Above:  After spending a month in the Montrose area, I headed south on U.S. Highway 550 and visited my old home of Silverton, high in the San Juans, before continuing on to Durango.

After camping at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park for most of August, I left late in the month and headed to the small mining-turned-tourist town of Silverton, located south of Montrose in the San Juan Mountains at an elevation of 9,300'.  Silverton is one of the highest cities in the United States (Leadville wins the prize, though, at just over 10,000').

During the summer of 1984, I was the BLM's first ranger stationed in Silverton and I lived in a little trailer here.  I spent that summer exploring the mountains around Silverton -- and doing lots of "ranger" work, of course! -- and I had a great time.  This was my first visit to Silverton since that summer and I was struck by how little it had changed.  Yep, there were a lot more visitors now, and the BLM actually had a Visitor Center here now (!), but it's basically the same.  Silverton is nice but I've always preferred Lake City since it's more oriented towards families.  Still, it was good to be back.

I spent a few hours in Silverton visiting some of the places I used to work and hang out.  It was hard to believe that it had been over 30 years since I had worked here with the BLM but after reminiscing, I got in the truck and headed south on U.S. 550 to Durango. 

Montrose, Colorado to Durango, Colorado

 

 

 

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