Sunday, June 13, 2010 OPHIR PASS TO TELLURIDE

It rained most of yesterday and last night.  It looked pretty cloudy in the campground and was 44 degrees this morning.  My apologies to all of your are still having summer.

Our friends from Oklahoma decided to extend their stay a few days, so we decided to give Ophir another try.  Ophir Pass was originally the Navajo Trail, a well-used Indian hunting trail. Next, trappers used the trail; followed by explorers and prospectors in the 1860s.  The trail became a recognized "road" and was actually a toll road in 1880.  It is less than 10 miles one-way from the Silverton Hwy 550 cutoff to Telluride via the pass.  To go on a "real" highway, it is approx 70 miles.  The trail climbs to an elevation of just under 12,000 feet.  We climb up, cross a ledge road and then descend into a valley of Aspen trees where the town of Ophir is located.  In the 1800s, it grew to a population of 500 with saloons, churches, and schools.  The town was often snowbound due to avalanches.  In December 1883, mail carrier, Swen Nilson left Silverton with 60 pounds of Christmas packages and mail for the town.  He never made it.  The townspeople thought he had stolen the goods and fled.  His brother continued to search for him and finally discovered his skeleton with the mail sack still around his neck two years later.

As we started our climb, we could see the results of last night's snowfall.  The trail had been turned into something magical.  You may recall we had tried this pass last Sunday and couldn't get thru.

This is as far as we made it last Sunday.  You can see the 15 mph speed limit sign behind the Jeep.  That's where we had to turn around before.

T

This is where the narrow ledge road starts

We have named this "Jimmy's Rock" because he found a screwdriver wedged in there several years ago.  I don't think it is as tall as it used to be.

Going into the Aspens to the valley:

The highway to Telluride:

We had delightful weather all the way to Telluride and had a nice lunch there before visiting Bridal Veil Falls (with the old power plant beside it).   Lunch and then a stop at the Ace Hardware.

If you look at this building at the mine, you will see a DOOR on the top floor -- that's allowing for a LOT of snow!  (right click to enlarge & use the back arrow to return)

Clouds were starting to move in, so we headed back.  As we entered the Aspen forest just out of Ophir, we hit a snow storm.

Another awesome day in God's paradise!  Back at the RV, it's still quite cool; temps dropped 5 degrees in 1/2 hour.  It is raining on and off so I expect there will be more snow tonight -- at least in the mountains.