Rear View Mirror

Historic articles from our archives.

Idaho Springs, Colorado

Originally published in the Rocky Mountain Travel Directory, 1948

Gateway to Mt. Evans and the Passes

Thirty-two miles west of Denver, on U.S. Highways 6 and 40, is the land of healing water and Nature’s treasure trove of precious minerals and awe-inspiring terrain. Here Chief Idaho once annually brought his ailing followers to partake of the healing waters; and here, later, in the dead of winter, came Jackson, the hardy Georgian, to first find the gold, and share the secret, that brought prospectors by the thousands fighting, scrabbling into these mighty Colorado mountains.

It is in the spirit of Idaho and Jackson that we invite you to Idaho Springs to spend your vacation, whether Spring, Summer, Fall or Winter.

Know the thrill of following the prospector, rediscovering old trails beckoning with new pleasures … Visit the mines and mills, and see the ore taken from the mountains and the gold taken from the ore … Partake of the healing waters of the Radium Hot Springs, and know relief from the torments of rheumatism, arthritis, kidney trouble, toxic poisoning and other local disturbances … Stalk the elk, the bear, the deer, the lion, in his native haunts … Hook the wily trout in clear mountain streams, cold and pure as only God can make them … Ski where skiing is at its best, or, for those sports-minded, ride the tows to the “top of the world” and revel in the panorama of Nature’s wonderland.

Visit historic Central City, The Little Kingdom of Gilpin, with its world-famous summer opera, its Face on the Barroom Floor, its Glory Hole and its “Richest Square Mile on Earth.” Take off on scenic trips and picnics to Mount Evans, the World’s highest automobile highway, to Echo Lake, to St. Mary’s Glacier, to Berthoud and Loveland Passes, to Buffalo Bill’s Grave, to the world-famous mining camps of Georgetown and Silver Plume – all within a few minutes’ drive.

Know your host and landlord, pledged to the principals of square-dealing by the rules and regulations of the Clear Creek Motor Court and Hotel Association … All these and a host of other pleasantries await you at IDAHO SPRINGS, Gateway to Mount Evans and the Passes.

Lack of care is principal cause of motor accidents

Originally published in the Rocky Mountain Motorist, AAA newspaper for Colorado and Wyoming, December 1932

Lack of individual care is primarily responsible for the growing number of fatalities and injuries on the streets and highways, according to John Huntington, President of Rocky Mountain Motorists.

Mr. Huntington bases his statement on a report from the AAA Safety Department dealing with an analysis of accidents in states with drivers’ license laws. The highlights are:

More than ninety per cent of the operators involved in 1,281,400 fatal and non-fatal accidents had been driving for more than a year.
Around eighty-five per cent of the accidents occurred in clear weather and on streets or highways with a dry surface.
Between five and six p.m. is the peak hour for non-fatal accidents, while the greatest number of fatalities occur between six and seven p.m.
Sunday is the day when most accidents occur and when the largest number of persons are killed and non-fatally injured.
Intersections are the danger points and forty-three per cent of 860,000 accidents in 1931 were at street crossings.
The most hazardous age for automobile driving is under the age of twenty, and their accident record is 39 per cent worse than for drivers between twenty and thirty.
Sixty per cent of motor accidents occur in daylight hours.
Slightly more than seventy-nine per cent of the accidents resulting in both deaths and injuries involve private passenger cars.