Ouray, Colorado

This past weekend Bob and I went to Ouray, Colorado.  Bob has been wanting to go there for about 15 - 20 years now.  He has planned trips several times, but we have never made it.  This time we actually went. 
We left on Friday morning and had a leisurely drive there....passing through Price and Green River.  The changing colors as we drove in were so beautiful!  We drove straight to our hotel, unloaded the car and then drove to Main Street.  We grabbed a bite to eat at a restaurant where we could sit outside.  The food was marginal and our waitress was pretty but wouldn't smile at all.
 

After lunch we walked up and down the street and enjoyed going in some of the shops.  We also spent time driving around and checking out some of the other lodging facilities for the future.  We stopped by the Ouray Information Center and got lots of literature.  The girl there told us several things we could do during our stay and suggested a few places we could go in our Sequoia.  Ouray is famous for its off-road trails.....in fact, the place was overrun with every kind of jeep you can imagine!  We didn't want to do anything too drastic, but definitely wanted to see some of the country around there. 

Dinner was at The Outlaw Restaurant.  Bob decided that the ribs were the best he can remember!  Oh....and did I mention that our waitress was the same one we had from the restaurant down the street at lunchtime?  Same pretty girl.....same blank personality.  It was really kind of sad.  We decided either she was having a REALLY hard day... or she has had some bad things happen in her life to make her so unhappy.  The food was delicious and we ended the meal with a creme brulee.  Yummy!

Saturday we got up, put some gas in the truck, washed the windshield and off we went!  We drove to the next little town, Ridgway (no "e"), to get some munchies for the drive at the local grocery store.  Bob chose a chocolate chip muffin and I chose a cinnamon roll.  We also got some chips and toffee peanuts, as well as bananas.  Off we went!  After a bit, I pulled out Bob's muffin and discovered that my cinnamon roll was not there.  Bummer.  Bob wanted to turn around, but I didn't think it was worth it.

We started following the little map that the information place had given us for this drive.  We soon discovered that it was NOT well marked!  We spent the next 8 hours enjoying absolutely breathtaking country!  The aspens were changing colors.  We couldn't have hit it at a better time!
 
We drove on Last Dollar Road (a pretty good dirt road) until it came to a fork.  We were debating where to go because the little signs were just the opposite of what the map said.  Just then a truck was making it way towards us on the dirt road.  We flagged them down and asked for directions.  They were elk hunters from Georgia who were taking a day off to go to Montrose to shop.  We decided to go the way they had come.  The road got quite narrow and Bob was concerned that the branches on each side of the road would scratch the car, but he maneuvered quite well!  We went through some deep mud puddles that we weren't sure we would get out of.  We crossed water puddles, saw deer, and couldn't believe the size of the aspens up there!  They were some of the largest we have ever seen! 
 
The views were spectacular!  And the ranches up there were unbelievable!
We saw so many old wooden structures.  It was fun to imagine who might have lived in them and when and why!
 
We made our way to Telluride and couldn't believe how many cars were there!  They were having a Blues 'n Brews Festival going on so the streets were super crowded.  We drove to the end of town where we could see a waterfall cascading down the hill.  When we drove as far as we could go (without having a high clearance 4WD) we turned around and headed back.
 

We again looked at our map to see where we were supposed to go next.  We stopped at several outlooks and a lake before continuing on.


 
We finally decided we had gone too far and turned around.  Then we decided we had gone too far back the other way we had come and asked a man at one of the outlooks if he knew where the town of Ophir was.  He showed us his map which was no help at all.  We finally decided it must be where we saw a little sign that said "Post Office" with an arrow (no town name, street name, anything!)  We drove a ways and finally came to the little town of Ophir.  FYI most of the driving on this day was on dirt roads, except when we left Telluride to go to Ophir and then Silverton to Ouray.  Ophir probably had 20 houses....all really run down.  We were headed to Ophir Pass which was a part of the loop that the information girl suggested we do.  We started up the pass on a pretty bumpy rocky definitely 4WD road.  We pulled over to let a couple of jeeps go ahead of us.  As we came out of the forest we saw a mountain of rocks.  I mean the entire mountain was rock that was coming down!  And we were supposed to go across that!?!  I have a slight fear of heights AND drop offs.  Both of these were on MY side of the truck.  I was leaning so far over that I was practically in Bob's lap!  I thought I was going to throw up because I couldn't see the edge of the road on my side.....just the drop off.  At one point earlier on we watched as a truck came towards us, trying to pass the jeeps we had let go ahead of us.  That was scary.....then he got to us!  Luckily we were in a pretty good spot.  But then, it was our turn to go across the rocky area.  I was literally getting sick and trying NOT to look out my window or ANY window!  We got about half way across and Bob finally suggested that I get out and walk while he drove the rest of the way.  He pulled over to the inside as much as he could and I got out.  He continued on and I huffed and puffed the rest of the way.  It was not easy walking on those rocks, but at least I wasn't at the edge!  I couldn't believe how hard it was to breathe!  It wasn't until later that I found out it was about 13,000 feet elevation!  I was so happy to get to the top of that pass!  Bob said he was really glad I had gotten out and walked because it got even worse the higher he got.  I'm sure I heard him screaming like a little girl but he says no!  That was quite the experience!  I told him that I was glad we had done it because I will NEVER do it again!  And....having asthma for the next several hours didn't help either!
 

After the Ophir Pass we headed to Silverton.  I was a bit disappointed.  I thought it would be bigger than it was.  The history was fun to read though.  We walked around on Blair Street......that was where all the brothels and saloons had been.  We used the restroom there.....another unique experience.



We weren't quite ready for dinner so we headed back down the mountain to Ouray.  Again....the views and colors were just spectacular!  We stopped a lot to take pictures and just enjoy the views.

Back in Ouray, we debated where to eat.  After lots of deliberating, we ended up at The Outlaw again.  After all, those were the best ribs Bob had ever eaten!  We had to wait to be seated so we walked and shopped a bit.  Once we were seated, who was our waitress but the very same girl!  This time she gave us a weak smile.  Bob told me that he had given her a nice tip the night before because he felt bad for her.  She treated us well and didn't charge us the usual $7 split plate charge.  We passed on dessert and went to one of the little ice cream shops for a sundae.  The WORST sundae EVER!!!!!  We took about two bites and then threw it away.  Bummer.  The lady had puts scoops and scoops of peanuts on it.....way more than we wanted and then they tasted rancid!  Super gross.  Oh well.  We were happy to just go back to our hotel and relax and watch a movie.

Sunday we couldn't find a church ANYWHERE!  So we headed to Ridgway for breakfast at Kate's Cafe.  We had a nice breakfast and then decided to take small back roads to Moab.  That was a fun drive!  It was fun to see new country and just drive slow.  We ate lunch at Moab and then headed home.  As we drove past Arches National Park we decided to turn around and go back.  We enjoyed driving through Arches and seeing the rock formations. 
 
At one point we decided to go where most people don't....onto a dirt road that would eventually take us back to the freeway.  About ten miles on the road we came to a part that was only good for a super high clearance 4WD.  We had to turn around and go back.  Again....Bummer!  At one point on the drive I thought we were going to roll when Bob was driving fast on the washboard road and a turn came up out of nowhere!  We were both yelling (well....maybe screaming) and breathing really hard when we got through that still alive!  Then we laughed so hard!  It took us a while to get back to the regular road, but we sure had fun!

We finally got home around 9:00 p.m. to find that Grandma and Bosco were doing fine!  

We are ready for another road trip soon!  The sooner the better!  Any suggestions?!?