Gold Rush

The Georgetown Loop

Today, we embarked on our final, but perhaps most exciting train ride yet. We boarded the Georgetown Loop at Devil’s Gate, where the brakeman Chyna complimented both Anna’s Cumbres & Toltec beanie and my Durango & Silverton ballcap. The Colorado Narrow Guage community is small and strong. We rode behind Number 40 up the grade. 40 is a small but mighty locomotive, built for freight work and enjoying a loving career hauling passengers a few miles through incredible scenery. Being the first train of the day, the rails were wet and cold. We were fortunate enough to witness 40 chug up the hill, struggling to maintain adhesion, and slip a few times, before stalling trying to bring us up the hill. Some were mad and some were confused as we reversed down the hill to try again to make our way to Silver Plume. We loved it, however, as the big old nerds we are. After a short water stop in the modern terminus, we were brought back down to the Lebanon Silver Mine, where we got to pan for gold and tour one of the old silver mines in the area. It was truly an amazing experience that really enhanced the experience on the Georgetown Loop.

Right after our silver mine tour, we made our way to the Argo Mill and Tunnel in Idaho Springs. There, we got to learn about the ore processing steps and briefly tour what is safe to enter from the old Argo Gold Mine. We also got to pan for gold here, using a different technique from the one we learned at Georgetown.

After a beautiful drive to Denver, we checked into our hotel and had an amazing dinner at Mickey’s Top Sirloin. An honorable mention to Mark, known as Hyce on YouTube, for this suggestion of venue. Finally, we ended our night at Golden Puzzle Room where we beat the train themed puzzle, the Rocky Mountain Zephyr. Not only was it train themed for our honeymoon, but it also had a Blues Brother’s reference in one of the hints, which many of you know was our walk in theme at our wedding reception. It felt like fate for us to do that room, and we had a blast figuring out all the clues. We are both sad that our honeymoon is coming to an end, but have had a great time so far. It’s been wonderful to share it with you all.

– Tom & Anna