As a kid back in the late 60s, our family and 2 other families of aunts, uncles and cousins would hitch up the Oldsmobiles and the Mobile Scout and Shasta trailers and head west. I remember one time stopping at Twin Lakes and just being in awe of how beautiful it was. So when our kids were very young, we stopped by to check it out for a couple of nights and ended up staying a week before we had to head back to work. It's been a good 25 years since we have been back through to camp. Twin Lakes is about 95 miles from where we are in South Fork. We decided to pull out the motorhome for this trip as the elevation is around 9500' plus and they tend to have rainshowers in the afternoon. We found a great spot at the Lakeview Campground. And believe it or not this was our first time in the motorhome to be unplugged from everything. So we were interested in seeing how that would work, too. (Wow.....the icemaker made ice, we could watch TV without using a generator, use the coffee pot.......)
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| Notice the front tires in the air! |
With only 2 nights in front of us, we quickly got set up and headed for Leadville where we were going to go jeeping to Hagerman Pass. Turquoise Reservoir is the focal point for many recreational activities here. There are also 2 sealed historical railroad tunnels on the trip. The road was pretty wash boarded and I had to close my eyes and look the other way on some of the rocky and washed out areas of the road.
The Hagerman Tunnel was completed in 1886 and connected Colorado Springs to Aspen. The railroad was the first standard gauge railroad to cross the Continental Divide.
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| Turquoise Reservoir |
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| The fireweed up here would indicate summer is about over! |
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| The sealed Carlton Tunnel |
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| A rocky trail going up. |
And that evening, sure enough, you can hear thunder and rain and sleet on the motorhome. Perfect!
One of the things that has been on my bucket list was to paddle across twin lakes to the ghost resort of Interlaken. The next morning we got up, it was calm and clear, the perfect opportunity for paddling.
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| Isn't this reflection stunning? |
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| Our destination, Inter-Laken |
Leadville’s growth during the 1880s along with the new route to Aspen over Independence Pass created an opportunity to build a resort on the south shore of the lower lake. This south shore resort complex was built over several years, beginning in 1880. By 1887 it included the Inter-Laken Hotel, a dance pavilion, a fancy stable for riding horses and a billiards hall. Behind the hotel’s six rooms was a unique, six-sided, circular outhouse, with each stall numbered the same as the hotel rooms. Yes, apparently you could even get a little privacy for your “morning constitution” in those days.
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| Dexter's Cabin built in 1895. |
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| Can't get enough of the scenery! Due to the drought you can't paddle through to the other lake. |
The resort was placed on the National Historic Register in 1974. Plans to transform the derelict structures into an interpretive site for the National Forest Service began. First thing they had to do was move the buildings 150 feet up. Their restoration is impressive. If you don't want to paddle over, you can drive and then hike in.
Clear Creek is a beautiful drainage that contained seven mining camps in the early 1880s, beginning at the confluence with the Arkansas River and stretching all the way to the headwaters of Clear Creek. Today, only the towns of Vicksburg and Winfield have buildings that are left. They are privately owned and in good repair.
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| What a huge beaver dam! |
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| Cabin on the drive over to Vicksburg |
Vicksburg was established in 1880 and quickly grew to about 250 folks and 40 buildings. By 1885 the town was deserted.
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| This building has a solar panel on top. They periodically open it as a museum. |
Winfield sprung up in 1880 to support the nearby silver and copper mines, although the first cabin was built as early as 1861. It’s heyday was in 1890 and there were between 1200-1500 people. However, with only 3 saloons, the size may have been less. Due to the harsh winters, Winfield shut down during this period and people over-wintered in Vicksburg or lower elevations.
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| Winfield |
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| Some short folks lived in these cabins! |
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| School |
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| A memorial for a Life Flight crew |
Well that ends our Twin Lakes adventure for now! So much more to come back and re-visit and see and do. Oh, I did go with a bunch of ladies to the casino outside of Durango. I did good!
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| Woo-hoo!!! |
Until next time!
