We checked into our camping spot at Sugar Loafin' Campground, just a few miles outside of town, with views of the Rocky Mountains at our doorstep.
Because it was such a short drive today, we have plenty of time to drive the car into town and then ride our bikes on the Mineral Belt Trail. This 11.6-mile trail starts in town, but makes a big loop through the forest that surrounds Leadville.
There are several trail heads around the city, and we decided to start at the one on the west side. The good news is that there are great views of the snow-capped mountains from there.
The bad news is that the first five miles of the trail are uphill. So Mark dropped off Denisa and her bike at a starting point 1.5 miles up the hill, and then he drove back to start the trail. What a gentleman!
He also knows that Denisa is a lazy bike rider, who whines about having to pedal up-hill. So that gave him 1.5 miles of peace until he found her lazing beside the trail. They continued the ride together on the uphill trail, stopping at interesting stops in town like this location where the Ice Palace was built in 1895. Constructed from over 5,000 tons of blocked ice, it enclosed 5 acres of land that included a skating rink, dining rooms, and a ball room. Built to look like a castle, it was lit with "a dazzling array of electric light that shimmered through the walls of ice." Over a quarter of a million people flocked to Leadville to see this collossal Ice Palace--the largest structure of its kind ever built. That sounds like great fun today, as well as 125 years ago!
Soon we were out of the city limits, and began to see the historical markers that explained more of the mining history of Leadville. Many of the stops included hands-on mining tools like this jackleg drill. The accompanying signs explained how the tools were used.
These educational stops included history and background information, and the actual location they are describing is often right in front of us.
These sites seem to be strategically located so that just about the time your lungs are begging for oxygen and your legs are burning from pedaling uphill, you have an excuse to stop and rest and take another picture. After every stop, Denisa would sigh and pout that the trail was still going uphill.
We decided that if our lungs and legs couldn't make it to the next historical sign, we could always stop to take pictures of the aspen groves and pretty wildflowers along the trail.
This is a great paved trail! Once you get out of town, we didn't have to stop for traffic crossings. We appreciated this bridge that took us over the car road below us.
But most of all, we enjoyed seeing and learning about the history of Leadville. The trail took us right beside mining sites, and signs explained what we were seeing. We learned that they have been mining silver, gold, copper, molybdenum, and lead here in Leadville since the 1800's. We also learned about notorious Leadville citizens like "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" from Titanic fame, and "Baby Doe" Tabor from riches to rags fame. In Leadville, C.O. Schwartz wrote "Home on the Range," and Doc Holliday shot his last victim. Whew, that's a city with a storied past!
Some of the mining sites took us a little off the trail,
but most of the time we pedaled right through the mining site. It was like riding a bicycle through a museum!
After pedaling 5 miles uphill (or 3.5 miles for Denisa), a wonderful thing happened. We got to the summit of the Mineral Belt Trail at 10,606 feet in elevation.
After a moment of rejoicing, we got back on our bikes and started the really fun downhill section.
We are coasting downhill now, enjoying the views even more since we can breath now. We are still learning mining trivia. For example, we can look at the current mountain-side . . .
and compare it to a picture taken in 1882 when it was a fully functioning mining site. Now after every historical marker stop, Denisa jumps on her bike and exclaims that it is wonderful that this trail is downhill.
Another stop includes a piece of mining machinery . . .
and a signboard and picture of it when it was in use.
This downhill ride is awesome! It's enough to make one almost forget how hard it was pedaling uphill. We are getting closer to town now, and we can look out over Leadville below us.
Earlier we had read that it was recommended to take this circular bike trail clockwise. That gives you 5 miles of uphill at first, and then almost 7 miles of downhill at the end. As we zoomed through the forest close to town, we would definitely agree with that advice.
What a great first day in Leadville, and a great way to learn more about our new home town.
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