There is a gift shop on the premises that you can spend money in--to buy money (collectors coins) and other stuff.
After touring the mint we then drove to the "Unsinkable" Molly Brown's house. We found out a number of interesting facts about her. First, was her name was Margaret--not Molly. Second her husband didn't have a mine, but was an engineer. Another thing that was interesting was how active she was in politics. She was also very eager to have all the latest innovations. Her home was lit by electricity before the county courthouse used it. She also had indoor plumbing, and a telephone. It would coust $9.00 for one minute long distance.
Her and her husband did a lot of entertaining. This is a picture of the Butler's pantry, which opened from the kitchen into the dining room. (The house was all very dark to preserve the antiques, so my pictures didn't turn out crisp and clear) All the china and silver in the cabinets could be seen from the dining room, and proclaimed for all to see that this was a very wealthy home.
This was the kitchen where the meals were prepared by the servants. The sink and stove were located here, and there was a food pantry right beside this room.
This is the old ice box. Margaret had a hole drilled in the floor with piping for the ice to drain into when it melted. The water that would have been collected in a pan and have to be emptied, instead was piped out to the flower garden. In the corner was the old hand wash machine. Clothes were hung on racks to dry. The wash tub was filled with water and hand made lye soap to first wash the clothes and then emptied and refilled with clean water to rinse the clothes. All this was done on the enclosed back porch. Very modern for this time.
We really enjoyed our visit to this old house and to see the way the wealthy lived in the 1850's.
We spent the rest of the week in Golden, at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds. Weather was nice and the facilities were good. It was a very relaxing time.
After our tour of the brewery we drove up the Lariet Loop to Buffalo Bill Cody's grave and museum. What a drive!! He is buried on Look Out Mountain and it is quite a ride up and back. I was amazed at all the bicyclists that tackle the hill. Frank counted over 10 switchbacks. I'm standing in front of the original gift shop and museum. This was built by Bill's friend to honor and memorilize him. 
Here we are in Aspen, CO. John Denver country. I did get out my John Denver CD's and play them as we were driving over some of the high mountain passes. Only seemed right! There is a two square block area of downtown that is walking only. Lots of bicycles, dogs and children. If you look closely in back of the bicycles there are dancing waters coming out of the sidewalk. It was a really nice town. All the bricks look like recycle bricks and make it look old.
We had to get a picture of this. We were roasting in our jeans and long sleeve shirts and they are selling furs. The sculpture was pretty nice also.
An old high mountain mining ghost town. These were tough people who mined and lived in the mountains of Colorado.
This is Box Canyon as you can see. The skeleton is a wayward armidillo from Texas. (The joke in Colorado is all about all the Texans that come here to escape the humidity and heat of Texas during the summer.)
The big teepee is where you live, and the little one is "out back." As you can see this was a ride you had to have a sense of humor to ride on.
In the parking lot there are some of the original cars and engine from the Denver and Rio Grand Western Railroad which is the railroad that won the contract to build the railroad through the Royal Gorge.
We did walk across the bridge. You can drive, but it is very narrow and it moves when you are on it. On the other side of the bridge the state has built a replica of an old town. There is also a movie about the building of the bridge in the theatre.
This sign tells about the bridge. It is about at the half way point across the bridge.
That is the Arkansas river below. This was taken right by the information sign. It is really hard to tell just how far down the river is.
The Arkansas River is one of the most highly used rivers for rafting and kayaking. While we were at the bottom of the canyon six or seven rafts came through. 
When we got to South Fork, CO we stayed at the South Fork RV Park right on Hwy 160. Our space was overlooking the Rio Grande River. It was a beautiful sight. The weather was sunny and cool, but every day it rained in the late afternoon. A couple of days it rained most of the night, but by morning would be clear blue skys. We really liked this park and would go back there again. The people were very friendly. We met a man who whittles walking sticks. I wish I would have taken some pictures of the walking sticks he had made. They were amazing. He make them out of the Aspen wood that is prevelent in the area. Most of the RVers were from Texas and were here to get out of the heat and humidity. 
The Silverton Hotel is where we picked up our Jeeps. We also came back to the hotel and had lunch after the jeep ride.
The first place we stopped was the Mayflower Mine. This is where the gold ore from the mines was taken first to get gold out of the ore. It operated until just a few years ago and was just closed down, all the equipment is still there. Now the historical society runs it as a tour.
How do you like this little cabin in the mountains? The waterfall behind it is spectacular. I couldn't see how you got to the cabin. No roads. Guess you hike in and out. I don't think anyone lives here now!
This is the ghost town of Animas Forks. The two story building in the center of the picture is supposed to be where the famous Unsinkable Mollie Brown stayed. We are on a road high above the town headed to Cinnamon Pass. We actually went into the old Hotel when we stopped.
We were taken up to this high pass. Cinnamon Pass at 12, 620 feet. As you can see it was still very cold with snow still in pockets in the crevices. The green in the background is actually tundra like in Alaska. It was very cold, even if the sun was out.
This was our "Jeep" and driver, John. The vehicle is actually a swiss made vehicle. It was made to go into the Alps and holds 12-13 people. 
After lunch we did the walking tour of Silverton, and of course we had to visit the original jail. Frank is in the cell in Silverton, CO just like at Alcratraz. What a jail bird! The town of Silverton is a historical site. The entire town is located so high in the mountains that when there is a big snowstorm the roads in and out of town are closed off. The Blair Street area was the notorious side of town and some of the Bawdy houses are still there along with their second story balconies where the "ladies of the evening" plied there wares. At the end of Blair street is where we caught the narrow gauge steam driven train.
Frank waving and holding a hot cup of cocoa. It rained hard just as we were boarding and of course, it was very cold to us!
The train made one stop on the trip back to Durango to take on water. Just like in the old days.
As we go down the mountains the train has to let off steam. Frank took this picture of the train letting off steam while crossing a trestle over the Animas River. Awsome scenery.
