Ice castles

Camelot on ice ... without the dancing former Olympiads. Note the wizard in the upper rampart, the torches on the front wall, and (hard to see but right up front) the two armed guards. There was also a knight on horseback and a full-sized coat of armor from the waist up that tourists could pose behind for photographs.

There's a cool little former mining town about an hour away from the Springs called Cripple Creek. What was once a gold rush community is now one of the state's three gaming towns.

Once every few months, Cripple Creek has a wild festival designed to drum up business for the few downtown businesses that aren't casinos. This weekend was the Ice Festival.

Look, kids, Dumbledore lives!

Basically, the idea was to bring in a half-dozen really talented ice carvers, give them a piece of downtown road and several tons of ice, and set them loose. Apparently the theme was fairy tales. As you can see, the end results were spectacular, whimsical and remarkably out of place outside of establishments named "The Brass Ass" and "The Virgin Mule."

Carver Thomas Barlow polishes the body of a Pegasus he carved inside a castle wall.

Nonetheless, Andy and I had a great time taking in the sights, watching the artists and - yes - hitting a few slot machines. (we finished $9.75 up, by the way, and promptly spent all our winnings on an overpriced martini and kettle corn.)

A soon-to-be dragon takes shape on a rocky ledge and below a shooting star. Note the pride flag in the meteor's tail!