Ouray '09...part 2

We woke to a sparkling blue sky and cool temps, but it was perfect. I immediately started on breakfast because the guys were heading out as soon as they finished eating to ride the ATV's over Imogene Pass. Jeff didn't get to make this pass last year because his machine broke down. It was a silly and easy fix, but when you're 260 miles from home and don't have much of a way to look at it, you just chalk it up and find something else to do. That's how we all ended up in Yankee Boy Basin then, and we had full plans to do it again this year. Just not today. Anyway, Imogene is said to be a gorgeous ride that drops down into Telluride. Mileage is shorter than that paved way, but it takes longer because it's the old mining road, not maintained, and only available to 4wd vehicles. I like those better, anyway. Luke and I haven't done this pass, yet, because he's too young to do these technical rides and I don't have my own machine. We're working on a way to remedy things so we can all go next year, but it's a process barely in the stages of conception.

Once the guys left out Luke and I got dressed, cleaned up the trailer a little bit (dishes!), and headed on our way into the town of Ouray. It's so lovely there, even with the 90-degree heat. I had planned for us to take a tour into the Bachelor-Syracuse gold mine, so we stopped there first to make our reservation. Actually, I thought we'd head from there to spend the few hours until our reserved tour in Silverton. I chickened out once we made it onto the Million Dollar Highway. Something in my gut said not to go and I really don't like major highways that are narrow, winding, and drop hundreds of feet into river valleys with no guard rail for a little more sense of security. Funny, actually, considering I will travel on any back road that is narrower, less secure (at times), and drop hundreds of feet into river valleys with little problem. The exception to that is the Pikes Peak Highway. No thanks, I'll take the Cog or hike up the mountain instead!! (I should've bought a shirt that exclaims "I Survived the Drive Up Pikes Peak," but I didn't).

Instead, Luke and I stopped at the back road highway (highway?? Umm, okay) that leads to Engineers Pass. I threw the 4Runner into 4-low and started up. You should've seen the looks I was getting! I guess people are used to see a slight woman with a 3-year-old driving roads like this! We didn't get far up before I decided to stop and take a little hike. I wanted to see if the little trail I saw went down to the river. It didn't, but we cruised through a thicket of chokecherries and into a stand of aspen before we lost the trail. Must've been a deer trail, or something. But I got some cute pictures of my boy playing with leaves before we headed back to the 4Runner.

Once back up at our vehicle I snapped a picture of a train of FJCruisers heading up the pass. This was the weekend of their annual convention, something WE greatly enjoy, despite the fact we're not part of that. They loved that we made it where we were and invited us up to the pass with them. Sweet! I'm there! We loaded up and took off up the road. I didn't snap many pictures because I was driving, but it's a fun pass. Given the time, and that we were quite hungry, I turned around at the pass and headed back down. I love having a vehicle that takes us places like that!

We grabbed a bite in Ouray, walked around the town a bit trying to get an idea of something to bring back for our neighbors watching my old dog and our house, and then headed up to the mine for our tour.

Bachelor-Syracuse was open from around 1850 (the start of the gold rush) until 1988. It produced gold, but there IS some silver ore, which is odd given the rock that the mine lives in. The tour takes you almost 1900 feet into the mountain, and it is quite chilly! It stays around 50-degrees year-round, not much unlike a cave, but with a breeze because of the air shaft (original opening to the mine). It's a wet mine, too, so the mine car travels the tracks through a stream that exits the mine the way we went in. It was cool!! We stopped at a rib and learned the history, saw exhibits and how mining tools from open to close were used, heard stories, and saw the silver in the ceiling of this rib that eventually became a blacksmith shop. I loved it!

We left the town once the tour was over because Jeff and Jason were back at camp. It was time to do more fishing. The night before didn't land us anything and we still had hope. After spending close to 2 hours on the inlet to the lake, we still didn't land anything. But we had fun. Back to camp for dinner and to hit the rack. Yankee Boy was awaiting us in the morning, and I couldn't wait!