The San Juan Skyway Scenic Byway (Part One)

Thursday, October 26, 2023

We are parked in the desert. 

First Saguaro and First Sunset in the Desert this Adventure!

(Back to getting the blog caught up to where we are.)

Wednesday, October 11, 2023

As I mentioned in the last blog we ended up renting a car and taking two rides. This ride on the San Juan Skyway was beautiful and I only took a little over 500 pictures. Though there are a lot of pictures below and there will be a lot more pictures in the next post. I am sharing them in two posts, I will not share all of them...lol  

I wish we would have had more then one day to spend on this Skyway Scenic Byway Drive. So many spots to stop along the way and lovely small towns to explore that one day is really not enough time. Our time was what it was and even though we did not really have the time to stop along the way we did see beautiful color and scenery in the mountains. I, like everyone else, say all the time the pictures do not do what our eyes saw justice. Yet I was surprised how well my camera did pick up the colors. Some cropping but except for one picture no enhancement. These many pictures are what I downloaded off my phone and camera. 

The San Juan Skyway was designated by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation as an All-American Road, the highest level of designation, in 1996. It is one of 13 America's Byways designated in Colorado.

This is the description of the byway by The Colorado Department of Transportation:

Length: 236 miles

Driving time: 6 hours

If byways could claim royal lineage, this one would probably rule them all. Start with the major towns along the route - Durango, a well-preserved descendant of the Old West; picturesque Telluride, renowned for world-class skiing and film, jazz, and bluegrass festivals; and Silverton and Ouray, Victorian jewels tucked in deep alpine valleys. Add another crown - Mesa Verde National Park, home to one of the densest collections of prehistoric ruins in the U.S. - and five million acres of undisturbed national forest. Then there are the roads themselves, snaking through the woods in the shadow of impressive 14,000-foot peaks. The segment from Ouray to Silverton is called the "Million Dollar Highway." But you can't put a price tag on this experience.

A screenshot of the Map of the drive:

(Most of the information I will share about the cities along the way is from the brochure I had about the ride.)

Cortez to Rico

Leaving Cortez, CO we are headed North on US-145

Delores is a small settlement in the Dolores River Valley that began in the 1870's and is home to the McPhere Reservoir the second largest body of water in Colorado. The Museum behind the Galloping Goose railcar is a replica of original railroad depot.

A quick stop in Delores, CO to snap a picture of
 the Galloping Goose railcar which is part train, bus and car.

Continuing on we stopped for a picture of the Dolores River

which was on our right for

several miles.

Right from the start I think you can see why there are 

so many pictures. The gold of the Aspens

the mountains in the distance

and the dark green of the evergreens painted beauty

around every corner.

The shadows created by the clouds added to the beauty

then the sun would highlight a patch of gold in the distance.

It truly was

a feast for the eyes.

Then we arrived in Rico, elevation 8827 feet, I mentioned to Tom when we saw the sign if there is a coffee shop lets stop. There was and we did stop. 

I thought the handwritten sign on the door, most days, was cute.

Rica To Telluride

The white snow on the mountains only added to the beauty.

This one is for my memory.
We could see this small lake with houses around it then

the sun came out and its light hit directly down on the lake
creating this circle of white brightness. 

If you click on this picture it should open larger in a new window.
Not sure why someone felt the need to write on the sign.

These three pictures

were taken at

this stop.

We had already been up and down so many times I said to
Tom, when this showed up, I wonder what is ahead?

This view as we were headed down.

Our next stop was Telluride, elevation 8750 feet. A Victorian mining town it was founded in the late 1800's. It is now an international summer festival and ski resort. One fun fact, the first bank robbery by the infamous Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch gang on June 24, 1889 took place in Telluride. 

For us today it really was not a stop we just rode through and then headed back to US-145 to continue on the Byway.

Turning and driving into Telluride.

A nice place to park and walk around

another time.

Telluride to Ridgeway

Finally had the camera ready as we went by the sign...lol

I believe we are now on US-62

We stopped in Ridgeway, elevation 7048 feet, for lunch. It is described in the brochure as a quiet western town at the base of 14,000 ft Mt. Sneffels. A ride north of here to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument was in our original plans. Again maybe another time.

Lunch at GNAR Tacos CO
Tom had the Cholo Shrimp and I had the Korean Tacos and
we shared some cheesy tots. The food was really quite good.

Ridgeway to Ouray

Leaving Ridgeway we turned onto US-550
and this was our view ahead.

Plus this sign flashed 

above us.

Next we made it to Ouray, elevation 7792 feet. Known as the "Switzerland of America" most of the buildings were built between 1880 and 1900. The entire town is a National Historic District. There is a year round hot springs located here first used by the Ute Indians for spiritual and medicinal purposes.

Driving through

Ouray

Then we headed

up

to

here

and looked down over Ouray.

I am stopping here for today and will finish the ride in the next post. I know there are a lot of pictures but if you did stick it out I think you might be able to see my problem. I started with over 500 pictures and I really liked over 200but I am not posting them all. Hope you enjoyed the ones I kept.

We are glad you stopped by!

If you have time to leave a comment we would enjoy hearing from you.