I was craving some Autumn action and decided that a trip to Colorado was in order. I'd been monitoring the live webcams in Telluride and Ouray for weeks, waiting for the perfect moment to strike, and the first weekend in October seemed to work out nicely, so I got a motel room and we hit the road.
Monday, after work, we drove to Cortez and spent the night in a cozy little motel just outside of Mesa Verde National Park. I'd been a couple of years back and couldn't wait to show Brian around the epic cliff dwellings inside the park. Unfortunately, the main attraction was closed (and will be for the next 3 years) so we weren't able to actually explore the park like I'd hoped. We still drove around and checked out some of the structures from afar, but I was pretty disappointed.
From there we hit up Durango for lunch and then made our way up the 550, soaking up the breathtaking beauty along the way.
Something caught Brian's eye to our left and I'd passed it, so we turned off on a dirt road to the right to find a spot to turn around. The farther back we went back in on the road, though, the deeper it drew us in. Soon, we were several miles in, 4-wheeling it through the rugged wilderness, stopping every 20 feet to get out and soak it in. As we drove along, every turn we took was more beautiful than the last.
Soon, we found ourselves on the bank of the Animas River and couldn't resist taking our shoes off and splashing around in it's freezing waters.
We continued along and eventually found ourselves back at the 550, having avoided most of the sketchy passes up above and instead, enjoyed every single mile of our trek through the rugged San Juan National Forest backcountry. It was perfect.
After a few more miles, we ended up in Silverton, where I played tour guide and showed Brian my favorite camp spot. We continued exploring, pointing out sketchy dirt trails cutting across the sharp peaks and seeing how far we could make it in my car before chickening out. Having been a gold miner, Brian was in awe of the old mines and shafts and mills and ruins all along the way, scrambling up the mountainsides to find little treasures along the way.
While we still had daylight, we hit the road again for the last stretch to Ouray. Brian was so amazed by the scenery, he literally hung out of the window with the camera taking photos. We're kind of perfect for each other :)
We checked into our adorable little motel, adorned with baskets full of flowers and it's own hot springs :) We settled in and cleaned up for dinner and then bundled up to walk into town in search of a hearty dinner. It was remarkably cold, but so crisp and still. We decided on a brewery that we'd been to before on our last trip, and weren't disappointed. It was so cozy and warm inside and had amazing burgers that hit the spot perfectly. After dinner, we hit up the ice cream shop across the street for a sundae and then walked back to the motel for a soak in the hot springs.
Wednesday morning, we got a hearty breakfast and then ventured out on Yankee Boy Pass, intent on seeing how far we could get this time. The scenery was breathtaking (as usual), we found waterfalls and saw deer and explored little side roads that didn't lead anywhere. And the best part? No mosquitoes!
Brian discovered a trail that was posted "No Trespassing", but you know us...we just had to see what they were protecting. We wandered down the trail to a large wooden platform nestled in the trees next to the creek, complete with camp chairs and everything, the perfect place to snuggle and nap and soak up the warm sunshine. Eventually, he set off for more exploring, and I stayed put and cherished the silence.
