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  • San Juan Skyway ... Idarado Mine Houses

    October 8, 2020 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 48 °F

    Part II of our first foray on the San Juan Skyway Scenic Byway ...

    We dallied quite a bit on the 35-mile drive between Ridgway and Silverton today. We made many stops along the way. But where we spent the most time was at the Idarado Mine Overlook.

    The Red Mountain Mining district, which covered less than eight square miles, was home to a number of mines ... and the boom-and-bust towns that grew up around them. According to the signage at the overlook, six towns sprang up here during the boom years ... some 3,000 people lived in those towns.

    The Idarado Mine primarily produced lead, silver, and zinc. Gold and copper were also mined here ... but in lesser amounts. Signage near the mine trestle explained that this was one of the largest mines thanks to the building of the Treasury Tunnel in 1896. The main tunnel branched off into some 100 miles of underground tunnels, connecting several of the mines that had become inactive. The 5-mile long main tunnel traveled under 13,000-foot high mountains to emerge in Pandora ... not far from present-day Telluride, which is 60 miles away by highway! Definitely a shortcut!

    Though it was tempting to find the trailhead down to the Yankee Girl Mine, this was a “sightseeing by car” day for us, so we skipped the hike today. That’s not to say that I did not take time out to explore the Idarado Mine Houses near the overlook. The houses, I read on one of the info panels, were purchased from a bankrupt mine. There were ten buildings in all and they were moved here to serve as employee housing.

    Over 100 years old, the houses that still remain are not in great shape. In fact, I decided it was safer to wander around outside instead of going inside any of them. The light was perfect ... as was the background scenery. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, the temperature was comfortable. I was a happy camper just exploring the grounds.

    In the years that the mine was active, 4 million ounces of gold, 21 million ounces of silver, and 12 million tons of lead, zinc, and copper were produced. All that mining activity “fueled the industrial revolution,” as the posted sign stated. But it also did a number on the natural resources in the area. The good news? Mine reclamation work is ongoing to remediate the adverse impact on those resources.
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