I set up a time lapse camera to do a high speed tour of the road from Durango up past Ouray, and then onward to the west. Sadly, I had forgotten to check certain storage parameters, and the timelapse only saved one shot every 4s. Way too infrequently to make the motion intelligible. Next slide, please.
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Illustration of how fast 4s is on these winding roads: Four consecutive time lapse frames. These can not blend into smooth motion. A sad error on my part. Maybe next time.
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Dan telling it on the mountain to a geologist and her dad.Molas Pass elev 10,910 (and this scene is a snowy walk up from the pass.)
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Karen avoided walking in the snow at Molas pass by doing Dan's usual mountain goat style of hiking.
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We pass up the geologist family we'd met up in the pass. That's their van at the mining railroad trestle.
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We zoomed past this all weather vehicle, and I took this shot over my shoulder.
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Icicles on the north face glisten in the noon light
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Karen presents the waterfall, or maybe just cascades, that we stumbled on to when pulling over to let a truck pass us.
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Looking up from the little waterfall at the decaying, spalling guard rail above.
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Note the (lack of) guardrails and steep drops off.
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A work crew had just finished a new set of stone steps to replace the old timber and spike steps up to Cascade Falls. We were the first to walk up them! The guy on the left is tearing out what is left of the old ones.
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Karen stayed below, and Dan skipped across the rocks and scrabbled up to the base of the falls to look up into the spray. All the lenses got spattered.
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Classic turnabout picture of Karen taking Dan's picture taking Karen's picture. Ouray Cascade Falls behind Dan.
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Karen posing in front of Cascade Falls over downtown Ouray. Note the ice mound at the foot of the falls.
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Selfie with Cascade Falls behind us, just uphill from downtown Ouray.
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Selfie with Karen driving in the Rockies
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Pulled over to clean the windows, as the sun gets brutally low.
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We stopped at Clark's Market in Norwood to get a gallon of water. We admired the scenery on the windows.
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I like lateral light and layers of mountains.
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Sheeps that pass before night
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Cows on Hi-way warning came a couple of miles after we saw cows on the highway.
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Interesting erosion on CO-141
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A glimpse of the Dolores River that carved these cliffs.
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Bold yellow trees and red walls
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Along CO-141 near sunset. Taken by Karen as Dan drove along this winding river canyon.
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Not much light reaches the canyon floor near sunset
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Along CO-141 by Karen
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The color really was that absurd as the red of the setting sun hit the red sandstone bands
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It may be a bit fuzzy, but the message is clear. They want you to drive thataway at 30
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Weather was moving in, possible blizzards where we are. So we opted to go north, which is downhill, and toward the interstate to spend a day in Clifton, a suburb of Grand Junction, CO.
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Final leg of the day, winding down the side of the mountain, toward the moonrise
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Pulled into the Best Western Grande River Inn and Suites in Clifton, CO, a suburb of Grand Junction on the old highway business loop off of I-70.
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Detail of the Day 5 drive, from Durango, through Silverton, a left at Ridgway, past Naturita, and then up 141 to the Grand Junction metro area.
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Overall map of the trip, so far: Ended Day 5 and spent Day 6 about as far from the interstate as we live, back home.
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A day of high altitude and winding roads. Dan takes a break before dinner.
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