finally, turn right onto Colorado Highway 6 into Central City. Go up the main street, off to the left, follow the road about half a mile, and then turn left up a dirt track road, (honest!) and go for another half a mile or so, and you'll come across:

The town of Nevadaville, Colorado. Nevadaville was founded in the hills above Central City in the Gold Rush days. Gilpin County contained some of the most productive mines ever found; $105,000,000 in gold was taken from “the Richest Square Mile On Earth” during the heyday of the mines.

At its height, Nevadaville had a population of over 27,000, many churches, bars, and other businesses, which made it much larger than Denver. The pic on the right shows the view up, what is left of, the mainstreet.

Nevadaville was favoured with the construction of the first Masonic temple between the Missouri River and the Pacific coast, in June of 1859 (a log building which was later replaced with a Victorian frame building on the Main Street). This can be seen on the left hand side of the picture in the foreground.

The picture above also shows the view back down the main street. Notice at the far end on the left the red brick building is the "Bald Mountain Trading Post"...

Life was hard at 9300 feet elevation. Water was "bought" by the bucket or barrel from vendors driving wagons. This was one of the reasons why, once the gold had gone, that the town rapidly diminished.

By 1862 the gold had gone, and the town shrank, virtually disappearing off the map.

Hardly anything remains today of the once prosperous town. Like so many of those gold mining towns, all is left the ruins of a bygone age...

Of course there are some unusual sights still standing, such as the City Hall, and the odd tourist taking photos of himself :)

By the 1930's Nevadaville was a ghost town, with only a half dozen residents staying on up until recently.

But! If you thought you'd seen the best "tourist pic" in the area - you haven't. Somewhere on the outskirts of Central City, before you reach the turn off to Nevadaville you'll come across this...

It's okay, I don't think you have to look twice at this. Yes, it is a pink outhouse, (on the edge of a wooden platfrom), with holes in the walls - and arms sticking out. This right arm happens to be holding a can. I have searched many a website, and found various pictures of Central City & Nevadaville - but not one of this. Why? Because I had an expert guide with me - my lovely wife Sue. She had seen this many years ago - and wanted to share the moment with me as well :)

The Rocky Mountains are, indeed, a great place to go and visit, even if you do just mess about in the foothills. And if you stay tuned - or follow the instructions below - you can, if you want, see the rest of our journey :)

If you want to go back to the main weblog, then click here. If you'd rather stick around and see what happens next, then click here to take you to the next page. If you want to go back a page, then click here.
Alternatively, if you want leave a little message for me then click here.

This is a disclaimer. You have just read the Colorado Adventure February 2004 of Paul & Sue. Nothing written here is meant be be offensive. If you are offended - go join a bible group. No offense to bible group members intended. (Good grief!). Copyright @ Dr P Woodgnome 2004.