MOLLY KATHLEEN GOLD MINE

When daughter Wendy and her family visited Colorado in July, they said that one of the highlights of their vacation was the tour of the Mollie Kathleen Mine in Cripple Creek, Colorado.  So when daughter Laura came to visit with sons Jack (8) and Henry (4), we took Wendy's advice and decided that the mine tour was a must see for us, too.

How was gold found here?  While hiking up Poverty Gulch on September 9, 1891, Mollie noticed a rich out-cropping of wire gold embedded in quartz. She broke off a small piece and became the first woman of the gold camp to stake a gold mining claim. This gold mine was one of only a few mines that produced gold continually until 1961.

The area was full of relics from the past. There were several pieces of old farm machinery including this tractor.

This little shack is where the ore was broken down to separate out the gold and other valuable minerals from the scrap rock.

A vintage pick-up truck was on display as well. They had duals (dual rear tires) way back in the early 1900's.

Henry (on the left) and Jack pose in front of the old mine shaft that is above ground.

Jack and Henry are imitating being miners while giving us the impression that it will be noisy. As we would later see, the noise came both the drilling and the explosives.

Paul has his helmet on and is wearing a light jacket. The temperature is a constant 50 degrees in the mine.

This is the rigging for the miners' cage.  Look closely and you will see two miners' cages, one on top of the other. We were carefully loaded into a cage with minimal space between people - in other words, packed like sardines. There were 7 people loaded into each cage. It is easy to see why backpacks and strollers are not permitted.

The small sign on the side of the tower is interesting reading.

The trip down was in almost pitch dark with an occasional glimpse of light from one of the five levels in the mine as we passed. The combination being cramped in the cage along with the darkness made the trip down seem like an hour when it was actually only about 2 minutes. We thought the boys might not like the cage environment, but they just laughed about the cramped conditions. Finally, we arrived at our destination.

Our tour group headed through the tunnel to another viewing point.  This tunnel had some hanging lights, but many of the tunnels were much darker.

These characters are used to explain the mining process. On the left you can see different size drill bits that were used. The man in the middle is holding a drill and drilling right over the shoulder of the man kneeling down. The man in the foreground is shoveling loose rock out of the way and into an ore cart.

The blasting caps or dynamite has been placed in a pattern so has to get the rock to collapse straight down.

The bright colors in the rock gave experienced miners the advantage of quickly finding the ore they sought, especially the gold veins.

Chris, our tour guide, explained the use of the mining carts. The small engine in the front replaced the use of donkeys in mines. When donkeys were used, they were kept underground their entire lives and soon became blind. Eventually, donkeys were no longer permitted by law to be kept in the mines.

This view shows a tunnel leading off to the side from the main tunnel.

This is an old ore bucket that was used to haul the ore to the surface.

Sometimes mine shafts were drilled up from the main floor in search of the gold. This shaft was named after the miner who discovered the gold vein.

The adults earned a new respect for the mining industry. It was truly difficult work under far from ideal conditions. The boys on the other hand enjoyed exploring the tunnels in the mine and seeing the various demonstrations of the drilling equipment and even a short ride on an ore train.They were thrilled when they were given purple ore fragments (not gold) by the tour guide.

After our tour, we decided to go to the small town of Cripple Creek, a mile away from the mine.

About 10 descendants of the original donkeys still can be found living in Cripple Creek. We found this one wandering the streets looking for a handout.

The main industry in Cripple Creek is now gambling. The ads on TV talk about the casinos, gambling, and the only place in the state to buy drinks 24/7. One casino even has 21 hotel rooms. We doubt Las Vegas is worried about the competition.

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to this rural area of Colorado. No, we have no plans of returning to try our luck at the casinos.