Jun 30, 2012 - Million Dollar Highway

Leaving Quray towards Silverton and on the Million Dollar Highway towards Silverton. What a great trip, climbing and then the views are so awesome. We had traveled this way earlier in our trip while staying in Vallecito and enjoyed it even more from this direction. As we entered Durango, the smoke from forest fires was so bad we were glad to be back en route to South Fork and our "home on wheels". It was a great trip, Back home to South Fork...get the fly fishing going !!!

May 14, 2012 - After the Train Ride to Silverton

Monday, May 7, 2012 I was going to move to the RV Park in Durango today, but one hell of a thunderstorm hit and it rained and hailed most of the day, with lots of lightning and thunder, so I stayed another night. Tuesday, May 8, 2012 Other than a few cumulus clouds drifting in the sky, it was mostly sunny, so I called the RV Park to make sure they had a space for me, at their discounted nightly fee of $20.00. They did, so I packed up, went into town, filled the gas tank, and then drove the 6 miles north of town to the Durango Riverside...

May 14, 2012 - Mother's Day, Mine Tour and on to Telluride

Sunday, May 13, 2012 - Happy Mother’s day to all of you that are. I slept, undisturbed, and got up at 8:00 to have my coffee and plan my day. The brochure I had for the mine tour indicated that they gave one every hour, so I wasn’t in a hurry to get there. I decided to have breakfast before going, so drove into town and ate at the Silver Nugget again. It was good food for a reasonable price. I returned to the motor home, gave Zack some playtime and then left him in the RV while I drove the mile or so outside of town to the...

May 14, 2012 - Ouray, CO

Friday, May 11, 2012 A thunderstorm moved in today and it rained hard, off and on, all day. I stayed in the motor home, catching up on my writing and reading, watching television in the late afternoon. Zack managed to get his playtime in between downpours, so he was happy. Due to the storm, it was cold all day and I had the furnace running most of the day and then the space heater when I had the generator on. Saturday, May 12, 2012 - Ouray to Telluride It was clear and sunny this morning, but before noon, another thunderstorm moved in. I...

Oct 3, 2011 - recap

For Memorial Weekend 2011, we wanted to go camping in Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks. Unfortunately, all of the reservable campsites were taken and we didn't want to drive 8 hours without a place to stay. So we made campground reservations in Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. Two days before our scheduled departure, we checked the weather and saw that it was going to snow all weekend in Northern Wyoming. We didn't really want to spend the weekend sleeping in the snow so we cancelled our campsite reservations in Yellowstone...

Sep 29, 2011 - Road Trip to Ouray

Today was the scenic drive of a lifetime. It is the drive all should take. The fall colors were in their prime and added to the magic. Nature spared nothing when this spectacular area was created. The engineering marvel of the highway was made possible by early burro trails etched by the miners.The area was first discovered by Native Americans-the Ute. White explorers did not penetrate into this region until 1860. The intensely rugged San Juan Mountains dominate the landscape. These mountains are literally chiseled from solid rock. Aspens...

Jul 17, 2011 - A different kind of pretty

When we were trying to figure out what to do and where to spend the summer this year, I suggested spending more quality time in two states we had traveled through, but never really explored: Utah and Colorado. Every time we would pass through, we would marvel at the scenery but kept on going because we had some other destination. We always said we should return and really see more of these states in depth. I think our two months camphosting in Kodachrome Basin State Park in Utah, completed Part One of the plan. As previously described in...

Jun 14, 2011 - Back in Colorado

Made to Colorado June 8th. We stayed overnight at Pagosa Springs before heading to Ouray where we are now.Been enjoying that laid back way of life. With this weather it is easy to do.It was 64 today. Last night it was 48. There is a LOT of snow up in the mountains. When we find an open road( there not many in June) we will venture out and check out the beauty of the snow covered San Juan mountains.We read one report of a high pass called Engineer Mountain having 60 feet of snow! What we have encountered is snow along the road being about 8-...

Sep 16, 2010 - The Day of the JEEP!

2010_09_16 The Day of the JEEP! To say that Linda was a bit apprehensive, about what we were about to do, would be an understatement. Maybe she didn’t quite trust my ability to operate a six-speed manual transmission, maybe she was afraid of heights, maybe she was afraid of the unknown or maybe she was just afraid of dying. Whatever it was, I sensed a certain amount of stress as we drove away from the Jeep rental place. I promised her I would be very careful and we would not do anything she was uncomfortable with. Well, she was...

Sep 15, 2010 - Travel Day - G.S. to Ouray

2010-09-15 Travel day – Glenwood Springs to Ouray We took 82 southeast out of Glenwood Springs and turned south on 133. Hwy 133 is designated a scenic Hwy on the official Colorado map and indeed it is! It was one of the most beautiful drives we’ve been on. There is not any safe way to stop frequently to take pictures while pulling the 5th wheel. At Delta we turned south on Hwy 50 and at Montrose south on Hwy 550. Just north of the town of Ridgeway is Ridgeway Reservoir and Ridgeway State Park. We pulled into the camp ground entrance on the...

Sep 11, 2010 - Box Canyon Falls

It was good sleeping last night under the snuggy blanket with the bubbling sound of the river coming in through the open window. The low temp this morning was around 40. Today was sunny and clear, but it wasn't warm and in fact, we both wore our sweatshirts until around 2:00 pm. That's pretty near perfect for us. -- We packed a picnic and headed out the door to explore Box Canyon Falls. Unlike the Seven Falls we saw near Colorado Springs, Box Canyon Falls is owned by the City of Ouray. They do charge a small entrance fee but it was...

Sep 11, 2010 - Million Dollar Highway Loop

9/11/10 Today, we drove the treacherous and breathtaking Million Dollar Highway to Silverton and Ouray and the San Juan Skyway through Dolores Canyon and back to Durango. It took us almost ten hours to do the round trip because we kept stopping for photo opportunities. We did NOT drive the RV and were we ever glad. We were both carsick by the time we hit Ouray. The road to Ouray up US 550, The Million Dollar Highway, is awesome. Sweeping vistas across forested mountains with some mountains above tree line. The road snakes its way up to Red...