Million dollar highway? Ahhhh, now I see...

Sorry no pics posted, but this Internet connection won't publish them. Go HERE to see our full pics from today. They are the Ouray/Silverton/Durango ones.

Today began with a hike to town for breakfast in Ouray. Once we were full, we walked out of town up the hill to Cascade falls. It was a beautiful morning (little bit cloudy), and the falls were incredibly powerful. We approached them as close as possible, but inevitably were soaked by the time we got close. Totally worth the climb up the hill.

We then ran on back down the hill, packed up the Odyssey (best car we've ever owned) and headed up the "Million Dollar Hwy". This is when it really got interesting. This stretch from Ouray through Silverton to Durango is extremely impressive. The road is typically is a small sliver hanging off the side of the mountain without any sort of protection or guard rails. The reason being, the plows have to be able to shovel the snow off the side in the winter, as there isn't anywhere else it can go. This region gets a ton of snow, and they've had a record snowfall this year. We saw snow falling today at the higher elevations.

So where did it get it's name? Well, there are a ton of silver, gold, you name, it mineral ore mines along the route. There were well over a million dollars of ton-age hauled across this pass when the mines were hitting their strides back in the late 1800's to mid 1900's. Therefore, someone coined it the "million dollar highway". It is really neat to see the old mining operations, as well as the push to reclaim the land from the damage the mining has done. Many deposits are left outside of the mines as they strip the ore leaving "sores" on the mountain sides. There are groups dedicated to cleaning these up and planting new vegetation to bring the mountain back to its 'near' original state. It sort of stinks to see history covered up, but then again this area is most beautiful in it's natural state. The drive is very interesting to say the least. It was one of the best of this trip.

We paid a visit to Silverton, which I rate a close second to visit in comparison to Ouray. I would say stay in Ouray, visit Silverton. The town is another old western mining town that has survived through the years on tourism. It has a ton of character, and will be the terminus of our train trip from Durango a couple of days from now. We walked around for a couple of hours, and gained some 'culture' from not only the visitors but also the locals. We ate at a Cantina (Ramaro's I think) that was 'ok', but not exactly what we were expecting. Live and learn. All in all, I really hope this town survives. It appears it is a struggle as many of the old properties are for sale. Tough times due to low tourism is my belief. It would be a shame for it to become a ghost town.

On to Durango, and to the campsite that we are currently posting from. We are at a nice little spot on the river in Lightner Creek Campground (free WiFi all over the campground). No clouds in the sky, no rain in the forecast. I wonder if I'm really camping. All of the kids are in the tent, and Jenny is looking kind of scared as to how much they may have torn up in the tent. She refuses to go inside:-). The tent is dry, and the kids are glad to be outdoors. We will be here the next few nights, and have some full days ahead.

We will be hitting Mesa Verde tomorrow, and then on to the Narrow Guage railway to Silverton with a Jeep tour thrown in around Silverton.

For any of you that may be planning to head out this direction, I strongly suggest you spend some time in the lower half including Ouray, Silverton, and Durango.

Don't forget, all pictures can be viewed here.

Until tomorrow...