In 1859 the gold rush began in the Rocky Mountains. Soon gold and silver was found in the San Juan area and narrow gauge railroads were put in to move the ore out of the mountains. Roads, settlers and towns followed, along with farms, ranches, and lumber operations. The are along the Dolores River, through Rico and into Telluride was heavily forested. It was great to see big trees again. We went over the Lizard Head Pass at 10,225 feet and had a great view of the valley but no stopping for pictures on the narrow road.
The area around Telluride was as picturesque as a ski area should be, but with a huge amount of development on the hillside. Lots of new condos going in. We have never skied here, but understand that the skiing is steep without much beginner or intermediate level runs. It is a beautiful area, for sure.
The road took a long downhill run from there, through Ridgeway which is on a big reservoir and has a beautiful state park along the shores. Like most of the lakes in the area, the reservoir was very low. Colorado has been in a bad drought for a couple years. No fires where we are but lots of fire restrictions.
The road into the park started in the valley and went straight up. Our engine did not overheat, but it was really working on the six mile drive up. We are back into the high desert environment, with mostly scrub oak and pinyon pine around our campsite. We have arrived on the weekend and the campground is pretty full. I reserved an electric site months ago so we are able to run the AC if needed. At least for today it is a out 10 degrees cooler than in Cortez, thank goodness.
Shortly after we pulled in and settled into our lawn chairs we were visited. Y the local mule deer. They seem to enjoy the campers and wander around very unafraid. We are loving being back into a quieter setting with spectacular views.
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