Six Weeks In Southwestern Colorado

Leaving Montana and the West Yellowstone area, our next destination was the southwestern area of Colorado.  We have been in this region a few times before, each time finding all sorts of interesting places to visit.  Our goal was to see the aspen change into their fall colors, especially on Hwy 145 northward from Cortez.  We first spent 2 weeks at the Sky Ute Casino and RV Park in Ignacio, CO.  While there, we visited Durango a few times, especially loving their great Farmers Market.

Fresh veggies, peppers and roasted green chilies.

We found tasty tomatoes, salsas, prune plums, fresh roasted green chilies and grass-fed beef.

We actually purchased the Palisade Peaches from a road side vendor.  They were perfect, as aromatic  and sweet as a Georgia or South Carolina peach.

Sunsets, while at the Sky Ute Casino and RV Park were quite colorful too.

While we were so close to Hwy 550 (part of the San Juan Scenic Byway), we made our day trek northward towards Silverton and Ouray.  We were here in 2015 and 2018.  Molas Pass Overlook at 10,912 feet.

We always love walking around the old mining town of Silverton. 

Many of the old buildings have been turned into gift shops and restaurants now.

 We noticed many tourists from the daily Durango & Silverton  Narrow Gauge Train Excursion this day.  We made that trip in the fall of 2015.

There always seems to be something unusual to see in Silverton, especially off the main road through town.

After lunch, we continued northward on Hwy 550 to the town of Ouray.  The road winds its way over mountain passes, cliff sides and abandoned mines.  Hwy 550 is nicknamed the 'Million Dollar Highway'.  This original section was once a toll road between Ouray and Ironton.  Built in 1883, it was used to reach the many mining districts.  These last 8 miles were too steep for a railroad so a stage and freight road was pretty much chiseled and blasted from the solid rock.  In the 1920's the toll road was rebuilt.  There are several legends as to why the highway was given that nickname from 'the road was made from a million dollars worth of the gold and silver mine tailings' to a 'woman who stated she would not travel that road for a million dollars'. To learn more about this section of beautiful highway click HERE.

Red Mountain Pass 11,018 feet

The Uncompahgre Gorge as Hwy 550 snakes its way along the cliff sides.

No guard rails here..

Beautiful views and thank goodness guard rails here..

Bear Creek Falls

You can barely see Hwy 550 as it winds around the mountain below.  It's on the side of the center mountain, near its lower portion.

Our two weeks at Sky Ute Casino and RV Park in Ignacio, CO went by fast.  Our next four weeks we scheduled ourselves a month to visit the areas between Cortez and Dolores, Colorado.  One of our first road trips was to see the new Memorial Rock.  On May 24, 2019 a 8.5 million pound rock rolled down the mountainside and split Hwy 145.  To see better photos and to learn more about how the rock was managed to allow repair of Hwy 145 click HERE.

Unfortunately the Colorado Dept of Transportation did not make a pull off to get a closer look of Memorial Rock.  Official road signage states you may not stop and park so my photos are from the Jeep as Ronnie drove by.  Click HERE to see Internet photos of this huge rock and the enormous avalanche scar the two rocks made as they tumbled down the mountain.

You can get an idea of the avalanche scar in this quickly made photo.

We love traveling Hwy 145 north towards Telluride.  It is part of the 233 mile loop road that forms a section the San Juan Scenic Byway.  The aspen leaves are in the process of changing to golden yellow however they are not yet at peak color.

Trout Lake's water level looks really low this fall.  This region appears to have had very little rainfall this summer.

Downtown Telluride always is a treat for us to stroll.  We walked into some of the gift shops, checked out the Farmers Market and drove to the viewpoint of the Black Bear Pass switchbacks and the Bridal Veil Falls Power Station.  It was a quick stop, we were here in the fall of 2015 and fall of 2018.

Lots of fresh veggies, baked goods and crafts to choose from at the Telluride Farmers Market.

During our few brief Telluride visits, we really enjoyed the autumn colors and hopefully we'll see some good color this fall.

We have made a quick visit to Mancos, Colorado and hope to go back to see more of this unique community.

We strolled the sidewalks, stepping into the community artists galleries and gift shops.  We discovered the smooth coffee of Fahrenheit Coffee Roasters and the tasty brews of Mancos Brewing Company.

Our choice for the campground home-base turned out to be one of our most comfortable yet.  Located between Cortez and Dolores, this new campground has paved roads, gravel parking and concrete patios with grassy natural areas.  It certainly makes for pleasant camping for us and Little Boy.  Even the sunsets here are amazing.
More Later from southwestern Colorado.