Silverton, Ouray and Telluride

After 7 nights in Durango we moved a whopping 51 miles to Silverton on Tuesday Aug 7.  We parked at Silver Summit RV Park for 2 nights.   The facilities are nice, but the sites are a little too close together.  My neighbor's picnic table on the driver's side was so close I had to walk around it on his site to get from one storage bay to the next.  As much vacant land as there is in this area, I don't understand why they can't give you some elbow room at the camp sites.

Our camp in Silverton

In spite of the crowded sites, the owners at Silver Summit were great folks.  The owner's sister lives in Winston-Salem.

Sardines with a view: Great view from camp if you can see past your neighbor's rig

Silverton Colorado is a former mining camp that has a population of only 630 people, but has two brew pubs, several dozen saloons and at least one cannabis shop.   Party on!  It is located at EL 9318', so what it lacks in oxygen, it makes up in spirits.  The overnight temperatures while we were here were in the upper 30s.  It was refreshing.

Avalanche Brewing Company

This was our second visit to Silverton.  A few days back we took the train here from Durango.  We only had about 2 hours then to spend in town, and we squandered half of that time in the Golden Block Brewery.  On this trip we visited the other brew pub, Avalanche Brewing Company.

Avalanche Brewing is a rather casual place with a limited brew list

Matilda met some locals, including a red merle Aussie named Canyon 

There is an excellent museum in Silverton, the San Juan County Historical Society Mining Heritage Center.  It would be easy to spend all day in the museum.

Anyone for a hand of poker?

The old jail is at the museum site

Work table in the mining exhibit

Wooden mining car on wooden rails

I think Ran would like this

"Consul" the Educated Monkey was a multiplication tool for children circa 1915

Silverton is an off-roading Mecca and allows unregistered 4-wheelers on town streets

Rentals galore

Denver & Rio Grande RR cattle cars and Anvil Mountain 

Loitering on the streets of Silverton

The bar at the Grand Imperial Hotel

While in Silverton calamity struck:  our microwave oven died!  Well actually, the display lights up, the motors and fans run and the convection function still works.  It just won't heat on the microwave function.  You don't realize how much you depend on your microwave oven until it's gone.  The direct replacement model will cost over $1100.  There are less expensive over-the-range convection models for about half that, but none are readily available to us.   Perhaps we will buy a cheap countertop model to get us home, but it will be about 5 days before we pass through a town where we can get even do that.

On Thursday, Aug 9 we departed Silverton and headed over the next pass to Ouray Colorado. In order to reach Ouray we had to negotiate US 550, known as the Million Dollar Highway and is considered to be one of the most dangerous highways in the world.

From Wikipedia:

• "Though the entire stretch has been called the Million Dollar Highway, it is really the twelve miles south of Ouray through the Uncompahgre Gorge to the summit of Red Mountain Pass which gains the highway its name. This stretch through the gorge is challenging and potentially hazardous to drive; it is characterized by steep cliffs, narrow lanes, and a lack of guardrails; the ascent of Red Mountain Pass (El 11,018') is marked with a number of hairpin curves used to gain elevation, and again, narrow lanes for traffic—many cut directly into the sides of mountains. During this ascent. Travel north from Silverton to Ouray allows drivers to hug the inside of curves; travel south from Ouray to Silverton perches drivers on the vertiginous outside edge of the highway. Large RVs travel in both directions, which adds a degree of excitement (or danger) to people in cars."

The Million Dollar Highway

Click HERE for a stunning video of our drive on the Million Dollar Highway.  The worst part of the drive for me were the squeals, hisses, howls and screams from Dorcas.

The origin of the name Million Dollar Highway is disputed. There are several legends, though, including that it cost a million dollars a mile to build in the 1920s, and that its fill dirt contains a million dollars in gold ore.  I think it is for the value of life insurance you should buy before driving over the pass.

This is a snow shed to protect the road and vehicles from rock fall and avalanche 

There are seventy named avalanche paths that intersect US 550 in the 23 miles between Ouray and Silverton.

Click HERE to view a video showing the switchbacks on our descent into Ouray.  I love my "Jake" brake!  I was able to essentially coast down the hill in 2nd gear, just occasionally tapping the service brake.

Approaching Ouray from the south on US 550

Ouray is named after Chief Ouray, a great Ute Indian Chief, "a friend of the white man and protector to the Indians."  It was formed as a mining district, and at one time there were more than 30 active mines.  The entirety of Main Street is registered as a National Historic District with most of the buildings dating back to the late nineteenth century.  In the fall of 1968 the film True Grit was filmed in Ouray County, including some scenes in the city of Ouray.   Ouray is also known as "Switzerland of America".

Our home for the next three nights

Ouray is the proclaimed "Jeep Capitol of the World".  I believe it.

Dorcas and Matilda at the office at Ouray RV Park

Our camp in Ouray

While the sites were fairly small there was a nice common area and walkway behind the sites

Downtown Ouray

Matilda smacks down Harley Two-chip (another Aussie) at the park

Click HERE to see a video of Matilda and three friends at play.

Uncompahgre River

More of downtown Ouray

"Daddy, I think you eddy on the left"

That's one way to do it.

One day we took a day trip to Telluride. As the crow flies Telluride in only about 8 miles from Ouray. One can drive to Telluride over the Imogene Pass with a 4-wheeler, but by paved highway it is about 60 miles.

The San Miguel River near Telluride

Downtown Telluride

The Galloping Goose

Typical jeep rig with rack for cooler and extra gas cans

So sad!

From downtown Telluride you can take a free tram up to Mountain Village, the ritzy town at the top of the mountain above Telluride near the ski area

View of Telluride from the tram

A plaza at Mountain Village

There was a free concert at Mountain Village

Meanwhile back in Ouray:

The Historic Western Hotel

Saloon at the Historic Western

You just can't visit Ouray without taking a jeep ride.  The area has dozens of 4-wheel trails going in all directions and across a number of high passes.  We considered renting a jeep, but ultimately decided to take a half-day tour.

Technically our ride was not a jeep, but a Dodge Ram 2500 with the bed removed and replaced with open-air seating.

Oncoming traffic

Steep and narrow!

We explored Governor's Basin and Sydney Basin and drove to about 12,800 feet elevation.

We picked a gorgeous day

Click HERE to see a video of our steep and twisty ride down the trail.

Broken jeep

On our way back down the mountain we met another tour jeep that had broken down.  With two broken leaf springs, it wasn't going anywhere.  There was no cell service and no other radio communication available.  Our guide had room for one more passenger, so he took one of their group back down the mountain and would relay news of the problem when he got back to town.  The others were forced to stay and wait for help.

All the jeep trails led to both active and abandoned mine sites up in the mountains. We stopped at one mine shaft near the road and went in for a peek.

"Hoo doos"

Jim was our guide

Towards the end of the ride, Jim let it all hang out, and we fairly flew down a smooth section of trail with steep drop-offs on the right side.  Click HERE to see a video of that ride. 

Sometimes folks don't come back

We spent three nights in Ouray.  Today we will continue north to Montrose, where we will likely buy a cheap microwave oven, and spend the next night in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.