May 2026-5. Colorado: Silverton, Million Dollar Highway, Ouray. Utah: Scenic Drive to Green River, J. W. Powell
May 17-19, 2026
What a great day we had on the Durango-Silverton Narrow Guage steam train! 3-1/2 hours to Silverton, 2 hours in Silverton, 3-1/2 hours back to Durango! We camped that night at Haviland Lake Campground north of Durango in San Juan National Forest—so half price for us older folks—then in the morning headed back north to Silverton, this time in our van.
What a great day we had on the Durango-Silverton Narrow Guage steam train! 3-1/2 hours to Silverton, 2 hours in Silverton, 3-1/2 hours back to Durango! We camped that night at Haviland Lake Campground north of Durango in San Juan National Forest—so half price for us older folks—then in the morning headed back north to Silverton, this time in our van.
Silverton
We thought of the folks riding in the gondolas on the train and were very glad for the perfect weather we'd had on our trek the day before.
Original Silverton houses have touches of the Victorian...
The Million Dollar Highway
Both Silverton and Ouray came to be in the late 19th century with the influx of miners into the San Juan Mountains after the Civil War. Within a decade, the Denver-Rio Grande Railroad began to operate out of Durango. In the 1920s Otto Mears was hired to build tolls roads from each town to the Red Mountain Mining District. Mining continued into the late 20th century. Today both towns have a small year-round population and are hubs for year-round sports on the Animas River and in the surrounding mountains.
Numerous structures of the Red Mountain Mining District have been preserved, and a viewpoint, interpretive panels, and hiking trails have been added.
Ouray
4J+1+1 Campground main building was once a depot on the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad, a narrow guage line that connected major cities as well as mining towns in much of Colorado, into northern New Mexico, & west into Utah.
Marilyn walked to Ouray Hot Springs to swim laps. It's a treat to swim outdoors, and the water was actually warmer than the air, but the wind blew her into the lane lines!
We'd planned to drive east and north from Ouray to Leadville and then up to Steamboat Springs, but with more snow predicted, it was time to come up with a Plan B. Checking the weather, we found that Utah was to be comfortable and dry, so Leadville next trip, and we were off to Green River and then Hells Backbone.
Utah's amazing rock formations & colors.
As with many towns, Green River suffered with the construction of I-70. Few businesses are now viable, but it remains a starting point for rafting and hiking. It is also home to the John Wesley Powell River History Museum, which "celebrates the significance of river history through the cultures and landscapes of the Colorado Plateau." The museum also features the River Runners Hall of Fame. It is just amazing—our jaws were on the floor much of the time during our 2025 visit.
Our Hooptedoodle: John Wesley Powell
The Green River flows from its Wyoming source through Utah & Colorado & into the Colorado River.
With a lifelong interest in the natural sciences and numerous foot and water expeditions from a young age behind him, Powell began his first trip down the Green River, through what is now known as Flaming Gorge, past Green River, Utah, to the Colorado River, about 450 miles. They contiuned down the Colorado, through the Grand Canyon, to the confluence of the Virgin and Colorado Rivers at what is present day Laughlin, Nevada on the Nevada-Arizona state line, an additional 550 miles. Here their journey ended after events both amazing and disastrous over a total of 1,000 miles and 98 days.
Powell mapped and notated the region en route. His maps, drawn up by what would become the USGS (United States Geologic Survey), with Powell as director, were the first to show this part of the country not as political and topographic boundaries but as complex geographic and ethnologic systems. From his explorations, Powell came to understand that where moisture falls on the Continental Divide in the Rockies determines whether that water will flow to the Atlantic Ocean or the Pacific and Arctic Oceans, that drops landing inches apart can end up on opposite sides of the continent.
In contrast to the Manifest Destiny spirit of the age, Powell presented "an argument that America should move cautiously as it plumbed its natural resources and developed the land—and to introduce the idea of sustainability and stewardship of the Earth" (Ross, The Promise of the Grand Canyon [Viking, 2018], excerpted in Smithsonian Magazine, July 3, 2018). With his numerous explorations, Powell played, and his legacy continues to play, a major role in the geographic, political, ecologic, and ethnologic history of the West.
We stayed at the KOA in Green River to do laundry and enjoy hot showers. As it was Marilyn's birthday, it was celebration time! We walked to dinner at Tamarisk Restaurant.
Up next: Miles and Miles of Dirt Roads, Part 1.
US 550 to Silverton.
Not 5 minutes after we left, it began to hail, sleet, rain, snow—whatever moisture the clouds could throw at earth.
We thought of the folks riding in the gondolas on the train and were very glad for the perfect weather we'd had on our trek the day before.
At 10,640-foot Coal Bank Pass, it was snowing.
Snow striped the hillsides of 10,910-foot Molas Pass.
Molas Lake did not look very inviting.
We drove into Silverton in under an hour. At 9,318 feet, it was wet, but not snowing.
Original Silverton houses have touches of the Victorian...
...with colorfull paint & trim...
...& some gingerbread.
Then there are the unique houses, like this one made of 2 cabooses & a box car...
...& this one built into the ground with an earthen roof.
Unsure of the weather, after a quick coffee & tour of Silverton, we turned north on the Million Dollar Highway.
1) Durango. 2) Haviland Lake. 3) Coal Pass. 4) Molas Pass. 5) Silverton. 5) Red Mountain Pass. 6) Bear Creek Falls. 7) Ouray.
"There are many theories as to the name of the Million Dollar Highway, but the true origin of the name is unknown. Many people may first think of the million-dollar views around every corner. Locals used to joke that they would only drive the section of the road if someone paid them a million dollars because of steep grades, lots of winding turns, often being in avalanche paths, and lack of guard rails. The cost to expand and pave the highway is another way it may have received its name. Allegedly, each mile on the Million Dollar Highway cost a million dollars to build."
Marybeth Clay
Soon it was snowing.
The Million Dollar Highway has its share of sharp curves & switchbacks & virtually no guardrails, but it is paved.
Former Red Mountain Mining District.
Numerous structures of the Red Mountain Mining District have been preserved, and a viewpoint, interpretive panels, and hiking trails have been added.
Red Mountain Mining District housing.
Red Mountain Mining District trestle.
Another double switchback.
As we got closer to Ouray, the snow retreated.
Snowshed over highway.
Amazing rocks.
We stopped at the Bear Falls Overlook on the Uncompahgre River Gorge.
Falls on opposite side of gorge.
Looking up Uncompahgre River Gorge.
This bridge's clearance is posted in Durango to alert drivers going north on US 550.
4J+1+1 Campground main building was once a depot on the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad, a narrow guage line that connected major cities as well as mining towns in much of Colorado, into northern New Mexico, & west into Utah.
Our site on the Uncompahgre River that flows through Ouray.
Marilyn walked to Ouray Hot Springs to swim laps. It's a treat to swim outdoors, and the water was actually warmer than the air, but the wind blew her into the lane lines!
After a hot shower, she walked back to the campground uphill and into a head wind—so much for being warm! The temperatures dropped that night and we were glad for an electric hookup so to run our electric heater.
The next morning, the day before Marilyn's birthday, it began to snow!
Snow accumulating on the windshield.
As they say, if you live long enough, you never know what you'll experience, even snow on your birthday in May! Coloradans weren't crazy about snow in May, but welcomed it after a dry winter.
We stay snugged in the van all morning.
By afternoon, the snow had quit & was quickly melting & the sun returned. We walked to Ouray's one main street & had a delicious lunch on the patio of Goldbelt Bar & Grill.
We also did a little shopping—Marilyn's new birthday hat.
Walking back to the campgrond past Mi Mexico Restaurant with a Mariachi band on the balcony. We'd planned on dinner, then breakfast, at Mi Mexico, but with the weather did neither.
We'd planned to drive east and north from Ouray to Leadville and then up to Steamboat Springs, but with more snow predicted, it was time to come up with a Plan B. Checking the weather, we found that Utah was to be comfortable and dry, so Leadville next trip, and we were off to Green River and then Hells Backbone.
Green River, Utah
Leaving Ouray we had a choice of two routes, one north to Grand Junction and then I-70 to Green River, the other aa left turn at Ridgway and a 2-lane meandering road to Moab and then north.
Any guess which we took?
Paradox Valley.
It's a steep drive up out of Paradox Valley, with a gorgeous view from the top. The name derives from the Dolores River flowing across the valley rather than the usual river course down the middle of a valley. It eventually makes its way to the Colorado River.
Leaving Ouray we had a choice of two routes, one north to Grand Junction and then I-70 to Green River, the other aa left turn at Ridgway and a 2-lane meandering road to Moab and then north.
Any guess which we took?
1) Ouray. 2) Ridgway. 3) Paradox Valley. 4) Moab. 5) Green River.
We turned left at Ridgway & enjoyed views of the mountains around Telluride.
Following along the San Miguel River.
Paradox Valley.
Back in Utah, which we'd left a week earlier.
Utah's amazing rock formations & colors.
Eventually we could not avoid I-70 & drove it the last 17 miles to Green River.
The Green River area is known for watermelon
As with many towns, Green River suffered with the construction of I-70. Few businesses are now viable, but it remains a starting point for rafting and hiking. It is also home to the John Wesley Powell River History Museum, which "celebrates the significance of river history through the cultures and landscapes of the Colorado Plateau." The museum also features the River Runners Hall of Fame. It is just amazing—our jaws were on the floor much of the time during our 2025 visit.
Replicas of 2 of John Wesley Powell's boats.
Our Hooptedoodle: John Wesley Powell
(See definition of "hooptedoodle" in sidebar.)
Here, a brief and hopefully accurate summary of John Wesley Powell's explorations of the Colorado River Basin and Plateau. (Yes, Lake Powell is named for him, not exactly a reflection of his work.)
In May 1869, a Civil War Veteran who lost an arm in the war, through sheer curiosity and will and mostly self-funded, John Wesley Powell and his 9-member team carried 4 heavy wooden boats from train cars to the Green River at Green River, Wyoming. Then they transferred 10 months of supplies from the train to the boats. Powell chose this location to begin the journey because the transcontinental railroad that had just been completed was routed across the Green River here, thus allowing the transfer of boats and supplies directly from train to river.
Here, a brief and hopefully accurate summary of John Wesley Powell's explorations of the Colorado River Basin and Plateau. (Yes, Lake Powell is named for him, not exactly a reflection of his work.)
In May 1869, a Civil War Veteran who lost an arm in the war, through sheer curiosity and will and mostly self-funded, John Wesley Powell and his 9-member team carried 4 heavy wooden boats from train cars to the Green River at Green River, Wyoming. Then they transferred 10 months of supplies from the train to the boats. Powell chose this location to begin the journey because the transcontinental railroad that had just been completed was routed across the Green River here, thus allowing the transfer of boats and supplies directly from train to river.
The Green River flows from its Wyoming source through Utah & Colorado & into the Colorado River.With a lifelong interest in the natural sciences and numerous foot and water expeditions from a young age behind him, Powell began his first trip down the Green River, through what is now known as Flaming Gorge, past Green River, Utah, to the Colorado River, about 450 miles. They contiuned down the Colorado, through the Grand Canyon, to the confluence of the Virgin and Colorado Rivers at what is present day Laughlin, Nevada on the Nevada-Arizona state line, an additional 550 miles. Here their journey ended after events both amazing and disastrous over a total of 1,000 miles and 98 days.
Powell mapped and notated the region en route. His maps, drawn up by what would become the USGS (United States Geologic Survey), with Powell as director, were the first to show this part of the country not as political and topographic boundaries but as complex geographic and ethnologic systems. From his explorations, Powell came to understand that where moisture falls on the Continental Divide in the Rockies determines whether that water will flow to the Atlantic Ocean or the Pacific and Arctic Oceans, that drops landing inches apart can end up on opposite sides of the continent.
In contrast to the Manifest Destiny spirit of the age, Powell presented "an argument that America should move cautiously as it plumbed its natural resources and developed the land—and to introduce the idea of sustainability and stewardship of the Earth" (Ross, The Promise of the Grand Canyon [Viking, 2018], excerpted in Smithsonian Magazine, July 3, 2018). With his numerous explorations, Powell played, and his legacy continues to play, a major role in the geographic, political, ecologic, and ethnologic history of the West.
For more information on John Wesley Powell, Lake Powell, and navigating the Colorado River, we highly recommend The Emerald Mile, by Kevin Fedarko.
We stayed at the KOA in Green River to do laundry and enjoy hot showers. As it was Marilyn's birthday, it was celebration time! We walked to dinner at Tamarisk Restaurant.
Celebration time, Marilyn's Birthday Dinner. We splurged & enjoyed delicious T-bone steaks with fresh veggies & a big baked potato.
Sunset over the Green River from our table. It was a nice night even if we were in a KOA.
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