Road trippin’ today – the route was all in Colorado, Cortez to Durango to Silverton to Ouray to Montrose, to Grand Junction to Rangley.  There were mountain passes between all of them, or at least it seemed like it.  The passes went up to 11,000 feet, up and down and up and down.  The views were incredible throughout.

A couple of the towns are just little touristy places that have already closed up for the season, former mining towns back in the 1880’s when gold and silver were booming.  We stopped in Silverton to check out a couple of the little artisan shops that were still open.  The Enamel Shop was our first stop, I couldn’t figure out from the name what it was, so we went in.  Turns out it was jewelry, the guy in there was the artist, so I asked him to explain what he did.  All of the enameled jewelry is done on copper, then the design is laid on in powders that are then fired in a kiln.  If he wants lines, like a tree, he just takes the powder off so the copper shows through.  It was very cool.

My next stop was the Weathertop Wovens, a cute little shop that is run by a woman who seems to have a fear of the world.  No pictures allowed in the shop if they are going to end up on the internet.  I’m not sure why she feels that way, I can’t imagine what she thinks her competition is, but we respected her wishes.  She has two looms set up and a warping station.  They are incredibly done, hand made by her husband to meet their own specifications.  She had bolts of cotton fabric that she was weaving.  One was a scarf loom, that needs no edges finished, the second was a loom that wove bolts of fabric, then throughout the store were finished clothing that had been made with those fabrics.  Fantastic.  It was great to talk to her and hear her story.

I really enjoy artisans and craftsman and the work that is done is small towns and large cities all over the country.  The passion put in to their work is obvious in the time and dedication shown in their craft.