Been Jeeping in Ouray and Telluride

[Jeff Matthews]

The last few days, I've literally been at the top of the world.  My friends and I took off on a road trip to Ouray, Colorado.  They have a Jeep, and we've been going over the highest, most-treacherous mountain passes. 

 

I got out and walked up front to get a picture of our ascent.  

See that rocky ridge behind us?

 

 

[rplace]

Pix not showing for me. Telluride is beautiful. Durango is a cool town if you want a good burrito.

[LarryC]

Pics not showing for me either.

[Jeff Matthews]

That rocky ridge was big, but that's just a small piece of a much larger mountain.

 

See that mountain in the background?  We've been going up, over the top, and 

back down the other side of stuff like that.

 

 

 

[Jeff Matthews]

Somebody went down for a bad tumble.  I think it happened this morning.  

The occupants were taken out by helicopter.  I don't know how bad they were hurt,

but it doesn't look good.  Hopefully, they will be fine.

 

 

 

[Jeff Matthews]

 

We made it to the summit.

 

[Jeff Matthews]

There are several dilapidated gold and silver mines throughout this area.  

Constructed and operated before motor vehicles, it is amazing to see the lengths

to which people would go to get gold.  Unimaginable!  

 

[Jeff Matthews]

 

Into Telluride after the descent.

 

[Jeff Matthews]

 

Back in Ouray at our trip headquarters.  (Too much sun for my phone's camera.)

 

[dtel]

Looks like fun, but it wouldn't take much to be very dangerous. 

It would be a little scary to not be the one with the steering wheel and brake pedal, but even then it would be easy to mess up.

Great views and a cool place to just take pictures all day.  What were the temperatures like, I would imagine it could swing pretty dramatically at different times of the year. 

[Jeff Matthews]

21 minutes ago, dtel said:

It would be a little scary to not be the one with the steering wheel and brake pedal...

Oh, it was!  There were a number of times when I just closed my eyes and leaned to the side opposite of the abyss (like leaning would actually make a difference, lol).  It's definitely a white-knuckle ride.  Some spots are quite narrow, and the wheels are about 1 1/2 feet from the edge.  What makes it even more challenging is when Jeeps are coming from the opposite direction.  There are frequent spots which are wide enough to allow them to squeeze by as you come within inches of touching rearview mirrors.  Sometimes, you have to back up to get to these spots.  Some Jeeps have axles that are independent, and they can climb the wall and sit sideways as you pass.

 

The temperatures have been great.  Between short-sleeve and long-sleeve weather.  The temp. changes have not been all that extreme.

[Dave1290]

Looks like a blast!

 

[CECAA850]

Great pictures!  Thanks for the journey.

[Khornukopia]

Looks like a fun trip. Beautiful scenery out there. If you make it to Silverton (which I have not yet), you may want to visit the place in this quote from forum member @Bill W., "We demo the Jubilees in Silverton Colorado at Natalia’s Restaurant on the outdoor patio. Used for live performances and recorded music May through October. Really an outstanding speaker system for outdoor applications and incredible dynamics for live performances." 

[Gilbert]

On 9/23/2018 at 9:27 AM, Jeff Matthews said:

 

Into Telluride after the descent.

 

 

 

Love Telluride, one of my favorite places in CO. I see the aspens are screaming about the Fall weather.  Thanks for sharing your adventure Jeff.

[derrickdj1]

Very nice pic's and it looks like a fun vacation!

[LarryC]

On 9/23/2018 at 1:13 AM, Jeff Matthews said:

The last few days, I've literally been at the top of the world.  My friends and I took off on a road trip to Ouray, Colorado.  They have a Jeep, and we've been going over the highest, most-treacherous mountain passes. 

 

I got out and walked up front to get a picture of our ascent.  

See that rocky ridge behind us?

 

 

Stunning I guess!!  I was having high-altitude breathing problems at the time and afraid to irreversibly commit to 13,000' passes, but this is even scarier than I imagined.  Ouray was unimaginably beautiful, what a great place to live for scenery and small town pleasure.

 

The Black Canyon of the Gunnison is not far from there, makes a nice side trip, but nothing like what you went through here.  Congratulations on finding and doing this trek!  Really very daring.