American Rocky Mountains- Ride on Leadville Colorado & Southern Railroad

This 2 and ½ hour adventure through the untamed wilderness of the San Isabel National Forest takes you back time about Leadville's colorful past, mining and railroading , home to legends like Molly Brown and Horace, Augusta and Baby Doe Tabor, Guggenheims and at one time Doc Holiday…. Originating in "the highest incorporated city in North America," the LC&S takes passengers along the old Denver, South Park & Pacific and Colorado & Southern lines to the Continental Divide. This journey takes you to some breath-taking panoramas across the Arkansas River Valley and humorous narratives. The Leadville Colorado & Southern Railroad travels north along the Arkansas River Valley, it raises up 1,000 feet off the valley floor which gives you some spectacular views of Freemont Pass and the two tallest peaks in Colorado, Mt. Massive and Mt. Elbert.

American Rocky Mountains - Leadville- Mining sites

A former silver mining town that lies near the headwaters of the Arkansas River in the heart of the Rocky Mountains, the Leadville Historic District contains many historic structures and sites from its dynamic mining era. In the late 19th century, Leadville was the second most populous city in Colorado, after Denver. These photos only give you a glimpse of how the mining activities once was.

American Rocky Mountains- Leadville -Downtown Leadville

From Salt Lake City one travels over great plains of Colorado and up the Rocky Mountains, on the top of which is Leadville, the richest city in the world. . . They are miners men working in metals, so I lectured them on the Ethics of Art. I read them passages from the autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini and they seemed much delighted. I was reproved by my hearers for not having brought him with me. I explained that he had been dead for some little time which elicited the enquiry Who shot him? They afterwards took me to a dancing saloon where I saw the only rational method of art criticism I have ever come across. Over the piano was printed a notice: Please do not shoot the pianist. He is doing his best. Impressions of America Oscar Wilde, 1882  

Once upon a time, Leadville was the New York City of the west full of adventurers and artists. Oscar Wilde had performed at the Tabor Opera House. Today, the 10 blocks of one street town remind colorfully charming.

American Rocky Mountains - Turquoise Lake

American Rocky Mountains- Independence Pass in the Afternoon

Independence Pass, originally known as Hunter Pass, is a high mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado. It is at elevation 12,095 ft (3,687 m) on the Continental Divide in the Sawatch Range. The pass is midway between Aspen and Twin Lakes, on the border between Pitkin and Lake counties. A scenic overlook near the pass allows visitors to take in the alpine tundra environment above treeline, and offers excellent views to the east of Mount Elbert, Colorado's highest peak and the second-highest mountain in the contiguous United States.