Ouray and Silverton

On Saturday morning, I spent a few hours soaking in the lithium-rich waters of Ridgway's Orvis Hot Springs. The soak felt terrific after all my hiking. I'd averaged at least five miles a day between Tuesday and Friday.

Next, I continued ten miles along Highway 550 to Ouray, Colorado. I'd spent a night in Ouray on my January road trip and loved it so much I wasn't going to miss out on an opportunity to go back. The only difference was this time it wasn't snowing. It's hard to beat a stroll down Ouray's old fashioned Main Street with staggering granite peaks buffeting the former mining town on every side. I liked the town just as much in summer sunshine as I did amidst winter flurries.

I stopped at a few quaint shops and had a tasty black bean burger at Maggies Kitchen with a side of thick-cut onion rings. The restaurant's staff seemed to have a bit of an attitude, but the food was delicious all the same. Following lunch, I made the easy trek to Cascade Falls just a few blocks and a short hike off Ouray's Main Street. This thin, wispy stream of water pours from a small notch in the reddish purple cliff standing guard over the town.

When I'd been to Ouray in January, the snowy conditions and sharp drop-offs had given me pause before taking Highway 550 to Durango. Instead, I'd looped around the long way, going back to Ridgway then passing through Cortez on the more mild Highway 145.

Minus the ice, however, I felt confident enough in my driving abilities to brave the famed Million Dollar Highway, the section of Highway 550 full of high ledges and narrow switchbacks that runs from Ouray to Silverton. No one's quite sure where the name comes from but it's rumored that's how much it cost to build each mile when the road was paved in the 1920s. It may also be how much the views are worth.

I managed not to drive over the edge of Million Dollar Highway and was in Silverton forty minutes later. Like Ouray, Silverton was once a small mining town and is now dominated by outdoors tourism. I spent a little time walking the town's main street, which though pretty isn't as picturesque as Ouray's. The mountains are back a bit from the town and not as rugged. Before continuing on to Durango, I stopped for a vanilla shake at Smedleys Ice Cream Parlor.

I ended the day in Pagosa Springs, Colorado after another couple hours of driving. I'd passed through Pagosa Springs on my previous road trip adventure and was glad to visit there again as well.