That's what they call the highway between Durango and Ouray because of the gold ore in its base. I couldn't tell it had ore in it, but it sure is scenic and a bit hairy going over 3 mountain passes. I don't remember seeing many, if any, guardrails and the drop was quie precipitous in many places. Avalanches are quite common in winter if the road itself isn't enough excitement for you. On Sunday I took my time getting up and drove west to Montrose (not at all exciting) and then south towards Ouray. This area is much drier and desert-like than Crested Butte or the ski areas up north. It starts to feel more like the desert southwest, but not completely barren. Ouray calls itself the 'switzerland of America' though I don't know if I'd go that far. Switzerland is so green, and Ouray is not. However, it is situated in a deep valley surrounded on 2 sides by sheer mountain walls and another side by the steep climb up to a pass which is the only way out going south. It's yet another one of these old towns from the mining days which has turned to tourism. I don't think I'd want to live there, but it isn't a bad stopover. I got Abbey out for a walk around the town. She gets restless if we ride for too long. This area is much warmer than Crested Butte where it was in the 60's and 70's most days we were there. In Ouray, Silverton and Durango it has been in the 80's and 90's. Even high up it's been close to 80 or more. On my way to check out a campground just north of Silverton, I found an area for dispersed camping (not much in the way of services '? only toilets '? but free!). I found a real nice spot and got settled in just before a hailstorm rolled in.
The hail and the thunder were enough to keep Abbey on edge for the rest of the day. I felt pretty wiped out from the drive and my cold, so I just read and ate dinner the rest of the day.
Monday morning I didn't feel up to a big hike but I didn't want to sit in the RV all day either. So I picked a short hike with little elevation gain to Potato Lake, affectionately referred to as Spud Lake by the locals.
Mary Beth and I had gone to the Durango area a number of times before we left Austin for Germany, but I didn't remember doing this trail. And I didn't remember the killer road on the way to the trail. It was one of the rockiest roads I've been on so far, but thankfully it wasn't that long '? a little less than 3 miles. I got a few looks of surprise from people on the way up, including a couple who were packing with llamas. I'm sure they've gotten some surprised looks themselves. Once I got to the trailhead, though, I recognized it as one we had done before. I asked Abbey if she remembered it, but she didn't seem to. It was only a mile to the lake which was about all I wanted to do anyways. On the way up we saw some great views of Engineer Mountain, which Mary Beth, Buster, Abbey and I had climbed a couple of times, though we never made it to the top.
We spent a bit of time up there and I let Abbey go in the lake a bunch. I just tried to keep her from disturbing the fishermen. Now that I know how much concentration fishing demands, I try to be more careful when we're around them ;)
We got done early so I decided to head to Durango. It was one of Mary Beth's favorite areas to go to. She even talked about moving there for a time, so I wanted to see if it still felt the same. It has grown a lot since we were last there 7 years ago. It was always more than just a mountain town, but it seems a bit more hectic and definitely more built up than it was. I'm not sure I like it as much, but the area still has enough outdoor activities to make me want to go again. On the drive back to Switzerland (I mean Ouray), I got a different viewpoint going north into town. The setting did look more spectacular from that vantage point so I guess I can't make fun of them too much for their description. Unfortunately, I couldn't get any good pictures because there really weren't any places to stop on the road. I don't think pictures could have done it justice anyways. When we finally got back to Silverton our camping spot was still there waiting for us.
This morning I still felt like I didn't have enough energy for a hike, but Abbey and I went for a walk down the forest service road near our campsite. The morning seems to be Abbey's best time. She likes to explore a lot and check out all the smells. Since it wasn't a well-traveled road and I didn't want to chase her through the fields and brush, I let her run off leash. We ended up walking about 2 miles before turning back. We were both pretty tired. Later on I drove onto Telluride, which is a really nice little town. It's smack dab right up against the mountains. Like a lot of the Colorado mountain and ski towns it has really been growing. I think I could live here, but I'm not sure I could afford it. I saw an ad for a 1300 sq. ft. condo in town for only $650,000. What a bargain! It is a nice place to visit though. Tonight I'm staying in a state park a little ways north and I'm actually plugged in to 'shore power' for only about the 5th time. And, I'm watching Late Night with David Letterman, which is a first for me in the RV.