Silverton, CO

Friday (9-25-09): It was a slow drive today up and over the Red Mt Pass (11,018 ft) with all the "S" curves. We are now camped at the Silver Summit RV Park , site 8 on 640 Mineral St. [800-352-1637] in Silverton, CO. This is the highest place that we have camped (9,318 ft). Pete and Martha Palasota have joined us and now we are 14. Several of us had lunch at the Handlebars Restaurant and tried Rocky Mountain Oysters. After a couple of us walked the town and did some shopping. It is a great town to find jewelry and alot of it was 50 to 60% off! The stores close up after Halloween in this town. I bought some Rhodonite (pink) earrings that the stones were mined right here in Silverton. I also bought some Denim Lapis earrings and pendant. I'm still looking for more turquoise jewelry. This evening we ate at Natalia's. The building was originally a bordello on Blair Street.

Campground [We're right in front of the red topped building]

Inside Handlebars Restaurant

Rocky Mountain Oysters--Yum!

Sat (9-26-09): We rented a jeep and went out on the trails in this area along with JimC, BobN, NanC, and JR & Betty Mertz, who brought their own jeep. It was a beautiful sunny day, though very cold up on the passes. We jeeped up to Stony Pass (12,650 ft), Picayne & Placer Gulches, down to Animas Forks for lunch; then up to California Gulch and Hurricane Pass, where we had a beautiful view of Lake Como; and finally up Corkscrew Gulch and out to 550 and back to Silverton. We were not allowed to jeep the Pououghkeepsie Trail with a rented jeep as this trail is considered "Difficult". So was had to look at the Lake from up on the pass.

View from Top of Hurricane Pass

Jeep Trail Views

Lake Como and Trail Below

Nan Cooper at Stoney Pass

Sun (9-27-09): It was fix it, clean it and rest up day. Tomorrow we head south to Cortez, CO and warmer weather. Nights have been in the upper 20's and low 30's! Though the days have been sunny and in the 60's. Some of our friends took the Durango/Silverton train.

Durango-Silverton Train

Ouray, CO

Tue (9-22-09): We drove from Lake City to Ouray today, passing by the beautiful Blue Mesa. We are now at the 4J+1+1 RV Park, Site 2PT with lots of space on 790 Oak St [970-325-4418]. We had lunch today at The True Grit Cafe [970-626-5739] in Ridgway. The Coopers, Mertz and Nelsons have now joined us, so we are now 12.

Beautiful Blue Mesa

Halsteads and Coopers Having Dinner in Ouray

Wed (9-23-09): We went on a half day San Juan Scenic Jeep Tour to the top of Red Mt. #3 (almost 13,000 ft). It is on private property and not somewhere we could jeep ourselves. We stopped at several Mining Ghost Towns and abandoned mines. The road to the top of the mountain above the tree line was VERY narrow and VERY steep. Chuck was on the outside traveling up and could look straight down the side. I didn't look. It was a COLD ride back and we were glad that our driver passed out wool blankets to shield the wind as he drove 45/50 mph down 550 back to Ouray.

Looking Up At Red Mt #3

Beautiful Red Mountains #1 & #2 and the Road Below

Here we are at the Top of Red Mt #3

Looking at Part of the Road that We Came Up

Chuck on Top of Red Mt #3 Taking Pictures (He's all bundled up!)

Our Friends, Lois Campbell and JR and Betty Mertz on Top of Red Mt #3

Storm was Heading Our Way but Lighting was Beautiful on the Other Red Mts

Passenger Cindy Climbed the Tower so She Could be at 13,000 ft

The Road Down (Chuck took pic; I didn't look!)

Thu (9-24-09): We rented jeeps again and JimC, BobN, JR & Betty Mertz and Chuck & I headed off early (0730 a.m.) to drive over the Ophir Pass and then back over the Imogene Pass to Ouray. We stopped in Telluride and had coffee and a sticky bun. We took a side trip part way up Black Bear Pass to see the waterfall there and then we headed over to the Tomboy Road that goes to Imogene Pass. When we got to the Tomboy Mine site, we ate our picnic lunches. Imogene Pass is the highest point that we have been on--13,114 ft. We had jeeped this trail two years ago and the pass had snow on it. This time--not much snow!

Betty Mertz, Bob Nelson, Donna Tolson, Jim Campbell and JR Mertz at the Top of Ophir Pass

View Down to the Little Town of Ophir From the Pass

Waterfall Near Black Bear Pass Outside of Telluride

Picnic Lunch at Tomboy Mine Looking Down at Telluride
[JR, Betty, Donna, Jim and Bob]

Donna and Betty at the Top of Imogene Pass [13,114 ft]

View From Imogene Pass

Imogene Pass With a Little Snow

That evening, our last in Ouray, we all ate at the Papillion on Main. The Pomegranate Martini was wonderful and after a day jeeping on the "edge", I needed it! Tomorrow we head out for Silverton over the Million Dollar Highway. Another road that is 2 lanes wide with no guard rails and no land over the white line on the passenger side on the first 4 or so miles climbing up and out of Ouray. It's a beautiful drive, but as a passenger in a motor home, I didn't look down, but straight ahead helping watch for the semis that were coming down the mountain and wanted more than their lane!

Slumgullion Pass to Creede, CO

Mon Sep 21, 2009: Today we drove the Silver Thread Scenic Byway over the Slumgullion Pass down to Creede, were we ate lunch at the Mermaid Cafe. Along the way we stopped and saw the Slumgullion Earthflow (and it's still slowly moving today) and the headwaters of the Rio Grande River. After lunch, we had ice cream at The Old Firehouse Restaurant.

Lake San Cristabal Near Lake City [road on bottom right was the beginning of the Alpine Loop Road]

Beautiful Day with Beautiful Scenery--Headwaters of the Rio Grande


Downtown Creede [Bachelor Loop Road Runs Straight up Thru Town Thru the 2 Mountains of Road]

Mermaid Restaurant [Gourmet Sandwiches and Soup]--Very Good!

In Creede, we picked up a map of the Bachelor Loop at the Visitor Center and drove up thru the old Silver mines. It was high above Creede with lots of old mining towns and mines. It was a beautiful sunny day and the aspen were a beautiful yellow.

Bachelor Loop Mine

Enjoying the Aspen Along the Loop

Aspen and Old Mine

Our Campground Deer

Driving the Alpine Loop in CO

Sun Sep 20, 2009: All of us (Tolsons, Campbells & Halsteads) rented jeeps for the day here in Lake City and headed out early (0730) to jeep the Alpine Loop. We headed out for Cinnamon Pass (12,640 ft) by driving past beautiful Lake San Cristobal where an elk ran across the road in front of us. We noted that there were alot of beautiful cabins and houses for sale along this part of the trail.

We took a side trip up to Wager Gulch and stopped at the Carson Ghost Town. It was very windy at the top of Cinnamon Pass and one woman who got out of her jeep with a hat on, quickly lost it over the mountain!

Carson Ghost Town Up Wager Gulch Trail [Where's Donna [left] going with that roll of toilet paper?]

Windy Cinnamon Pass at 12,640 ft--Jim & Lois Campbell, Mem & Larry Halstead and Donna Tolson

Mountain Goats on Side of Trail

We reached Animas Forks just in time to eat our picnic lunch and take advantage of the "facilities". We encountered a quick shower just as we were about to eat, so we had to sit in our jeeps. The rain cleared up soon after, but it was still a gray cloudy drive from then on out. We headed back out on the trail and headed for "Oh Point" and Engineer Pass (12,800 ft). The ledge road at the top of the mountain was narrow and the strip of land out to "Oh Point" was renamed by me to "Oh Shit Point". It is not a place for the faint of heart!!! It was very cold and windy there, but we had a 360 deg view down and of all the mountains around us. When we reached Engineer Pass and stopped to take pictures, it began to snow. We were glad that it was all down hill from there back to Lake City.

Donna Beside Rented Jeep on "Oh [Shit] Point" with Engineer Mt in Background

The Road Back up to Trail from Oh Point--and the Grade Up is?

Sleet and Snow on the Trail Down from Engineer Pass