Re: Hurt feelings in Silverton

I spent a couple of hours in Silverton this past September coming up on the Photographer's Special. That was the first and only time I have been in Silverton.
My impressions: Yep...it's still a mining camp. But they are mining the pockets of the train riders. Now that isn't necessarily a derogatory comment; they have little else to do to make a livlihood. I was very unimpressed with the "gift shops" as most of them had the same old crap that a gift shop in any other part of the country has. I saw only a few truly Silverton-themed items. There was a train shop but they had mostly what I can buy anywhere else. I picked up several books at one shop and have enjoyed learning about Silverton's history and, as far as one book went, a sordid past. The one restaurant we ate in was rushed, very crowded but had acceptable food.
One suggestion I might make is to develop more "overnight stay trips". Put train riders there for 18 to 24 hours. They now will have to have lodging and dining facilities. Have some combined trips - combine with rafting or jeep trips. Horseback trips could also be an attraction.
It's tough to enjoy a place in two hours...one hour of which we spent eating. And develop some more locally-oriented gift stores or emporiums - the jewelry store and western clothing store were very nice. There's got to be some other shopping experiences that could be developed beyond the made-in-Taiwan-stamped-with-Silverton crap.

Towne Comee
San Antonio, Texas