We planned our return trip as a loop through two mountain passes. So we checked road conditions on the passes and found perfect conditions for our drive. Our first stop was the small mining town of Ouray and the start of the million dollar highway. So named because it was estimated to cost a million dollars when it was built in the early 1900s to reduce the time to move ore from the mines to Durango. Ouray sits at the base of Red Mountain pass and the views are spectacular. We took the time to walk around the small down town and do some Christmas shopping. Just outside of town is Box Canyon falls where on another trip, David watched climbers climb the frozen water fall. We drove up through Red Mountain pass into the heart of the San Juan Mountains and the scenery was gorgeous, snow capped mountains and snow covered valleys as far as your could see. We drove through the small mining town of Silverton and beyond to some of the connecting valleys. Most of the town was closed for either the season or because it was Monday. Either way there was not much open so we continued on to Durango through Molas Pass. The scenery was just incredible. We stopped off in Durango and walked over to the Durango-Silverton Train depot just in time to see them firing up one of the narrow gage steam locomotives to move some passenger cars around. Then we strolled the downtown area before picking out a pet friendly street patio to stop in for dinner and a local brew. A very relaxing day. Appetites sedated, we went back to the Behemoth for the one hour drive back to Delores where the Wanderer awaited us.
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| Our |
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| Molas Pass |
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| Moles Pass #2 |
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| Durango & Silverton Narrow Gage Railroad |
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| Bear Claw Falls |
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| Box Canyon Falls |
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