Dueling banjos?

One of the things that makes Aspen more interesting than, oh say Vail, is that Aspen has a history. Aspen, the ski town, is just the latest incarnation of the settlement in this locale.

Aspen was a mining town, a bit of Wild West anarchy, which was only slowly tamed.

At least some of the local residents still embody that rebellious spirit. The miners at Smuggler Mine are a fine example.

Smuggler Mine (where one of the largest nuggets of native silver, weighing in at 2,350 pounds, was found in 1894) is just above town, in very close proximity. The McMansions have slowly surrounded it. The locals hike past it every day as they "go up Smuggler." It's right there.

Every Fourth of July, at 6 am, the miners at Smuggler Mine fire off a cannon. A big, booming cannon. A shake the windows kind of explosion. More than once.

A few years ago, due to complaints, the miners were told not to do it anymore. There were articles in the paper about it. There was controversy. (Now realize that it doesn't take much to create controversy in any small town, let alone Aspen.)

And at 6 am on July 4th, there it was, the first of those window shaking, sleep interrupting, dog frenzy inducing, car alarm erupting cannon booms. The miners were thumbing their noses at the authorities and at all the newly minted Aspen residents who just didn't appreciate tradition.

I cheered. Then rolled over and went back to sleep.

All of this comes up because last night was Winterskol. Winterskol was started in 1951 in an effort to improve tourism during a slow time in the ski season and it has traditionally been an irreverent, crazy carnival. In recent years, it has lost some of its luster but the highlight still is the fireworks display.

As I've written before, Aspen has more than its share of fireworks. But the Winterskol fireworks top them all and this is due to the miners at the Smuggler Mine.

Every year during Winterskol, as soon as the fireworks display over Aspen Mountain concludes, the miners answer with an equally stunning fireworks display over Smuggler Mountain. Every year, they are coy about whether or not there will be an answer and every year (so far), there is.

At my house, we watch the Aspen Mountain fireworks from the front porch and then we rush to the back balcony to watch the Smuggler Mountain fireworks.

I'm waiting for the year that the volunteer firefighters on Aspen Mountain answer the miners back. And get yet another response . . .