Colorado Trip - Report 4 - glaciers and good times

A bit less total hiking yesterday, most of it near St. Mary's Glacier, near Idaho Springs. I climbed up most of the way to the top of the ice field (it's not really a glacier since it's stationery) off the rocks to the side, but did not go to the top since I really didn't want to twist an ankle going down two days before the big hike.

After a brief visit to the town of Alice, no restaurant there, I ate lunch in Idaho Springs. Then I decided to go to Central City for a bit. Since my rental company gave me a Suzuki SUV (which I normally would NEVER drive but it was my best option), I figured I'd try Virginia Canyon Road, County Road 279, Prospectors Highway, but the unofficial name is Oh My God Road. Well, it's called that for a reason. That used to be the only way to get from the two cities. I chickened out after the first two miles and turned around and went back down another road. It's even scarier going from Central City to Idaho Springs from what I gather.

The link above described the Central City casinos as decrepit. I respectfully disagree. Black Hawk, just down the road, is a lot more spiffy, with facy looking parking garage, newer brick buildings, but notice the new brick buildings. Central City is an old mining city with a lot of cool victorian houses and has a feel of an old town trying to revitalize itself. They even have an opera house. Black Hawk's too new for me.

I rarely gamble but decided to stop in Doc Holliday's Casino to play a couple slots for fun. I only lost $1 gambling in very low stakes slots, and even that was more of a goodwill gesture loss at a slot machine that I had no clue how to play since they found my apartment key that I dropped while reaching for my money. Great staff, they even offered me a drink even though I played slots for less than 5 minutes. I respectfully declined since I had to drive home.

I met up with some more friends at the British Bulldog Pub in Denver. Enjoyed a couple stout beers, some food, and we watched a soccer match, the Colorado Rapids beat FC Dallas 1-0 on a perfectly executed corner kick. Good times all around, I head down to Colorado Springs in about an hour for the grand finale of the trip. I DO NOT WANT to go back to VA right now.