Gold Prospecting

Colorado State Capitol

With the teacher rally/protest/strike and or protests at the Capitol building in Denver, thought a small odd ball tid bit would be of some interest to a few. 

Located on a ridge overlooking, Colorado’s capitol has a panoramic view of the Front Range.  Until the trees grew up, the building also dominated the Denver skyline.  Today the Capitol no longer dominates like it once did.  The trees are much taller and the nearby buildings are also more dominant on the skyline. 

The area around the capitol building, acquired the name Capitol Hill.  The complexion the neighborhood has changed over the years.  It has went from and elite area, to run down and back again.  All walks of life could be found in the area, the variety was endless.  The vibrancies of the neighborhood were in constant flux.

Bums and tramps like the area around the capitol building, because it was good panhandling and places to catch 40 winks.  The security people that patrolled the grounds got to know most of the tramps and for the most part left them be.  Tourists’ were in and out of the building and wandered around the grounds taking pics and gazing at the golden dome. 

Tramps would wander among them panhandling or offering stories about the area, anything for a handout.  Mix in the occasional protestor(s) and there would be moments on the Capitol grounds. 

It had been an early spring shower and the patrolman was walking the Capitol grounds.  There at the corner of the building a tramp was bent over picking things up from the ground.  Seeing nothing ominous, the patrolman just walked on by and they exchanged pleasantries.  A few days later any rain rolled over the capitol.  Again the guard was patrolling the building and there was the tramp.  All huddled up and bent over the ground picking things up.  The two nodded to each other and went about their business. 

It had been a heavy rain and the tramp was on the grounds again all bent over picking through the dirt.  This time the guard stopped and watched what the tramp was doing.  There at the end of the drain spout, the tramp was hunched over.  With tweezers, he was picking out small flakes of gold.  The tramp then moved on to the next drain and started again, picking out flakes of gold.

When the tramp had finished going around the Capitol building and picking out the gold flakes.  He would head out for the Pawn Shop where he could sell his gold flakes.  The patrolman watched the process and sure enough, the nest rain storm.  Here came the tramp after the rain had quit.  Down on his knees at the first drain spout he was picking up gold flakes.  After the rain, small flakes of gold would detach from the gold dome on the state capitol. 

The tram had created his own little industry of cleaning up the capitol grounds and making a nice profit for a bottle of wine.  Soon it was the grounds maintenance people that were out there cleaning out the drainage and had things covered over.  The tramp had lost his source of income.