Colorado Chronicles : The Gold Belt Tour

150 years or so ago, many Colorado mountain towns were besieged by miners. Yup, those four magic letters brought in prospectors by the thousands. Those letters? G-O-L-D. To this day, re-claimed mines dot the Colorado landscape. There are several of them up the hill behind my Mom's house in Central City. People still stop by one of many roadside "pan for gold" places in the mountains while vacationing in Colorado. I have a much better idea if you are eager to find gold in them thar hills. The Colorado Gold Belt Tour.

This 131 mile tour one of the better vacation ideas I've heard in quite some time. The tour takes you through Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, Victor Town, Canon City and Cripple Creek (think casinos !!!). The scenery on your quest for gold will be some of the most beautiful in Colorado. Click here to see some of the sights that await you on the Gold Belt Tour. When you click the link above, be sure to navigate the page you land on and the provided links. You'll be glad you did.
Upon the completion of your day-long journey, you'll be the next one to yell, "Eureka!!!!"

Get your FREE Colorado Travel Guide here.

Maine Minutiae : Lewiston - Auburn

Lewiston, Maine, on the banks of the Androscoggin River, is about 20 miles down I-95 from where I am in Augusta. Across the river from Lewiston is the city of Auburn. The  two cities are invariably linked together and are often referred to as L-A or L/A, much like DFW.  About 38,000 people call Lewiston home and another 27,000 or so live in Auburn.
The L-A area doesn't seem like much of a place to locate a professional sports franchise or to hold a major athletic event. However, the only non-American team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is the Lewiston Maineiacs. In 1965, Lewiston played host to the famous (infamous?) Heavyweight Championship fight between Cassius Clay and Sonny Liston.

Auburn, pictured just above, is the home of several notable Americans. One of the more well-known is US Senator Olympia Snowe. Visiting Auburn is a regular routine for many Mainers in South Central Maine. The city is loaded with good places to eat and a mall with a nice selection of shopping options. In summary, Maine's "Twin Cities" are a great place to visit, live or raise a family.

Free Maine Travel Guide : http://www.visitmaine.com/

Texas Tidbits : Rockwall

Sitting on the shores of 22,000 acre+ Lake Ray Hubbard, Rockwall is a city located just east of Dallas on I-30. As I was looking up information for this post, I was a bit surprised at just much the area has changed since the last time I was at the lake. For one thing, there is The Harbors. Looks like a nice place to have a good lunch, shop a little and sit with old friends and catch up with each other. (Kim Skeene Henning, I read your Facebook  post this morning) The Texas Queen is a 105-foot double decker paddle wheel boat that offers dinner cruises, reservations required.
Lake Ray Hubbard was an almost daily stop for me for a long time. The lake is/was the location of two "crappie houses" (literally a house anchored on the water with most of the floor cut out for access to the water) that feature some fine crappie angling. If these crappie houses are still open, by all means go! White perch are some damn good eatin'.
While in Rockwall, you might wanna stop by the Rockwall County Historical Museum. Rockwall County may be the smallest county in Texas, but it offers big fun for the whole family.

Be sure to order your FREE Texas Travel Guide at traveltex.com