Firstly-

Crested Butte was just as beautiful as I remember it. At first appearing quaint- until you realize all that charm is strategically staged- in a lot of new buildings being specifically built to coordinate with the older ones.

Still delightful- but a tidge out of our price range.

In comes Silverton. Everyone should move to Silverton- but only after I've moved there- so I'll still be able to afford a house.


As I explained it in an e-mail to a friend-

"There is nothing in Silverton- except some abandoned mines, pretty old buildings, and an extreme ski area (extreme mtn bike area a few months a year) and a few B and B's. The state of Colorado has actually declared it one of about a dozen "Enterprise Zones" where they'll give you tax breaks if you start a business there. It's the only town in the county- the county has a population of 540.

It's situated between two passes, both above 10,000 feet. So every once in a while you'll have a day or two between January-March where you can't leave the town in either direction. The average temperature in winter at night is negative 20 to 20 degrees. Winter day is negative 20 to 60 degrees. Summer night is 20 to 40 degrees and summer day is 20 to 80 degrees.

However- it's only 50 miles to Durango- which gives you someplace to buy groceries (tourists take an old narrow gauge train from Durango to Silverton- which supplies the town with tourists from 11:15 to 3:30 pm everyday during the summer months).

Oh wait I forgot!!! In good Colorado tradition- it does have it's own micro-brewery :)"


It also has a Barbershop Music Festival (Telluride's Bluegrass Festival can eat its heart out). And possibly best yet- its small newspaper has a snarky backpage called The Caboose where they quote articles from 1898 and the like.


So- why don't you all just e-mail what size place you're looking for and I'll start figuring out who's going to live where- and don't worry- there's no shortage of housing- 2/3 of the town is for sale. (Including their classic old stone hotel from 1882- the one on the corner, with shops on the ground floor- you know what I mean- there's one of these in every old frontier town... though not Crested Butte oddly enough... and it's only 3 million- What a Steal!!!)





Okady- well. Anyway- this is my favorite picture of the "War Council". We were sitting around camp- and all of a sudden one of the boys mentioned he was getting out a map to look at the race course- and next thing you know there are four ladies sitting by themselves, and five boys running giddy over to look at the map- this is the view the ladies had of the whole affair-