Day 20-June 25, 2013-Golden, CO & Black Hawk
85 and sunny today-Happy Half Christmas!
Everything we did today was free of cost-and really fun!!!
Golden, CO is only 20 miles away but it took us over 45 minutes to get there via Rte. 119, up and down mountains again, through the Clear Creek Canyon, always with the raging Clear Creek running alongside us. Gorgeous canyons, gulches and mountains. Went by a couple of gold panning places and marijuana merchants but other than that no commerce.
Went to the Coors factory (the largest in the world, they’ll have you know) for their tour. The only way to get in is to get their shuttle bus (where they have misters at the terminal-they must think it’s hot here). The shuttle takes you through Old Historic Golden first and then to the factory for the tour.
The tour is free-and informational-I smelled hops for the first time and realized that’s where beer gets its smell. Also didn’t know it’s now Miller Coors and that they brew Killians and other beers. Just having read a book about prohibition it was interesting to learn that Coors was one of only 750 breweries out of 1568 that lasted, mostly by going into other businesses such as malted milk and CoorsTek which is alive and well in Golden today. Half way through the tour they give you a little 5-oz. glass of either Coors or Coors Light but at the end you go to their lounge and can sample up to three regular size glasses of what they’re pouring that day. We tried Batch 19-the original before prohibition blend, which was OK but I liked the Blue Moon Belgian White. Very friendly lounge, we met some people from Texas and talked for a while and some college students (at the Colorado School of Mines-an engineering school in Golden) who gave us some tips as to what to see. The altitude is still a problem for me and even though I’m drinking like everybody says to do after leaving here if anything I’m dizzier. Don’t understand that. Thought about going to a Colorado Rockies baseball game at Coor’s Field which is close by, but they’re out of town for the next few days (getting beat by Boston).
We had brought lunch and ate it in the parking lot which was a good idea ‘cause from here we went on the Lariat Loop “40 Miles of Western Adventure”-also known as Lookout Mountain Rd.,for good reason. We only did about 5 miles of it which took a half hour of more gorgeous scenery, hair pin turns and the city of Golden far below. We stopped at Buffalo Bill’s grave and museum way atop the mountain. Had enough mountain driving for one day and we knew we had to go back up Route 119 to get back to the campground, so we went back the same way we came up.
Stopped in Black Hawk on the way home. This town was described to us as a mini Las Vegas but from what we saw it was only casinos and hotels. A huge sculpture of a black hawk with its wings spread welcomes you to the town and the smell of the hanging petunia baskets is everywhere. At the Isle Casino if you join their Player’s Club (which at any casino is always free and always worth it) you get $5.00 to play with and a free buffet meal. I played the penny slots with their $5 for an hour, going as high as $18.00 (WOW!) at one point before I lost it all. Harry put in another $20 but got it back again-so it cost us nothing. We then ate at the buffet which was really one of the best we’ve been to. Casino buffets are a lot different from Golden Corrals. Back to camp late and exhausted. Stars are beautiful, it’s like we’re on top of the world.