DENVER -- Head out for Georgetown and you're there in less than an hour, which is why Georgetown has become the all-purpose, "take- your-flatland-friends-to-a-mountain-town-to-see-it-all" kind of place.

But when was the last time you saw it on your own or just with your own family?

Georgetown is one of those places where you can slow down and relax, but not until you've taken the ride on the Georgetown Loop.

You may know the story of how the rickety, little, narrow-gauge railroad line brought rich ore down from Silver Plume. Nowadays it's mostly tourists and railroad buffs who ride the rails.

Your ticket on the Georgetown Loop Railroad is round-trip and the best ride is from Georgetown up to Silver Plume then back to Georgetown.

Sure, it's a tourist town and proud of it. And Georgetown has done an excellent job saving good slices of Colorado history.

The Hotel de Paris, for example, is where a little touch of luxury made life in this mining town of 5,000 souls more bearable.

Down the street, at Sophie Gally Boutique, there's a bullet hole in the old bar, Podner, from the 1880s.

Your next stop should be the Red Ram. In the older days, it was Bill Clarke's last stop after a rough day of skiing, a stop for comfort food. The Red Ram may not be the fanciest restaurant in tow, but it has some good grub.

The Georgetown Loop Railroad runs daily through early October but there are cuts in the schedule after Labor Day.

Bill's One Tank Trips

The Georgetown Loop Railroad may be the event around which to build your trip to Georgetown. There's plenty of paved parking at the station on the edge of Georgetown, lots of shade, too! Most of the people who work the line are true railroad buffs. There isn't much about the Loop's history, or the history of narrow gauge railroads in Colorado, that they don't know. They're also a pretty friendly bunch of folks. You also have the option through Labor Day weekend of taking a tour of the Lebanon Silver Mine. The train stops at the mine on the downhill run from Silver Plume.

The Hotel de Paris was founded by a Civil War soldier who deserted from the Union Army in Wyoming. He changed his name from Adolph Girard to Louis de Puy, worked in Denver at the Rocky Mountain News, before going up to Georgetown. The National Society of Colonial Dames owns the Hotel de Paris and the most interesting parts of it are open for tours.

Just up the street is the Georgetown Energy Museum, housed in the building where some of Colorado's early hydroelectric power generators are still housed. At one time, these two generators provided power to Georgetown, Silver Plume, Idaho Springs, Blackhawk and Central City. The museum has some very cool pictures of Georgetown in the old days, and some of the history of electric power in the gold country. But nothing's as much fun to watch as an old copper, electric powered washing machine. You heard right. You just have to see it to believe it.

There's plenty more history in Georgetown, and lots of things to make that trip worthwhile. Your best resource is ClearCreekCounty.org if you want to learn more.