Frosty January

January has been frosty, creating beauty wherever a person might look. I encourage you to click on the photos to look at them in detail. The second photo is of the clouds pushed up against the mountains (as seen from the overlook above town). In the third photo the snow was so dry and powdery. A person can actually see the arms of on the snowflakes. The fourth photo is of my ice plant in bloom during some of the warm weather. So nice to see flowers this time of year.

A Fairy Census

It's been awhile since I posted about our Little Friends. But then, I think they are hibernating in these parts. I have heard rumors (via the Kitties, so who knows how true those rumors are!) that they are planning a development in the Spring. 

Back to the subject at hand....

There has been a Fairy census taken (wonder if my Little Friends took part?). The results can be read here! Or for questions answered or more information, go to The Fairyist.


Or to read abut the results of the census and other musings, go to Malcom's Musings.

A great source of information about those Little People can be found at this blog,  Living Liminally . In fact the writer of that blog released a book last year and has another scheduled to come out this year. And currently she is writing about Fairy Taboos to enable us humans to better understand and live side by side with them.

Newmont Mining Corp.

Newmont Mining Corp. will be mining here until at least 2025. This year they are planning on extracting gold from the place where it all started - Poverty Gulch. Loosening and breaking the rock apart is a key component in mining. And that process means that explosives must be used.

Globe Hill is the name of the bare round mountaintop. Poverty Gulch,
where the new digging is going to be, runs at an angle to the bottom right hand corner. The building at the left is the Visitor's Center. The dust in the air is from an explosion.

The ore in Poverty Gulch is the highest grade and in the highest concentration compared to other areas of the mountain. It is also the closest to town. Many of the residents on the east side of Cripple Creek (and on the west side as well) are concerned that the blasting may affect their homes. But modern day blasting is a far cry from the sticks of dynamite used a century ago. Today's explosives are dropped into a small, deep hole and then the hole is filled with sand. If it's done correctly, a person can stand in relative close proximity to the blasting hole and never know the charge ever went off.  Us? Not too concerned. Our house has been here 118 years and has seen a lot in it's time. I'm sure some of the dynamite charges set off during the labor wars rattled a few windows.

Playground, skatepark, & basketball court take up half a city block
(our blocks are about twice the size of normal) The Community Center
is behind the playground (building with wreath above door)

Newmont and the Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mine, like so many companies before them, contribute a lot to the local community. Generous grants are given to schools, museums, and the community center. The kids here have a fabulous basketball court, skateboard park, and playground.  A brand new adventure park complete with a bmx bike track, dog park, disc golf area and tons of state of the art playground equipment complete with a zipline! was just recently completed. Not too shabby for a small town.

This area has a tremendous amount of mining history. History which people travel from all over the world to come see. Newmont has recognized this fact and has done so much in trying to keep that history alive. A lot of the old mining buildings and ghost towns are on land owned by the mine. If mining operations threaten any of these structures, then they are moved and stabilized so people can enjoy them for many more years to come.

Altman backfill area with grass growing. 

Altman Backfill area with mine work on left side of photo and old headframe

Reclaiming the barren landscape is the final life stage of an area which has been mined. When the pit was first begun, bristlecone pines dotted the top of the mountain. Seeds from their cones were collected so that they might be used to grow young trees to reforest the mountaintop. Newmont is also working with a State University to develop a method to grow aspen from roots. Aspen are notoriously hard to transplant.  Areas which have been seeded - much like the road department will seed the side of the roadway - are constantly monitored for health and stability. But I have faith in the methods used by Newmont. This company won an award for its reclamation of an open pit coal mine in Nevada.

Young Bristelcone Pine trees.

Having the mine as a neighbor is not so bad. Our roads are in good repair and kept clear in stormy weather. Our town and other local institutions have many amenities that other small towns do not have. Of course, the casinos do play a small part in some of this. I will write about the casinos in the coming weeks.

Tours can be taken of the current mining operations. It's on the calendar for this summer.

***Yes. The aerial view of he mine does look like a SKULL!***