Ice Festival

Yesterday we decided to head up to the hills for the Cripple Creek Ice Festival.  It's been 10 years since we last attended this event.  (Here's a link to my blog about that visit from 2013.) 


We learned a valuable lesson about attending an ice festival...don't go on opening day.  Why?  Because the sculptures haven't been carved yet.  Above is one of the "quick" contests they have.  Participants are given one hour to plan and carve their entries.  


On this day they were carving aliens.


The kids seem to enjoy the ice slide.


Lots of people and lots of food options.  One place was selling turkey legs for $22!!  Seems to me you should get more than just a leg for that amount.  As for me, you'd have to pay me to take a turkey leg.  Yuck!


Lots of ice blocks sitting around  It was about 35 degrees so they shouldn't be melting anytime soon.


This one is going to be a hippopotamus.  Maybe it's baby Omo from our local zoo.


I assume this one is going to be some kind of mountain scene.


This one looks like it will be the Colorado flag with our state animals.  Again, first day attendance not a great idea.


I bet this one will be amazing when it's done.


I had my first ever Fireball Whiskey last year in Arizona.  I thought it was yummy, but then we find out it doesn't contain whiskey at all.  False advertising I'd say.


Cripple Creek was a boom town in the 1890s because of the gold rush.  In the mid-1890s it had 150 gold mines, four newspapers, five churches, 6,000 residents and 300 prostitutes.  By 1901 it had grown to 30,000 residents, 500 mines, 68 saloons, and was one of the five largest cities in Colorado.  A railroad was built to more the ore out.


By the 1920s the railroad stopped running and more than half of the mines closed.  The boom was over.  Now the town shrunk to less than 2,000 residents and the town turned to tourism to survive.  In 1991, the Colorado constitution was amended to allow gambling in Cripple Creek.  There has been a movement to maintain Cripple Creek's historical buildings, but many large casinos have moved in including the one above that is being built right in the middle of town.  The casinos provide millions of tax dollars each year for the local community.    Currently there are 1,155 resident in the town. There is still one open pit mine in operation nearby in the town of Victor that employs 500 people.


After checking out the ice sculptures we had to venture into one of the casinos.


We each lost $20 to the slot machines and then headed back down the hill.  I really hate gambling...I felt bad about losing $20.  Such a waste of money.


We had to stop on the way out of town for this magnificent view.  Snow capped mountains encircle this valley.  Right now Colorado's snow pack is at 119%.  Good news for those people in Arizona and Nevada who rely on the Colorado River for their water, fountains, and golf courses.  (Sore subject for us Coloradans.)


Fun day with my sweetie.


Instead of having a $22 turkey leg we stopped at one of our favorite breweries in the Springs for dinner and a brew.  Great choice!

How was your weekend?




Comments

Yogi♪♪♪ said…
I'm not much of a gambler either. Seems like in Nevada you could keep going for a long time on $20. Here in Oklahoma it is gone in minutes.

Looks like a fun area.
February 20, 2023 at 11:27 AM
polcat24 said…
Yes, whenever we go out she feeds me and i'm happy. The Colorado Mtn brew pub is great. Good food great beer.
February 22, 2023 at 9:09 AM
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