Silverton

Yesterday was a "stay at home" day.  It rained and was so perfect to NOT get back into the jeep.  I did some bookkeeping and we read.....late in the evening we went back out to the wildlife area but saw nothing.  Just threw up huge chunks of mud all over the jeep.  What a mess.

Hwy 550

Today we did Silverton.  Highway 550 between Ouray (just south of us) and Durango is known as "The Million Dollar Highway".  I've heard it's because of the million dollar view and the fact that it's built over a million dollars worth of gold.  The view is a million dollar view!  I guess today we did a half million dollar ride because we just went to Silverton and not all the way to Durango.  Cannot believe the motorhomes and fifth

Lots of these signs-even a 90 degree one

wheels that we saw up and down the road and in the RV parks in Silverton.  Crazy.  The craziest?  A truck pulling a fifth wheel that was at least 42+ feet long with a 25+ foot long  boat behind him.  There are actual 90 degree turns on this highway...can't figure how he did it.

It was corkscrew crazy.  We did it years ago when the kids were in high school.  Don't remember the amount of traffic that there was
today.  There was a "Mile High Jeep Club" rally in Silverton this week and the amount of jeeps we saw up and down the highway, the trails, everywhere was unbelievable.  As we came towards Silverton, there must have been 15-20 lined up to go up Bear Creek Trail (Class 5/Extreme).  hope they had a good time. There were jeeps at every trail access.  Everywhere.

Going towards Alpine Loop

We shopped a bit and watched the Silverton/Durango train come into town.  Loads of people.  We ate burgers and then proceeded out on County Road 2 towards the Alpine Loop.  It was a good wide flat road--lots of traffic coming and going.  This eventually led into the 4 wheeling trail towards Engineer Pass.


 We went a little ways up, but  after a bit, we decided that jeeping out here is not for us.  The trails that they use for "jeeping" are what we do with ATV's.  We would have had so much more fun in a 4 wheeler.

Alpine Loop

 Wimps or just old???

We rode the Alpine Loop from Lake City a few years ago on ATV's but never did the entire route from Lake City to Silverton.  We both want to do that (not in a jeep).  We came back through Silverton (another train had arrived and it was busy).

We then took the road to Clear Lake and thoroughly enjoyed it.  There are several campgrounds along this road and some just pull over and camp right there on the road.  The campgrounds are right along the river and very busy. I am in awe at the motorhomes and big fifth wheels that they nestle down these little roads and camping sites.

Road to Clear Lake/Our kind of road

 Rode on up towards a mine and then pulled over and just enjoyed the view.  I did spy an elk up above the
treeline--visible only with binoculars.  Saw several deer along the way.'








We had to wash the jeep off again and came back to the RV by 6:30.  Thank goodness, we had taco soup leftovers--we were pooped.  Hot showers and TV tonight.

It was a good day...sprinkled on us a few times, but nothing like the "monsoonal rain" that they had predicted and that happened yesterday.

Tomorrow is another day.