Impression Evergreen

"Silverton Colorado" Colored Pencil Silverton, Colorado sits in a deep valley enclosed by enormous mountains. Presiding over the highest district in the United States, the San Juan County Courthouse is seated just above cement creek. Clear and cold, the spring runoff rushes over a rocky creek bed and out of the foreground. Stretching ever skyward, the stately structure bears a striking resemblance to the silvery peaks that surround it. With an air of unnatural perfection, a grouping of cylindrical pine trees stands at attention. A rickety bridge is a surprisingly sturdy link between architecture and the alpine tundra. The rustic buildings are as colorful as the town's storied past. Silverton is a former mining camp that was characterized by a rough and rowdy bunch. This melting-pot of personalities partook in a variety of unseemly activities, such as drinking, gambling, prostitution and robbery to name a few. Distinguished by turbulent weather and long, severe...

U.S. Grant Peak Colorado became the 38th state to join the Union on August 1, 1876. President Ulysses S. Grant issued the proclamation. Today, the massive U.S. Grant Peak forms a dramatic backdrop for glittering Ice Lake Basin. Mirrored in Island Lake, the rugged mountain reflects the personality of the man to whom it owes its name. From unexceptional beginnings, General Grant moved up through the ranks during the Civil War. He eventually commanded all Union armies and accepted Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox, Virginia. Championed as a popular war hero, Grant easily won the presidency in 1868. His administration proved disappointing though, as his two terms were marred by scandals and substantial charges of corruption. Late in life, Grant contracted throat cancer. Racing against time, he completed a two volume, tour de force of Personal Memoirs. Written in pencil on lined pads of writing paper, the work is considered one of the most resolute accounts of war in Amer...

Christ of the Mines Shrine in Silverton High above the clouds in the lofty San Juan Mountains, the Great Redeemer has forgiven the town of Silverton for its wicked ways. Silverton was a major player during the gold and silver rush that steamrolled through Colorado during the late 1880s. The frontier outpost was a "Sin City" where gambling, boozing and prostitution, ran rampant. Later, when the price of silver collapsed, Silverton seemed destined to suffer the same fate as the other played-out mining camps in the area. Out west, frontier justice prevails so the community would probably vanish, becoming just another ghostly reminder of the glory days. By the 1950s, the town was struggling to survive. Father Joseph Halloran spearheaded a proposal to erect a shrine honoring Christ that would be dedicated to the miners. A last, desperate attempt to revitalize the dispirited community, it would be located on the barren Anvil Mountain just north of the equally lifeless town....

Animas Forks “Wherever nature has planted her richest treasures, neither heights or depths can withhold them from the grasp of man.” ~ The Omaha Commercial Record, September 1883 In February of 1884 a 23 day blizzard buried the small mining town of Animas Forks, Colorado under 25 feet of snow. Most of the residents had migrated down to Silverton for the winter. The handful of flinty miners who chose to stay did what miners do. They dug. The men created a network of tunnels that connected the buildings and they spent the entire month of March in a cold, underground city. At 11,200 feet, Animas Forks is a stunning landscape but it’s downright inhospitable. The rush for gold lured prospectors to seek their fortune in the rugged San Juan Mountains of Southwestern Colorado. The hazardous topography was not a discouragement if they could just strike it rich in the end. After stories about the valuable discoveries spread, “greenhorns” poured into the region. Once claims were filed, m...