GOLD in them there hills!

We left Montrose and the Centennial RV park around 10am on Wednesday and headed to Ridgeway and then towards Telluride on the San Juan Skyway.  The aspens are in their glorious fall best colors.  There were all shades of green and gold splashed across the mountainsides as we wound our way along the highway.  Some of the mountains were topped with snowcaps, but we enjoyed temperatures in the 80s along with brilliant sunshine.  We stopped for the night at the Ute Mountain Casino near Towaoc and will head into Arizona tomorrow.

Along the San Juan Skyway, Colorado

A stand of aspens along the San Juan Skyway

Out and About

After several days of hangin' close to home - thanks to Mary's painful pulled muscle - we ventured out on a road trip today.  First stop was lunch at the "Stone House" in Montrose...quite tasty!  Then, with our friends Art and June as tour guides we drove a little bit east of town to the "Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park."  We had visited here eight years ago, but it was well worth a return trip.  It was sunny and 80+* outside and we enjoyed stopping at the various lookout points.  The canyon is 50 miles long and 2000 feet deep - much smaller than the Grand Canyon - but just as beautiful and majestic.

Tom and Art saw a bear while talking to the park ranger  :-)

That's the Gunnison River down below...a little smaller than the Colorado.

The "Million Dollar Highway"

Monday was a day to catch up on chores, laundry and restock the pantry on a drive into Montrose.  Tuesday we took a ride up the "Million Dollar Highway", Route 550, to Silverton.  We drove through the town of Ouray and over Red Mountain Pass.  We're not sure why it's named the Million Dollar Highway, but in the 1800's and early 1900's there were many mines in the area.  The aspen trees have turned to gold and the views along the drive were spectacular.  The quaint towns of Ouray and Silverton are full of shops, boutiques and restaurants along with many restored and abandoned homes.  In Silverton we watched the arrival of the steam train coming from Durango and raced the huge crowd of passengers to get a place for lunch.  It was a great day!

At Red Mountain Pass along the Million Dollar Highway