Just when the small mountain town of Victor needed a boost in visitors, Rita the Rock Planter came to the rescue.
Designed and built out of 100% recycled wood materials and dead branches of pine trees for hair, Rita is Danish artist Thomas Dambo’s 119th troll sculpture built to date. Known as the world’s leading recyling art activist, Dambo has placed his troll sculptures in 17 countries. Perhaps his best known sculpture in Colorado is Heartstone, a 15-foot-tall wooden troll who lives on the Trollstigen Trail in Breckenridge.
According to Dambo, Rita is building awareness to the area’s gold mining history. She’s purposely poised towards the earth “on watch” to keep humans and small creatures from falling into ground holes left from 100-year old mining camps.
Perched on Little Grouse Mountain between Cripple Creek and Victor overlooking the current mine operation, she’s an easy hike from the parking lot off Highway 67. A 1.9-mile loop trail, the journey treats hikers to breathtaking mountain vistas and glimpses of historical mining sites.
Locations of all Dambo’s wooden creations can be found at TrollMap.com.
