It is hard to come up with superlatives to describe this
area. We are very lucky to have clear warm days that allow us to fully
appreciate the area as we drive through. Today we drove to Silverton and Ourey.
This route is through the mining areas of the San Juan Mountains. There is a
terrific narrow gauge train that goes between Durango and Silverton, but it
does not start to operate for the summer season until May 5th. We
would have liked to take the train, but since it is not running yet we drove.
The good side of that is that we were able to continue on to Ourey. We are glad
we did since that drive was magnificent.
The folks that live in Durango must be fitness buffs,
particularly cyclists. We must have passed at lease fifty cyclists heading up
to Silverton on the highway. I can’t say that is a very safe place to bike
because there is little or no shoulder, but there they are. This bunch must be
hearty folks considering the altitude and steepness of the road. I was
impressed.
The highway between Silverton and Ourey was completed in
1881 and was titled the Million Dollar Highway. That is 1881 dollars. It was an
engineering marvel considering the canyons it traverses. The views are worth a
million bucks, too.
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