I’m in Aspen, Colorado. The shops in Aspen are gorgeous, I love walking around taking photos of all the high-end stuff. They are so great to check out when no one else is around. When I travel, I like to get up as early as possible and catch the best light around town. It’s amazing to see the history of some of these buildings. They are still standing from the 1800s. They are so attractive!

While I walk around I notice a psychic shop which offers readings. There’s definitely a mystical element to the town, there’s loads of fortune tellers + tarot readers. I wonder why that is? Maybe it has something to do with a fascination in paranormal activity from the ghosts that still wonder the streets since its past as a silver mining town!

I love history. I was learning about the old silver mining town that was Aspen when the silver boom was happening. I learnt the hotel we stayed in was opened in 1889. Wow!

In 1879 the first prospectors arrived in what would soon become Aspen and determined the area contained large deposits of silver ore

South Africa also has a rich history in mining. But we are known for Gold + Diamonds.  We are, after all, the world’s leader in Diamond Production. Johannesburg’s nicknamed “The city of Gold” because it began as a gold mining town.

There’s a fantastic museum in Breckenridge at their welcome center which has a great exhibit of the history of gold mining in that town. Everything seems to be centered around gold + silver – coins, nuggets, horseshoes – it’s like treasure surrounds you everywhere you go!

I found this gif on giphy, I loved it!

In case you’re wondering, when I walk around I’m listening to this playlist on Spotify.

I was so thrilled I got some of these photos just before we headed to The Continental Divide. There’s really so much to do in Colorado – the trees are amazing so you can pretty much just road trip all day. Some of the food I enjoyed while there was this cheeseboard + this martini from Justice Snow’s. It’s great when you can wonder around + enjoy the sights, tastes, smells + sounds of these towns which have so much history. The altitude throws you off a bit – I wonder how the old miners did it.

Learning about all the old mining towns inevitably brings up ghost stories. Apparently many places are haunted along this stretch of Colorado. There is a company that offers haunted walking tours in Aspen called “Dark Side Ghost Tours” – check out their website here.

I found out the mountains near Buena Vista have huge deposits of Aquamarine. I love blue! I  think that’s very cool. The ghosts must love that.