The streets of Ferguson, Missouri, are filled with a sadness and anger.

The remnants of the brutality that unfolded last August in the town of 21,000 can still be seen today former bustling businesses now sit silent, their smashed storefront windows hidden behind painted plywood. Within the streets, small reminders of the riots and demonstrations are ingrained in the asphalt, but overall, an eerie quietness now fills the air.On a chilly December afternoon, Carol Snyder walked down South Florissant Road, snapping photos of the destruction with her cellphone and working through a number of emotions that flowed through her body with each passing moment.From sadness to excitement to uneasiness and disgust, the Lehighton woman worked through them all as she walked the desolate streets, only encountering one other person an Associated Press journalist during her half-hour adventure to a place where a teenager lost his life and a police officer lost his livelihood."I had so many emotions driving there," she said, explaining that she was in the St. Louis area with her husband visiting family when the couple decided to make the 10-mile journey to Ferguson. "Getting there and driving down Florissant Road and seeing the burned buildings and the plywood on the storefronts from the looting and rioting was overwhelming and I felt sadness and a little bit of anger."Snyder had watched the turmoil that ensued along this very street on CNN. The riots were a result of officer Darren Wilson fatally shooting 18-year-old Michael Brown.The tragedy occurred on Aug. 9, when Wilson was responding to a report of a robbery. While responding to the call, he encountered Brown and a friend and some type of confrontation occurred, resulting in Brown's death by Wilson's service weapon.In the days that followed, Ferguson's once quiet neighborhood transformed into chaos as infuriated residents set fires, rioted and looted the business district of the place they called home.To Ferguson?Snyder's decision to travel to Ferguson began through a poll "To Ferguson or not to Ferguson" that she posted on her Facebook page.After finding out they were only 10 miles away from the area during their vacation, she pondered if she should take the risk or not."If it was 100 miles away, I wouldn't have gone, but it wasn't," Snyder said. "I watched it unfold and now to have the opportunity to go there and see it firsthand. I couldn't pass that up."I am one who is curious and just wanted to go and experience it myself. I wanted to experience what those people must have felt. It was overwhelming."Her poll showed that her friends felt Snyder should not take the risk and urged her not to go, but curiosity got the best of her.To Ferguson!Three days went by before Snyder said to her husband, "Let's take a ride."The pair then made the emotion-filled journey into a town that Snyder said could be "Anytown, USA.""It was a rural little town to me, almost like around here," she said. "But there were so many emotions that came as we drove into that town."As they drove down South Florissant Road, anger filled Snyder at the way the people acted toward law enforcement."Every day tens of thousands of law enforcement are out protecting and serving us, and when I watched all this on CNN and saw the law enforcement being attacked, I thought to myself how could this happen in the United States? I do believe in freedom of speech and peaceful demonstrations, but the whole situation was very bad."As Snyder's husband slowly drove down the street, Snyder felt the desire to get out of their car.She asked him to pull over, and after a little persuasion, he did."It was quiet," Snyder said about standing on the street, adding that she saw ribbons tied along the railings to remember and support the parties involved. "It was just me in the road and so many mixed emotions standing there in front of the buildings."There was sadness because there was a loss of life, and as a mother, I couldn't imagine the pain and anguish that the Brown family is going through, but then on the other hand, officer Wilson's life was ruined," she said. "You don't walk in their shoes so we don't know how he felt, if he felt threatened, so how do you judge him?"Standing in front of one of the strip malls, Snyder said a prayer for the Wilson and Brown families.Seeing both sidesSnyder said she was brought up to respect law enforcement so the events following this tragedy still bother her."The police are there to help us," she said. "I truly believe this wasn't a racial issue, even though it has been made out to beone."She said she believes the last thing a police officer thinks about when he or she goes out on shift is to pull their gun.But at the same time, her heart aches for Brown's mother."I couldn't imagine the heartache that mother is going through right now. It is devastating for the family."I hope for peace for the family and for the people of Ferguson because they are so torn," Snyder said. "With a nation and world so unsettled, we need to stand united and not divided."