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Thursday, Sept. 21 -- Ouray to Silverton -- 8 bike miles + 15 Jeep miles

Ouray
 It rained all night in Ouray
(elevation 7,760 feet)
and snowed higher up.
With the mountains socked in, we didn't think
we could bike our entire planned route,
22 miles over Red Mountain Pass (11,018 feet).
  After breakfast we struck a deal with Gregg Pieper, owner (with his wife, Rosemarie) of the Historic Western Hotel and San Juan Scenic Jeep Tours. We would wait until afternoon to start biking up the road, in the hope that the clouds would lift, and he would catch up to us at Ironton Lake in the Jeep, take us on a half-day off-road tour, and drive us over the pass to Silverton if the road conditions weren't good for cycling.

Click to enlarge the elevation profile.
"Read" this one from right to left
for the way we went.
The red line is the part we bicycled,
 and the rest of the way to Silverton
 we rode in the Jeep,
with scenic side trips on dirt roads
to see ghost towns, old mines, and wilderness.
.
The switchbacks start right away.

Looking back down at Ouray
.

Million Dollar Highway (US 550)

Little shoulder, no guardrail, steep dropoff
.

Pretty soon, snow
.

Gregg had three other passengers.
The bikes went in the back seat.

.
Gregg stopped the Jeep on this road, unsure
if it was getting too icy, and we walked
around the bend to see the waterfall.
We startled six elk -- a bull and five cows.
They ran down a steep bank, across the stream, and then way, way up an avalanche chute.

.
Gregg, in an avalanche chute, takes our picture. Behind him, toppled trees point uphill,
evidence that snow barreled down one slope
and continued up another.
.

.

After a hot shower, we walked a couple of blocks back to Handlebars for dinner.
.
Gregg told us some of the history, legends
and ghost stories of the hotel, built in 1891.
Lobby
 Saloon
Rosemarie does the cooking, among other things. She is from the Netherlands but favors Mediterranean recipes.
.
Before biking we soaked in the Wiesbaden hot springs cave and the outdoor pool, with a view of the church across the street.

Lynne, warm and relaxed after a soak.
.
Million Dollar Highway

.

.

 Ironton
Lake
.
.
Ironton
mining
history
.

Abandoned houses
in Ironton
(Caution: twangy music
at this link)
.

Red Mountain Mining District
.

By the time we walked back to the bend
to pose for this photo, the elk were up higher than the top of the picture.
.

Gregg loved to talk and didn't seem to need to watch the road much.
.
Back on the paved road, we huddled
under horse blankets in the open Jeep,
snow stinging our faces as we sped downhill to Silverton (9,318 feet elevation)
with daylight fading.

We all had hot chocolate at
Handlebars Food & Saloon
before Gregg dropped us off
at the Canyonview Motel
and drove the others
back over the pass to Ouray.


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