September 28th 2023 – Mancos, CO

Chris and Stephanie live a stone’s throw from the entrance to Mesa Verde National Park. Sunday we borrowed one of their  trucks to go exploring. We spent all day in the park, visiting several of the cliff dwellings and finished off by hiking The Point Lookout Trail. The view from the top was breathtaking.

On the way back to the house we stopped by the grocery store in order to stock up the fridge and pantry.

When we got back Stephanie had returned as well. She had participated in a female runners seminar in Silverton hosted by “Hardrock 100” – yes that is the kind of crazy shit she’s doing.

She and Chris are in the process of building their own house. It’s a huge undertaking. While they were working on the bathroom upstairs, Katrine and I prepared  dinner for all of us. It’s nice to be able to pay something back. 

Monday morning we dropped Katrine’s bike off at Mancos Motorsports. Dave told us that they expected to receive the parts for my bike later that day. That was faster than I had dared hope for! On this positive note Katrine and I continued north.

As I mentioned earlier Katrine and I had a lot of riding planned for Colorado. 

Stephanie had been kind enough to lend us her car for a few days. This allowed us to kill two birds with one stone. We could do part of our planned route in Colorado and give Chris and Stephanie some space and privacy. We fully appreciate how it is to have strangers (or anyone else for that matter) stay for an extended period of time and try hard not to overstay our welcome.

I had named the section we were going to drive “San Juan Skyway”. It was a scenic drive from Dolores to Telluride where we stopped for lunch followed by a stroll around town. Katrine immediately fell in love with the place.

In the afternoon we hiked The Bridal Veil Trail all the way up to the falls. There was nowhere for us to stay in Telluride. The closest place we could find was Caddis Flats Campgrounds – a free BLM spot by the San Miguel River.

After a very refreshing dip in the river, we cooked dinner and set about writing our diaries and editing the day’s pictures. As soon as the sun set the temperatures plummeted. We took full advantage of the situation and used the car as an office.

It had been a cold night. There was frost on the car in the morning. For the first time on this trip we hadn’t been able to keep warm in the tent during the night. We quickly broke camp, got in the car and turned the heat all the way up. It was a beautiful morning. First stop was Murdoch’s Ranch & Home Supply in Montrose to pick up supplies. What a nice store. They had everything a cowboy (or girl) could ever need. In our case that meant freeze dried food and an emergency blanket to put underneath  our sleeping pad to increase its R-value.

Next stop was Ouray. First thing we did was to find a place to stay for the night. We secured a spot at Amphitheater Campground with a panoramic view over the valley. With the tent up to dry (it was soaking wet when we took it down) we returned to town to hunt down lunch.

The Yankee Girl Cafe lured us in. While we waited for the food to arrive I talked gear and vehicles with a couple of guys with nicely set up Toyotas. I’m curious about everything that smells of adventure and fun.

With full bellies we set out to have a closer look at Ouray.

It was my turn to fall in love. The town spread out from the historic Main Street, surrounded by tall peaks and waterfalls. It has most everything you need. Interesting shops, restaurants, cafes, bars and even a couple of hot springs. As icing on the cake the area is a gem for off tarmac excursions. The numerous OHV rental companies in town was a testament to that.

The car we were driving had AWD so why not take a look at one of the trails. Stephanie had suggested the one towards Yankee Boy Basin. I was very conscious that we were driving a loaner and as the dirt roads got rougher we eventually reached a point where common sense made us turn around. It had been a very nice appetizer to what the area has to offer.

We stopped by Ouray Hot Springs Pool to grab a much needed shower before returning to the campground.

We woke up well rested in the morning. The trick with the emergency blanket under the sleeping pad had worked wonders. We had been warm and comfortable all night.
The sun still didn’t reach the valley floor as we cruised a final loop around town taking leave of Ouray. I hope it won’t be my last visit!

The Million Dollar Hwy lived up to its rumor. Dramatic and spectacular. The changing leaves only added to the beauty.

Before reaching Silverton we did a small dirt road detour along South Fork Mineral Creek.

Silverton was like a smaller and rougher version of Ouray. We talked with some locals who had moved there from Ouray to escape all the commotion and regulations of a big town. Size is relative.
We enjoyed lunch and a walk down Greene Street.

Before returning to Mancos we did another dirt road detour to Little Molas Lake and visited Durango’s Historic Main Aveneau.

Despite not being able to experience the roads on two wheels we had enjoyed the 3 day road trip.
Traveling through the mountains of Colorado in a car hadn’t been part of our itinerary, but when life serves you lemons you’ll have to figure out how to make lemonade.

I talked with Dave from Mancos Motorsports yesterday. They have received the parts for my bike and are working on it. The tyre for Katrine’s bike has arrived and the other parts I’ve ordered are inbound.

Hopefully we’ll be able to resume our journey within a few days.