Day 9 - 7/02/2004 - Friday
- Good thing we aren't superstitious, as we started the day with
666 on the trip odometer and then later we were driving on
former route 666 (recently renamed route 491 because after 50+
years some people were bothered by the name).
- Arrive Colorado (4451 Miles)
- Arrived at Mesa Verde National Park.
We traveled to the highest point. The trees were only starting to
recover from a recent forest fire. Smog kept us from having a
spectacular view of the Rockies.
- The park was quite crowded, most likely due to the holiday weekend.
- Overlooked a few Cliff Dwellings.
- Saw a rock with what looked like pipes embedded in it.
An elderly gentleman stopped and told us these were the result
of lightning strikes which melted the iron in the rock.
- Next we moved up into the Rocky Mountains. Purple Mountain Majesties
aren't just a cliche. We drove over the Molas Divide at 11,000 feet.
Scenic with aspen trees, short-branched pines, and patches of snow
still around.
- We went on to Silverton, and then up a road optimistically labeled
County Route 9. Passed many abandoned mines. Passed many alive
marmots. Passed many snow-fed waterfalls.
And we arrived at the ghost town of Animas Forks.
- We next took an exceedingly scary downhill road full of S-curves
into Ouray. We poked around there for a while. The town is famous for
its
hot-springs.
- We passed through the town of Parachute looking for a place to stay,
but eventually found a place in Silt.
- Arrived Silt, Colorado (4781 Miles)
405 miles traveled on Day 9
On to Day 10