Silverton & Red Mountain Pass, CO (9/11/2016)

Brother Tom and SIL Windy arrived late Friday night for a short visit.  Since their flight was into Grand Junction, it was very late by the time we got to Montrose.  That, along with a few good football games on TV, meant we didn't want to go far afield that Saturday.  This was accomplished by visiting some of my favorite stores, including consignment and antique shops, right here in town.

On Sunday, we made the trek to Ouray, then Silverton where we had a nice lunch to go along with some serious window shopping.  I've reached the conclusion that Silverton is the best town in the area for shopping, as they have a good variety of products that appeal to me. They also have some great art galleries, as well.

On the way home, we made a short detour into the South Mineral Creek area to take advantage of the good light occurring at that time.  I wanted to cross the creek and get a photo up the valley, but there was a "No Trespassing" sign just short of where I wanted to be.  So, I settled for this photo showing the "Private Property" by the stream.  It also shows how much color change has already occurred.  I'll be out to get photos of fall color pretty soon.

 
Next we took a longer detour, driving some old mining trails that pass a number of abandoned mine sites, not to mention some gorgeous scenery.

 Along the way, we spotted a red-tail hawk and several gray jays, aka "camp robbers".

The Brooklyn Mine was started in 1900 and continued sporadically for many years.  Located at 11,500 feet, it produced mainly gold, but also about twenty other minerals.

As we climbed up over 12,000 feet, there were many views of mountains sporting some of their fall colors. 

 The house shown in the next photo is for sale, so you might want to move quickly and make an offer.