Silverton, Colorado

A landslide closed highway 550 north of Silveron, but by the time I got there it was open an hour each day from 12:30 - 1:30. Fortunately, I arrived at exactly 1:30. The gatekeeper noted the time and said it'd open again at 6:30 p.m. 

I drove back into town and, completely out of reading material, was pleased to walk out of the library with seven books from the Books For Sale. I went once around the square looking for arrows to replace the ones I've lost or damaged in my new hobby and now bored, took the road NE out of town toward the Mine Tour. As I came off the hill I turned onto a dirt road that paralleled the river. I followed it for a couple of miles until I came to a bridge. On the other side it was a steep climb.

I drove as far as I could and parked. After a short walk I followed a side road down into a valley. Below are pictures. 

There is a camping area in front of the horizontal "gate" blocking the two-track. It's nothing more than a parking spot. 14 day limit. The house is behind the grove of aspen on the right.  

The view from below the porch.

I'll always be grateful to that highway woman. If she'd said, "It's exactly 1:30, you may go." I'd have missed out.

The next day the highway was completely open.



Requisite Train Vid......

For those who may be considering taking the train, here's a beautiful video I found on Youtube...