DAY 6: There's Gold in Them There Hills.......

July 9, 2011 - Gold Camp Road, Colorado Springs, CO
TEMP:  85 Degrees

Today we searched for GOLD........the kind of gold you can only find on a scenic dirt road that follows the remains of an old rail route.  

AND......we found this road strictly by accident.....Chuck was out making friends with the neighbors this morning when one of them mentioned this road which was within spitting distance of where we were staying.  So off we went......

I thought you'd be interested to know this road, Gold Camp Road, is famous for several things:

1)  It has been said that these hand carved tunnels built in the 1890's, are haunted by the spirits of the ones who built them.  Supposedly you can hear voices when you drive through the tunnels and ghosts write their names on the dust of your car, etc. etc. etc.....The only thing I noticed going through the tunnels was crunching sounds in my ear......it was just Chuck eating some pistachios behind me.  


The road was originally a railroad, but the tracks were later removed to allow access by car.  Now, I must tell you; many of the people from around here think just about everything in this town is haunted.......the Days Inn, Wendy's, The Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind just to name a few......I think you see where I'm going with this, right?

2)  Helen Hunt Falls.  Yep, Helen Hunt has her very own waterfall named after her.  

And it's not THIS Helen Hunt.......

But THIS Helen Hunt.  She was an American writer who became an activist on behalf of improved treatment of our Native Americans by the US Government.  

And last and definitely least, when President Theodore Roosevelt traveled this route, he described its beauty as "Bankrupting the English Language."  Can someone please tell me what that means???