 |
| Sometimes being a cowboy is a lonely life. (click to enlarge) |
For me, eating in Silverton does not bring back good memories. The last time I ate in Silverton I became very sick. In fact, I was sick for almost a month with flu-like symptoms. I spent the rest of that Colorado trip lying across the back seat of a minivan, occasionally asking my wife to hurriedly pull over as my stomach contents were imminently going to leave my stomach! A few days later I flew back to Virginia still sick and, as I said, I was sick for almost a month. What caused it? I don't know but I was the only one of our family to drink a glass of ice water in the restaurant while the rest of them drank canned soft drinks. All else among us was similar. Was that a coincidence or did I maybe catch something from the water, the restaurant or elsewhere in town. I don't know. But, eating again in Silverton was not something to which I was looking forward.
That illness still being fresh in my mind, my wife and I decided to eat at the Brown Bear Cafe. Eating in Silverton may have had nothing to do with my illness, but if it had, what are the chances of a repeat? In fact, The Brown Bear Cafe is a block of the "other" restaurant! Oh yes. I remember it. I was leery. I didn't order "ice water with no lemon," as it my custom when I eat out. I ordered a bottled soft drink, just to hedge my bet. In the end, all was fine. Maybe my phobia of eating in Silverton has finally subsided.
No on to the image above.
While sitting at our table adjacent to this bar, this cowboy walked in the front door, walked right to the bar, sat down by himself and ordered a drink. During our time sitting behind him, I didn't see anyone, other than the bartender, acknowledge him, greet him or him say anything to anyone else. He seemed to be alone. I liked the scene before me—lone cowboy sitting at old wooden bar, semi slumped over. The only "camera" I had with me in the restaurant was the one in my phone so I picked up my phone and shot a few DNG images of him sitting there. I use the camera in the Lightroom Mobile app. I like the fact that I can shoot a defacto RAW image. This image is one was the sharpest, considering the low level of light and me handholding the phone, trying to be inconspicuous.
I don't know this cowboy's story. He may have a large family that live nearby or he may be a hermit. He may live in town or he may have just been passing through. One really can't tell and "out west," you really don't get into other people's business by asking.
We had out lunch (it was tasty) and walked out into the sunshine where, as we crossed the town's main street, I made the image below.
I've been to Silverton three or four times now. On the surface, it appears as though nothing much has changed. But it has. Large numbers of people now have discovered it. The main street is still the only paved street as it is the main highway through town. All the side streets are still dirt and gravel. Traffic is pretty heavy now. Also, the businesses have changed mainly to cater to the tourist trade and millennials. The older businesses that mainly catered to locals are now gone. I truly hope Silverton doesn't lose any more of the character I first found there in 1994. Oh, by the way, lest I forget, the people of Silverton are polite, helpful and friendly. I will go back to visit in the future. Nice place.
 |
| Silverton, Colorado's main street—Greene St.—the only paved street in town. The rest are dirt and gravel. This view looks NNE. (click to enlarge) |
Thanks for looking. Enjoy!
Dennis A. Mook
All content on this blog is © 2013-2019 Dennis A. Mook. All Rights Reserved. Feel free to point to this blog from your website with full attribution. Permission may be granted for commercial use. Please contact Mr. Mook to discuss permission to reproduce the blog posts and/or images.
No comments:
Post a Comment