Pike's Peak Or Bust !

That was the slogan of the gold prospectors when word got round that there was 'gold in them there hills' in 1859. It was considered to be the biggest gold rush in American history.The Cherokee first discovered gold in a stream in 1848 and William Green Russell who was married to a Cherokee woman was one of the first to prospect in the Pike's Peak region. The mountain which is in the front range of the Rockies is 14,115 ft high and the first ascent was made by Edwin James in 1820. There is a cog railway, the world's highest, which takes passengers to the top where there are several buildings. The family have been up there but the altitude was too high for me. The prospectors provided the first white settlers in the region. The easy to reach gold fields were largely played out by 1863, then another major strike was made in the Cripple Creek area, in 1891, bringing in more settlers I have been down a gold mine in Cripple Creek which is preserved mainly as the original town. We go up there to the donkey derby to see the descendants of the mine donkeys in their yearly races and to try our luck in the old gambling houses. ( Only a few dollars for fun )