869. Silverton, San Juan County (CO55)

When I pulled into town, I saw a tower and thought to myself that I had arrived.  I was wrong; that was just City Hall.  The courthouse was more impressive, more like what I would have expected (or at least hoped) to find.  Once again, the streets were filled with muggles as Fourth of July fairs and frolicking continued.  I caught a glimpse of some kind of activity going on upriver from the courthouse, but I didn’t get close enough to learn what it was.  It must have been important because of the number of people intent on it, even some far from the action.  I feel I must note something about Silverton: the inhabitants seemed to have the survival instincts of lemmings.

Luckily for me, someone placed a cache by the courthouse at a museum devoted to the Old Hundred gold mine, the original miners of the area, and their collective history.  Unfortunately, I was sent off on a wild goose chase across the street, either because the coordinates were wrong or the reception was wonky; I’m not sure.  Luckily, a recent finder posted a photo of the cache and, based on the surroundings, I was able to intuit where it was actually hidden and quickly make the find. 

Once I was done, I began to pull out of the courthouse parking lot towards the street when a pack of ten people decided they needed to meet and catch up in front of my stopped vehicle.  I sat for about five literal minutes as they paid the car next to them (me) no heed.  Eventually they all drifted away and I was able to turn. I figured I’d let the moment go as a weird little one off.  When the family pushing the baby stroller decided to cross the street without looking, that thesis was blown out of the water.  Yet another reason I don’t care for muggles, folks.  But that no longer mattered.  I drove back onto 550, this time able to enjoy some of the views since the road wasn’t trying to kill me, until I arrived in…