Today was a travel day to Ouray, CO. I have laid out a route that takes us eventually up to Grand Junction then over to Moab UT to catch three different National Parks. I was a little worried about the route from Silverton to Ouray. About half of the people on the internet forums said they would never drive a big Motorhome that route and the other half said no problem they did it many times. Since the route was supposed to be tight and steep in some places I had Donna and Maverick in the Jeep follow me in the rig through the mountains instead of towing the Jeep. I have driven the Durango to Silverton route before and enjoyed the drive even in the big rig. I had not ever driven between Silverton and Ouray and this drive was even more stunning with massive sheer rock walls. This rourte is the famed Million Dollar Highway built in 1880’s. We traversed Coal Bank Pass at 10,640 feet, Molas Pass at 10,910 feet, and Red Mountain Pass at 11,018 feet. The coach did great and the roads were tight with no guardrails in a few places but not too bad. I wouldn’t hesitate to drive this again in the Motorhome even towing the Jeep. We driven worse for sure.
We arrived at the Ouray KOA about noon. We ate in the coach, and then headed into town to explore. We walked the downtown shops including a neat old hardware store. We then drove to see the Baby Bathtub Falls. The “falls” are just 50 or so yards from the pavement. There really wasn’t any water running so it wasn’t very impressive. It would probably be pretty during the spring thaw. A quick word about Ouray. This is a small town of about 1,000 catering to the 4×4 jeep enthusiasts. You can rent Jeeps everywhere and I think everyone here has one. There are many Jeep trails that you can take to the Continental Divide and through passes to Silverton, Telluride, and other small towns. This whole area is covered in active or extinct mines. The town itself is a cute and reminiscent of a ski town. It has about a 1 mile long downtown with local shops and restaurants. No chain stores here.