Crede, CO mining

Linda and I have both been fascinated by the buildings at Crede that are left from the Mining, mostly silver but other metals also.

As we have driven thru the mining area and stop to look at the buildings that are left and the debris from other structures that have deteriorated or been damaged by vandals we both say we would like to go back in time for a day or so and just see how all of this stuff worked.

There were many hundreds of workers here in the heyday and we can only guess at how things went down. We have gone on line and to the local library but can not find any specific information about how the mining and processing was done.

Anyway here are a few pictures from our latest visit a week or so ago. I am thinking we will head back up there again and visit the local museum to see what we can find out.

This building is all that is left of a larger structure. It was used to separate out the ore and load it into wagons.

If you look close there are two structures here, both built on very steep ground.

here are some close ups of both.

And here is another neat building, I think this is another ore tipple

You also have to wonder how they found all of the ore. What gave them the clues. We do know that for gold they looked for outcroppings of quartz.

As usual you can click on any picture to see it larger and here is the link to Picasa to see all of the pictures we took that day. There are a lot of duplicates as I was experimenting with the polarizing filter at the time to see what would change.

https://picasaweb.google.com/rufnitII/20110818CredeMining?authkey=Gv1sRgCJKliduX6u6MhQE#

The drive up from the town of Crede is all gravel and in some spots very steep. When we pulled over to take pictures in one spot I had to back up onto the road as going forward I just dug two holes with the tires.

Enjoy

love to all of you

Jim and Linda

A gift of love

A short while back, Bobbie started asking me questions about what my favorite meal was, as my birthday is coming up in early September. One of my most favorite meals comes from a great steak house called Morton’s.
We used to take customers there to wine and dine them and I almost always ordered the 24 ounce porterhouse with a side of sea scallops and home made potatoes….topped off with a snifter of B&B brandy.

After thinking about it, I told them a few days later that for my birthday we would buy a standing rib roast and let Jim C. cook it, as he is a great grill cook. And, we would get potatoes for baking and some fresh mushrooms to sauté with garlic and white wine….and that would be my birthday dinner. But the B&B was too expensive so some Jack Daniels would do for after dinner.

Today Jim sent us a text about 2:50 that it was happy hour and he was starting the grill to cook ribs for dinner….well now, 2:45 is a little bit early for happy hour, but who am I to argue…..so armed with a beer and Linda with a 7up we head over and get comfy.

Bobbie comes out with a little silver tray, with something in a brown paper bag and a towel over part of the tray.

She than says that since we have all agreed that we will not exchange gifts for birthday, Christmas or other special days…that this was a “just because we love you” gift.

I opened the bag and looked at a big bottle of B&B

and under the towel are four small crystal glasses they she and Jim had picked up at a antique store…..how very wonderful. Bobbie said that they were originally a set of six, but one got broke and she kept one for when we have a special drink together.

Thank you Bobbie and Jim for being such wonderful friends

We love you both

Jim

COLORADO

 

I thought I would list some of the things I like most about Colorado:

THE MOUNTAINS…..

 

                                         

Having grown up in the mid-west, where the highest point might be 100 feet about sea level, the mountains here are just magnificent.  This is Mother Nature at her best!!!!

THE ASPEN TREES…..

I love to listen to the soft rustling that the leaves make in the summer breezes.

THE MOUNTAIN LAKES……..                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         The clear aqua blue water against the mountain backdrop is spectacular…….

 

THE MINING TOWNS……..

 

I am so curious about these old towns.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be able to travel back in time to see these places during their “hay days"?  Not for very long, of course, I really do like all of my 21st century luxuries……..

THE WILDLIFE…….

 

HA HA……most of you know that we very seldom see any wildlife……

THE RIVERS AND STREAMS……..

You just don’t see crystal clear water like this back in the mid-west…….

 

THE HOUSES………

                                    

 

Most of the homes in this area are log cabins which blend into the landscape…….

And then there is my favorite…..

                                  

This was a place we saw while on our jeep trip.  Yes, that is a bridge going across a ravine to get to the house.  Somewhat remote…..I think you would only have to travel about 30 miles on a 2-track mountain pass to get to civilization……..

-I love the fresh smell of the pine trees after an afternoon shower

-The wind rustling through the pine trees

-The blue, blue skies

-The night sky….it seems as though you can reach up a pluck the stars from the sky

-The sound of the thunder from an afternoon storm echoing thru the mountains

 

Now, for the things that I DO NOT like about Colorado……..

Sorry, I can’t think of anything!!!!!!!!!!

 

May all your dreams come true…….

Linda

Mud Bogs

Sunday Linda and I went to the mud bogs in Del Norte which is about 20  miles east of us. Very small town. The bogs were held about 3 miles out of town in a desert area. They dug a long trench (about 100 yards long) and put some of the dirt back in and than put a lot of water in it to make mud.

This was our first mud bog and we enjoyed it, other than the extreme sun which we have at the higher elevations. It was about 85 degrees out.

Most of the locals brought those 10x10 foot quick set up canopies, but we had to sit in the sun

I waited until today to post this, as we finally got windows live writer reinstalled. It was a real challenge and in the end Bobbie downloaded it onto a memory stick and gave it to me to install…go figure.

If you are interested here is the link to more pictures.

https://picasaweb.google.com/rufnitII/20110807MudBogDelNorteCo?authkey=Gv1sRgCNX4-7H9g4KPpQE#

Have a wonderful day

Love to all of ya, even if you don’t write

Jim and Linda

Life in the slow lane

Hi

We have been here at Lower Beaver National forrest campground for three weeks now. It is 5 miles into South Fork where there are a few restaurants, a gas station and a grocery store. The grocery store has just about anything that one would need to live up here from grocerys to rv supplies, fishing supplies, some clothing and repair parts for cars trucks and boats.

It is a 4 mile round trip to get 18 gallons of water that has to be pumped into the tank. We shower and wash dishes every other day and turn on the water heater to do this. We run off of solar power during the day, assuming there is enough sun, and about 6pm turn on the generator to watch tv for the evening. Generator hours are from 8am to 10pm so we normally go to bed about 10pm and read for a while.....

Cell phone service is almost non existant. We have to walk around the park to find a spot where the signal may work. Otherwise is is about 3 miles down the road to get a decent cell signal.

Internet is not too bad. It took about 4 minutes for each picture that are on this post to show up.

It took 3 1/2 hours to downloat service pac 2 for the computer, which had to be reloaded after the crash.

It is 53 miles to Alamosa which is the closest "big" town. It has a Walmart and two hardware stores and lots of other shopping, but no big box stores.

But.......the beauty of the mountains and surrounding area is worth it.

We will be here until September 13th when we will start heading northwest towards Yakima, WA. to visit with old friends. Jim and Bobbie will be traveling with us. We will continue down the west coast on hwy. 101 to San Diego and than into Yuma, AZ for the rest of the winter

So How are things going with you these days? Surviving the heat? It is 75 here today.

Let us know how you are doing

Love to all of ya

Jim and Linda