Day 20 - Ouray, CO (Day 2)

* Posted on Monday, September 2*

We visited this area on August 24, 2009 during our Southwest Trip.  It was a long, cool and rainy driving day that took us through Telluride, Ouray, Silverton and Durango.  It’s sunny and mild today.  We decided to revisit some of those memories in a more leisurely manner.

The Campground:

The campground was full last night and all a-buzz this morning. Campers were pulling out to return home or loading up ATVs and heading out for a day of off-roading.

Our Amish neighbors turned out to be of Mennonite faith, which explains the mystery of their pickup trucks, trailer, jeep, 2 ATVs, and many iPhones.  They packed up this morning as planned.  We were very impressed by the way the two parents and seven children worked together.

Telluride:

Telluride is very close as the crow flies.  Unfortunately, we couldn’t go that way.  Our route was 47 miles of up, down and curves.  One steep grade was more than 14 miles long.  We have to go that way again on Tuesday with the trailer.

Heading west on CO-62 ... the climb begins

Approaching Telluride on CO-145

We arrived on a busy weekend.  The city was celebrating Labor Day and a film festival.

Our first task was to revisit an earlier experience.  We searched for a restaurant called Maggie’s Bakery & Café because we'd had a wonderful breakfast there in 2009.  We couldn't find it.

Colorado St. - downtown Telluride

After a quick breakfast snack we took the free gondola ride to Mountain Village.

Telluride from gondola

And up we go

The view is pretty neat from up here

Mountain Village is on the other side of the mountain.  It’s an upscale place to play.

Carol at the gondola station

There are more than a few ski slopes here

They celebrated the film festival on both
sides of the mountain
(Robert Redford and Brad Pitt are here)

Pretty nice digs here

Views from a mid-way gondola stop
(between Mountain village & Telluride)

Ridgway:

The town of Ridgway is on the way from Telluride to Ouray.  We noticed they’re having a Labor Day Rodeo today and tomorrow.  We had hoped to see a rodeo someday.  It looks like tomorrow will be the day.

Ouray:
We stopped in Ouray for a nice lunch at O'Brien's Pub and then shopped at O'Toys Limited for a birthday gift for Kevin (Dick's soon to be 13 year old grandson).

Ouray is attractive

Beautiful flower baskets lined the main street

There are lots of lodging options

Million Dollar Highway:
We then took a short drive on the Million Dollar Highway.  The highway runs about 25 miles from Ouray to Silverton.  The twelve miles south of Ouray to the summit of the Red Mountain Pass is what gives the highway its name.  This stretch through the gorge is challenging and potentially dangerous to drive.  It's got steep cliffs, narrow lanes, hairpin curves and few guard rails.

The highway overlooks Ouray

There's a tunnel on the highway

And dramatic views

And parts that make passengers uncomfortable

Evening:

We took a walk through the park.  It's really big.

We met Ron & Patti Eubanks (formerly of Austin, TX) during the walk.  They have a beautiful 2012 Airstream Flying Cloud.  They are recently retired and are on the road full-time.  We had fun sharing stories and trailer tips.  It was interesting that they've met some of the Airstream owners we've met ... like Jack & Janice Hornbeck from Norfolk, VA (we met them in Golden on August 23rd).

We finished the day by watching "One Fine Day" with George Clooney and Michelle Pheiffer.