Ouray & Ridgway, CO (9/26/2019)

This will complete my drive on the Million Dollar Highway from Ouray toward Red Mountain Pass.  Clouds rolled in the entire time I was there and eventually turned to rain.  Consequently, I turned around and headed back down the highway, hoping there would be better weather once I was out of the mountains.  As I mentioned earlier, Fall color had not yet peaked, but there were some nice pockets of color.  Unfortunately, the dark skies prevented showing the leaves in their full glory.  When hit by direct sunlight, those leaves can be almost electric.

Red Mountain Creek and its rusty water complement the orange color of the small bushes along its banks.

Here are some of the views as I retreated back to Ouray.

I pulled off the highway for a brief visit to the abandoned townsite of Ironton.  Late in the 19th century, Ironton was founded and quickly grew to 300 buildings and 1000 people.  In addition to mining on the site, Ironton served as a transportation hub for supplies coming from Ouray to support the numerous other mining camps in the area.  Now a popular camping area and trailhead for several 4WD trails, the site still has original buildings that attract fans of "ghost towns".

Several pull-outs allow easy access to Red Mountain Creek as it tumbles down the mountains.

A concrete "snow shed" was built at the spot where more avalanches occur than any other along the Million Dollar Highway.  The shed protects vehicles from being pushed off the road and buried under many tons of snow.  The spot was a particular threat to snow plows trying to keep the road clear.  Below the shed, there is still a huge amount of snow and debris from last winter's avalanches.

Once past Ouray, the sun was shining brightly.  I was especially pleased at the light hitting the valley where many Ridgway homes are located.

Driving along the northern edge of the San Juans, low light was creating nice views despite the inevitable shadows.

Although the sunset was mostly hidden by mountains to the west, it did produce a little color on clouds over the mountains.