Visiting the Doc

August 22
We took the scenic route to Leadville, stopping off at Glenwood Springs. Not many people know this, but beneath Steve’s academic exterior beats the heart of a cowboy, and that’s why, once there, we walked for a mile along a rough track in 93 degs to get to the Pioneer Cemetery where Doc Holliday and Kid Curry are buried. We’ve always enjoyed a good cemetery and there are a few photos here.

The Doc’s grave wasn’t quite up to Jim Morrison’s at Pere Lachaise but people had very thoughtfully placed cigars, a good poker hand, coins, a miniature bottle of Jack Daniels (empty) and, best of all, an array of false moustaches. If you zoom in on the pic you might see better. The Doc’s last words were “This is funny.” That’s because he died in bed, not by a gunman’s bullet.


Then we went on to Aspen which was great and a cultural mix as not only was there a huge selection of designer shops in Western-style buildings and an abundance of bling and facelifts, it was Renewable Energy Day so there was live music, a farmers’ and craft market and head massage opportunities. We had lunch in an authentic ‘50s diner so we covered several options in a couple of hours.

The drive on to Leadville took us through the White River National Forest, where we stopped off at the grottos and ended up at the Top of the Rockies where the weather was a great deal cooler and we saw snow again. Hard to believe that just 24 hours before it was so hot I could hardly put one foot in front of the other.

The Tunnel of Love
Leadville, 2 miles above sea level, is an old Victorian silver mining town, still with a great feeling of authenticity, and we are staying in the whole of the top floor of the Governor’s Mansion which was built and owned by Jesse F McDonald, mayor of Leadville and Governor of Colorado. That green-coloured house next door was a brothel. In the 1880s Leadville had 120 saloons and 188 gambling houses so I doubt it was the only brothel in town but this one was linked by an underground tunnel to the Governor’s Mansion.

Doc Holliday lived in Leadville and had his last shoot-out here. Harry Houdini, Oscar Wilde and Sarah Bernhardt performed at Leadville's Tabor Opera House. Oscar Wilde’s lecture to an audience of miners was ‘The practical application of the aesthetic theory to exterior and interior house decoration with observations on dress and personal ornament’. Bet that went down well.

The Leadville Trail 100 event was taking place today. About 500 people started running 100 miles at 4.00 this morning up and down mountains in killer altitude. It’s so high that the toothpaste tube puffed up and the ball of the roll-on deodorant popped out. The first runner got back after approx 17¾ hours. The record is around 15. They have 30 hours to complete the run so that’s until 10.00 am tomorrow. We were told that this is A and E’s biggest night of the year.