Thursday, April 17, 2008

Camping in the Gold Park historic mining district

This week my son is in town for spring break. Since he had to suffer through the pain and hassle of flying all the way across the county to visit me I figured it was my duty to make it a memorable visit. I think I've succeeded.

After arranging to borrow my friend's Yamaha Rhino I arranged for another friend to give us the guided tour of the area in order to find the perfect camping spot. After touring a few of the area's dirt roads and trails from the comfort of the Rhino we settled on a spot just east of Gold Park Rd, not far from the old rock cabin that once belonged to (or was at least occupied by) Willie & Barbara Robb.

Our camp site...





The wind was beginning to discourage me as the sun crept closer to the tops of the mountains to our west. It was getting cold and it wasn't even dark yet. I had visions of Nick and I sitting in the tent to stay warm rather than enjoying conversation around a campfire. But as luck would have it the wind all but disappear just as the sun did. We built a nice fire with wood we hauled in and kicked back for the evening.



A stone structure near one of the mine shafts...


Nick sittin' by the fire.




It wasn't long before we had a visit from Brian and Anthony. Brian is quite the local history enthusiast and was quick to fill us in on the area's rich mining history. We then proceeded to the North Star mine for a quick tour followed by a lesson on the operation of one of the area's arrastras.

This morning we got up, had a bagel for breakfast, disassmbled our camp, and headed south for more exploring. Once we'd had our fill of exploring (not really, but we needed to get back home for lunch) we packed our gear into the Rhino and headed home.

Here are a few more pictures of our adventures...

















I'd like to thank Dawn for loaning us his Rhino and Brian for loaning us camping gear and teaching us about the history of the area. Thanks guys, we had a blast.

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