The Air is Thin in Leadville

Leadville, CO is the highest incorporated town in the US, at 10,152 feet above sea level. It's an old mining town. I loved this mural, and got a kick out of the sign on the right, "Accountant upstairs." Not what I was expecting to be upstairs based on the mural...

The buildings in town, even regular houses, are painted in colorful designs.

But there are also a lot of buildings that either were never painted, or haven't been painted in quite a while. Almost like there is a ban on new paint.

But there are exceptions to that rule too.

Everyone has flowers in their yard. This pink columbine is just as pretty as the blue one found in the wild.

This is the most unusual flower I saw. It's an African Daisy called "Whirlygig." (I did some Googling and had some help from Phil...)

Circling the town is a 10-mile long bike/hike trail that goes by a lot of the old mines.

Does it get any better than this? Rusty stuff in the foreground, old mine shaft in the middle, and the town of Leadville, Turquoise Lake, and the Rocky Mountains in the background.

So much rusty stuff, so little time...