Saturday August 6, 2022
Back roads to Telluride
I saw it! I chased it
but I didn’t catch it. But I am watching
for it… I will get it… it’s a mousie and
I can taste it already!
We are staying at the Riverside RV park in Ouray. The park is on the Uncompahgre River and a
trail runs alongside the river, crossing over and continuing in about a 2 mile
loop. And this was my morning walk. The mountains are so steep that the sun won’t
make it down to street level for a couple of hours, so although I had my visor
and sunglasses, they weren’t needed. The
state has spent a lot of time cleaning the watershed as it was trashed during
heavy mining. But now it is clean and
bubbling with life.
After a brief breakfast, we packed a lunch, and with Jake
and Lynn, we headed to take on some back roads to Telluride. Geographically, we are only about 15 miles
from Telluride, but there is no easy access by highway so it takes about 50
miles to get there. Off road… well there
are lots of options. We did not feel
like taking the white knuckle trails, so we opted for some easier off road
trails. The Last Dollar Road starts as a
decently graded dirt road. The landscape
boasts enormous ranches with alpine meadows with both mountain and valley views. Green is the color. Green up the mountain with large stands of
aspens, then pines.
After a while, the road gets a bit more challenging and much
slower. The road is narrow with lots of
ruts and rocking. Aspens with pines,
then pines with aspens. Sweeping views
of alpine forever surround us. The
temperature is in the mid 60s with puffy white clouds. Wild flowers of various colors pop up all
around, and there is hardly anybody out here.
It is ours… all ours… and it is magnificent! Words cannot describe the beauty!
The road climbs through Last Dollar Pass, which is a very steep
narrow slice on the side of a mountain.
We did have to pass one car and it just so happened it was at a spot
where two cars could pass one another, otherwise, it could get ugly! We stopped on a perch overlooking an alpine
paradise, and a view for a gazillion miles.
To the left you could see the Telluride ski area, and a few of the
multimillion dollar homes on huge parcels.
In front and to the right, was a gorge, then a mesa covered in green,
with only a few sparsely spaced homes and then a valley. Stunning place for us to eat our lunch.
We talked to some people about taking another trail… they told us about ‘heart attack hill’, and
that was enough to scare us off! We will
find another easier off road trail for tomorrow.
After lunch, we drove into Telluride for an ice cream. It is an old mining town that is a haven for tourists. The chairlifts for the ski area are moving up the steep hill behind the town. Lots of activity. We took the paved roads home and it started raining – once again – as we got home. It only lasts for about an hour then it is clear and shining again.
After dinner, Jake and Lynn taught us a new card game…Skyjo…
let the fun begin!
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