Day 22 - Ridgway, CO to Santa Fe, NM

Got a late start today because a post-breakfast soak at the hot springs was in order. Nevertheless, the drive was extraordinary. Here was today's route:


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The first stop was Ouray, CO. Like Leadville, it's an old mining town that retains a significant amount of its old mine town look. These Colorado mine towns have an undeniable charm.




After Ouray, it was south over U.S. route 550, nicknamed the Million Dollar Highway. I always heard that the name derives from the fact that the highway cost a million dollars per mile to build in the 1920s. Wikipedia claims that another theory of the naming is that the dirt fill under the highway contains a million dollars of gold ore. Whatever the actual reason, the drive is simply spectacular. It is the proverbial mountain road with thousand foot cliffs on either side and no guardrail. I would recommend the drive to anyone, unless, of course, you're deathly afraid of heights, and even then, just look at the uphill side.

The top of the pass south of Ouray is at Red Mountain, where the mountains truly are red and dozens of derelict mines scar the mountainsides.





South of the pass, I dropped into Silverton, CO, another classic Colorado mine town. Silverton is perhaps the most authentic appearing of all the old mine towns I've been to in Colorado, that is if you don't pay too much attention to what's in the stores. Tourist traps are all the same no matter where you are. But adding to the authenticity is that only the main thoroughfare in town is paved. Below is the county courthouse.

And city hall.

Here is the main thoroughfare.

A typical street scene.

Silverton is the terminus of the Durango & Silverton narrow guage railroad. I didn't ride it this time, having done it before, but it is a beautiful ride through the mountains along the Animas River. The train uses historic, coal-burning locomotives.

From Silverton, I headed south into New Mexico. I decided to take the long way around to Santa Fe by going through Taos. It's a rather scenic drive, but because of storms across the pass, I didn't stop to take pics. However, just before getting to Taos, the road descends into the Rio Grande valley. And suddenly, without warning--that is to say you can't see it until you're right on top of it--a deep gorge cut by the Rio Grande itself appears.


I arrived in Santa Fe after dark so no pics of the area, but I'll be here for a few days. My friend James will be joining me here Wednesday for the final push into California. I may not update the blog each day I'm here, but I will put up some pics of Santa Fe at some point during my stay. Once James arrives, the next leg will take us back into Colorado briefly, then Utah and Arizona.