MichelleI joined the San Juan Skyway Scenic Road in Cortez, CO (very southwest corner) and drove north to Ridgway, CO where I would be staying at Ridgway State Park. I only drove a portion of the San Juan Skyway route, but it was so beautiful the entire way. I think this drive is way up there with the Beartooth Hwy as one of my favorites for stunning beauty. The area around Dolores, CO and the Dolores River & Valley was so verdant and green that I wanted to get out and stay there forever! On this south side of the mountains, it was a beautiful sunny day. This was a two lane highway so no stopping to take pictures when I have a motorhome and tow car. At about the midway point, it clouded up and remained that way until I reached Ridgway. I didn’t spend much time in the town of Ridgway but it was very cute although tiny. The view was stellar with snowy mountains to the South and East. The state park was another 5 miles north from town and the views weren’t so great unless you were at the top part of the campground (I was not). I was super glad that I arrived around noon because shortly after getting set up in my campsite it started to snow. Just a flake here and there to start, but as time went on it got heavier. It was amazing to think I’d just come from sunny warm weather to Snow! It didn’t really stick but the snow continued through the afternoon and overnight. The mountains and hills all around had a fresh layer of snow the next morning! Luckily the lower areas melted fairly quickly and didn’t hinder my plans.
Most of us that are ‘older’ will remember an actor named Dennis Weaver. Little did I know, but he lived in Ridgway, CO and was an avid environmentalist. After his death, his family created an 80 acre wildlife preserve named after him and it resides in the eco-friendly subdivision he developed called RiverSage. The park is situated along side the Uncompahgre River with trails winding throughout the park. There are sculptures and placards with poems creating a place of reflection. There was an area set aside for prayer stones (see my pics) while windchimes tinkled in the breeze. I had a relaxing time wandering through this peaceful place. It was lovely!
I had two big sightseeing days in this area. The first was a trip to the mountain town of Ouray, CO. When I was in the Durango area, I drove a highway up to Silverton. That highway is called the Million Dollar Highway. At that time, I was only able to go as far as Silverton, since the road was closed for maintenance, etc. Part of my trip to Ouray was to finish the other half of the Million Dollar Highway. First, I did stop for several hours in Ouray which like many of these mountain towns was cute as a button. It is surrounded by mountains as well, and you can see Cascade Falls from downtown. Ouray has some beautiful old buildings and coupled with the mountain backdrop creates a stunning vision. I loved the ambiance of town but, after getting my fill of window shopping, continued my trip up the highway. I had read that this part of the highway from Ouray to Silverton was the ‘nail biting’ part of the highway. Narrow, winding, and straight down… no guardrails. Yep! Scary! It’s places like this where I’m thankful I chose a small car to bring along. I think it goes without saying that this side of the highway was just as stunning as the other side. There were some incredible waterfalls along the way. Some were heavy and rushing with water while others were streams running from the top of a mountain all the way to the valley below. No doubt these waterfalls wouldn’t have been so spectacular with that snow a couple days earlier.
The highest point of this highway is Red Mountain Pass at just over 11,000 feet. The Red Mountain Mining District encompassed over 5 miles in area and included 40 mines and 6 townships. Today there are remnants of these mines to be seen from overlooks. The Silver boom in this area lasted from 1882 through 1893. There is a preservation group that is working to maintain these areas along with part of the historic railroad that wound all through this district. This includes environmental restoration as well to eliminate unwanted minerals leaching into the streams and rivers. Many of the rivers are colored orange from the iron that continues to come from the tailings of these mines. I did find it funny that there are 3 mountains named ‘Red Mountain 1, Red Mountain 2, and Red Mountain 3. These mountains really are ‘red’ on top due to the iron ore on the surface.
Continuing over Red Mountain Pass the highway dropped around 1500 ft to a valley that contained the Chattanooga Iron Fen. Fens are a very important type of wildlife wetland that takes thousands of years to be created. Fens are fed by groundwater like springs and seeps. This particular Fen is different because it has a high concentration of iron and a low PH. This in turn supports different types of vegetation than other Fens. Some of the flora here is found nowhere else in the United States. The Fen supports many different mammal and bird species. I found this place fascinating!
At this point of the highway I was almost to Silverton where my trip ended on the opposite side. I turned around and started driving back towards Ouray. I took a detour down a dirt road that ended up being beautiful. There was a stream running the entire way up the valley (or maybe I should say down). There were many ‘beaver’ made lakes all along this stream. I must have seen 20 beaver dams in 5 miles! Along the way I found several ‘free’ campgrounds that I would love to stay at one day. At the end of the road there were several trailheads and a ‘fee’ based campground. The overnight price was $34! In hindsight, I was staying at a state park that was $36/night fairly close to a busy loud highway. The campground was surrounded by mountains and you could see down the valley. The stream ran through the campground as well. Maybe it was worth $34 after all!
Lucky for me, coming back down into Ouray on that ‘nail biting’ twisty turny section wasn’t so bad since this time I was on the inside lane!
Yes, this is a lengthier post. I saw so many incredible things and just have to share it all.
Nope, that’s not the end… My 2nd grand sightseeing day was to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. I have read that some people feel this little visited national park rivals that of the Grand Canyon. I would agree in some respects, like how massively deep and ancient it looks. However, the type of rocks and formations in the two canyons are not alike. That being said, I think Black Canyon of the Gunnison (river) is marvelous. The canyon walls are sheer vertical fins and spires dropping way down to the Gunnison River. I believe the deepest part of the canyon is 2700 feet from top to bottom. What I enjoyed at this park were the overlooks, many of them built out over the edge of the cliff – usually on a slab of rock jutting out. You could look straight down on 2 or 3 sides of the overlooks. You could tell the people with a fear of heights as they stood back away from the railings. Of course, there were the daredevils, usually younger folks, climbing out to some precarious position for their selfie. Anyway, there was no shortage of overlooks and short trails. I only saw the South Rim this time around. Similar to the Grand Canyon there is a North Rim but it is harder to get to. I decided to leave it for my next trip through the state. The pictures pretty much tell the tale of the park. On the way back out of the park, I took a detour down a road that takes you down to the Gunnison River at the bottom of the canyon. The river was very pretty and it was fun to see but there wasn’t much to do unless you were a fisherperson. And the road down!!! The steepest twistiest road. One hairpin turn after another. You know it’s bad when the speed limit is 15 mph.
OK, now I’m done… I think!
