I have had the pleasure of meeting quite a few locals from Idaho Springs. Let me tell you something, each one of them is a very different person and they are all there for a reason.
If you're like many people from Colorado, you've never met a native from Idaho Springs. Instead, you've probably gone to the
Indian Hot Springs or taken a gold mine tour... or you just stopped in for a bathroom break, some gas, and an egg McMuffin on your way up to the slopes. Or maybe you "know a great little place" and take your extended family all the way up there to drizzle honey and eat a pizza at
BeauJo's. For a while there, I was among the same lot. I paid very little attention to the town, and therefore very little attention to the people living there.
Well, not anymore. Now, I try to visit this eclectic 1 square mile at least once a week as I foray into various backcountry adventures. And I don't just stop for some easy access to food or a bathroom. I really stop, park the car, get out and walk around. I talk to people, visit stores, and hit up the non-tourist restaurants and bars. You'd be surprised who you'll meet if you just go looking...
Idaho Springs has great
history as a mining town. It was the location of the first substantial gold discovery in Colorado, and that brought loads of folks from all over the country looking to get rich quick. It's been the site of
labor disputes, gun fights, and even movie productions. Legends like
The Tommyknockers also have their roots there. Rugged individualists like "Crazy Robson", George Jackson, and James Underhill are but a few of the many that have shaped the city's history. It's been visited by US Presidents, prize fighters, poets; all types are attracted to this tiny and very historic place.
Most recently, it's turned into a tourist turn-off, serving those travelling to the Casinos, or those between Summit County and Denver. The town itself has a population of less than 2,000 people, which means practically everyone knows everyone. People living here full time enjoy the standard Colorado trades like family-owned motels, outdoor gear stores, and gas stations. Some are teachers, some doctors, some are store owners. Then there are people that work in the tourism industry giving
tours of mines, guiding rafters
down the Arkansas, and manning the lifts at the
ski slopes.
Which brings me to my point: my latest and greatest encounter with a local from Idaho Springs is with a guy by the name of Ryan. He moved there in 1985, did a bunch of acid, and probably never stopped. He calls himself "Fryin' Ryan" and claims to know everyone in town. And I don't doubt him for an instant; he is a great guy... just a little crazy. He has all the standard garb for being a colorado transplant: an old Broncos t-shirt, a hat from a place nobody has heard of, stone washed jeans, and steel-toed boots. He lives in a trailer, and always seems to have just enough money for another beer. If you saw him on the street in Denver, shouting things and waving his hands wildly, you'd totally take him for being just another crazy homeless guy... yet 30 minutes away and seemingly a world apart, he's fairly normal, if not expected.
I started to wonder how a guy like this ends up in a tiny town like Idaho Springs. Why is this his city of choice? What keeps him here year after year? Then I started wondering why all of the other locals I've met stay there also and who else shares his story? ?! The gold rush is long over, and it's not like the place has a booming economy, some wonderful ski slope you can't pass up, or some other 'magical pull' that some towns seem to have. I mean, I totally understand why you would want to live in a place like Telluride or Steamboat, but seriously Idaho Springs?! Is there something I'm missing?
Which is why I make it a point to go there... at the end of the day, I always answer my own question. People stay there for the same reasons I go there: to get away! These locals are not interested in status quo, some new technology, or some fancy fad. They are not there to eat at 5-star restaurants and drive expensive cars. In fact, they are probably there because most other people AREN'T! These locals are true, real-deal Coloradans. They love our state for it's rugged truth, and they love expressing their individual right to freedom. And that's why I'll keep going back... the only difference is, I won't go on a 25-year acid trip and forget to move ;)
