Silverton, Colorado - the early years
The folks at Shorpy have posted another cool photo of a Colorado mining town from the turn of the last century. This time the subject is Silverton. Having visited Silverton last summer I can say that things don’t look to have changed much except for the addition of paved roads and a bunch of tourists. While there we parked near the old jail and ate lunch at a former brothel, I promise it is a restaurant now-a-days. I will say that this photo isn’t as cool as the Eureka one, but still pretty cool. I imagine those folks in Eureka must have referred to a trip to Silverton as “goin’ to town” if you can imagine that. If you ever get a chance to drive the road from Durango to Silverton and Ouray, also called the Million Dollar Highway, I highly encourage it. There are several passes at or near 11,000 feet above sea level. A visit to wikipedia reveals that “Silverton is one of the highest towns in the United States, at 9,305 feet (2836 m) above sea level.” Pretty amazing that folks could establish a lasting community in such harsh conditions, that is something to be admired.
by Jon Krakauer investigates the last few years of the life of Chris McCandless who left his comfortable life in an affluent family in Atlanta for a life of wandering the States to find himself in wild places. Ultimately McCandless winds up illprepared to face the Alaskan outback where he dreamed to live free of contact from the world. The book is rather captivating and those who read it tend to fall into two camps of opinion on McCandless: those who feel sympathy for his struggle to be free and those who think he is a total bonehead. Regardless of your views of McCandless, I think most of us who love the outdoors have some shred of desire to dropout and spend our lives outdoors, living more simply, in the setting we love.
