Monday Jun 10 2013

Silverton: Silver by the ton, an old mining and
railroad town.

Arrived back in the mountains, finally
temperature is bearable again, and even when
the pass was 10,910 ft, no snow at all.

Magnificent scenic drive. Was this an UFO sighting ?
Or I just saw the light again :-)

The amazing thing was that 1000 times more
bicyclist where on the road. Just catched
the "Death Ride" 3-day's. Biking these mountains
232 miles, 16,500 ft elevation gain.
This is just astonishing. "Death" is the right word.
Death ride tour

Once in Silverton, and strolling downtown,
I checked out the 'Grumphy's saloon', and
next door the 'Grand Imperial hotel', an
1882 Victorian Hotel. I could not resist
and just booked a room for the night.

Did a small 6 miles hike on the mineral trail.
Target was 'ice lake'. But as most hikes, high
up in the mountains, I missed the lake. First
to much snow, then to much water, this time,
I missed the trail and went to Bandora mine.
Very nice hike, but missed again the 'lake'.

Now enjoying a good dinner in the cozy 1800's
Handlebars (mustache) saloon/restaurant.

On a hike, these are lama's trained as pack
animals. I was not dreaming, picture as proof.