Definitely a wild ass day in Cripple Creek! lol… well technically it was a wild Equus asinus day in the old west gambling and gold mining town. Turns out the latest house I was trying to buy down there is back up for grabs… it went under contract out from under me but is back on the market again. I wasn’t actually too sure about buying the place so I decided to make a trip down to take another look.
First stop of course was Bronco Billy’s for breakfast. Had some scrambled eggs and hash browns and a half order of biscuits and gravy :) Left a 100% tip for my favorite waitress and my total bill was $2 :) Put a couple bucks in the slots while I was waiting and won a buck so following the huge breakfast I was only down $1!
Then it was on to the west side of town to take a look at the house. As I was cruising up up Bennett Avenue I noticed the donkey herd strolling along the street towards an empty lot of mountain prairie grass. These animals are believed to be the descendants of the pack mules used by the gold miners back in the old west days when Cripple Creek was first discovered. I pulled on ahead a ways where the doggies wouldn’t get so excited about the animals and grabbed my camera and the bag of treats that I had left over from my previous burro expedition and did my best to sneak up on the pack beasts without disturbing them. They are quite used to people so they didn’t seem disturbed in the least.
Snapped a few frames of them grazing and tried to get some good portraits of the prettiest ones. When I was satisfied that I had captured the scene I got out the treats and boy did I make some friends fast! It wasn’t long before the entire herd had surrounded me looking for one of the special burro treats that I had picked up for a small donation at the Jail Museum a few weeks ago on my way to visit Little Grouse Mountain. Luckily it turned out that I had just the right amount and each critter delicately lifted a donkey biscuit from the palm of my hand. Gave each one of my new friends a pat on the head, checked my camera screen to make sure the pics turned out and it was off to the house on the west side.
As luck would have it, the owner / builder was there and I got all my questions answered about the place. Much more enticing than I originally thought so I didn’t dawdle this time, got right on the phone to my real estate agent and got the ball in motion. I don’t know if it will actually come through, but it looks like I have a good chance of landing a house in Cripple Creek this time for my retirement years. Life’s twists and turns are amazing… 30 years ago when I moved to the Denver area I would have thought you were nuts if you told me I would someday be retiring in Cripple Creek… Well maybe not, I have loved that place since the first time I visited, long before the casinos were even thought of.
Be sure to look for the complete set of print and gift items that will soon be for sale in the wildlife gallery on my website, including glossy wall art on metal and acrylic sheets, canvas and in traditional frames plus tons of gift items and novelties, including coffee mugs, t-shirts, shopping bags, shower curtains, greeting cards and more!
Steve Krull is a prolific sports and nature photographer selling prints and stock images online as S.W. Krull Imaging at various sites and agencies. Click this link to view all the products and services offered by Steve Krull and S. W. Krull Imaging. Additional services include, wedding photography, portraiture and model portfolios, and event photography. Additional products include fine art stock imagery, prints and gift items
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