A Better Weather Day to Drive Through Silverton and on to Ouray!

We woke to much better weather than yesterday!  The sun was shining and it was 51 degrees.  We were on the Million Dollar Highway (one of the 10 best scenic highways in the US) by 8:30 and what a gorgeous morning for a drive up and down the mountain.  Our highest elevation today was about 11,000 feet and we could tell it with our ears and sometimes with our breathing!

Ken could not stop oohing and aahing as we looked out over the beautiful mountains and experienced peak season for the aspens.  It was gorgeous and breathtaking!  I can't begin to tell you how many photos we deleted before coming up with the best 30!

Aren't the aspens gorgeous???

Just a breathtaking sight!

Overlooking the town of Silverton!

Our 1st stop was the town of Silverton with a quaint and rustic downtown area that must have been an extremely thriving mining town (silver by the ton!)  We stopped at a local coffee shop for some tea and a homemade pumpkin spice muffin (YUM!)

This is their idea of a snowmobile!

Then it was back on the scenic highway to the town of Ouray known as the Switzerland of America, because it is nestled in the valley between all the towering mountains.  Again, they have a quaint and busy downtown area and many hiking trails.

After stopping at the Visitors Center, we took the trail to a beautiful waterfall where we met some interesting folks who found our lifestyle fascinating.

From there we went to the trail for Box Canyon to see another waterfall and gorge area that was amazing.  The power of the water there was incredible.

We walked down these metal steps when we got to the back
of the gorge and descended to the bottom of the falls!

We did take a short walk around the town of Ouray before heading back to the CG.

This is Ouray!

Somewhat resembles a western town!

Ken's wish was to find a pond where there was a reflection
of the aspens!  He got his wish!

We did have a few showers on the way back, but then the sun would appear.  I told Ken that my day would be complete if I could just see a beautiful rainbow and WOW did I get a grand surprise.  It was the most brilliant colored rainbow I have ever seen and it made an arch across the mountain range.

You can't imagine the brilliant colors in this rainbow!

It made a total arch!

We drove about 140 miles today and around every bend there was another magnificent sight to behold.

When we got to within about 7 miles of the CG we came upon another unusual phenomenon for these PA travelers.  It was about 50 degrees and it started to pour and then hail, and before we knew what happened the roadway was one icy mess.  Several of us "slid" to the side of the road to wait out the storm. Behind us there must have been an accident for police and fire trucks began showing up.  One of the officers stopped by our car to make sure we were okay. Within 15 minutes the roads were just wet and we were on our way.

We could not believe how quickly the roads were ice covered
and slick!

After dinner we sat on the porch by the office to use their WIFI so I could do this post and download pictures.  With all the downloads and only 8% of our data left this month (and we have 3 days left), we have to be very careful.  We even increased our data from 16 to 24 gbs this month and we are still running so close.  So, if you don't see a post for a few days, that is way!

Looking forward to our train ride tomorrow from Durango to Silverston, which is an all day ride back up the mountain.  We do stop in Silverton for 2 1/2 hour for lunch and shopping.  Should be a fun trip.