Silverton -1

Friday morning. Jason and I took a 4wd tour. Driver, Joe, and his faithful black-lab sidekick, Charlie, took us and a married couple from Memphis on a two-hour round trip to Clear Lake, situated in a high-mountain bowl just above timberline. The tour vehicle was an 85 Suburban, with its top removed, so we could stand up and get the best views.




When we got to the tour office, Joe was trying to alleviate Memphis-Paula's fears that she would die on the mountain, either from lack of oxygen or by rolling down it. He and Memphis-John played good cop (Joe) bad cop (John) successfully and off we went. For the most part she enjoyed the trip. Here are a few pictures:

All bodies of water surrounded by rocks call for rock-skipping and -throwing:

This waterfall flows out of Clear Lake.



One thing we learned: gold and silver mines in the Rockies are generally near the peaks. In contrast, in the California mountains, gold, especially, was found in streams. The difference is due to the age of the mountains. The Rockies are relatively young -- the gold hasn't yet been washed down into the canyons and streams below, while it has in the older CA mountains.

A Silverton slogan is "Experience life as it should be." Our driver fit that mode. He said he moved here a few years ago hoping to buy a tour concession. In the meantime, he started doing contract tour-driving and by doing that found out how much paperwork was required for running a tour business and decided no way. He and Charlie are living the good life just the way it is.

And, so, come to think of it, are we.

Cheers,

Rob, Susie, and Jason