Leadville

I arrived in Leadville as it was getting dark. I lived there for many years and have been gone for several more. I left Leadville a town of ashes, destroyed by Reaganomics in the 1980s. The main mine, Climax, was shut down, the EPA seemed determined to make an example of one of the few operating mines left, Black Cloud, where I once worked.

Boom Days drilling contest rocks

This time around, a billboard greeted me announcing that Climax is open and hiring. Town is booming with new businesses and people are out for the evening. I stopped at the laundromat for a shower and wi-fi where I talked to a young man who works above ground at Climax. I resisted the temptation to lecture him about respirators. He also shoes horses in exchange for living in a little camper. He allowed me to park my van in his yard that night, all the time worrying about the street light outside my window, the neighbors barking dog and would I have enough blankets. I have a good sleeping bag but I forgot how cold nights get in the high country. That's reported to be about 10,000 altitude, by the way.

In the morning I stopped at a bakery where the owner who came from Detroit told me she'd never felt like she belonged before she came to Leadville. My sentiments exactly. Another woman came in with a very familiar face but her name didn't ring a bell. She new all the people I ran around with back when I lived there over 20 years ago, even my ex husband. She told me a lot about the happenings in the now grown up Leadville. There are still have mines, bars and churches, as always, but now there are organic gardeners, meditation groups, massage therapists and even a writing group. When I lived there in the late 1970s, none of this seemed possible. Now I think about moving back there.

 Check out Leadville Deb's website for a look at Rocky Mountain issues: www.rockymountaingreenguide.com

Harrison Ave., Leadville

My old Cabin in Stringtown...first real estate venture