Last stop before home: Silverton, CO

I've spent a lot of time here over the years. My now ex-husband has an art gallery there over the summer and I used to go visit. It has been several years since I've been there and it was good to be back. Silverton is an old mining town that is now inhabited by about 300 residents and sits at 9,300 feet elevation. Silverton is home to the Hardrock 100 mile endurance run.

I pulled in on Thursday night after driving all day from Golden. I got rained on here and there and the weather was supposed to be cold, rainy and possibly snowy on Friday.

I got up and went to the local Silverton Movement Center and took a Kettlebell class. Marianne is the owner and she is great. I've taken spin classes there in the past. 

The weather turned out better than I thought and I got in 2 hikes. The first one was along the Animas river with Taos (Ken's dog - used to be ours). We were happy to see each other! She is a good dog. I have done a lot of runs along here, because it is so beautiful! Also, the Silverton marathon runs along here as well, which I did several years ago. We did about 4 miles.


The Animas River and my new pink hat



Little slice of heaven

 

I miss that Taos dog. She is so sweet and can run like the wind.

Lots of snow on the mountains already

Afterwards, I did some small town shopping (Mountain Calling outdoor store going out of business) and eating (Avalanche Cafe - yummy!)

It rained for a little mid-day, but cleared up in time to enjoy a little more Silverton outdoors.  I went on another short hike with Kenny, Taos and Elvis. Elvis is possibly looking for a home - we may be taking him.

Taos and Elvis

This hike was along the snowshoe trail, which I have run before as well. It is in a beautiful forested area, but crosses a lot of runoff streams and can get pretty muddy when it has been raining. It wasn't bad today, though. People have built some wood crossings to deal with some of the bigger ones.

A cool little structure is out there - not sure what it is?

Looking down into Silverton past old mining remains

After that, I went back to Avalanche Cafe, had some tea and got caught up on email. I went back to Bill and Cindy's house, where I stayed both nights, and got ready for the return trip home. I drove out early on Saturday morning, looking forward to the reunion with Dallas.

The drive from Silverton to Durango was rainy and foggy. Ken reported that it was raining and snowing on Saturday in Silverton, so I just missed the bad weather. The leaves are turning - a sign of Winter's approach.

Colorado, it is hard to leave you! I'll be back. Dallas and I are thinking of doing Pike's Peak Ascent or Marathon next year (in Colorado Springs) and there is word of a 50 miler brewing in Silverton next year.

I'm a Mountain Girl, for sure.






About an hour before you arrive in Tucson, in Mammoth, AZ, the Corker's One Stop comes into view. I've never stopped there.

All I can say is that there may be another Corker out there, but not another Pinkcorker. :)