Colorado: Aspen-Leadville Loop

A day-trip from Glenwood Springs through Aspen and Leadville, looping back via I-70

 

 After a nice drive from Glenwood springs, we arrived in Aspen.  Like so many of the well-known Colorado mountain villages, Aspen's original central area is a combination of original mining town architecture and affluent granola ambiance.

 

 The first order of business was to exercise the animals and wander the downtown.  There was a fair-sized street market of which we took advantage.

 

 There is a free gondola service from the "old" town to the modern Mountain Village above Aspen from which the high slopes are available.  From the gondola, you can look back and see how the original town sits in the upper reaches of a large canyon.

 

 Back down and before heading out, we stopped for a quick lunch with a lot of sun.

 

 Shortly out of Aspen, Hwy 82 is little more than a small country road with no shoulders and little clearance on the sides.  Once out of the canyon and approaching the treeline, it opens up.  We passed numerous mining relics like this stamping mill remains in what is left of the mining town of Independence.  The Saturn Vue (our tow car for the motorhome) has been a workhorse for us;  very sad the brand has been dropped.

 

 Finally the road crested at Independence Pass and, after a break we enjoyed the drive through Balltown and Leadville (lunch and touring the historic local architecture) back to Glenwood Springs.

 

As the sun approached the horizon, we returned to Glenwood Springs just in time for a quick tour of Linwood Pioneer Cemetery, on Jasper Mountain, above the town.  When visiting this historic cemetery you should have your walking shoes on as there are no vehicles allowed on the winding road to the cemetery. 

Established in 1886, Linwood contains the graves of the pioneers of Glenwood Springs. Its most infamous resident is John Henry “Doc” Holliday.  Harvey Logan, alias “Kid Curry” was also buried in Linwood after committing suicide following a train robbery in 1904 near Parachute. Logan had been, for a while, a member of Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid’s gang. Exploring this historic graveyard would optimally require a guide, or at least a guide book, and a fair amount of time, neither of which we had.

John "Doc" Holliday of course is famous for his role in the gunfight at the OK Corral.  In some respects, John Henry Holliday's reputation was as illusory as the cure he sought. Stricken with tuberculosis at 21, the aspiring dentist came west in 1873 and roamed from Dallas to Dodge City to Tombstone, drinking and gambling hard at every stop (so much for health concerns). After shooting up a few barrooms and dispatching a rival card-shark, Doc Holliday gained renown as a prolific killer and brilliant marksman. In reality he committed perhaps four or five murders, and his wheezing and boozing made him an erratic shot. But this much was true: he was hot-tempered and reckless, a dangerous man. And a dying one. By 1887, when he moved into the Hotel Glenwood, his ravaged lungs were beyond saving. He expired within a few weeks.