Blue Goose ~ Day 155

October 31, 2014 ~ Durango, CO to Grand Junction, CO

I woke up (as usual the past few weeks) in the cold and dark and first found my way downtown to an open McDonalds and then to the Steaming Bean a few block away. I struggled with the parking meter for 10 minutes trying to use a credit card but finally got some quarters from the barista.

There was the usual table of older men carrying on in McDonalds, gregarious, good-humored, catching up on their respective 24 hours since yesterday morning.  In the Steaming Bean, one of the staff and a few customers wore Halloween costumes. I had exceptional coffee and a veggie curry sandwich that was also delicious so was content and ready to hit the road by mid morning.

 Leafless aspens - US 550 north of Durango - CO

It started out fine. I was to drive north on US 550 through Silverton and Ouray, eventually coming to Grand Junction. Sunshine, blue skies, mountains everywhere, a million trees with yellow to bright orange leaves, which were dazzling in the morning sun. It was cool but not cold and there wasn't much traffic.

And then I came to a warning sign, but I reasoned, this is a major road and nowadays, how bad can it be? All these mountain passes now have guardrails. Later I learned that USA Today considered this one of "The World's Most Dangerous Roads."

US 550 north of Durango - CO

Here is a recent blog post I found on the Internet:

In planning our trip to southwestern Colorado - I had several people tell me how beautiful and spectacular the views from the Million Dollar Highway are. They are correct - the views are magnificent!  

However, I'm just wondering why no one ever told me that in order to enjoy the views - you are taking your life in your own hands! Winding, twisting, turning, narrow, steep roads - with miles and miles of no guard rails. I might even be able to live without the guard rails - but what got me was the huge sections of road - with NO SHOULDER! Literally the asphalt ends where the white line is - and after the asphalt/ white line there is a cliff straight down hundreds or thousands of feet. And of course, there were a few chunks of the highway where even the white line was missing (had fallen away to the abyss below). Basically, this road allows ZERO room for error! Very scary! 

This road is certainly for the adrenaline junkie - and adrenaline you will get - whether from the fright of the road or the awe-inspiring views. 

It was an amazing couple of hours. I did wish I had a stick shift rather than an automatic though.

US 550 between Durango and Montrose - CO

And of course I crept along. At the most treacherous mile, I was on the inside but smack next to steep vertical cliffs with the potential for rocks and boulders or half the mountain to fall on the car, but that was better than the other lane which was a sheer drop-off with no guard rails or shoulder. What I could not imagine is driving this road in the winter as it is plowed and kept open. And who would want the plowing jobs!!!! I went over three passes; the highest and trickiest was Red Mountain at over 11,000 feet.

All part of the grand adventure....

I stopped at one point and saw Gray Jays. The views, even with overcast skies, were spectacular. I do doubt this road is one of the world's most "dangerous," though, and it doesn't have a horrendous death record, probably due to very slow and careful driving. I now wish I had taken more photos as there were plenty of pull-offs, but I just wanted this to be OVER!

Unfortunately, the aspens were bare and ghostly grey now, but I could imagine how their incredible yellows brightened the mountainsides only a few weeks earlier.

And then, north of Ouray, the most rugged of the Rockies were in the rear-view and I had arrived in the canyon country of Colorado and Utah.

Along US 550 - CO

I stayed in Grand Junction and worked this Halloween night but got candy at the front desk where a spooky witch was singing and swaying in the corner, eyes bright orange.

Silverton and Ouray were pleasant little tourist towns with the usual commercial establishments and people walking up and down the sidewalks as some shops were still open. Historically, much of Colorado is mining country and there are also side roads up into the mines, or guided tours.

Backcountry explorers always have the chance of finding a lost mine, and panning for gold is also a seduction here in the mountains.

Near Grand Junction - CO

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