So called when they built the road and a million dollars was a LOT of money.

This came up based on discussions of yesterday's post "Study In Old Wood" about Ironton. I believe I forgot to mention I'd like to have lived in Ironton during its heyday ... (just like a few other places I know of). Sometimes I have posts scheduled a few days ahead of time; sometimes I'm not sure what's coming up until time to prepare one. This is one that wasn't planned until I reviewed yesterday's post and comments. Yesterday's post was originally to be just the photo of the old siding ... but I got carried away.

The road passing by the Ironton site is now US550. Ironton is not far below the north side of Red Mountain Pass (11,000 ft) heading towards Ouray (7800ft); this photo is further north of Ironton, dropping down to Ouray ... if you make it.

Road's clear here; try it when it's snowy :)

"Although the road may be both treacherous and intimidating, adventurous drivers are rewarded with breathtaking views from the top."

"a 25 mile stretch of U.S. 550 that is consistently rated as one of the most scenic drives in the country. Red Mountain Pass is the highest point on that road. It is also one of the most dangerous sections during the winter, because of its steep grade and lack of guardrails."

Saw a family in a station wagon go off the road one winter. They went down about 400ft (known from the length of chains required to pull the car back up) but a conveniently-placed tree and snowbank kept them from going over the couple-hundred foot drop-off down to the Uncompahgre River. Only damage to the family was the need for a change of clothing.

This was the main route between the mining camps of Silverton, Charleston, Red Mountain and Ouray. A railroad came up from Silverton to Ironton but the terrain was too rough for rails down to Ouray. It was originally a toll road; the toll house was on the south side of Bear Creek Falls - this photo (1886) taken from roughly where the scenic turn-out is today. The Bear Creek Falls area is on my list of favorite places to be.

The state took the route over and rebuilt (and widened) the road in the 1920s. It's usually open all year but this is deep snow country and often the road is closed just above Ouray. Fascinating area in both scenery and history.

I was privileged enough to be able to live in both Silverton and Ouray for a short period of my life. Almost - not quite - settled in Ouray. As a friend once told me before she moved on: "You can't eat scenery".

Reader Tom Hyland left a couple of comments - which I didn't see - regarding an article he wished to share. He told me he had a message "Waiting moderation" or some such yet there was no notice of anything waiting for approval on the admin site.

Until I dug deeper and found his comments deep in a spam basket.

Now, I'm not sure how or why his comments ended up there - he's on the white list and some of his comments come through - but there they were. Unless the links were bad ... but Abbeville Institute should be OK (and I left the link live)

I moved them to where they belonged and approved them; his thoughts should now be visible in the Comments section of the post "Summer Flowers".

That problem's taken care of. I hope.
Sorry 'bout that Tom ...

What was interesting is the number of comments in the spam bucket that are obviously spam. It's amazing how "readers" from various places around the world use the exact same wordage in their thoughts.

A sample:

Thank you for your sharing. I am worried that I lack creative ideas. It is your article that makes me full of hope. Thank you. But, I have a question, can you help me?

I don’t think the title of your article matches the content lol. Just kidding, mainly because I had some doubts after reading the article.

Your article helped me a lot, is there any more related content? Thanks!Your point of view caught my eye and was very interesting. Thanks. I have a question for you.

Can you be more specific about the content of your article? After reading it, I still have some doubts. Hope you can help me.

The same phrases from multiple origins (or VPN swaps) and authors. Better than gibberish I suppose.

A sample of author's names:

Vytvorit osobní úcet

Dang k’y binance us

Index Home

There were many more similar comments and "author names" than these.

Now - if any of you are real people - I'm looking at you Index Home - let me know and I'll take you off the spam list. Maybe.
But don't use symbols in your name and don't use a bot IP address when you do so.

I lived for a time in Williamsburg, VA. A quiet little town dominated by "Colonial Williamsburg" - a "living history" outdoor museum made up of many of the structures of Williamsburg circa 1775 when it was the capital of the Virginia Colony. The museum attracts visitors from around the world; actors - many from adjacent William & Mary College - play roles of various characters of the pre-Revolution era. Although the museum has entrance fees, the streets are city-owned and not a legal entity of the museum. This means one may wander around Colonial Williamsburg for free with only entrance to some of the buildings and exhibits restricted. The taverns and shops are open to all.

Mrs DT and I would spend 4th of July at the site - special presentations went on all day. There were parades, exhibits, and historical speeches throughout the day, a reading of the Declaration of Independence from the Courthouse steps, a concert on the green at sunset, and of course, a fireworks show at dusk.

On the other hand, in a small town in Idaho - a farming town - one of the best fireworks shows I've attended takes place. For all the effort, expense, and professionalism of the big shows, the small towns seem to generate a more realistic celebration of the meaning of the day

Worth the 18 minutes:
Utube dot com/watch?v=m82nYY8Ywqo

Here's to y'all having a glorious 4th..

It's the time of year where everyone starts complaining about the heat. I just want to remind you of what's coming ... when everyone starts hoping July comes soon.