このキャンプ-じょうは、もっともふうこうめいびなばしょにあります。- This campground is located

in the most scenic spot. 🏕

This is a continuation of my summer camping trip journal, day 5 (Part 12):

The Million Dollar Highway descends into a valley dotted with remains from the mining days on the other side of Red Mountain pass. At last, we reached the town of Silverton. Our campground was just a few minutes away. We settled in and had a relaxing evening sitting by the campfire.

I wanted to wake up early the next day, but I wasn't able to rouse myself until the sun was way up. Still, the views were just grandiose. The campground is situated on a small lake at 3200 meters. The campsites are spread apart and tall pine trees provide shade. It's a beautiful setting. I have wanted to camp there since I first spotted the lake on a trip about 16 years ago. I finally made it happen!

The plan for the day was to drive to Silverton to do a little sightseeing and then to return to the campground for some kayaking and perhaps a hike.

The last photo is the Grand Imperial Hotel in Silverton. Opened in 1883, it was the largest structure south of Denver and housed the county government, newspaper, post office, general store and a bank among others. It has been nicely renovated and still operates today.

Silverton is perhaps the Colorado town with the biggest Old West flair to me. Certainly having a historic railroad lead into town contributes to that, you can see the train tracks on the second to last image. I shall have more to say about Silverton (and the railroad) in the next episode...