I’m dreaming of a…

Whenever I visit Silver Plume I think to myself, “Does this place really EXIST?!?” and, “Did I actually spend a good bit of my childhood HERE?!?” It’s absolutely amazing. Silver Plume is an old mining town about ten miles from the Continental Divide (which is also an amazing phenomenon). Back during the silver boom in the late 1800’s, thousands of minors filled the tiny valley, out to make their fortune. Now Silver Plume is the home to just 200 souls, and no-one works the mines. I grew up climbing around the mine tailings with the other kids in town, and cruising up and down the dirt roads on our mountain bikes. We played a lot of baseball in the summer, and did a lot of sledding in the winter. Our parents drank at the Plume Saloon, and when that place went under, Grumpy’s Roadhouse soon replaced it. We would run around the bar, annoying the adults, drinking Shirley Temples with extra cherries.
Back then I knew every person and every pet in town. I still do, for the most part. When I give tours to Denver friends, I have to stop myself from telling them who lives in each house we pass. It’s sort of boring information for visitors, I think. But I pride myself on knowing anyway.
This is the first time since 1991 that my dad has been in America for Christmas. He generally spends the winter months in Antarctica teaching cold weather survival to scientists. But he didn’t go down this year, and I’m so glad. Silver Plume is full of traditions, and “midnight mass” on Christmas Eve is one of them. It starts at 10pm, after drinks at Troy and Cassandra’s house (they are Mennonites). It’s a funky service, with lots of singing and laughing, but also warm messages and wishes for peace. After it’s all done, the town heads to Grumpy’s for some holiday cheer. There will be lots of guitars, fiddles, penny whistles, and maybe a banjo or two.
Doesn’t this all sound totally fake? Silver Plume is like a time capsule, or a a weird novel that requires the ultimate suspension of disbelief. But it’s real! I’m here, living it right now! And it’s cold! And windy! Pipes are frozen, and my dad set up a little bed in the kitchen because it’s the warmest room in his house. And I slept there last night! It happened! I’m telling the truth! I wish you could all come here, come see. Check out my my flickr page for a little glimpse, anyway.
Merry Christmas, wherever you are, past, present, or future.