Day 7

Today we drove to Silverton to rent a jeep in order to explore some of the back country areas. On the way to Silverton, we stopped at several places to see the views and the SNOW.

This is Silverton (the entire town) just before you come down from the mountains. This little town is so intriguing to me. There are between 400-500 people who live there year round. Others come there to live and work for the summer. We were told today that the Durango Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad is the only reason the town is still there. The train does not run all the way to Silverton in the winter because of the snow, so the town pretty much shuts down. There are only three restaurants that stay open all year.

Off on our adventure...

Mallory took many of these pictures - she did a great job.

This was a really cool waterfall. We were getting sprayed by the mist coming off of it.

It was cold enough for the mist to freeze on the grass nearby.

This may have been my favorite spot - it was so beautiful.

Tim brought this hat home from Russia for Mason. He kind of looks like a fly here, doesn't he?

We went to Animas Forks - an old ghost town. It was really interesting to read about the history of the old place.

The old homes were neat to see.

Mallory really wanted to sled. She tried to find things to sled on...wood, a piece of metal siding....Mason first tried to help push her....

Then he tried to pull her. Sadly, nothing worked.

We have been wanting to see some wildlife so badly. As we were coming down the mountain, this guy walked into the road to eat something that was in the middle of the highway. It was a two lane road, and he was right next to us. He was not scared at all. He did not even move for the cars. We are not exactly sure what he is. Anyone know?

We are sad that tomorrow is our last day here. We left it open as a day to do anything we want. We are hoping to find a place to play some frisbee golf. In the evening we are going to a dinner/western show.