Snow road from here to Cripple Creek

It was a snowy and cold Saturday in February. By Sunday snowfall stopped but the low clouds remained and covered the city. We returned back from our trip to Utah just before midnight (click here to learn about this trip - A 1000 miles is not a detour for the mad dog...) but in the morning we wanted to go somewhere else... We just cannot stay at home...

 

Cripple Creek, Jail Museum

As you can see, the population of Cripple Creek grew from 15 people to more than 50,000 just in a few months. And a lot of them were adventure seekers, gold diggers or just people that were ready for everything if they could feel the smell of money. And... also... they drunk! So, work, pub, gambling, ill-repute house and "next stop is jail" ;)

 

Cripple Creek, Old Homestead

Cripple Creek has a long history and endless stories can be told all night long revealing the truth and fiction about this place... Let's listen to a couple of them, before jumping to our today's subject, if you don't mind...

 

Town of Cripple Creek

Cripple Creek is such a nice small town and we are already made a first round of walk there - Winter day in Cripple Creek.

As it said before, Cripple Creek is a great place to feel the spirit of an old mining town. And you can start even before reaching the town. 

 

Winter day in Cripple Creek

There are a lot of small nice towns in the mountains. And most of them look alike... but they are still not the same. They all have quiet curvy streets, small houses, trees... But each has something that makes them unique. Probably this is why we really enjoy spending time exploring small towns.

Cripple Creek is a tiny cozy mining town...It has a rich history, but let's not talk about it now and just walk along the streets and have a first impression of this place. If you enter the town from the West, you drive up and down jumping from one hill to another. And you see a small house or two sitting on the top of each hill... And trees... If you choose the right weather, the trees are covered with snow and everything looks like a fairy tale...

 

Cripple Creek, Ice Sculpture Festival, 2020

Cripple Creek is a great place if you want to escape from a busy city life. It's also an amazing spot to spend a few relaxing hours enjoying the atmosphere of the old mine town. It is sleepy and empty during most of the year, but twice a year this town becomes center of life. It's full of people and feels busy and even a bit crazy. And it always happens in February, when the town hosts the Ice Sculpture Festival. The second time it attracts a lot of people happens during Donkey Derby in June...