Today, we took the one-hour drive to Silverton. 
The rugged San Juan Mountains were owned by the Utes until gold was discovered in the early 1960s. Captain Charles Baker led a party into what is now the broad, flat valley where Silverton now sits and discovered traces of gold.
These Pines were so different! The tan line going horizontally in the picture was the road...
Negotiations with the Utes took several years, and in 1874 the San Juans were opened up to settlement.
I tried to crop this sign. It says Molas Pass Summit - Elev 10910 Ft.
We came into the Town of Silverton. Silverton was incorporated in 1874.
The main route into Silverton was a "wagon road" over Stony Pass from Salida. To say that it was passable by wagon was stretching the truth.
Getting the ore out of the San Juans and supplies into the mining camps was expensive & difficult..
The D&RG arrived in what is now Durango in 1879.
With the arrival of the Denver & Rio Grand Railroad to Silverton in 1882, ore was easily exported, and supplies were easy to get.
Silverton was the center of commerce for the region.
We stopped in Romero's
I ordered a Taco Salad with Beef. It came with Chicken.
Jim ordered huevos rancheros (mexican eggs) "over easy". They came scrambled with a whole chili pepper underneath them. Rice came out of a can. Jim's coffee never came...
The Murial below was painted. I saw a piece of the paper where it had torn.
Durango became a smelter town, utilizing nearby coal fields. Rich ores mined and milled at mines like the Sunnyside, the Old Hundred and the Silver Lake were now shipped south to be smelted.
Today Silverton is the only town left in San Juan County, with a population of 600, supported by tourists who ride the rails to see the magnificent scenery and relive the incredible history of the area.
On March 14, 1953 the Shenandoa-Dives Mine and Mayflower Mill ended production & closed.
After a bit, we returned to the car for the ride home.
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