Silverton to Ouray to Montrose

Yesterday's drive from Albuquerque to Silverton was scenic. Today's drive from Silverton to Montrose was spectacular! The drive is through Red Mountain Pass in the San Juan Range of the Colorado Rockies.

The section between Silverton and Ouray, about 24 miles, was awesome. As we began the climb out of Silverton we were treated to more of Colorado's color.

More Colorado Color

We climbed the winding route 550

Winding Road

into areas where there was snow on both sides of the highway as we headed for an altitude above 11,500 feet. The views were wonderful! Sue was able to indulge more than I because the road required that I pay attention. There were double switchbacks and sections where there was no shoulder and the road hugged the edge of a precipitous drop. Then it got narrow!

Getting Narrow!

This is a highway that rivals the Baja for excitement. It is one of the top five scenic drives that we have made in the See Ya. To make it even better, as we came around a curve not too far from the summit, we found a great place to pull off and stop for lunch.

Lunch Break

The views in all directions were outstanding. Immediately to the south was a waterfall cascading down a steep canyon wall.

Hey, Check Out This Waterfall!

To the north was a great view of the valley ahead of us. Sue was so taken by the scene that she called her sister, Liz, just to describe it.

I Need to Tell Liz about This!

She had to leave a voice mail message.

After lunch we headed downhill, once again encountering double switchbacks as we lost altitude.

Heading Downhill

The new See Ya handles exceptionally well in the mountains even automatically handling the necessary down shifting and up shifting to best negotiate the hills.

We passed through the town of Ouray

Ouray

named after the famous Ute Indian Chief. The quaint village is sometimes referred to as the "Switzerland of America."

The ride became much tamer as we road the valley from Ouray to Montrose. We plan to spend a few days in Montrose and take a look at Black Canyon National Park.

May 19, 2008

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