On Monday morning, Nancy took me to one of the prettiest places in Colorado - the abandoned mining town of St. Elmo. To get there, we drove west from Mt. Princeton Hot Springs about 16 miles straight into the mountains.
Leaving the Hot Springs, the chalk cliffs glowed brightly in the direct light of the morning sun.
We passed rocky mountains and groves of light green aspens
The road followed the river valley, along the line of an abandoned railroad right-of-way. When St. Elmo was in its heyday, in the late 1800's, it had 2000 inhabitants and operated several mines. The train came right through the town and went on west through a tunnel in the mountains. Nowadays, it's virtually a ghost town, with only about 6 year-round residents.
When we got to the outskirts of town, we noticed a couple of large vans with mules tied up alongside. They were apparently staging a pack train to go on into the mountains. Here's the main row of buildings. The flag marks a general store that is open during the summer months. You can see a row of ATVs they offer for rental here.
A few more pictures of abandoned buildings in the town.
St. Elmo is known for its resident population of chipmunks, which are very tame and wait around for the visitors to feed them. There were also a flock of hummingbirds buzzing around the bird feeders in front of the general store.
Inside the general store. A lovely stained glass window over the front door, and a group of visitors getting instructions on how to drive the ATVs they'd just rented.
A useful FAQ found in the General Store:
Answers to the great mysteries of St. Elmo!
Q1. When will Tin Cup Pass open?
A. When the snow melts.
Q2. When will that be?
A. God knows, and He ain't sayng
Q3. May I use your bathroom?
A. No. But there's an outhouse in back of the school. Welcome to the wilderness.
Q4. Who owns these buildings?
A. Lots of people. This is a community, not a tourist attraction. Please treat our town as you would your neighborhood at home.
Q5. Do the chipmunks bite?
A. Only if you scare them. They are wild animals and can be unpredictable. Sit still, be quiet and don't try to tease them.
While we were inside, I heard the clip-clop of hooves, so went outside and caught the tail end of the mule train heading out toward Tin Cup pass. We later walked over and found the trail, which continues on into the mountains. You would think this would be a road only for mules and ATVs, but we later saw an actual bus head up there... Yikes!
Following the instructions on the FAQ, we did go over to the school to use the outhouses (which were much nicer than I was expecting). And got this shot of the mountains over the school roof which is one of my favorite photos from the trip.
We next drove across a beautiful clear mountain stream on our way to the town cemetery.
The cemetery was hidden away in an aspen grove. (Those of you who read Nancy's books might see a resemblance here with one of the sites in one of her recent books.) Many stories here, of the people who lived and worked in this place and stuck it out through many hard winters.
I just loved listening to the wind in those aspen trees.
And I'll leave you with one last picture of St. Elmo, from Nancy, showing how the aspens turn gold in the fall.
