Day 27 - Friday, Oct 20 - Ouray, CO to Ft Collins, CO
Starting mileage: 6769 Starting time: 8:30 am
Ending mileage: 7148 Ending time: 6:30 pm
Travel mileage: 379 Travel time: 10:00 hours
Speaking with the desk clerk at breakfast, he suggested taking route 285 up through Leadville as a scenic route. He said that he and his wife came out to hike in Ouray 4 years ago and liked it so much they both quit their jobs in Connecticut and were fortunate to find jobs in Ouray.
We followed his suggestion and it was truly a spectacular drive north through the Rocky Mountains.
For lunch we stopped at the Silver Dollar Saloon in Leadville which has been operating there since 1879. It was opened by a mining businessman who at the time was the wealthiest man in Colorado. He would help fund minors and in return got a share of the profits which were huge. He paid $25,000 to build an opera house in Leadville because he thought it important for civilized society and many notable people visited there.
We went to the National Mining Museum and Hall of Fame in Leadville which was very worthwhile and could have spent more time there. There are many displays of the minerals mined, the process of mining and refining and how many minerals are used in the products we use every day. There were also some displays of the great job that mining companies are doing of remediation once a mine is exhausted.
We passed the Climax molybdenum mine which is above an 11,000' pass we went over. They have carved away a huge part of the mountain and the tailings have created another mountain. This is the largest molybdenum mine in the country.
Driving along, we saw the ruins of many old mining operations, wooden mine tipples that are falling apart and piles of yellow tailings that aren't likely to ever be cleaned up.
Many of the mountains are snow-covered but fortunately all the passes we needed to go over were clear of snow. Many are seasonal and are already closed. The ones that are open require you to put on tire chains before you are allowed to go up and over the pass.
It was nice having several days of easy driving with no traffic until we got to the outskirts of Denver where it was like driving in San Diego or NYC, with heavy traffic and crazy drivers weaving in and out. We were glad to get to our hotel in Fort Collins.
Since we got to Utah, we've gotten exceptionally good gas mileage with our car and have no idea why. We have been getting 28-30 mpg while on the trip out and in California we only got 24-25 mpg. Could it be the higher altitude? Or lower octane gas? Gas here is 95 or 96 octane compared with 97 at lower elevations. Our car doesn't have much "oomph" going up the steep mountains. Even with the "pedal to the metal", virtually everyone passes us going uphill.
Ending mileage: 7148 Ending time: 6:30 pm
Travel mileage: 379 Travel time: 10:00 hours
Speaking with the desk clerk at breakfast, he suggested taking route 285 up through Leadville as a scenic route. He said that he and his wife came out to hike in Ouray 4 years ago and liked it so much they both quit their jobs in Connecticut and were fortunate to find jobs in Ouray.
We followed his suggestion and it was truly a spectacular drive north through the Rocky Mountains.
For lunch we stopped at the Silver Dollar Saloon in Leadville which has been operating there since 1879. It was opened by a mining businessman who at the time was the wealthiest man in Colorado. He would help fund minors and in return got a share of the profits which were huge. He paid $25,000 to build an opera house in Leadville because he thought it important for civilized society and many notable people visited there.
We went to the National Mining Museum and Hall of Fame in Leadville which was very worthwhile and could have spent more time there. There are many displays of the minerals mined, the process of mining and refining and how many minerals are used in the products we use every day. There were also some displays of the great job that mining companies are doing of remediation once a mine is exhausted.
We passed the Climax molybdenum mine which is above an 11,000' pass we went over. They have carved away a huge part of the mountain and the tailings have created another mountain. This is the largest molybdenum mine in the country.
Driving along, we saw the ruins of many old mining operations, wooden mine tipples that are falling apart and piles of yellow tailings that aren't likely to ever be cleaned up.
Many of the mountains are snow-covered but fortunately all the passes we needed to go over were clear of snow. Many are seasonal and are already closed. The ones that are open require you to put on tire chains before you are allowed to go up and over the pass.
It was nice having several days of easy driving with no traffic until we got to the outskirts of Denver where it was like driving in San Diego or NYC, with heavy traffic and crazy drivers weaving in and out. We were glad to get to our hotel in Fort Collins.
Since we got to Utah, we've gotten exceptionally good gas mileage with our car and have no idea why. We have been getting 28-30 mpg while on the trip out and in California we only got 24-25 mpg. Could it be the higher altitude? Or lower octane gas? Gas here is 95 or 96 octane compared with 97 at lower elevations. Our car doesn't have much "oomph" going up the steep mountains. Even with the "pedal to the metal", virtually everyone passes us going uphill.
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| Day 27 route |
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| At the continental divide and pass at 11312' |
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| Lunch in Leadville |
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| Rocky mountains at pass just before descent into Denver |
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