The Gem of the Rockies

That's what Ouray is referred to on RoadTripAmerica.com, "The Gem of the Rockies".  This tiny town is nestled in a canyon at the base of the San Juan Mountains and offers some of the most panoramic views in the United States, earning it the nickname "Switzerland of America".  Natural wonders like waterfalls, hot springs, mountain peaks and wildlife abound in this area as do historic ghost towns, museums, beautifully-preserved Victorian-era architecture, and year-round cultural events.

This picture with the sign was taken on our Million Dollar Highway drive and overlooked that beautiful, tiny town.

This photo was taken from the Look Out Point above.

The next two pictures were taken in town.  Ouray's intimate downtown is a designated National Historic District.

And this shot of the town was taken from the cliffs known as the Amphitheater.

We had a delicious lunch at Ouray Brewery on the main drag and celebrated with a nice, cold IPA brewski on tap.

We had heard that we needed to go to Box Canon Park which was right in town, so not ones to ignore sound advice from others who've been there before, off we went.

There was some nice, small wildlife available for viewing.  They had a number of bird feeders at the trailhead with a bench where you could set a spell and catch a few of the local birds feasting.

And a few chipmunks too.

Then we headed to the Box Canon Falls ... can't get lost with a sign like that, can you?

Along the path to the Falls you get a glimpse of the remnants of mining equipment leftover from days gone by.

The shot below shows just a small slice of the "trail" that is hand-railed.  At this point (when the hand rails start) you are very close to the Falls.  In this photo, just to the right of the red rail, that dark hole is where the fall is located.

A sign posted on the railing on the trail.

We finally arrived at the falls!  You aren't really allowed to walk into the water so it is very difficult (if not impossible) to see the full length of the Box Canon Falls.  You can see a small slice of the falls to the left.

What looks like a streak of lightening in the middle of the photo is actually the water fall!

The lower part of the fall as it hits the river bed--or should I say "creek" bed?

I've added two videos of the falls because there's nothing like hearing the roar of the water!

We did the horrendous uphill hike to the upper falls.  It was a 1/2 mile round trip (which means 1/4 mile one way) with a 200' gain in elevation.  Trust me, a 200' elevation gain in 1/4 mile is a HUGE elevation gain.  Basically 80% of the trail was climbing stairs now add to that you are starting from an elevation of 7,792 and end up at 8,100 feet.  Was I winded?  Really ... you need to ask?  Ha!ha!  Of course I was winded!  The big question is, "Was it worth it?"  NO!!!!  Really, you could barely see any of the fall from the bridge that spanned the small canyon.  Add to that my acrophobia and it was not a good formula!  However, it was a good work-out. Thankfully, the downhill trip was a piece of cake.

The good thing about the uphill trek was the view of the montane forest (had to throw that new word in here!).  I'm going to help you out though and give you the definition of montane (which I also had to look up).  A montane forest is one that is a dense growth of trees, plants and underbrush covering a large area.  Use that one in Scrabble (if you can) the next time you play!  This Montane forest is filled with White Fir, Douglas Fir and the occasional long-needled Ponderosa pine.

From Box Canon Park, we took off to the Million Dollar Highway.  As I mentioned in my last blog, these photos will focus more on everything else we experienced besides the colorful fall-covered hills--although there are still a few photos that glitter with that golden glow.

This waterfall was right off the side of the road.  The bridge you see is one that we crossed after we got back in the car and continued our trip.  The bad news was that a busload of high schoolers also stopped at this overlook right before us.  How joyful it was to share the experience with them (do you detect my sarcasm at all?).  It was interesting to watch them group together and to see the loners segregate from the group and stay stand away from everyone.  No, I don't ever want to go back to my high school days again. 

This is a close-up of the bottom of the fall where the water is crash landing into a beautiful crystal clear pool and then runs off to catch up with the Uncompaghre River.

The Uncompaghre River flowing through the canyon.

This is the mineral-rich slope of Red Mountain.

Below you can see the multiple mining remnants from the old mining days.  The Red Mountain Project was developed in conjunction with the Uncompaghre National Forest, the Trust for Public Lands and the Red Mountain Task Force, to set aside and permanently protect 3,152 acres in this area.  Thus you will always have these beautiful, pristine views of the Red Mountain landscape.

More beautiful scenery along the way.

This is the furthest point on our Million Dollar Highway trip--the 11,018 foot high Red Mountain Pass.  Although it is not the Continental Divide, this pass does divide the flow of two rivers.

On our way back, we drove up to this very distinguished looking area called the Amphitheater which is a semi-circle of cliffs around a natural depression.  There's a nice small (no hook-ups) forested campground in the bowl.  We set out on a short hike to the edge to get some beautiful shots of the the scenic montane forest and magnificent mountains.

Our last act of the day (before dinner) was a trip to the famous Ouray Hot Springs.  This is a public pool and fitness center that we THOROUGHLY enjoyed!  

There were three different pool areas, each featuring a different temperature.  The first photo is looking towards the hottest pool that is situated beyond all the colorful slides you see.  We spent most of our time in this 103 degree pool.  It was "yummy"!  

This first (front) pool was a balmy 96 degrees.  We didn't spend much time here.

There were two pools with the lowest temperatures at 79 degrees.  We generally alternated between the 103 and 79 degree pools ... AWESOME!

We stayed in the hotsprings for about an hour and felt like "jello".  We wanted to go back after dinner but didn't think we'd be able to stay awake for the drive back to Montrose if we did!

Isaiah 42:9-10

Behold, the former things have come to pass, now I declare new things; before they spring forth I proclaim them to you.  Sing to the LORD a new song, sing His praise from the end of the earth!