After our week in the desert we were desperate for cooler temperatures and a good shower. We headed to Colorado and soon we were back in familiar territory – our beloved Rocky Mountains! 

We prefer to stay off the interstates, so we looked for a campground – with showers and laundry. Our Passport America membership gives us 50% off member campgrounds and RV parks and the nearest one was in Leadville, so that is where we headed. Leadville turned out to be a bit of a hidden gem.  It is the city with highest elevation in the U.S., at 10,152 feet, and as a result, it boasts the nation’s highest golf course, the nation’s highest brew pub and an assortment of other nation’s “highest”…. establishments.

Once we had taken our showers (side note – what I thought was a good tan, turned out to be dirt) and started our laundry, we headed out to explore.

Leadville is home to the National Mining Museum, and is located in the middle of a number of gold and silver mines, most now inactive. At one time, it was second only to Denver as the most populous city in Colorado.   Main Street boasts an opera house, some old time saloons and a number of good restaurants.

We choose the Tennessee Pass Cafe (mostly because they were showing the hockey game and Dave was eager to catch some of the playoffs). The restaurant did a lovely in-house smoked pastrami as well as smoked duck breast and it served flash fried brussel sprouts as a side with everything. They were so good, even Dave had more than one!

Leadville, like many old mining towns, is a town struggling to survive. One historic sight, the House with the Eye, had a sign that read “CLOSED – NO HELP AND TOO FEW TOURISTS.”

Hopefully this is not a sign of things to come for Leadville. The surrounding areas are lovely and there are lakes and bike trails all around. We thought it was a quaint little town and well worth the stop!