Tin Cup, Colorado

We took a little trip, up the Taylor River to the Taylor Reservoir. Of course the purpose was to ride the ATV's and take pictures. We accomplished both.

Our 70 mile, 8-hour ride effectively started here, at Union Park. The army once used this area to winter-train troops. Believe me, in the winter this place is all white and plenty cold. I think the army may have been training troops in how to imitate ice sculptures.


We rode old mining roads and trails, which of course took us by old mines. Here the group was trying to figure out how we could repair this 100+ year old compressor. We didn't, so we rode on.


Part of our ride included following a historic railroad right-of-way. The water tank you see here has been restored. Others we saw were more on the ground than upright.


We followed the right-of-way until it stopped at the remains of the Alpine Tunnel, which had been opened in 1880 and used until 1910. Because of the danger of collapse, the tunnel was long ago blasted shut. All that remains is rubble and a few restored structures. One is the old train station. No, those are not mannequins, but at 12,000 feet those guys were moving very slowly.


Here you can look down on the town of Tin Cup, the eventual final sightseeing goal for the day.


From that vantage point you can also look at me. I don't get many pictures of myself, so I threw this in. Enough looking , no snide comments about my waist line or do-rag either.


And here we go, entering the town of Tin Cup, population: a few in the summer, almost none in the winter.


Tin Cup is just one of the dozens of the old mining towns that died after the precious ores ran out, only to be reclaimed for summer homes and/or tourist havens. I guess that's the new gold rush for this area.