The Okie Legacy
Oakie's Heart To Heart

Silverton reminds us of the importance of mining to settling the West and building the USA into one of the world-class powers it is today.

BUT... Let us not forget the Ute Indians that were the first people to enjoy the beauty and bounty of the area of western Colorado as they made their summer camps throughout the mountains in this area.

After the Ute Indians came the Spanish explorers from Mexico followed by the American trappers and traders. All were merely passing through and made no permanent settlements.

It was Charles Baker that led a party of prospectors into the pristine mountain valley in 1860 where talk began to establish mines and towns in what was still considered Ute Territory. The Civil War interrupted those plans. It was in 1873 when the Brunot Treaty was negotiated with Chief Ouray of the Utes that miners came to the San Juans in huge numbers.

Back then, people came to Baker's park by way of Stony Pass on foot or with a trusty mule. More than 1,500 mining claims had been staked by 1873. In 1874, the town of Silverton was incorporated, one year before Colorado became a state. It wasn't until 1876 that Silverton (a.k.a. Bakers) was named the county seat of San Juan county, taking that distinction away from Howardsville (now a ghost mining town, 5 miles NE of Silverton in the Animas Canyon).

According to the legend, the name Silverton came about because a miner (Charles Baker) supposedly said: "We may not have much gold, but we've got silver by the ton." Like all myths, some say that the quotation is more fiction than fact. They have never been able to substantiate that legend, but it does make for a good story.

Wild Iris, Blue Flag (Iris Missouriensis)... We traveled up to an open meadow area on Middle Mtn. to find this birds-eye view of this delicate Wild Iris blooming in theopen meadow areas which are very moist in the spring. You can catch their blooming season from May to July in the foothills and Montane elevations.

If you click on the photo, you can get another view of this Wild Iris (Blue Flag).The "Rocky Mountain Wildflowers Pocket Guide" says this flower is "an unmistakable blue-purple flower, with three erect petals and three drooping orange-streaked sepals." It has basal, narrow, tough and pointed leaves nearly as tall as the stalk. It grows 8-20 inches and the flowers are 2-4 inches wide.

Did you know that this delicate daisy is just a few of the daisys' that are a member of the Astor family?

Trailing Daisy, Whiplash Daisy (Erigeron flagellaris)... grows from 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide from May to July in the Plains all the way to the Montane elevations. You can find these in common open, sunny sites, such as meadows and roadsides. The flower is a small composite flowers with a yellow center and very numerous thin rays that are white on top and pinkish below. After they finish blooming early in the summer, the plant forms numerous runners that spread along the ground and start new plants.

What we found on our journey was the green of the meadows, pines, aspen and valleys sprinkled with the sunshine of the yellow dandelions and other colors of wildflowers that were scattered throughout the roadsides, meadows, and valleys.

It wasn't just wildflowers, green mountain meadows we were in search of and found. It was to experience the history of the old coal-fired, steam-powered, iron horses and vintage coaches that travel the route that the miners and visionaries carved out of the Rocky Mountains, high above the rushing Animas River. AND... the Animas was rushing with fresh water from the abundance of melting snows they had this Winter.

Have you ever been up towards Silverton or Durango? If you have then you have probably booked the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge railroad coal-fired, steam-powered, iron horses that take modern day visionaries and history buffs along the Animas river between the two cities. They say the Fall tour with the changing of the foliage is a spectacular site to see. This photo was taken as I stuck my head outside the one of the open coaches in the middle of the train just after the the train had finished filling up with water from the Animas River.

Actually, we booked, climbed aboard a Motorcoach bus at Durango around 10:15am for a 1-1/2 hour trip to Silverton over the million-dollar highway. We arrived in Silverton around noon after a 5-minute stop at Molass pass.