August 28 -- Ouray, CO

When we left Montrose yesterday we drove the 26 miles south and 1,500’ up to the little town of Ouray.  When we drove through Ouray last month on our San Juan mountain loop, we blew through here pretty fast, as it was getting late and we still had 90 miles of challenging road to travel (remember the million dollar highway?)  Since it is so close to Montrose, coming back down here to give the town a little more thorough look was on my list of things to do.  Since we didn’t want to stay in Montrose, we figured a couple of nights here should do it.

So we’re staying a week.  This is our front window view.

There is a hot spring just a scant quarter mile walk from our rv spot, and they have a pool with koi (must not have egrets here!)  Gypsy was fascinated.

       

Ooooh, look!  Fish!                         I like that one!                               Here, fishy, fishy

The town has a perimeter trail which they claim is 4 miles and circles the town.  They say the trail climbs 400 feet over the length of it.  They lie.  It was 400 feet over, and over, and over again!  But the views from the trail were great once I got enough oxygen into my lungs that I could see again.

     

Only half way up, only half a mile into it.                              Colorado Stress Test

As we were going along a relatively flat stretch of trail right against the sheer rock wall above us, we heard the first roll of thunder.  This is not a good place to be when there is lightning around!  Good incentive to keep on trucking along.  Where did that blue sky go?

       We finally came to a cross trail that lead down into town, following Cascade Creek.    When we got down far enough to be able to look back, I took a picture of the trail.  It runs right along the top of the green bushes, about a quarter of the way up.  It doesn’t look so bad from here.

                  

The trail dropped us into town just a block from Maggie’s Kitchen, which we knew from our last trip makes a mean hamburger.  We split a hamburger and an order of onion rings, and sat out on the porch while we watched the rain come pounding down in torrents.  Our timing was perfect!

          

We stayed there, laughing at the poor motorcycle riders who got caught by the rain and renewed our friendship with Brooke, the owner’s 4-year old daughter until the rain let up enough for us to venture out and back to Cleo.  And now it’s pouring down rain again.  Obviously the morning is the time to go on adventures.  We just hope it lets up enough for us to try out the hot pools later.