Colorado

The Million Dollar Highway Colorado 550

We packed up Sunday morning and headed North up Hwy 550 the “million dollar highway”.  We   videoed the whole trip on the GoPro, I will edit that and put it on our You Tube Channel at some point.  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwT5YPNLWv_v3UiwNQ8_R1A.  We have shot a lot of video, so I have a lot of editing work to do.  The drive to Silverton was not bad; we had done it in the jeep so we felt pretty confident.  It is good road and has a shoulder, and is wide enough.  From Silverton to Ouray is a different story, everyone told us we would be on the inside which is better.  As we headed out of Silverton the road seemed the same for a while, it then became narrower and the shoulder would come and go, the outside edge of the road had damage in places where there was no shoulder and sunk slightly below the road grade.  Pia and I kept saying why did they tell us we would be on the inside, because we were not.  We took our time and pulled off several times to let the cars behind us go by.  As we got up into the higher elevations it started sleeting, which made us more nervous of course.  As we went over Red Mountain Pass the scenery took our breath away, the color, shear rock faces, the height of the mountains was magnificent.  They call this area Little Switzerland, or the American Alps, and for good reason.  Here is where the road is very narrow, with rock out cropping’s on the inside and 1,000 foot drop off on the other.  In this area descending into Ouray we were on the inside.  The switch backs are in some places doubled, the bus handled it fine, I did not need to cross the yellow stripe into the oncoming lane, which was one of the things I was concerned about.  We did not meet any large trucks, RV’s, or Busses on the very narrow stretches, I could see where on some of those blind curves that could be dicey.  We took it very slow, and steady it was well worth it to experience such a spectacular drive.

It is Sunday morning June 14, we have been on our trip for a month, it is strange how time flows differently when you travel, and especially knowing that we are not on a vacation, worried about returning to work.    This is a life style that is to me the ultimate retirement, Pia and I both want to keep doing this as long as we are able.

 

Durango, CO

We packed up Sunday and headed North to Durango, CO..  I always get a little thrill when I cross into Colorado, it has always been one of my favorite places.  We have been camped at United RV park, just North of Durango on Hwy 550.  The Durango-Silverton narrow gauge train passes right through the campground in front of our bus.  We took the train on Tuesday up to Silverton and back, it was a perfect day, lots of sun and had a great time.  This is the 3rd or 4th time I have ridded the train, it is always a thrilling way to travel through the mountains.  On Monday while we were exploring Durango I found a book with 165 4×4 trails in the State of Colorado, that brought a smile to my face.  So I picked a few trails in the area and bought the National Geographic topographical maps that cover the areas. I have always wanted to Jeep in the mountains, but never had the opportunity before.

Wednesday we made our first jeep trip up the mountains to Kennebec pass.  It was thrilling the pass is at 11,600 feet, it is a very rough road the last 4 or 5 miles.  The jeep handled it fine, the old mining road up to the top had just been ploughed, and the snow piled up on each side of the road was about 4’ high.  It was a stunning view at the top.  We had such a good time that on Thursday we headed up past Silverton, and on to Animas Forks.  This is an old mining town that has been preserved by the forest service.  It is a ghost town and you can go into many of the old cabins, and buildings.  We decided to go on up to Cinnamon Pass.  We had to cross an old wooden bridge very short but looked 100 years old.  We then headed up the trail.  It was very challenging in places but the jeep handled it just fine.  Pia was nervous in a few spots, but she was thrilled once we reached the top at 12,640 ft.  We laid out a blanket and had lunch, the view was unbelievable.   We stayed about an hour or so and headed back down, we got back to the bus about 5:45 just in time to see the last train go by returning from Silverton.  Tomorrow we head up the million dollar highway 550 to Ouray.  This is a tricky highway especially from Silverton to Ouray, many hairpin turns, and steep grades; it will be exciting in the motor home.

Our Mountain Goat
Downtown Ouray
Silverton Durango Narrow Gage
Kennebec Pass
On Top of the World

 

 

Grand Mesa, Colorado

It is Friday morning about 4:40 am, Pia and I woke up about 3:00 to sit out and see the stars, that lasted about 30 seconds, and we came back in the bus.  Naturally I could not really get back to sleep, so here I sit.  We have been on the Grand Mesa since Sunday, we are dry camping, which means we have no hooks ups at all.  The bus holds 74 gallons of fresh water and we were about full when we arrived.  We use the generator for an hour and a half every day to keep the batteries hot.  This is the longest we have dry camped, and it is working out fine.  It is 4:48 now and the dawn is creeping in from the East.

The Grand Mesa is a hidden gem; I have never stayed anywhere more beautiful than this campground.  There are over 300 lakes up here on the Mesa, almost all of them are stocked with trout.  When we arrived on Sunday we first stopped at the visitor center.  I was speaking to the forest ranger and buying a map of the area.  I told him we were headed over to Jumbo campground.  He suggested that we take a look at Ward Lake, which is ½ a mile from the center, before we head to Jumbo, he personally liked the campground better.  After a miss turn or two, and having to unhook the jeep so we could get turned around after going down the wrong road we arrived at the entrance to the campground.  We parked the bus on a turnout in front of the campground and took the jeep to have a look.  There is an upper loop that is heavily wood with ponderosa pines, very dark, and there is a lower loop that is much more open with a beautiful view of the lake.  We found a spot up on a hill overlooking the lake, and it is spectacular.

We are at 10,173 ft above sea level.  Ward Lake is an 85 acre lake, 72 feet deep, and the most azure blue color you can imagine.  Monday we kayaked, and fished the lake, which was stocked with 2,900 rainbow trout that same day.  We have done well fishing here and have been eating fish almost every night.  This is the highest, to the best of my memory, I have ever camped.  Today in Grand Junction, CO which is about 60 miles away, the high temp is forecast to be 95.  Our high up here is forecast to be just under 70.  We have no cell service, and no internet, which is nice for a change.  I was worried about this altitude, especially for Pia, but she is handling it well, and neither of us has shown any signs of altitude sickness.

We have seen quite a few mule deer, a ton of golden mantel squirrels, chipmunks, and quite a few marmots.  We have a weasel that runs around the campground looking in every hole in the ground for something.  Yesterday he found what I think was a mole, and seemed very pleased with himself.  We are still waiting to see a beaver, bear, and moose.  We did see elk in Ouray, but none here, I am not sure if they are up on the Mesa or not.  We did try fishing a beaver pond yesterday that is back behind the campground, after a long walk through very marshy ground, we came up empty, but it was interesting to see how amazing those beavers dams and houses are.

There are porcupines here we took an evening walk the other night, while sitting on a log a little off the trail, I looked back behind me, and there was a huge porcupine strolling down the trail.  He did not seem to be bothered by us at all, and I had no intention of giving him a reason to.