Ever arrive at a place that immediately feels like home? That was Leadville for me. There have been few places in my life that have given me that feeling - Sierraville, the eastern Sierra, Leadville.
Leadville is high - 10,200 ft - and open, unlike many of the mountain towns we visited that are nestled in canyons or tucked into the trees. Leadville is wide open. And getting there we drove through ranch land with horses. Done. 'Nuf said.
One of the things Leadville is know for is the Winter Carnival featuring skijoring with horses.
Photo by Peter Greenburg
We weren't there in the winter but you can bet that the Winter Carnival is now on our list of to-dos... this looks like a hoot and a half.
We hit town in the spring, late spring, and it looks like this. Seventy square blocks of Leadville have historic buildings and the main street is like a slice out of history. 'Cept for the cars, of course. We saw more Dodge diesels in Leadville than anywhere else we visted in the Rockies and that told us that this is a horse town - our kind of town.
But not only horses - this seemed to be a biking, fishing, climbing and skiing kind of town. Not glitzy skiing that you find in Aspen or Vail, but backcountry skiing, nordic skiing, skijoring for Pete's sake!
And the buildings - glorious, old buildings from another era. What it must have been like in the mining heyday...
My next trip to Leadville will be when there is snow. It was hands-down my favorite stop on our trip because it wasn't like anywhere else. Frisco was my second favorite and I know we only scratched the surface of the towns in the Rockies, but for me to like a place it can't look like a cookie-cutter of some other place. It needs to have authenticity. History. Of its own.
My only souvenir from this trip came from Western Hardware in Leadville - This old building housed a big antique collective. We loved the rolling ladder and the hodgepodge of goods in this store.
Prices seemed reasonable and the floor creaked as you walked around.
Who wore these ski boots and where what adventures did they see?
I took way too many photos of old buildings but it was like a drug - trying to get that perfect shot, angle, color palette.
There's no shortage of modernity here - we found at least one solidly hip coffee house and I could not resist this sign. Unfortunately the business was closed.
This was stenciled on the sides of the newspaper stands. It was too early for produce but they must have a good growing season and a viable CSA.
The town wasn't filled with high rises so the steeples really stood out.
We loved the contrast of the shabby, slightly decayed exterior with the shiny, fiberglass kayaks at this house.
The gingerbread house on the hill....
The landmark Golden Burro Cafe with this priceless sign in the window:
JC of course LOVED this sign. I don't think he is quite ready to post something like this at the resort, but close.
The sky was still smokey from the Keystone fire but I imagine the vistas are simply beautiful when it is clear.
Loved this plain and simple color combo - and the whole symmetry of the front of this house.
I would've loved a peek inside these rooms.
Or these. Can you imagine the wood floors, the banisters, the wallpaper, the iron bedsteads, the high ceilings, the chair rail, the creaking wooden stairs? I can.
Leadville businesses seem to have a sense of humor - perhaps it is the lack of oxygen at this elevation. Last year's winning town slogan was:
"We're here in Leadville because we're not all there" or something very close to that.
This is inside the Tabor Opera House - this tub is seamed.
Before we left we visited the cemetery, which is filled with very old gravesites.
So old that many of the headstones had toppled and were worn away. Leaving this melancholy, forgotten symbol of someone's life.
JC noticed a large number of headstones dated from 1898 - 1891. We think there must have been some hard winters or some kind of epidemic during those years.
And you know you are somewhere unique and rural when signs like this are put up.... can you say cranky redneck?
I LOVE your pictures! We went through this town several summers ago. The legend/s of Baby Doe held my curiosity - ever since the mine-shaft-looking restaurant/bar chain named after Baby Doe -
http://www.babydoe.org/babydoe.htm
http://www.babydoetabor.com/index.html
Posted by: Nancythirteen | June 10, 2011 at 02:12 PM
We loved the rags to riches to rags story of Baby Doe too - and unfortunately we really underestimated the time we'd need to visit all the museums and really poke around in the history. We're definitely going back for another, longer visit! Glad you liked the pics and thanks for the links!
Posted by: Magpie | June 11, 2011 at 08:12 AM