Fossils, Gold, and Tarantulas

In the footsteps of explorers, fortune seekers, the stage coach, and a railroad of necessity.

The Southwestern US Army Expedition led by Lieutenant Zebulon Pike set out to explore the new southwest boundary with Spain in 1806, which ultimately led him to be captured by the same.  That is a whole other story, and a much greater area of discovery that than planned for this excursion.  Only a portion of his original path was followed, lest this expedition suffer the same fate.

Before the gold rush, uncovering another valuable commodity about 70 years later touched off a competition between paleontologists Edward Cope and Othniel Marsh.  It added fuel to a fire already blazing between the two, who faced off in the "Bone Wars" to see who could uncover the most dinosaurs.  Marsh won the numbers game, although both made significant contributions to understanding of the extinct giant reptiles.

Folks more interested in real gold spawned an extension of the route, leading to Cripple Creek, from Cañon City.  Stagecoach delivered goods to the infant mining district, along a perilous path perched upon a shelf involved with the fabled Great Unconformity.  Along the way, features great and small litter the landscape.  Wildlife only challenged the expedition once.  Eventually, the beast moved along, glaring at us all the while, last in the crossing of a herd before him.

Cripple Creek is nothing more than gambling town these days, slowly awakening to the history surrounding the culture of the mining industry. One of the relatively recent additions, honoring those from the past, is a tribute to to the thousands of over-worked, and ultimately, misplaced workers.  Certain benefits enabled their grandchildren to persevere well attended, and they permitted to graze just about anywhere they please. 

Touring about the town, other sights enticed occasional pauses beyond the casinos.  Those particular establishments were a ghost town amidst the masked hysteria.  Most of the rest of the town was too, on a beautifully sunny Wednesday afternoon. One ice cream shop attached to a casino became highly populated for a brief moment, with workers bustling about frantically, while our party enjoyed a bit of refreshment. 

Mining of this area has left a lot gaps in the countryside, beyond the cultural implications. Wandering about the hills and valleys can be hazardous to health, as discovered by one soul who took up residence 300 meters down an abandoned mine shaft.  Old mines are often buried, hidden, and mostly undisclosed. Publicly available situations are usually best for exploration of these access points to the subterranean world.  

Lacking appropriate search and rescue apparel, facts above ground provided all the detail of interest for this outing.  The American Eagles Mine, along Little Grouse Mountain Trail and CO-67,  showcases varied paraphernalia of one man with a dream.  Winfield Stratton drove the shaft of this mine down nearly 500 meters, the furthest of any of the times, on a quest to discover the mythical "Bowl of Gold." He never made it, before passing on, having only found more of the usual.

The real unearthing of the precious metal lies just to the east of there, nearer Victor, in spite of an era billed as the "Cripple Creek Gold Rush."   The mine here is the only remaining significant producer of gold in the state, and tailings have been piling up there since the late 1800's, in an ongoing quest for more of the yellow dust.   Generally yielding a personal best of one gram of gold per tonne of ore, it seems like a lot of work for so very little.

One would think that Victor would be extremely wealthy as a result of the excavating happening within the proximity.  However, a population crash associated with depleted ore and a world at war left it a near ghost town, clinging to life with only a few hundred, ever since.  The old man has rediscovered himself recently though. Building restorations, along with random acts of art, proliferate in a landscape that previously displayed little more than a broken down old mining town.

When times are booming, creativity and ingenuity rise to meet challenges rarely considered, as demonstrated in such engineering feats as the Phantom Canyon Road. Originally, the path hosted he Florence & Cripple Creek Railroad in 1894, as a connection from Florence to the gold fields of Cripple Creek and Victor.  While our expedition moved along the trail easily, it is amazing that a train ever moved more than a few km per hour through the tight turns of the narrow canyon, with unseen apparitions lurking at every turn.

Barely escaping the clutches of the phantoms, suddenly and unexpectedly, we spilled out on to the open plain.  Mountains had  begun swallowing the sun, leaving only a glowing backdrop, begging pause before night settled in.  The 100 km journey absorbed an entire afternoon, and much of the evening. Time for sustenance had come and passed.  A good meal waited at the ranch.

One last curiosity captured our attention, demanding our vehicles hesitate. Crossing the road, a Texas brown tarantula, aka Oklahoma brown tarantula, aka Missouri tarantula arrived early in search of a perfect mate.  This crowd usually does not show up until August or September, but it seems one wanted to get a jump on things.  Letting him pass unmolested, he dutifully ignored our intrigue. 

Garden Park to Cripple Creek, by way of Shelf Road, across to Victor, and returning south along Phantom Canyon Road to Florence, CO

. . .

Further Reading

Zebulon Pike: Explorer
Colorado Virtual Library

OC Marsh and ED Cope: A Rivalry
PBS American Experience

Shelf Road
The Gold Belt Scenic Byway

Colorado's Royal Gorge and the Shelf Road
Earthly Musings

Cripple Creek
Visit Cripple Creek

Death made official 14 years later

Denver Post

American Eagles Mine Scenic Overlook
City of Victor

Phantom Canyon Road
The Gold Belt Scenic Byway

The Phantom Canyon: The Gold Belt Line to Cripple Creek and Victor
by Doris & McFarland, E.M. Wolfe
(thanks to a donation from The Ranch, available only in print)

Thousands of Tarantulas Are About to Set Off on Their Annual Migration in Colorado

Live Science