Thurs, Aug 20th, SILVER CROWN MINE, IRONTON

On days like today, I feel sorry for the people that are only here for a limited amount of time and don't get a picture "do-over."  The skies are very hazy; I am guessing because of the fires north and west of us.  Jimmy and I were flying solo today.  We started off with a great burger at Handlebars then headed to the Silver Crown Mine aka Jim's Curiosity.  We call it that because it is a trail just off Hwy 550 that Jim would always say "I wonder what is up there" when we would pass.  Unfortunately, the first time we tried it, we ran into a huge snowdrift and had to make a 37 point turn-around on a ledge road.  Thankfully, today it was all clear.

Doesn't this just make you want to go inside?

 

Best I can do:  Sticking the camera thru one of the holes:

Rails that used to carry the ore down; 

You can see Hwy 550 below:

 Always find interesting rocks up here.

This one looks like dentures from some prehistoric animal: 

 I did a little rock climbing above the mine:

Next, we drove the trail that winds thru some old mines and ends up at the Idarado Mines.  There is a tunnel from Idarado that goes thru the mountain for about five miles, under 13,000 feet to the Pandora Mill near Telluride.  It would be at least 60 miles by highway. 

The trail to the Idarado (if you don't take the hwy) passes several old mining buildings,

including the frequently photographed, 1,050 ft vertical shaft, "Yankee Girl Mine."

Yankee Girl started in 1882 when a hunter, Mr. Robinson, discovered silver ore. He built the Yankee Girl and this started the the Red Mountain mining boom.  He sold YG after one month for $125,000.  At it's prime, the mine produced ten tons of ore per day.  The shaft house above the mine had a bull wheel & wire for getting out the ore.  The ore wasn't sorted because everything was valuable.  At that time, there was no train, so each day, 75 mules, carrying 250 pounds of ore took it to Silverton to be processed. Unfortunately, the deep mines experienced water containing sulfuric acid which damaged equipment & pumps and made mining costly.  Yankee Girl made $8,000,000 during her time. 

Here's Yankee girl today:

Next, we drove thru Ironton, formerly known as Copper Glen, originally started as a tent colony in 1883, but quickly became a town with a population in excess of 1,000.  It was called Ironton because of the low grade iron and rust color of the area.  Ironton was considered a major transportation junction between Ouray and Silverton.  There were two daily trains serviced by a turntable built at the end of a switchback to support the trains going to and from the mines.  It was covered with a sloped roof so as not to become buried in snow.   Popular "department stores" from the two cities built stores in Ironton.  Like many Colorado mines, Ironton suffered after the silver market crashed in 1893.  At one time the only resident left was Mayor Milton Larson. He appeared on "I've Got A Secret."  His secret was that he was the only citizen in Ironton, Colorado.  After his death in the 1960s, Ironton officially became a ghost town.  

Amazing what good shape some of the old buildings remain:

 Some pretty durable wallpaper:

Trails to different buildings:

Some of the above information taken from "Backcountry Adventures Colorado" by Massey, Wilson & Titus.