TexasGirl Photography

This summer while we were in Colorado we went to Cripple Creek. We were staying at a state park near Divide, where we had stayed before. On our previous visit I’d seen the sign for CC but we hadn’t gone that way, and it had stuck in my mind as something unfulfilled. When I was 5, my parents made a road trip with me to Colorado, and apparently we went there; my mom has talked about it but I didn’t remember a thing. So, this time I was keen to see it!

I will admit that my expectations, built by the location of the town (nestled in mountains), its somewhat-legendary name (stuck in my consciousness), and other experiences with old Colorado towns, were that Cripple Creek would be historic. As we wound our way down the road, I anticipated coming upon an old mining town, something along the lines of Creede. Side note: I LOVE Creede, and the San Juan mountains in general, and I would go there every single year if I could.

The absolute last thing I expected Cripple Creek to be was a gambling town. I didn’t expect a casino – let alone a main street crowded with them, with cranes to rival the city of Austin and more on the way.

The reality of the place was nothing short of bizarre to us. Walking around looking for somewhere to eat, we wondered where visiting families would go – families with children – since nearly every door had a sign on it announcing you had to be at least 21 to enter. I did end up finding one (crowded) cafe that wasn’t affiliated with a casino; maybe there were others, I hope there were others.

Cripple Creek has a rich history, and the more I looked into the startling reality of what it’s become, the more it made sense in a metaphorical way. People used to flock there for one kind of prospecting, now they flock there for another. You can probably tell from my tone that I’m not a gambler; honestly I don’t like anything about casinos. Just walking to the bathroom in one, past all the slot machines through all the noise and flashing lights, made me very uncomfortable. It’s a phenomenon I haven’t explored much, and therefore one that I don’t understand – but it’s obviously a lot of fun to a lot of people!

A little internet searching on my phone told me that the good people of Colorado voted to allow casinos in Cripple Creek to save it from impending ruin. It’s an important historical site, so I am glad that they wanted to save it from crumbling away to nothing. And don’t let my feelings about casinos in general fool you: it’s definitely worth a visit. The whole area is beautiful and worth seeing! There was a very tempting local ice cream place that I’m sorry I didn’t indulge in. It smelled amazing, and had all kinds of delicious looking chocolates and candied nuts . . . maybe next time. There are train rides and old mines to visit, and museums. Also we met a nice woman from Texas at the Irish Bar there, so overall while we were taken by surprise by the place it was a great experience as a whole!

Below are some color photos made with my Vivitar UWS and some kind of expired Kodak film (that I didn’t realize was quite so expired).

All photographs made with film. Black and whites were made with Hasselblad 500 c/m and Ilford HP5 (I think; it might have been Tri-X)