Colorado : Part II

Tuesday morning we woke up, cleaned up camp and drove to Crested Butte for breakfast and to check out the town.  Our camping spot was only about 15 minutes from town.  We got some breakfast sandwiches from a little shop and then walked around the town for a bit.  Different vibe here.  You could definitely tell Crested Butte is an area filled with people with lots of money.  There were a lot of cool shops and tons of great views.

From Crested Butte we headed further west towards Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.  Along the way, we drove by the biggest reservoir in Colorado, Blue Mesa Reservoir.

After about an hour and a half drive, we arrived at the Black Canyon.  It was quite an impressive sight.  We entered the park on the south rim and stopped by the Visitors Center to see what the major attractions were.  From the Visitors Center we took a two mile hike down into canyon to get a different vantage point than from the rim.  The views were stunning.  The canyon reminded me of the Grand Canyon in a lot of ways.  It wasn't on the same scale but visually stunning in the same way that the Grand Canyon is.  After the hike down, we drove along the rim drive and stopped at a couple of the overlooks.

After visiting the Park for a couple hours we headed for Ridgway State Park for the night.  This was our first night staying in a campground with amenities (a shower!).  We checked in and got one of the walk-in campsites.  As soon as we got camp set up we immediately headed for the showers.  It felt pretty fantastic after four days of dirt and sweat.

Wednesday morning we woke up, cooked breakfast, packed up camp again and then we were off down US 550 to Ouray.  Ouray is called the Switzerland of America.  The small, old mining town is tucked into a small valley surrounded by mountains.  It is an incredible.

After eating lunch at Ouray Brewery (great burgers!), we stopped in an outdoor shop to get a couple things and asked the owner for a recommendation for a hike near Ouray.  He recommended that we hike Bear Creek Trail which is about 2 miles south of town, so that's what we did.  The trail was pretty brutal the for the first mile rising about 1000' along a trail made up of slate that was falling down the mountain.  We were basically hiking switchbacks up the side of a cliff.  While hard, the climb was worth it.  The views of the surrounding mountains were spectacular.  Once to the top, the trail followed along Bear Creek canyon with the mountain on one side and shear cliffs down to Bear Creek on the other...definitely had to watch where you stepped.

After the hike we continued on US-550, which at this point is called the Million Dollar Highway, towards Silverton.  Ouray and Silverton are about 25 miles apart and the MDH between the two is one of the most scenic drives in the country passing through the San Juan Mountains.  Unbelievable scenery with a couple of old mines along the way.

I asked the owner of Ouray Mountain Sports for a camping recommendation near Silverton and he recommended that we stay along Mineral Creek just outside of town.  There is an official Forest Service campground at Mineral Creek but lots of people just set up camp along the creek for free since it is on Forest Service land.  Again, an incredible place to camp completely surrounded by mountains.  The Silverton - Ouray area was my favorite part of the trip.  The San Juan Mountains are unlike any I have ever seen before.  They provide jaw-dropping scenery every way you look.

Part III coming from Sara very soon...