Backyard Colorado Road Trip

Backyard Colorado Road Trip

 

September 2023

I got itchy feet (again!), so it’s time for another get away. Luckily, my husband, Chuck, and I live in a place where you can drive to amazing places.

Let’s head to Ouray, Colorado. Pronounced, “you-ray” like hurray without the ‘h’.  We decided to stay a night in Glenwood Springs to break up the 6-hour 27-minute drive to Ouray. We’d never stayed in Glenwood Springs and wanted to check it out.

Fun Fact: Glenwood Springs was originally named “Defiance” in 1880. It seems the town had not only miners but gamblers, gunslingers and 3 brothels.

 

Who doesn’t like legendary outlaws from the old west? This called for a visit to Linwood Cemetery in Glenwood Springs.

Note to self: You’re on foot and this is a mountain town, so expect a steep hike to get to the cemetery. And like every “huff and puff” hike in Colorado, people will tell you, it’s so worth it when you reach the top.

Ok, I’ll give you this one. Getting to the top was worth it. And luckily, it’s not a long hike, just enough to get your heart pounding. At the top you’ll have views of the surrounding town below.

But I wasn’t up here for that. I was on the hunt for the graves of iconic wild west outlaws.

I found two.

John Henry “Doc” Holliday was a dentist turned gambler and gunslinger. He suffered from tuberculosis, which had no cure back then. He moved to Glenwood Springs for his health. He hoped the mineral hot springs might cure him. He died 57 days later. The gunfight at the O.K. Corral made Holliday a legend.

Kid Curry was an outlaw and gunman who rode with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’s Wild Bunch Gang (or The Hole-in-the-wall Gang as you’ve probably heard it called) during the late 19^th and early 20^th century.

Both outlaws were ruthless murderers.

Now let’s get down this mountain cemetery and walk around town.

Glenwood Springs is a cute walkable town. We also found some good places to eat.

Hungry?

1. Have lunch at Sacred Grounds Coffee located at 725 Grand Ave. They have good sandwiches.

2. Highly recommend Smoke We had delicious barbeque sandwiches and Passion Margaritas. Wow! They’re good.

Tips:

Smoke is closed on Mondays.

https://smokemodernbbq.com/

 

The Hotel Denver 

Stayed 1 night.

This iconic landmark is in the heart of town on Seventh Street directly across from the train station. Its history dates to 1885 (the year the town of Glenwood Springs was established) but officially the hotel got its start in 1915.

I usually love to stay in historic hotels, but I found this one overpriced and lacking in atmosphere. The room was ‘just’ large. That’s all I can say. Except for the brick wall, it could have been any old hotel room, not a historic pricey one.

There was no breakfast provided with your room price and we were charged $20 to park.

Next day

We decided to take the scenic route to Ouray out of Glenwood Springs. Take CO 82 out of Carbondale and pick up CO 133 which joins CO 92 in Hotchkiss to Delta where you take US 50 to Montrose then US 550 to Ouray. Hope you got that. If not, Google.

The drive was very scenic. The Aspen leaves had started to turn yellow. There was some road construction which made the drive a little longer than the anticipated 3 hours. Also, the road is very twisty.

 

1^st Stop: Ouray Visitor’s Center

Who doesn’t like a good visitor’s center. The staff was friendly and gave us a short orientation of the town, where to hike, eat and things to do.

We decided to do the Uncompahgre River Walk. It’s an easy 2.4-mile walk that stretched our legs after being in the car for hours. It takes less than an hour and has some pretty views of Mt. Abrams.

 

2^nd Stop: Ouray County Historical Museum

The museum used to be St. Joseph’s Miners’ Hospital built in 1886. The Sisters of Mercy ran the hospital till 1964. Be prepared to be overwhelmed by three floors containing 38 exhibits in 27 rooms. If you have passion for history and museums, you could be here all day reading the plats in front of the exhibits.

Tips:

• Admission: $10-Adults

China Clipper Inn Bed and Breakfast

4 nights

China Clipper B&B is contactless check-in B&B located in downtown Ouray. This makes it a convenient location to walk to shops and restaurants.

The thing I love about staying at B&B’s is meeting the innkeepers and learning about the area directly from them. You don’t get this here since it’s contactless check-in and check-out. The wife would bring the breakfast food out in the morning, but there was little interaction with her.

Adventures:

1. Ouray Perimeter Trail

This is said to be a moderately challenging 5.4-mile hike. Somewhere in the middle of the hike, I wanted to find the person who said it was moderately challenging and 5.4 miles and choke them. It was a very difficult hike with lots of elevation changes and my watch and legs said it was closer to 6 miles. Just be aware that if you’re older this is challenging. My legs were jelly when we finished.

The hike can be started at different points along the trail so unknowingly we choose the harder starting point which is across from the Ouray Visitors’ Center on the east side of US 550.

The hike starts climbing wood stairs to Cascade Cliff. The path will become very narrow along the cliff walls before it widens.

The trail is well marked so just follow the signs. (Another quick note…my husband uses AllTrails when we hike and had downloaded the map prior to the trip…the AllTrails map did NOT track the entire perimeter, so don’t rely solely on AllTrails!)

You will be rewarded with views of Mt. Abram, 12,801’ and Hayden Mountain, 11,475’.

The trail’s highest elevation is 8,500’.

At one point you’ll have to cross a highway (be careful and check for traffic).

You will cross the suspended bridge over Canon Creek and through an old water tunnel. Now that you are tired and your feet are talking smack, you’ll have steep stairs that lead down the cliff along the gorge.

I was hiking slow by then, but a threatening thunderstorm sped me up.

When we finished, I wanted a t-shirt saying, “I survived Ouray Perimeter Trail”. For some reason they don’t sell them in town.

I’m glad I did the hike though. Would I do it again? No. I checked it off my bucket list. Moving on.

 

Tips:

• If the parking lot is full, you can park behind the Visitors’ Center and since this is where the hike will end, and you’ll be tired and it might be the best place to park.
• You don’t have to hike the entire trail. There are connecting trails, or you can leave the trail at certain points.
• Wear hiking shoes and take hiking sticks.

 

2. The Million Dollar Highway

The Aspens had just begun to turn golden around Ouray. We heard somebody tell us that the Aspens were peaking around Silverton, so we hopped in the car and got on U.S. Route 550, also known as The Million Dollar Highway. It’s 25 miles from Ouray to Silverton, but due to construction we were at a dead stop for almost 30 minutes.

The drive was beautiful and the Aspens became more golden the closer we got to Silverton.

 

 

3. Telluride

The next day we went to Telluride. It was about an hour via CO-62 and CO-145 S. The drive is beautiful.

After parking in the Mountain Village parking garage, we jumped onto the free gondola and rode it to the town of Telluride.

The gondola is a three-stage transportation system that connects the Town of Mountain Village with the Town of Telluride. We explored the quaint mountain towns. There are lots of cute shops to check out. It’s a small town.

 

 

Hungry?

 Brown Dog Pizza hit the spot for lunch in Telluride.

https://www.browndogpizza.com/

We had supper in Ouray. I won’t mention any places where we ate in Ouray. I’m sure there are some good spots, we just didn’t have luck finding them.

We liked Telluride so much we decided to go back the very next day, hike, and stay in town for supper. We parked at Mountain Village again and rode the gondola up to Mountain Village Plaza. We went to the visitors’ center to get information on restaurants.

Shout Out!

 At the visitors’ center, Christine helped us find a coffee shop and a good restaurant for supper. She was very friendly and gave us lots of good information. Thanks Christine!

Before getting back on the gondola to head into Telluride, we grabbed a sandwich at the deli in Mountain Village Market. We wanted to have a picnic on our hike.

 

4. Bear Creek Falls via Bear Creek Trail

This is a 4.5-mile out-and-back hike which is labeled moderately challenging and has a 1092 foot elevation gain. Since the trail has a gradual incline until you get close to the waterfall (where it gets steep and rocky), I felt it was more of a moderate hike.

The trailhead begins at the end of South Pine Street in downtown Telluride. (Only 3 blocks from where the free gondola station is located)

I really liked this trail which ran along Bear Creek and had beautiful views along the way. You are rewarded with an awesome waterfall at the end of the hike. We had our lunch by the falls, relaxed, met some nice folks, and then headed back. This time it was downhill all the way.

 

Hungry?

Black Iron Kitchen and Bar

https://aubergeresorts.com/madeline/dine/black-iron-kitchen-bar/

We splurged on dinner, and it was worth it. I had the whisky glazed pork porterhouse. Sounds yummy, doesn’t it? And it was. We ordered a glass of delicious wine recommended by our server, Alex. And for dessert—an apple pie that was the special for the evening. Alex didn’t steer us wrong. The pie was to die for.

Telluride Fun Facts:

• Butch Cassidy and his “wild bunch” gang robbed the San Miguel Bank in Telluride in 1889.
• The Telluride Regional Airport is the highest commercial airport in North America at 9,078 feet above sea level.
• Telluride has the only free gondola public transportation system in North America.
• There are no chain restaurants or shops in Telluride.
• The San Juan mountains, which surround Telluride, have the highest concentration of 13- and 14-thousand-foot peaks in Colorado. No wonder it’s so beautiful.

It’s time to load up and do our contactless check-out at China Clipper Inn Bed and Breakfast, but first breakfast.

We have one more item on this trip to check off our bucket list, Hanging Lake in Glenwood Springs.

The drive from Ouray, Colorado to Glenwood Springs is 3 hours via I-70 E. We had visited Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in the past and loved it. We loved it, not just for the beauty of the park, but because this National Park was a hidden gem. At least the last time we visited. Whoa, we’re in for a surprise?!

Montrose (the town closest to the National Park) was no longer the sleepy little town it once was. It has exploded.

Inside Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP we had trouble finding parking. There are many areas along the main road where you park and walk down short paths to view the spectacular canyon.

Is it worth visiting? Absolutely. Just go early in the day. (And compared to other parks in Colorado it still doesn’t get the number of visitors other parks get). I think the biggest issue in Black Canyon is limited parking.

 

Fun Fact: Some of the exposed rock at Black Canyon of the Gunnison is 1.8 billion years old. WOW!

Onward to Glenwood Springs….

This time in Glenwood Springs we choose another place to stay.

 

Best Western Antlers

1 night

The Best Western was clean, good location and good price.

Our plan was to relax, walk around town and have supper the afternoon we arrived and then get up early and hike Hanging Lake.

Adventures:

5. Hanging Lake

This is a hike that requires a permit you MUST get in advance. It’s a 3.1 mile out-and-back hike that is rated moderately challenging.

Who rates these hikes? I’ve still have my original knees and hip joints but there’re a lot of miles on them. This hike is challenging. Period.

It does start out with the false promise of not being too bad. There is a ¼ mile paved walk that takes you to the trail head. Then you start high stepping and will cross 7 bridges before you reach the top. You start at around 6100’ elevation and then a rocky incline of 1187 total elevation gain for 1.2 miles.

Toward the end you will have guard rails to help you climb the final push to the top.

At least there’s plenty of shade and the morning weather was cool.

I did whine a lot and said a few curse words to myself, but this is one hike worth all the effort.

Bridal Veil Falls (at Hanging Lake) is breathtakingly beautiful. Water from the waterfall flows into the clear turquoise lake.

Take time to sit on a bench, eat a snack, drink your water, and reflect on the natural beauty surrounding you.

 

Tips:

• Get a permit in advance. You have a window of 15 minutes before to 15 minutes after your designated entry time.
• Take water and snacks.
• Wear hiking boots.
• Take your time and take breaks on the benches along the trail.
• Coming down is hard on the knees so take hiking poles.

6. Spouting Rock

You’re at Hanging Lake and there is a cut off to Spouting Rock Waterfall. Don’t miss this cool waterfall.

The trail is right before the boardwalk to Hanging Lake and is only about 200 yards to the waterfall.

The waterfall gushes out of a rock face then flows into Hanging Lake. You can walk behind the waterfall.

 

Tips:

• If there are a lot of people at Hanging Lake, then go on up to Spouting Rock and let the crowd thin out at the Lake.

Fun Fact: Hanging Lake is a National Natural Landmark, formed by a geologic fault which caused the lake bed to drop from the valley floor above it. Water flows into the lake from Bridal Veil Falls. Dissolved carbonates are deposited on the shore which built up the lake bed.

That’s it for this Itchy Feet adventure.

I hope you enjoyed following along with me.

Till our next adventure!