Silver Plum and Pheonix mines

Upon leaving Frisco, Colorado where we found an awesome secluded spot to set up camp, we headed west towards Denver to visit with my good friends, the Curts family. Driving along Hwy 70, we spotted a historic marker in a town called Georgetown. Being from the DC area, we HAD to stop to check it out. From this place, one can observe the bighorn sheep across the highway grazing on the grasses in the lower terrain. A herd of about 400 live in this area. Unfortunately, not one was to be seen. The town is also known for its steam run train which takes tourists on a 3 mile tour through the mountains. To our disappointment, the tour was sold out. But, we did stumble upon the remnants of an old mining town in Silver Plum just down the road. We found the 7-30 trail which leads to the mines. I was so excited to explore the caves, but very cautious to enter as there can be "dead air" along with bats and other hazards. We hiked for about 90 minutes continually ascending the hillside.
Along the way we found several deserted silver mines....some boarded up, some still open. Although the temptation was there, common sense took over and we just "peeked in". It was interesting to see all the big equipment just left on the hillside...it was certainly a snap shot in history 100 years ago. The dogs were getting hot and tired from the hiking, so we headed back into town where we found a scrumptious bakery and filled our bellies with three berry pie, chocolate chip and cranberry nut cookies!
Back in the RV, we continued to head East only to find another mine...this time gold and open for tours! It was great fun to explore this mine and to see the 18kt gold still in the rock. The EPA has shut down many of the mines because of the contamination of the air and water caused by the processing of the minerals. Of course, I wanted to scrape some of this gold and stash in my pockets but the 20 years imprisonment sign was a good deterrent. No worries though, at the end of the tour they allowed for panning in the nearby stream.
Two days prior, the area was flooded so many rocks were uncovered. A few of the visitors were finding valuable rocks and minerals, myself included. I found a good sized garnet which I will have polished and made into some type of jewelry. I also found a few flakes of gold, but not really worth anything other than a souvenir. We wrapped up the day at the mines and headed to Parker for dinner with Jon and his family.