South Park City

While we were in Colorado, we had the opportunity to visit an old mining town. They call it a museum, but South Park City is one of the few museums that you can take your kids to and let them touch and climb and explore.





34 authentic buildings are filled with over 60,000 artifacts that portray most of the economic and social aspects of boomtown life. Seven of the buildings are on their original sites; the others have been moved from abandoned camps and ghost towns in the area. It was a fascinating, fun way to spend a few hours.

Wheeler Lake Trail

Wheeler Lake is a gem of an alpine lake, tucked in an elbow turn of the Continental Divide. A hillside covered with white cascades pours into the lake from snow melting under the crystal blue Colorado sky.

Or so they say. We wouldn't know - we didn't make it that far!

We decided that the Wheeler Trail should have been called "Wheezer" Trail because that's what we did all the way up! Hiking at 12,000 feet is very, very hard when you are not used to it (pant, pant).

The hike follows an extreme four-wheel drive road under part of the old Magnolia Mill and past various relics of mining days. Mount Lincoln at 14, 286 feet watches over the broad valley of the Middle Fork of the South Platte River, above which lies Wheeler Lake. Below the waters of Montgomery Reservoir lie the remains of the town of Montgomery. The little town started in 1859 after gold was discovered on nearby mountains. Within two years the town had two hotels, seventy cabins, and two sawmills. In one two-week period, miners found between fifteen and twenty rich strikes. Citizens decided to name the towering peak to the west, which they believed to be the highest in Colorado, after President Lincoln. They even sent him a bar of gold from one of the mines located on his namesake. The following year 1, 000 people called Montgomery home. A drugstore, mercantile, dry goods store, and various saloons served their needs. Six gold mills worked the ore from the area ’s mines, with the Magnolia, Montgomery, and Pendleton being top producers. As many as 2, 000 people may have lived in town at one time. They even proposed Montgomery as the state capital!

Well, we hiked for about 90 minutes then we turned around and hiked an hour down. Even though we didn't get to the Lake, we had fun scrambling over rocks, crossing small creeks and large mudpuddles, and just exploring.

The Ground Squirrel Uprising

Day 1
We noticed a small Ground Squirrel scurrying on the rocks outside our cabin. It's so cute - we are all enchanted and delighted to see such friendly wildlife close up.

Day 2
We scattered birdseed on the patio and were happy to see our friend the Ground Squirrel return. He brought along a few friends. They look so happy playing on the rocks.

Day 3
We awoke to the sound of tapping on the glass door. It appears that the Ground Squirrels are hungry.

There are more of them now.

Day 4
The Ground Squirrels seem well-organized and strangely efficient. Additional reinforcements are arriving daily.

Day 5
It has become apparent that we are outnumbered. We think we've identified the Leader, however we have been unsuccessful in our attempts to negotiate. Food is running low.

Day 6
As we have been unable to squelch this local uprising, we have no choice but to retreat. We fought bravely, but could not resist their sheer numbers and persistence. As we pass the mission to the next family who vacations here, we leave this word of warning:

Don't Feed The Squirrels

Hi Ho, Hi Ho...

On our recent Road Trip, we had to opportunity to visit the Country Boy Mine in Breckenridge, Colorado.

The Country Boy Mine, founded in 1887, is one of the oldest and most famous mines in Summit County, Colorado. Early in its over 100 year history, the Country Boy Mine was known for its gold and silver production and later earned national fame by producing large quantities of high grade lead and zinc for use in World War I and World War II.

We strapped on our hard hats and ventured 1000 feet into the cool, dark tunnel. Water trickled beneath our feet as well as dripped down on us from the "ceiling".

Master Munchkin was old enough to have been a "Blast Monkey". These young boys would scamper up ladders in the mine, climbing up to 300 feet in the air, and place sticks of dynamite into the holes that the miners had chiseled out of the rock. If the stick did not detonate for some reason, the Blast Monkeys were sent back up to investigate.

Mining was hard and dangerous work, but it paid better than a lot of jobs back then. The men worked 10 hour shifts, working by candlelight in cold, wet conditions. Due to the dust produced by the drills, the average Miner died in about 4 years.

The Country Boy mine still has gold in it - 25 to 50 million dollar's worth - but it would cost more than that to retrieve it. So now they "mine" tourists.

Outside the mine, we had the opportunity to pet some friendly burros and to pan for gold.

Food, Glorious Food

What's a Road Trip without some glorious food?

The first item worth sharing was the Dark Chocolate fondue that we had at Swiss Haven in Breckenridge, Colorado. It was served with pound cake, fresh strawberries, pineapple, kiwi, marshmallows and bananas. It was so good that, towards the end, Miss Munchkin and I were scrapping the last of the chocolate out with our spoons and scooping it directly into our mouths!

We also ate at Bubba Gump's in Breckenridge. The atmosphere was fun and the food was good. I had shrimp 4 ways (five, if you count the one I stole from Miss Munchkin).

On our last night in Colorado, we had a campfire outside the cabin. Of course, we finished the evening with S'mores.


(the view from our cabin)

World Lit

To me, a vacation wouldn't be much of a vacation without lots of books. And time spent curled away in a comfy corner chair, reading without (much) interruption.

On this trip, I ventured a bit outside of my normal reading fare. First I snarfed down John Grisham's The Summons and The Last Juror. Then I read a contemporary romance written by my kickboxing buddy, Amy Knupp, Doctor in Her House. Then came a fluffy, fast read - Sisterchicks Go Brit by Robin Jones Gunn followed by the fascinating tale from Angela Hunt, She Always Wore Red. Lastly I devoured Saving Alice by David Lewis.

I found a treasure in a Breckenridge book shop; Photographing the Landscape: The Art of Seeing by John Fielder is worth reading and re-reading (while being careful not to drool over his gorgeous pictures).

Before the Road Trip, I picked up the unabridged, 10-hour audio version of The Swiss Family Robinson. As we drove, our whole family sat enraptured, listening to the elegant diction and vocabulary written in the late 1800's. What a great story!

And my great wish is that young people who read this record of our lives and adventures, should learn from it how admirably suited is the peaceful, industrious and pious life of a cheerful and united family, to the formation of strong, pure and manly character.

And, of course, no family trip would be complete without some good ol' Hank the Cowdog. :)

Far and Away

I am sitting in a not-so-local Starbucks, drinking a Verdi Cafe Mocha, logging onto the Internet for the first time in, um, six days. Ahh......

We are having an awesome Road Trip.

Some of our favorite highlights so far include hiking near the Continental Divide, exploring a mine 1600 feet underground, panning for gold, visiting an old-fashioned ghost town, gazing at the insanely bright stars at 10,000 feet, eating chocolate fondue, and shopping and swimming in Breckenridge.

I'll catch up with you more after we get home. Remind me to tell you about Master Munchkin's First Kill, The Cup of Horrible Tea, Hiney-Cringe Road, and the Ground Squirrel Rebellion.

Take care and see you in a few days!
MrsMama