Heidi showed us a good time. We did shopping on the main street through town. Heidi's mom, dad, and sister each own a shop and we visited them all. We stayed at Heidi's sister Teki's house, and ate dinner in one night and out the next. We played cards and talked and laughed. We played cards one night with Heidi's mom. Darren, Simon, and Jack had all been given the word that they couldn't come home and they had to leave us alone. We did get to see them, however, which was good. Heidi's got good guys.
Teki has a Jeep that seats five and she drove us up into the mountains, even higher than we already were. Silverton is at 9,100 feet, and we drove up above the tree line, probably to 11,500 feet. The canyon we drove up was just beautiful, with waterfalls coming down practically every little ravine. The wildflowers were in bloom, and the mountains still patched with snow here and there. We saw hundreds of sheep being driven up to higher pasture. They made an awful lot of noise. We saw lots of old mining equipment and structures. The vistas were breathtaking, and not just because we were at such high elevation.
This weekend was also the running of the Hard Rock 100, a 100 mile endurance run through the mountains surrounding Silverton. The runners are given 48 hours to complete the course, and have to make check points by certain time cut-offs. The elevation changes go from 7,000 to 14,000 feet, and the running is not on trails all the time. It is serious backcountry running. I was so amazed that anyone would want to do the race. They only allow 150 people to run the race, but they get over 3,000 entrants to the lottery. The two men who won--they came in holding hands--finished in just under 23 hours. I saw the fourth guy who came in at just under 26 hours. And all together we watched the first woman finish. She came in at 29 hours, 2 minutes. I was blown away by their abilities. It was awesome to see them finish.
It was a wonderful trip and a great time with friends. I appreciate Maureen, Heidi, and Cinda and our friendship. They are amazing, fun, bright women and I'm honored to be able to associate with them. I think we need to plan our next trip away for early September.
To get to Silverton the way we went, you pass up and over the Million Dollar Highway. It is a scary bit of road. On one side is the towering steep mountain, and on the other is a steep ravine. The two lane road snakes up the mountain. So beautiful, but really nerve wracking. Just past the top, we had to stop for about 20 minutes. They were working on the road and because it's only two lane, they have to close one side. We all got out of the car and wandered around for a bit, stretching the legs and building a cairn by the side of the road. There were lots of cairns. This picture above was the view from the side of the road.
Silverton has an old cemetery on the hillside. Lots of old stone monuments and old markers that are no longer legible. It was an interesting cemetery and while Heidi drove us through on Friday afternoon, I leapt out and took pictures.
This statue was over the headstone of John Gerard Clancy who died in 2005. There was a quote from St. Teresa of Avila on it that said,
"Oh Death, Death I do not know who fears you, since life lies in you."
After Friday's dinner we went for a little walk. We came upon a monument honoring Italian immigrants from Trento who helped settle Silverton.
I saw lots of Italians buried in the cemetery, too.
Saturday morning Heidi and I were awake before Maureen and Cinda. We went out to see if any runners were coming in, and as we had about 40 minutes before the next guy was due, we drove up a canyon to see if we could see any wildlife. We were hoping for a moose. Or a beaver. No luck, however. We did see some deer way up high on the side of the mountain, and we saw a rock chuck, but even though we drove very close to a couple of beaver dams, the beavers were apparently still asleep. They aren't early risers, I guess. Just checked the internet, they aren't daytime creatures at all. They are nocturnal. We should have been there in the middle of the night.
I desperately wanted to see a beaver gliding through that clear water.
No. 4 guy on left, No. 1 woman on right.
He's Jeff Browning and she's Anna Frost
I saw this sticker on a window as we were waiting for Anna to come in.
That's pretty much how I feel about running.
We wandered around Silverton on Saturday morning and afternoon. We watched the train from Durango come in. We shopped. I helped Olivia, the daughter of a shop owner, retrieve a Lego bow from under the boardwalk. Then we drove up the canyon. Pictures as proof.
A bystander suggested that Heidi take a picture of my bum.
So she did.
I found it absolutely unnecessary.
And yet here I am, posting it on the blog.
Heidi's bum to come.
All the next pictures are from our drive up to Emma Lake, which is no longer a lake.
In this little glen is a small cemetery.
We stopped to see the headstones.
The road we were driving up to see the cemetery.
Have I mentioned the waterfalls coming down between every ridge?
As we were driving up, we passed several animal transport trucks.
Teki said they were likely taking sheep up the mountain for summer grazing.
As we drove, we saw them, hundreds and hundreds.
They made a lot of noise!
I promised Heidi's bum.
Field of wildflowers.
We drove up above the treeline.
Elevation between 11,000 and 12,000 feet.
A very large rock chuck that scampered across the mining remainders
and tucked himself under a railroad tie.
Snow blocking a mine entrance.
I'm taking a picture of Maureen taking a picture of Heidi.
After our beautiful drive, we did some more shopping, making sure we hit almost all the shops on Main Street. We had a delicious meal together, then took a short drive up above Silverton to a 16-foot tall statue of Jesus that stands on the mountain, called Christ of the Mines Shrine. It was put there in 1958 in the hopes that there would be a resurgence in mining during a depressed economic period. It was apparently successful as several new tunnels were started within months of its arrival. The view from the statue is beautiful, but the elevation at Silverton is so high, even the short hike up to the statue left me breathless. Heidi had me pull her up the mountain.
We spent the rest of the evening playing cards with Heidi's mom at her parent's house above their shop. We played Phase 10 and talked and laughed. I didn't take any pictures.
Sunday morning we all went to church. The branch is quite small though there were lots of visitors. A large family having a family reunion was there and they added a level of noise I'm certain the regular congregation is not used to. Heidi's mom had asked me to lead the singing which I happily did. Darren prepared and blessed the sacrament; Simon and Jack passed. We left after sacrament meeting, sad to be going. One more day would have been terrific. It was a delight to spend the weekend with my friends, and I'm grateful for the connections I have with Heidi, Maureen, and Cinda.
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