As they rode off into the sunset...

One last image from our little road trip to Cripple Creek and Victor. This was taken as we were heading home. In Colorado Springs we don't get very good sunsets because we're on the east side of the mountains and we're too close to them. So the sun usually just goes bloop, drops behind Pikes Peak and it's gone. Of course every now and then we get lucky, especially in the winter months, but in general we get pretty crappy sunsets. This means that whenever I do get to witness a wonderful sunset I have to take about a zillion pictures of it. Since Cripple Creek is on the west side of the mountains, they get to see this every day. Lucky devils!

Hey, there's a car on your house!

Cripple Creek is a gambling town now, rather than a gold mining town, although there is an active gold mine just outside city limits. It can be found about 30-40 minutes west of Colorado Springs, on the western flank of Pikes Peak. It's a funky little place full of old timey buildings, most of which have been restored and turned into casinos over the last 15 years. I remember that before the gambling boom many of those buildings held antique shops, and I used to love going there in the off season to shop for bargains. There's a little "strip" (nothing like Vegas though!), and at the top of the strip is a shiny new casino that's threatening to put all of the mom and pop ones out of business. Right around the corner from that casino is this little house, very representative of many domiciles in Cripple Creek except for the old hot rod that's sitting on its second story deck! Now how the heck did they get that car up there, and aren't they worried that it might roll off? As you can see, it's a very steep street!

I like Cripple Creek. It's kinda funky.

A real gold mining town

This is the town hall of Victor, Colorado, which sits on the western slope of Pikes Peak, about 30-40 minutes west of Colorado Springs. Victor has the look and feel of a ghost town on the surface, with fewer than 500 residents and many crumbling historic buildings. But it is in effect still a gold mining town, as the Cripple Creek and Victor Gold Mining Company (run under the ownership of AngloGold Ashanti, a global company) is just outside of town and actively mining for gold.

Victor was once a very bustling little city. At the end of the 19th century, gold was discovered in the region and over 12,000 prospectors descended on Victor and Cripple Creek. At its largest, Victor boasted several thousand residents and was the fifth largest city in Colorado. You can imagine the saloons, brothels, churches, mercantiles and the like, just like a western movie only for real. And it really still does look like that, there hasn't been any gentrification and all of the buildings are from that era (many of them are empty, but they are genuine turn of the century structures). The town actually burned to the ground in August of 1899 and was very quickly rebuilt -- in brick, just like the town hall you see here. Brick is a lot less flammable than wood! There was never a catastrophic fire like this in Colorado Springs, which is why there are very few brick buildings of that vintage in the Springs -- most of our gracious gingerbread Victorians still stand. But that is a subject for another post.

Victor's town hall, as you can see, has been restored and is still in use. Sadly, many other historic buildings in this charming town are in a grave state of disrepair and decay because the city lacks the funds to restore them. But it's a nice town to visit and to photograph. It has the patina and character that come from a lively history. You can learn more about this little gold mining town by clicking on this link: http://www.victorcolorado.com/

The curious steer

This steer was across the road from the abandoned gold mine in yesterday's post. He seemed very interested in what I was doing. I thought he was pretty cute until I realized that he was on this side of the fence, then I decided that he was just very large! For some reason the entire herd was outside the fence instead of inside. It didn't seem to matter much though. Mostly they were just happy to stand around and eat, except for this guy, who watched me intently as I photographed the mine.

By the way, his horn on the right was broken off around ear level. He looked a little lopsided without it so I borrowed a bit of his other horn and Photoshopped it onto the broken one. Now he looks much happier.

There's gold in them thar hills!

I told you I would eventually post a postcard moment! Just west of Colorado Springs sit a couple of gold mining towns, Cripple Creek and Victor. Gold was discovered in the Pikes Peak region at the end of the 19th century. That's where you get the saying "Pikes Peak or bust" -- thousands of prospectors came to Colorado at the turn of the century hoping to strike it rich. The towns of Cripple Creek and Victor, located on the western slope of Pikes Peak, were once bustling mining communities, but not so much anymore. Victor is effectively a ghost town now with fewer than 500 residents, and Cripple Creek is pretty much given over to casinos and tourism. There are abandoned mines like this all over the place in that area, but believe it or not there is also a functioning, modern gold mine operating right now in Cripple Creek. Of course it's nothing like this photo -- mines these days are more like multinational corporations using the latest scientific technology, so the good old days of "prospectin' fer gold" are long gone.

On October 24th Pat and I made a trip to the mine (the modern one, not this old abandoned one) and I got some scenic pictures. There were quite a few photogenic moments in the wonderful late afternoon light that day. I'll share more in the coming posts.

Tiny restaurant -vs- minivan

On the northeast corner of Cimarron and Sierra Madre sits a diner that's been there for generations. It's just about the size of a Winnebago -- maybe three or four people can fit in there max. The place is an institution. For a long time it was known as the Chuck Stop but something tragic happened there a couple of years ago (I think the owner died right there on the job -- I can't quite remember now). Anyway, since then it's been operating as Mr. B's Barbecue. This building is miniscule and it's really cute and vintage, the real deal. I've always wanted to check it out but now it seems like I may not ever have the chance! That's because earlier this month, a lady in a minivan somehow managed to crash into it, knocking it off its foundation (yes it's that tiny!) and effectively destroying the place.

I was curious so I dropped by there the other day to have a look. It's in pretty sad shape! I guess the minivan won. I suppose the good news with tiny buildings is that it's not as expensive to fix damage from marauding minivans as it would be with a more elaborate structure. If they ever get this place back up and running again, I'm definitely going to follow through and have a sandwich there.

Don't look up

If you're sitting at the table nearest the window and front door of Oscar's Oyster Bar and you look up at the ceiling, this is what you'll see. I have no idea who started it and why, but the ceiling is pretty much plastered in dollar bills with all sorts of drunken messages written all over them. Most of them are profane or just plain stupid (after all, it is drunk people doing this), but a few of them are witty and strangely random. I like the one that says "somebody stole my pants" -- I'd like to know the story behind that.

The Pauper's Cemetery

I lived in Colorado Springs many years before I noticed this tiny, neglected cemetery on the southwest corner of 21st Street and Lower Gold Camp Road, just up from Bear Creek Park. No larger than the average two-car garage, it caught my eye a couple of years ago so I had a closer look. I was very intrigued to find that it was a pauper's cemetery. I didn't know we had one here. It's obviously very old and I couldn't find any history or information on it at the time.

A few months ago Pat and I went by there so I could take a few photos of it. I seemed to have misplaced those photos (I'm sure they're somewhere on my hard drive!), so I went back on November 18th to take a few more. I was heartened to see that in the interim some kind soul had made an effort to care for these anonymous graves. They have placed artificial flowers and a solar light in front of each of the seven markers, and garlands on the fencing that surrounds the tiny cemetery. I'm not sure if the flowers are more cheerful than they are depressing, but the thought behind them is so very kind. I wonder if any of these poor people were mourned when they passed. It's nice that someone is taking care of them now.

I am fascinated by Colorado Springs history and so I've been curious to know the story behind the pauper's cemetery. And who is making the effort to upkeep the place? I found this little article about it: http://files.usgwarchives.org/co/elpaso/cemeteries/colosprings/paupers.txt . Apparently most of the seven people buried there died of smallpox and all were residents of the Colorado Springs Poor Farm. And the lovely person who has taken it upon herself to care for this little cemetery can be found here (I believe her name is Connie): http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=mr&GRid=1406&MRid=46512228& Thank you Connie!

The invisible fence

I was having lunch with my mom today and telling her about my new Daily Photo blog, and I asked her if she had any ideas of what I should photograph. I mean, there are lots of pretty sights in Colorado Springs and some obvious things that will I'm sure end up here on the blog eventually, but I wanted something unusual that even the natives might not know about. She mentioned this ironic sight that she and my dad came across while hiking a few months ago: a locked gate with no fence. It sounded so funny that we decided to go and photograph it right then and there.

So my mom and I, dressed for lunching and not hiking, took off for the Edmonson Trailhead (part of the Colorado Front Range Trail), which is just off of Woodmen Road west of the interstate. This gate is not far from the parking lot, maybe 100 yards or so. Check it out: it's chained up, strung with barbed wire and secured with what looks like a brand new combination lock, and yet there's no fence. What a hoot! We had a good laugh over that. And, as serendipity would have it, as I crouched down to take this photo a train came rumbling past, adding to the wild, wild west-ness of it all.

La Baguette, je t'aime

There is a great little boulangerie/restaurant here in town called La Baguette, affectionately known as La Bag by its regulars. They have three locations all over town. The third Thursday of every month at 9:30am, a small association of photographers that I belong to meets at the downtown location for coffee, croissants and chat. I look forward to these little get togethers because I have been a long time patron of La Bag, both before and after my only trip to France two years ago. They make an incredibly delicious onion soup, the quiche is great and they serve Orangina (which always reminds me of Europe!). They also bake delicious breads at La Baguette, very authentically French and I think quite good.

Alas, their dessert counter is not quite as exciting as one you would find in Paris. The two photos above illustrate my point. It's not for lack of trying -- after all, it isn't like the French have a stranglehold on pastry-making. The problem is the lack of demand! So, what they do have is delicious, it's only the selection that leaves something to be desired. The lady at La Bag this morning told me they really tried to sell lots of different tarts, pastries and etc., but no one was buying, so they now keep it to a (delicious) minimum. To me, it's a little piece of France right here in Colorado Springs. So stop into La Baguette and have a delicious eclair, petit four, creme caramel or chocolate truffle. It's not Paris, but it's close!

Barney's Diner

I love greasy spoon diners! I know, the food is bad for you and the decor leaves a lot to be desired, but what's not to love? Cheap eats, lots of cholesterol and sodium, and the coffee's always good. Here is a photo I took at Barney's Diner on Sierra Madre and Las Animas while lunching with my mom there on October 10th. I prefer sitting at the counter but I'm glad we didn't so I could get this cool shot.

It's the economy, stupid

This probably isn't huge news anywhere else in the world, but it's headline news here: Focus On the Family is about to lay off over 200 people. I heard that Focus poured a lot of money into Prop 8 in California so now they're hurting for funds. [For those of you who haven't heard about it, Proposition 8 is a controversial anti-gay marriage law that was very narrowly approved by California voters on November 4th.] Focus On the Family generally doesn't pay very much (except for the higher-level positions) but they employ a lot of people here. Losing even a low-paying job sucks.

The powers that be say the recession isn't affecting Colorado Springs, but I beg to differ.

Shocking blue skies

This is an empty lot across the street from the downtown post office. There used to be a Trailways bus station on this corner, then for many years the station was abandoned and empty but there was a bustling Kinkos next door. I used to daydream about opening a cool nightclub/martini bar in the gigantic empty space next door to Kinkos.

A couple of years ago Kinkos relocated two blocks west, and the building was razed. Pity -- I'm sure it was 100 years old but it was in pretty sorry shape after all. I thought they were going to build something in its place but so far nothing has materialized. That's fine with me. I like the terra cotta brick wall that has been exposed on the next building over, the way the streetlight shadow falls upon it in the late afternoon, and the shocking blue sky that contrasts so well with it.

Welcome to Colorado Springs Daily Photo!

Welcome to my new blog! For those who don't know me, I'm Tamera and I'm a professional wedding and portrait photographer based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. I already have a website and a photo blog for my professionally taken photographs, but lately I've been looking for an outlet for my non-professional images. I fell in love with the Paris Daily Photo blog (by Eric Tenin) some time ago and have become a regular stalker. Today I finally decided to join Eric and the other City Daily Photo bloggers. So far, so good!

So from now on I will be posting an image taken in Colorado Springs every day, starting with this one that I took at the Denny's restaurant on Flintridge and Academy at 1:39am. Denny's is a guilty pleasure for us and, night owls that we are, Pat and I love to make impromptu visits at odd hours for coffee. I like my coffee with lots of cream!

See you tomorrow!

Tamera