Durango~Day 3~A Trip to Silverton and Ouray

The Durango & Silverton train that took us to zip line is named that because, get this, it goes from Durango to Silverton and back every day! How clever! Since we didn't ride the train all the way to Silverton, we decided to drive to Silverton the next day.

On our way, we stopped at various
lookout spots to take pictures.

The drive was beyond picturesque! Something gorgeous was around every one of the many turns along the way! At one stopping point just above Silverton, we could see the railroad tracks below and hear the train whistle.

Of course, we waited for it so that we could take pictures from that vantage point. We took quite a few pics but I'm only posting one. I don't want anybody to be on train picture overload since the previous posts were full of train photos!
While waiting for the train at the above location, we talked to a guy who lives in Wasilla, Alaska. He was born and raised in Silverton. I asked him which place had more snow, and I was a little surprised when he told me Colorado!

Below is the entire town of Silverton.
At this point, we were only a winding

curve and descending hill away!

We're there!

We walked all over town and shopped!

Silverton is quite small with only three main roads, and eight or nine crossroads. As far as I can tell, there's only one way in and out of town too.
I could truly feel the old west as we wandered the streets. I pictured cowboys riding into town on their horses and tying up in front of a saloon. I was completely intrigued and even more so when I got back to the room that night and read about The Badlands of Blair Street in the literature. Blair Street is one of the three main streets. It's an outer street and located on the southeast side.

Behind mining, saloons were Silverton's second largest industry, and in a three block section on Blair Street, there were 34 saloons and bordellos! I can't imagine! Some of those had to be pretty small places! In addition, there were gambling houses.

Most of the miners were young and single, and spent their time and money on Blair Street. Gambling and bordellos were illegal, however, as long as the activity stayed to the east of Greene Street (the middle road), most of the residents overlooked it.

Train again!
Of course, we had to have
a pic of it stopped in town!

I don't know if you can see it or not but the tracks end where the train is stopped. How do they turn it around?

The town's three churches were
all in the same area, and
two blocks over from Blair Street.

The Wyman Hotel and Inn.If you're interested in some Wyman history,

local activities, or the like, click here.

This pretty stream was on a

little dead-end side street!

On our way out of town, we spotted

this stage coach. I wish we'd have

seen it earlier so we could have

taken one of the $5.00 rides!

After leaving Silverton, we drove to Ouray on the Million Dollar Highway. It's a 23-mile section of US 550 but the 12-mile stretch just before Ouray was the most harrowing experience of my life!

I AM NOT KIDDING FOLKS!

It was frightening and truly tested my FEAR of heights. I failed the test, and I don't care! It was a nightmare! I zip lined without fear but this highway was an entirely different story!

The road zigzags back and forth on the edge of a cliff with very few guard rails! In fact, in many instances, the edge of the cliff was where the line on the right side of the road should be.

There wasn't an inch of wiggle room!

When I could actually look (and that wasn't often), the scenery was breathtaking. Unfortunately, the drive was stealing my breath, not the scenery! To read some reviews about the Million Dollar Highway, click here.

Finally, we stopped just
above Ouray, and here it is!

Ouray is a little bigger than Silverton.

These were parked on

the side of a building.
I thought they were very cool!

We got to Ouray around 4:00 in the afternoon. Bands were beginning to play on outdoor patios and the main street was buzzing with folks. A TV station was broadcasting from the street. Ouray was a stop for groups of bicyclers on a journey through Colorado, and the TV station was reporting on them.

Initially, I couldn't shake the thought of having to drive back on the Million Dollar Highway. I eventually calmed down after realizing that we'd be driving against the mountain on the way back and not on the edge. It's still scary but much better!

We wandered through a lot of stores but only stayed in Ouray for an hour or so. I would like to go back when we can spend more time but not on the Million Dollar Highway!

Click here to go to another post that has a video of the Million Dollar Highway. I watched many YouTube videos but I couldn't really find one that did true justice to that section of highway. The link to the video above gives you a fairly decent idea though!

Next up, Day 4!
I'll try to get it posted soon!

Simply Smilin'
D~~~~