Day 10 - Gold rush at a mile high

Before gold was discovered in the Black Hills, there was already the gold rush in California. In 1859 Colorado followed with the discovery of gold at the confluence of the Chicago Creek and Clear Creek in Idaho Springs. The great Rocky Mountain gold fever had begun. More than 50,000 gold diggers flooded the area. These gold miners earned their money. After the easy to find gold was filtered out of the rivers, they followed the trace of the gold to its source in the mountains and began the much harder extraction of the gold-bearing ore. Over time, the shafts became deeper and deeper, and the work also became harder and harder. The heavy ore had to be lifted out of the shaft and the miners also encountered more and more water. There were pumps, but they were not efficient. Some gold mines were forced to close due to the floods. Hence came the idea of ​​building a tunnel that could provide for the drainage of water, ventilation and the transport of the gold-bearing ore on electric trains. The construction of the Argo Tunnel began in 1893. The construction would take 17 years to complete while many deaths occurred. The drilling was dangerous work. After a few days, the driller contracted pneumoconiosis and had a life expectancy of about 6 months after he had begun. But the work was greatly rewarded, so the workers kept coming. After two months work in the tunnel, they could buy a house and put some money aside. In order to make the tunnel profitable, Samuel Newhouse (the tunnel builder) thought about the creation of a mill that could get the gold out of the ore. It was not that simple. Most mills had about a 65% success rate. Here in the Argo mill, this was increased to 96%. And this, thanks to secret chemical formulas. Today, with all the technology available, it is still only 98%. It was a highly automated mill with only 7 workers. The ore was taken by trains from the tunnel and was automatically dumped in large bins after which the ore was pulverized by big stamp mills. Through the chemical process, the gold was filtered out. The gold was sent immediately to the smelters in Denver. After its completion, it became the biggest mining project in the world. In 1943 the tunnel flooded with a huge amount of water following a dynamite charge. After the mill had been responsible for years and years for the drainage of many gold mines, cheap transport for the gold-bearing ore and work for thousands of miners, Argo was closed. A value of more than 3 billion USD in gold passed through the Argo tunnel.

And today tourists are passing by. The mill was re-opened in the 1970s as a museum where you can follow the process through an educational tour. At the end, we are put to work as real gold miners. We wash the sand, filter the sand, wash back and filter even more. It is not all gold that shines. We all find a little gold, though it is harder than it sounds. A nice souvenir to take back home.

Neighboring Golden, as its name suggests, originated during the gold rush in Colorado. It was a stop for the many gold diggers to get their supplies before they went out in search of their fortune. Soon farmers also found rich clay soil in the valley and the clay mining industry made its appearance. Today it is still a nice authentic town and it has also become the home of Coors Brewery, the famous American beer.

Denver, the capital of Colorado, was also built during the gold rush. She is nicknamed 'the mile high city' because the city is at an altitude of 1600 m, a mile high. Like any capital, the city has a Capitol where the local government is located. 

It was built to the example of the Capitol in Washington DC. The dome is, off course, covered with gold leaf. That was not the case at first. He was made of copper which contaminated after years. On demand from the people, gold leaf was used. We take a guided tour through the Capitol. It is a stately  house with 65 representatives and 35 senators. The senators are elected for a period of four years, the representatives for a period of two years. Parliament is not currently working. That only happens from January to May. The inner walls are decorated with red onyx which is only found in Colorado. The floors are made with marble that comes from the town of ... Marble in Colorado. 

A majestic staircase leads to the different floors that end up in the gigantique dome. On one of the floors there is a beautiful portrait gallery of all the US presidents. With another 100 steps to go, we finally find ourselves on the outside of the dome. With good weather you must have an incredible view here. But there are threatening clouds. The town hall is located directly opposite the Capitol with the mighty Rockies in the background. Just next to the Capitol is the house of Molly Brown. 

She was a well-known socialite in Denver and one of the passengers of the sunken Titanic. She traveled a lot and was in Europe when she learned the news that one of her grandchildren was ill. She booked a ticket on the Titanic that hit an iceberg on his second day of travel. Molly was in one of the lifeboats and was rescued, but before being picked up by the larger vessels, she forced the lifeboat to return to rescue as many passengers as possible that were holding themselves on to the wreckage of the ship. She got the nickname 'The unsinkable Molly Brown'. Her story was told in both musical and film with the same title. We walk to the Convention Center where a big blue bear is the attraction.

The city of Denver is of course a fairly new city with lots of high-rise buildings and a few old buildings that still remind you of the gold rush time. One of the newer buildings is the Denver Bronco Stadium of the American football team. Tonight they play at  home against the Los Angeles Chargers. The parking lots around the stadium are colored in orange. The food is loaded off from the pickup trucks. The tailgate party begins. Oh yes, the Bronco's defeat the Chargers with 24-21 after a thrilling end.