July 4th weekend celebrations

July 2nd-4th, 2016

We decided to enjoy the 4th of July weekend by doing a couple of different adventures.

Our hiking adventure was the Pine Creek trail which is approx. 35 miles from Montrose, CO along Hwy 50 at mile post 130.  The weather was partly cloudy to sprinkling on us throughout the hike.

Pine Creek trail has history as an old railroad grade along the Gunnison river.  The trailhead has nice bathrooms and ample parking.  We followed the Pine Creek as it cascades along the 232 steps down to the river in the upper Black Canyon to Morrow Point Reservoir. 



 

 

 

 

 

Once we made it down the steps we were greeted with a beautiful view of the canyon and river.  From here the path is a nice flat trail hugging the rivers edge through the canyon.  It's hard to imagine that trains were able to transverse this edge as we walked along looking for evidence of the trains of the past.  The tracks were removed in 1949 but the trestles and rail bed remained.  Tourist in automobiles drove the old railroad route to reach the good fishing in the Gunnison River before the dams were built in the early 60's.  Most of the rail bed has vanished under the rising waters of reservoirs created in the canyon.   

Along the way we passed by and over some really pretty rocks that look like the name sake of the Black Canyon, black granite with white pegmatite veins.

Notice that I have a hoodie on - it was comfortable.  Of course my better half had short sleeves.

 

We only encountered one damaged area of the trail.  This rock had fallen from the cliff above and taken out a tree and landed right in the middle of the trail!  Glad we weren't around when that happened.

 

About 3/4 mile down the trail we reached the boat ramp for the Morrow Point boat tour offered by the National Park Service.  Reservations are a must and walk-ons are not allowed.  So we hope to take the tour at a later date.  There are also pit bathrooms at the dock and a number of picnic tables along the trail.

The canyon scenery kept drawing us down the trail another 1/4 mile pass the dock then we decided to turn around as it started to thunder and sprinkle.  Better safe than sorry.

This photo does not do it justice to all the beautiful orange lichen on the cliff faces along the path.

As we continued back to the trailhead we once again enjoyed the views of the canyon and paused in wonder of the history through the canyon.  On one of the interpretive signs along the path, there was a quote from Rudyard Kipling, 1889, after his train travels through the canyon that sums up the beauty of the area:  "...We entered a gorge, remote from the sun... where a rock-splintered river roared and howled ten feet below the track... There was a glory and a wonder and a mystery about that wild ride that I felt keenly".

NOW - back up the 232 steps.

 

 

 



What is the 4th of July?  It is a federal holiday commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, by the Continental Congress declaring that the thirteen American colonies regarded themselves as a new nation, the United States of America, and no longer part of the British Empire. It is the day we celebrate our independence.

For over a year we have planned that we wanted to spend the 4th of July in Ouray, CO.  We've heard so many fun things about the Ouray celebrations.  So we drove up early on the 4th to start our day with a pancake breakfast sponsored by the Ouray Mountain Rescue organization. Followed by watching the 10K run start in town and a couple hours later watched the runners cross the finish line.  Every runner, young and old, is an inspiration to set your goals and go for it.  The old fashion parade was the best we've seen in a while. We found out that there was a wet side and dry side of the street to sit.  We elected to sit on the dry side so we could take photos and a good thing we did.  There were so many water related vehicles and floats that had the sole purpose of soaking the wet side of the street.  It was a blast to watch.

 

 

Win this Jeep - of course I am !

Here comes the water.

 of course...  You can always find Jeeps in Ouray

The band - Gut Busters

The 'wet' side of the street.

At the end of the parade we were in awe when two Colorado Air National Guard jets did a flyover.  It was quick and amazing.  Hence no photos.

That night we returned for the fireworks.  Many beautiful fireworks were enhanced by the sounds through the canyon.

Would we go again ? - you bet we would!  Hope your 4th of July was blessed with fun and old fashion celebrations.

Until next time - Enjoy your adventure.

Ophir Pass & Owl Creek Pass Jeep Trails

June 26, 2016 - Our next Jeep adventure into the San Juan Mountains near Telluride, CO was the Ophir Pass Road.  This road was originally established as a wagon road between the mines around Ophir and Telluride to Silverton.  After the Rio Grande Southern Railroad was completed in 1890 the road was only used as a time saving route for light wagon traffic. 

 

We had received a notice about two weeks ago that the Ophir pass had been snow plowed and was open.  We also had read and heard that even after the road  was plowed you would possibly drive through snow walls up to 20 feet high at the summit.  We did not want to miss the opportunity to experience such a trail. 

You can run this trail from either Silverton area or Telluride area.  We elected to start from the Telluride area via Highway 145 and then turning off at County Road 630 from the Telluride side which changes into County Road 8 on the Silverton side, toward the Town of Ophir. According to the town web site, the Town of Ophir was established in 1881 and sits at approximately 9,700 feet surrounded by 13,000 foot peaks. The Town has 74 homes with roughly 180 residents. Once a bustling mining town, Ophir is now a family community filled with outdoor lovers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Along the way there are a number of mines located on the mountainsides.  Many have been wiped out by the weather and avalanches which abound in this area.

 

 

 

 

Once we drove through the aspen lined road we came upon the very narrow, rocky shelf part of the road. The shelf road is not wide enough to have vehicles pass each other. So it was a good thing that we could see all the way around the 1/2 mile shelf road to make sure there are no vehicles on the road so off we went.  We stopped a couple times for photo opts of the Ophir valley and the beautiful surrounding mountains.

 

 

 

 

Taken from the shelf road.  Town on Ophir in valley

 

Shelf road

 

 

Once safely on the other side of the shelf road we were close to the summit and the well known snow walls.

 

Shelf road in the background

 

 

We had a fun time driving through the snow walls and even watched some snow boarders with dogs cruise down to the road from above almost landing on the Jeep as Jack drove through it while I took photos.

 

You can barely see the snowboarders in the snow above the road.

 

 

We made it to the very rocky summit at 11,789 feet.

 

 

After the summit the road drops down to the Red Mountain basin and eventually connects to Highway 550.

 

 

 

Once reaching Highway 550 we decided to go to Silverton, CO for lunch and eat at the well known Handlebars Restaurant.  The service was friendly and the owner of 26 years came to our table to give us the history of the building which included a bowling alley, bank, and hardware store.  We loved our sandwich and Peach cobbler dessert.

 

 

 

After lunch we headed to Ouray, CO and then home - but wait - there's more !!!!

 

As we passed by Ridgway on the way home, we saw a sign at a dirt road turn off that sounded like it was calling our name and tugging on our steering wheel...Our side trip included a trail called Owl Creek Pass, a 1885 cattle-drive trail. This road included about 46 miles of scenic and popular drive over Owl Creek Pass and to Silver Jack Recreation area.  As many areas around Ridgway, CO boasts, this area is also known as an area where scenes from How the West Was Won and True Grit were filmed. Along this route winds through national forest and river basin country.

The peaks of Chimney Rock and Courthouse Mountain stand strong in our view most of the climb up the Owl Creek Pass road.   As typical on many Colorado roads, this road was lined with tall white-barked aspen trees, spruce and fir, rivers, reservoirs, and seas of wildflowers.

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

After the summit we make our way to the 325 acre Silver Jack Recreational area.  The Silver Jack Reservoir is remote and few services are available.  There are campgrounds with toilets but there are no RV hookups and literature says no reservations are accepted.  The lake/reservoir is beautiful and quiet as only hand-propelled watercraft are permitted on Silver Jack Reservoir.  Once we soaked up the beauty of the lake and area we head home.

 



 

 

Lots of scenery throughout the day.  We thoroughly enjoyed our two Jeep trails.

 

 

'The World is big and I want to have a good look at it before it gets dark.'  John Muir