Sunday, September 29, 2019

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.



Monday, September 9, 2019

YNP: West Thumb Geyser Basin, Yellowstone Lake and Finally Bison

On our last day trip into Yellowstone National Park our destination was the southern West Thumb Geyser Basin, Yellowstone Lake and a drive through Hayden Valley. 


The West Thumb Geyser Basin, located on the western banks of Yellowstone Lake, is actually a volcanic caldera within a caldera.  It is estimated that about about 174,000 years ago a powerful volcanic eruption occurred here.  When the earth's crust collapsed, the depression later filled with water creating Yellowstone Lake and the many hot spots.  We enjoyed a beautiful day strolling the boardwalks as they meandered around hot springs, smaller erupting geysers and a clear blue Yellowstone Lake.   There are a number of hot springs in the photo below, of course each one has a specific name.

The water run off is cooler so the microbial mats are flourishing.

Black Pool Hot Springs
Given this name many years ago, it doesn't fit any more but the Park has still kept that name.  The color changed in 1991 from black to aquamarine because the water temperature got hotter and killed the special cyanobacteria living in it.

Black Pool's microbial mats.

The combination of a blue lake, whiteish ground and a boardwalk almost felt like a stroll at the beach.

Big Cone Geyser

Lake Shore Geyser
These geysers are underwater in the spring.  They haven't erupted since 2003 but today we saw them boiling.

Beautiful clear, blue water with mountain views in the distance.  Interestingly, there are hundreds of hydrothermal vents, craters and fissures under the water in Yellowstone Lake.

Fishing Cone Hot Spring
Mountain men legends described this hot spring as a pot of boiling water where you could catch a trout then swing it over into the hot water and cook your fish while it was still on the hook.

Seismograph and Bluebell Hot Springs

Ducks on Yellowstone Lake

Once we left the West Thumb area, we noticed the burned forest along the edge of Yellowstone Lake.


Afternoon winds had increased and the Lake became quite choppy.


This view is from the Fishing Bridge section of Yellowstone National Park.  The full hookup campground, roads and full service areas here are all undergoing extensive renovations now.  We pulled in for a minute to check out the Gift Shop but purchased nothing and continued northward on the main Park road.


We stopped at the LeHardy Rapids.  When we were here 29 years ago we could see the trout jumping the rapids to swim up stream to spawn.  We didn't see any trout today because it's after their spawning run.

Research has shown that these rapids have risen over the past 40 years indicating the volcanic activity occurring underground.  To read more about the US Geological Survey's discovery, click HERE.

One of our last stops in Yellowstone is the Mud Volcano thermal area.  This place really smelled!  That's because of the hydrogen sulfide gas being emitted from the many hot pools and fumaroles in the area.  The boardwalk safely took us by the Dragon's Mouth Spring.  Hot steam bellows and roars out continuously.





 This was a unique experience.  Listening to the roar of the steam, seeing bison all around and with the rotten egg smell we just knew we were in an active area.  In fact more small earthquakes happen here than other areas in Yellowstone.   Several faults converge in this section therefore scientists are always monitoring this active area.





The Dragon's Mouth Spring has dropped 10 degrees in temperature since 1999.  The water run off exhibited a green microbial mat.

This unusual hot spring is called the Mud Volcano.  It was constantly bubbling, boiling and steaming the entire time we were there.  It had a bad odor and a few people covered their faces when they walked by because of the hydrogen sulfide gas coming from it.

How was this bison was able to lay so close to the Mud Volcano??? 

The animal never moved in spite of the hot steam gases, hot sun and all of the tourists taking its picture.

When the Mud Volcano was first discovered in 1870, it had a tall cone from which the mud would erupt and also shake the ground.  It blew apart in 1872 leaving this hot caldron of steaming, boiling muddy water.

Mud Caldron

Across the road, we saw more bison relaxing along the Yellowstone River. 

As we continued our drive northward on the main Park road, we entered the Hayden Valley area.  This is where we had heard all of the bison were located.  The news was right, we saw many here.

Yellowstone is the only place in the United States where bison have lived continuously since prehistoric times.

There are two herds of bison in Yellowstone National Park.  This group is called the central herd of Hayden Valley.

This bison was close to a pull out when we drove by.  We didn't stop but Ronnie drove by it slowly so I could make this photograph using a telephoto lens.



A little farther up the road at a safer pull out, we stopped and enjoyed the pastoral scene. 


We're glad we missed this big fellow!  We can now see how the "bison traffic jams" occur.  You cannot go anywhere until that huge animal walks off the highway.

We really loved our visit here and could certainly stay longer but it's time to Eas-on Down The Road. So long Yellowstone, thanks for the wonderful memories.

More Later
from southern Colorado (Durango, Cortez and Dolores areas).