Clear Water Creek Canyon/Gold Prospecting/Golden, CO

Another weekend and another adventure.  This one started out with a trip to meet up with one of Megan's friends from high school and her family. 

Suzanne, Justin, Shelby and Megan; a really sweet family.  Megan has not seen Suzanne since high school, but they have stayed in touch on Facebook.  They have lived in Colorado for years and when we knew we were coming out here, Megan contacted Suzanne to try and meet up.  We had lunch in South Denver and while the girls played at the Chick-Fil-A playground, we all caught up over nuggets and fries.  Justin is an Assistant Principal in Colorado Springs, and Suzanne stays home with the girls.  We really enjoyed seeing them and had great conversations about education, Colorado and life in general.  Of course we had Gob with us and after lunch they all came out to meet him and the girls thought Gob was very cute (who wouldn't). 

It was a good lunch and Megan and I both hope we get to hang out with them again.

 

 

 

 

Next we headed into the foothills near Golden to Clear Creek Canyon State Park.  The park runs along the highway that parallels the creek which runs from Loveland Pass down into Golden.  This is the same waterway that Coors Brewing uses to make its beer.

 

The prospecting tools we brought with us..

 

 

 



Gob hanging out the window breathing that fresh mountain air.

 

 

 

Me checking out the prime locations for panning.

 

 

In the panning position examining the flakes.

 

More panning...

 

Getting Gob out into the cold water to cool off.

 

The beautiful Mrs. Richardson posing...

 

Out in the water digging for rocks to crush.

 

The formidable canyon walls.

 

Good shot from above the creek showing the sloping foothills.

 

More creek/canyon shots..

 

Megan spotted some Para-Gliders riding the upslope winds near Golden.

 

 

After the prospecting and cruising we decided to check out Historic Downtown Golden.  This was a really cool town, historic buildings and lots of shops, food and culture. We would like to eventually live in Golden.

 

 

We found a somewhat dog friendly cantina to have a beverage and some food. The waiter brought him a cool bowl of water to enjoy.

Megan's Margarita and Asiago Cheese Fries.

 

The view from the patio with a mesa in the distance that Brandon Reese would enjoy scaling.

 

Gob peering through his doggie prison bars.

 

Heading back home as storms move in off the foothills.

 

 

 

Overall it was another fun expedition to discover new places to enjoy our weekends.  I didn't make us rich with my panning, but had fun and acknowledge that I need to take some prospecting lessons.  We will definitely be back!