Today Allison and I took the jeep to Ouray, over Imogene Pass. It’s a rugged 18 mile trip over one of the highest passes in the country at over 13,000 feet. We took this “short cut” to find some hot springs to soak in. Ouray is full of them.
The trail was pretty rough from the start. Can you see it cutting a faint horizontal line through this picture?
The trail was steep and rocky. We climbed over 4,000 feet in just a few miles.
Mmmmm…….doughnuts.
With rock walls on one side and cliffs on the other, you must always keep you eyes on the road.
Along the way we passed countless abandoned structures, all of them related to mining in some way.
We reached the ghost town of Tomboy.
This is one of those desolate places that makes you wonder how people ended up there. Back in its day, around 100 years ago, it apparently had 1,000 residents, a school, a bowling alley, a YMCA. It is now just a pile of rubble, with only the skeletons of buildings remaining.
It’s also striking how much junk was left behind.
Moving higher, we passed this sign. This might the first time I’ve seen “short wheel base” recommended on a road sign. And based on the terrain we encountered, I’d say they’re using the term “recommended” pretty loosely.
The last switchback before the top.
At the top of the pass, we got out to take a look. It looked like a Jeep advertisement.
Some rednecks went postal on this mailbox. It must take the mailman forever to get up here.
Leaving the top, we turned left here. This sign is clearly brand new. No bullet holes.
That rock is huge!
And finally pulling into Ouray…
After lunch in Ouray, we headed to Orvis Hot Springs, in nearby Ridgway(no cameras allowed).
At the park in Ridgway, I had Allison strike a pose on a weird bear/owl chair thing.
Then I pushed her on the swings.
And she spun me on the spinny thing- until a gang of 8 years olds came and kicked me off….
-A’s
it has been fun to track your travels on Google Earth…I found this note on Imogene Pass GE Note…
“An annual foot race is held over the pass between Ouray and Telluride on the first Saturday following Labor Day. This gruelling race starts at around 7800 ft (2377 m), is 17 miles (27.3 km) in length, and crests on the pass at 13,114 ft (3997 m), a change in elevation of just over a mile.”
There are an awful lot of crazy ( young) people in these mountains…..
hi allison and alex,
when dad,toby,david and i trekked west to your boulder graduation we stayed in that exact town and our motel had more hummingbirds than people and hot spring tubs on the side of the mountain…each tub was a little hotter than the next. i never saw so many lilacs in one place at one time than that town..when we came down the mountain into the town our passengers were practically screaming on the floor of the suv we rented.your pics are great! sending our love, m&d
I told you Ouray was cool. Yes “the passengers” your Mom refers to would be your “adventurous” (ahem) Aunt Toby; your Mom, Dad & David kept saying “Don’t get up yet!!!” So, I didn’t see much of the journey, but once we arrived in Ouray… Oh my; It was so beautiful there. We found a great restaurant, too. The natives weren’t too keen on tourists or folks who thought it would be a good place to relocate to. One said “Don’t!”.
Your trek was a little scarier than ours. I think I’d walk, but definitely not ride in a vehicle on, those “roads” that you took. Annual foot race… hmmmm. The race part kind of scares me; I’m having trouble breathing just thinking about it.
More fantastic photos, A & A. Keep up the posts.
xo, T
I went to that wacky park in Ridgway a few weeks before I left Aspen for good. Isn’t it a riot? It’s as if all the trees died of some kind of blight. So what did they do? Plant new trees? No! Give a bunch of folks chainsaws and tell them to create some “art”!
The creepiest? I vote for this one:
(sorry it’s sideways…they usually auto-rotate, and I don’t know enough coding to rotate it). Clicky to see it bigger, if you want.
Just wanted to let some of you Imogen lovers know that Ouray is having another race on October 4,2008. The course is amazing as it circumnavigates the whole town of Ouray. Our website is http://www.ouraytrailrun.com. It is the first year so we hope you can come out and support it. Questions email me at mtnrun@ouraynet.com