Creede Colorado

Creede Colorado, The underground Fire station and The Last Chance MineCreede Colorado is a very cool place to visit.  It’s an old mining town that has really stepped up to tourism and becoming a destination vacation place.  How is that possible you say?  Well, aside from seeing old mines from the 1800′s, there’s fishing.  One thing about this part of Colorado – being located at the head waters of the Rio Grande river, there is excellent fishing!  And, the locals support this activity with shops, guides, and well, fish!

We don’t fish.  But we do like adventures to Colorado’s little “treasure towns” as we call them.  Mining back in the 1800′s was the main stay of this place and the possible resurgence of it is promising.  This summer, the town was active with tourists and fishermen.  There are nice little restaurants, outdoor shops, tourist shops and great scenery.

Creede Colorado, The underground Fire station and The Last Chance MineThere are several *very* cool things to see in Creede, but I would have to say that the Underground Fire Station is one of my favorites.  There are new fire trucks BUT there are also vintage ones.  This was a nice surprise for us.  They are well kept and a great photo-op for the family.  Right next door is a mining museum where you can take a tour of a once active mine.  If you’ve never done this before, I highly recommend it.  It is really something to comprehend what the miners had to endure to make a living back in in the day.

Probably my favorite encounter was at the Last Chance Mine.  A fairly easy 4 wheel drive trip up Bachelor Loop road, there’s an unexpected attraction once you get to the end of the road.  Jack MorrisCreede Colorado, The underground Fire station and The Last Chance Mine will greet you (weekends only) and is an exceptional narrator on the history of the mine and how he came to own it.

The *very* cool thing about The Last Chance Mine is that Jack has refurbished and built a couple of  circa 1860′s mining “shacks” that you can spend the night/weekend in!!!  There are tons of original artifacts from the mining days all around the premises.  Also a great find are the rocks and jewelry.  I saw so many pieces that it was truly hard to make up my mind on which to buy.

Make the drive up to The Last Chance Mine.  Definitely make the drive to Creede.  It’s a Colorado Treasure!!

Visit Doug Niedermiller Photography our other website to view photos of Creede and other great Places.

Search our websites!


Map of Creede Colorado.

Print This Post Print This Post

Iris Gardens in Denver at Iris 4 U Gardens

DSC_9312From mid May to mid June there is something extraordinary going on in Denver Colorado.  There’s an Iris “Festival” at Iris 4 U Gardens.  I found this quite by accident.  It was one of those right side of the screen advertisements on one of my regular internet sites.  I don’t usually click on those, but the title was intriguing – something like Denver Iris something with a beautiful picture.  Well, I love to garden and we do have Grandma’s irises in our garden which bring us such joy every year when they bloom – so this little ad called to me.

So, it was one of these spontaneous day trips that we so love to take.  The very next day we took the short trip to Denver and buried in a very regular neighborhood is this amazing garden and it’s HUGE.  The entire garden is dedicated to bearded irises or as I call them  ruffled.  They’re in all sizes and colors and hybrids of all kinds. They stopped me dead in my tracks – OMG!!!  They are so beautiful!

DSC_9281I tried to figure out which colors are my favorites – a fun game at this place!  It will be different for every visitor, but I’m partial to the white/purple/lavender combos.  That’s not to say that the peach/butterscotch ones don’t bring a smile!  There’s something here for everyone who loves flowers to enjoy.

I noticed other photographers and a gentleman painting.  There are plenty of chairs and benches to sit and just enjoy the view.  There are folks around to answer your questions and even Iris Bob, the proprietor, walks the garden and visits with guests.  They offer a catalog as you enter so you can find the name of the iris that you would like to purchase when the time of the season is right for the transplanting.  There’s no store, no trinkets for purchase and no pushy sales.  This is a place to enjoy and if you should like to place an order there is a table with a couple of computers to do just that.  Hey – there’s even a rest room!!

We’ve lived in Colorado for nearly 14 years and this little gem was a surprise.  I love surprises like this!  And, I dare say that we’ll make sure we don’t miss it again next year.

You can find Iris 4 U Garden at 2700 West Amherst Avenue, Denver, Colorado 80236  303-789-4747

 

Print This Post Print This Post

Untitled 1
Disclosure | Privacy | Contact Us