Author: amazingmrd

I drove through Dolores yesterday on my way up to Telluride (pictures previously posted of Teslas on trucks and young folks getting ready to kayak).  I went back up there today to check out some other things.

I had seen these trees next to a home and was very curious what they were.  Today I stopped and asked.  The home is owned by a very nice retired couple.

She said they were “umbrella willows,” while her husband insisted they were “globe willows” or “Navajo willows”.  Regardless, I think they are very attractive and had never seen any like them.

She pointed to a fallen branch in the yard and asked me to go get it.  She went inside and wrapped the bottom in damp newspaper and then in clear plastic wrap.  She came outside and said “Here, take this home and plant it.  It may take root”.  She did the same thing in 1995 right before her mother passed away and here is the result today.

I may Fed Ex the branch she gave me back to Durham and maybe ask my landlord if we can try to plant it somewhere on their property.

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Next I went back to near where the folks were going to kayak.  I had seen these brown rock formations right next to the road the day before but didn’t stop to photograph them.

As you can tell by the proximity to the road, the last two are pretty big.

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Then I drove back into town to have lunch.  I had stopped earlier to get these pictures but it was still lunch hour and the place was packed.  It smelled good, so I went back later when there was no line.

When I posted photos from Great Sand Dunes I mentioned that dune buggys and ATV’s were not allowed, but that I had seen several being transported on trailers.  There were two such vehicles outside the restaurant.

I told you dune buggy technology has improved!

These photos were all taken in the 40 mile stretch getting to 4 Corners.

And to put size in perspective, note the VERY tall electric transmission tower in the foreground.

Here is the same rock formation as shown above but from further down the road, so the sun is now directly on it rather than coming from the side.  Note that the color is slightly different.

And these were taken about an hour later, as I was driving back towards Cortez.

 

Last stop for the day was 4 Corners, where Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico all converge at one point.  This spot is on Native American Indian land so it is not controlled by the US government.  It is about 40 miles southwest of Cortez, Colorado.

There are ramps to view the center from a slight elevation in all four states (for photo ops).

I have no idea who this guy is, but he graciously agreed to let me take his picture and even turned to face me after his buddies had finished taking theirs.

I do know who this guy is.  I met him earlier in the day back at Mesa Verde National Park.

His name is Steve and he’s from New Jersey.  He has been riding his bike cross country since the beginning of May, bless his heart.  After stepping through the intersection of states he has been in 42 states since he left home (OK, so the last 3 were easy but cut the guy some slack!).

What really cracked me up about this was that he and I talked briefly up at Mesa Verde around 10 o’clock this morning.  I asked where he was headed next and he said 4 Corners.  I said I was too, and that maybe I’d see his there.  Well damned if he wasn’t just getting to the turnoff at the same time I was!  I couldn’t believe it.

So while I had been driving around all day in my air-conditioned car, stopping at various places and enjoying a nice lunch, Steve was cranking away on his bike, in near 100 degree heat for the last 35 miles once he got outside of Cortez.  It would have taken me about an hour and a half to drive from where we talked this morning to here.  It took him 6 hours and 9 minutes.

Steve is continuing on to two others places I also plan to be in the coming weeks so who knows, we may cross paths again!  His ultimate destination is Las Vegas, but we’ll both be in Zion National Park in Utah and the Grand Canyon in Arizona before then.

And while I’m schlepping all my belongings around in my car, here is Steve’s world.

I told him I was very, very impressed.

 

 

I took these after driving through the little town of Dolores.  You’ll be seeing more from here tomorrow.

These folks were getting ready to have some fun on the Dolores River.

As I was further up the road taking pictures of rock formations (which you’ll see tomorrow) I was shocked to see two car transport trucks loaded with Teslas (VERY expensive electric cars) come whistling by.

I imagine they were on their way up to Telluride, where every man, woman and child probably owns a Tesla by now.

Sorry, folks.  I started two other posts today but it is now 709am local time and I’ve got to get ready for my big day.  I’ll include them with my posts tomorrow.

Meanwhile, another adventure awaits!

I took a break from driving to explore little Rico, pop. 265 (up 60 from 10 years earlier).

They even rent E-Bikes, the new craze in bicycles.

I enjoyed a very nice chat with the woman who was patiently waiting for visitors to come to the museum.

Rico even has it’s own telephone company!

Sorry about the trash cans.  I wanted to get the sign on the side of the building.  Guess I need to learn how to use PhotoShop.

As I proceeded up the road past Rico I came across this woman painting near the Lizard Head Pass.  I have seen artists inspired by and recreating what they are seeing on canvas at various places during my trip.  This is Susan, who lives in nearby Dolores, Colorado.

Susan took a break from her work and we had a very enjoyable conversation.  Here is what she was being inspired by.

Now, take a moment to ponder what you have just seen and read but please stop thinking about Susan before reading this next section.

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PLEASE SHOW ME YOUR BACKSIDE

Excuse me??

This is perhaps the best example I have ever seen of not judging a book (or mountain) by it’s cover.

If I turned about 120 degrees to my right from where I had been talking with Susan I saw this mountain in the direction I was about to travel.

A nice looking mound of dirt and rock, right?  Well, as I continued on up the road the views of this mountain changed dramatically.

Pretty cool, huh?  I have lots more photos but I think this illustrates my point.

Further up the road I saw Priest Lake, with a pretty awesome background.

And further up the road, more mountain views.

As I neared the northern end of my scenic loop I turned right and headed in to the little town of Telluride.  This is where the “pretty people” come to live (if they can afford it) and play (is they can afford it).

The young man I spoke with down at the Retro Inn in Cortez told me that when I got to Telluride I should drive all the way through town and continue on what would become a dirt road until I reached Colorado’s version of Bridal Veil Falls.  I did so (at the painfully slow 15 mph speed limit).

If you look straight up from the right taillight on the white truck you’ll see the upper portion of the falls.

And to the left of the falls is a white house!

I’d sure hate to plow their driveway…

After leaving Telluride I continued on my way, eager to start my southward turn back to Durango.  Here is a four-shot panorama from an overlook.

Not too shabby, eh?

Finally, a very tall mountain right next to the road before getting to Ouray.

 

 

These were all taken in or near the little town of Ouray (pronounced OOH-ray), Colorado.  This was a far north as I made it on Saturday while driving on the amazing Route 550, which my GPS informed me is also part of the “Million Dollar Highway” (and she’s never wrong….  You can’t see me rolling my eyes….).

Based on the photo I took overlooking the town which I posted yesterday, it is hard for me to believe that the population, according to the 2010 census, is only 1,000.

Two things I should have mentioned yesterday.  I’ve already raved about how incredible the drive was.  It occurred to me later that all those amazing sights (and more that I saw or took photos of but didn’t post) were all in only a 75-mile stretch of road!  Second, I’ve never seen so many Jeeps in one day in my life.

This establishment in Ouray serves all your Jeep purchase, rental and repair needs.  Jeeps (and Subaru station wagons) seem to be the vehicles of choice out here.  I’ve also seen lots and lots of BMW’s on the road in the area due to the BMW “Drive the 4 Corners” gathering being held at the Purgatory ski area, about halfway between Durango and Ouray.

A NEW MASCOT FOR THE BLOG?  (Sorry, Regan)

I saw this adorable Australian Shepherd puppy resting in the shade on Main Street.  Well, he was trying to rest.  For some reason people just wouldn’t leave him alone.  Go figure….

I took this next photo (while stopped in the road, Shawn) heading south on Route 550 out of Ouray.

I stopped in the road for several reasons:  A) there was no traffic within sight behind me, B) I knew Shawn would be upset with me if I took another picture while driving, and C) I wanted to say a quick prayer before driving the next mile of Route 550 as I thought this might be the last photo I’d ever take.

Yesterday I drove north on 550 and before I reached Ouray I drove this treacherous mile of road on the “inside” of the highway (the lane between the hillside above and the canyon below).  The highway is nicely paved, and is in good condition.  There are signs that warn drivers that it is a rock slide zone and that they should not stop once committed to driving on it.  No big deal.

After reaching Ouray yesterday I turned around to go back to Durango.  Now I was driving on the “outside” of said road, right next to the canyon.  This short stretch of highway twists and turns as mountain roads often do.  This mile of highway has no guardrail.  This mile of highway affords the driver (probably the only person in the vehicle with his eyes open) a clear view of the straight-down drop into the abyss where he will plummet if he strays off the road.  And I mean STRAIGHT DOWN, not just a steep embankment.  You’d better not blow a 1.2 on the breathalyzer before you drive this road.  This mile of road shouldn’t even be legal.

Needless to say, I may have exceeded the very low speed limit slightly both days in my high anxiety haste to get past this God forsaken stretch of road.  Today I had made a big clockwise loop northwest from Durango and I was now at about the two o’clock position on a clockface heading towards 3 o’clock, hoping I would live that long.

After I calmed down I continued on my way.  I stopped at this yellowed-water waterfall, which I had driven past the day before (though I did post photos of the stream below it).

Looks like the blog will be able to continue.  Tomorrow I’m off to Mesa Verde National Park and the 4 corners area, not far from Durango (where Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah all converge at one point).

 

 

 

When I woke up this morning and looked out my window I realized it was just a few minutes before sunrise.  I grabbed by smartphone and marched up to the main road.

As I was walking back down the hill towards the house I could see the sun starting to hit the peaks of the mountains to the west.

 

 

This narrow-gauge steam engine railroad travels the 45-mile distance between Durango and Silverton every day, passing through many areas which are inaccessible by car.  Riders get to spend several hours in Silverton before making the return trip.

Shortly after leaving Durango I overtook the train, which at the time was running on tracks parallel to the highway.  I drove on ahead and crossed the tracks so I’d have the sun behind me.

I plan to come back to Durango in a few weeks to ride this train, which takes up almost the whole day.

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Further on up the road I stopped at a parking area just past a bridge, thinking it was a photo op for some scenery I had seen east of the bridge.  Well, there isn’t any way to safely walk on the bridge and I soon realized the train was coming…. (even if you can’t hear it you can always tell where it is by the smoke billowing up above the trees).

I positioned myself in the shade next to the bridge.

 

 

After I took the second set of train pictures I saw this guy peddling his bike uphill.  I pulled ahead of him up the road and positioned myself so the sun would be at my back.

As he approached I yelled “Can I take your picture for my blog?”.  I think he had earbuds in because all he said was “What?”.  I took that to mean he gave his consent….

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Later in the morning as I got back on the road after a photo op I fell in behind this truck.  He pulled off into an area where other vehicles were parked shortly after I took this picture (while driving, Shawn, I know you’re going to yell at me….).

They are local guys who were out for a couple of hours of mountain biking.  They had parked a car at the bottom of the mountain and drove the truck up here.  This obviously wasn’t their first rodeo.  We talked for a few minutes while they got ready to ride.