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17. 01. 2025 |
On Friday, we got up very early so that we could go on a day trip shortly after seven in the morning. Between Denver and Colorado Springs, we stopped at an already verified gas station, typical of the USA, where you can find an endless amount of sausages, sauces, donuts, drinks and other food. Everyone would choose...
About two hours from Denver, we found ourselves at the ADX Florence prison. It is the most secured prison in the USA, also known as the Alcatraz of the Rockies, where the most dangerous criminals, led by El Chapo, serve their sentences. We took a picture of the main entrance to the compound, which immediately attracted the attention of the guard, even though we were still far from the prison itself. Subsequently, we took a different path, where we had a panoramic view of the building complex, which we fixed quickly to be safe and continued on.
The prison is located in the town of Florence, where we spent almost an hour. We hung out in antique shops where we found some interesting pieces. This town is famous for several antique shops and small galleries, one could spend the whole day there. But we were running out of time. We were looking for the Colorado Prison Museum in Cañon City. First, we got to the vicinity of another, real prison, where the staff politely explained to us that it is not really a museum... This part of Colorado is actually known for several prisons and it is easy to get lost in a tangle of information...
Finally, we managed to find the museum, which is in the immediate vicinity of a smaller prison for almost 1000 prisoners. The museum itself was very interesting. We learned a lot of information about the history of prisons in Colorado, but also about the most famous criminal cases, and even saw with our own eyes one of the two gas chambers that were used in Colorado in the past. Near the prison, we visited a local cemetery, typical of the USA, where we saw the grave of Joe Arridy, a wrongfully executed 23-year-old boy. I recommend you to study his story through Wikipedia.
After lunch at my favorite Taco Bell, we headed for Mount Princeton Hot Springs. Along the way, we passed Guffey, which looks like something out of a movie with its backdrops and vestiges.
We recharged our batteries in the thermal baths in the mountains. The entrance fee got us to two pools, but also to the creek. The creek was divided into a normal, icy part and a smaller warm, even unbearably hot part. Everything was partitioned with stones from nature, which made everything a unique experience.
In the early evening, we set off on a two and a half hour drive to Denver. As expected, it started to snow, the temperature also dropped and dropped - freezing days await us, no warmth for short sleeves as before. Although the driving was difficult, we returned to the hotel in good health - here I must note that I will definitely never want to stay in the center of Denver again, because parking is so complicated.
Friday was great, a busy day, we were in the field for 14 hours, I got to places I haven't been in all these years, there is always something to discover. Hopefully we won't freeze for the next few days...
- David
PS: We added photos to the photo gallery from two of us who watched part of the game against the Oilers from the front row - the photos are worth it.
About two hours from Denver, we found ourselves at the ADX Florence prison. It is the most secured prison in the USA, also known as the Alcatraz of the Rockies, where the most dangerous criminals, led by El Chapo, serve their sentences. We took a picture of the main entrance to the compound, which immediately attracted the attention of the guard, even though we were still far from the prison itself. Subsequently, we took a different path, where we had a panoramic view of the building complex, which we fixed quickly to be safe and continued on.
The prison is located in the town of Florence, where we spent almost an hour. We hung out in antique shops where we found some interesting pieces. This town is famous for several antique shops and small galleries, one could spend the whole day there. But we were running out of time. We were looking for the Colorado Prison Museum in Cañon City. First, we got to the vicinity of another, real prison, where the staff politely explained to us that it is not really a museum... This part of Colorado is actually known for several prisons and it is easy to get lost in a tangle of information...
Finally, we managed to find the museum, which is in the immediate vicinity of a smaller prison for almost 1000 prisoners. The museum itself was very interesting. We learned a lot of information about the history of prisons in Colorado, but also about the most famous criminal cases, and even saw with our own eyes one of the two gas chambers that were used in Colorado in the past. Near the prison, we visited a local cemetery, typical of the USA, where we saw the grave of Joe Arridy, a wrongfully executed 23-year-old boy. I recommend you to study his story through Wikipedia.
After lunch at my favorite Taco Bell, we headed for Mount Princeton Hot Springs. Along the way, we passed Guffey, which looks like something out of a movie with its backdrops and vestiges.
We recharged our batteries in the thermal baths in the mountains. The entrance fee got us to two pools, but also to the creek. The creek was divided into a normal, icy part and a smaller warm, even unbearably hot part. Everything was partitioned with stones from nature, which made everything a unique experience.
In the early evening, we set off on a two and a half hour drive to Denver. As expected, it started to snow, the temperature also dropped and dropped - freezing days await us, no warmth for short sleeves as before. Although the driving was difficult, we returned to the hotel in good health - here I must note that I will definitely never want to stay in the center of Denver again, because parking is so complicated.
Friday was great, a busy day, we were in the field for 14 hours, I got to places I haven't been in all these years, there is always something to discover. Hopefully we won't freeze for the next few days...
- David
PS: We added photos to the photo gallery from two of us who watched part of the game against the Oilers from the front row - the photos are worth it.
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